On Computers

Here are two things we learned from the site DealNews.com:

Read more

Filed under: Apple, computers, discounts | No Comments »

All about “refurbs,” as they’re called -– short for refurbished:

Read more

Filed under: computers, discounts, shopping | No Comments »

“Passbook” on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch lets you electronically store boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, and loyalty cards. It’s very high-tech. If you step into a Starbucks, for example, your Starbucks card automatically appears on the phone. Make sure you’ve got the latest operating system: iOS 6. If you have an Android phone, there’s PassWallet. We couldn’t figure it out but maybe you can. Not quite ready for prime time.

Read more

Filed under: apps, discounts, shopping | No Comments »

SmartphoneTradeIn.com gives you cash for your old smartphone. It’s also a good indicator of what’s popular.

Read more

Filed under: discounts, phones, shopping | No Comments »

October set a record for iPad trade-ins, according to SellCell.com, a site where you can trade in yours. People are trading in the third generation iPad to get the iPad Mini or fourth-generation iPad. They typically get about $350 for the iPad 3, which sold for $699. The iPad 2, which brought in $371 before the Mini was announced, now typically goes for less than $200. Android tablet

Read more

Filed under: discounts, iPad, shopping | No Comments »

We just bought a new laptop, the HP Pavilion g7 notebook PC, for $650 ($600 after the rebate. It weighs 6.6 pounds, has a beautiful 17-inch screen, a 640 gigabyte hard drive, six gigabytes of RAM and a DVD drive. So what’s the kick? Nothing, except it would have been $100 cheaper to buy it from the Staples web site than buying it from a Staples store. What?

Read more

Filed under: computers, discounts, shopping, web | No Comments »

We’re seeing one of those tidal shifts in the market. The computer is fading in importance — and perhaps most importantly for manufacturers, in profitability as well.

You can buy powerful computers now for less than the price of a smart-phone. They’re also cheaper than high-end tablets like the iPad and its competitors. We get regular mailings of
newsprint catalogs form tech retailers like Micro Center, Fry’s and Tiger Direct and they all have stunning deals. It’s not because we’re columnists, everybody gets them. Some of these catalog
outfits also have retail stores, though they’re not found everywhere.

Read more

Filed under: computers, discounts, trends | No Comments »

It turns out that buying a Mac or iPad at an online store like Amazon, MacMall or MacConnection, is often cheaper than buying one at an Apple store.

That struck us as pretty odd because of the way Apple closely controls it’s pricing, But a deal’s a deal, and we’re not going to knock it. Next question: Should you wait for a later version or go for it now? DealNews.org helps you decide. Click on “When to Buy a Mac” to get the results of three years worth of price research. (They also sell refurbished MacBooks.)

Read more

Filed under: discounts, shopping | No Comments »

Tingo.com lets you book a hotel reservation and automatically get money back if the rate drops. They say the average savings are $46.

Read more

Filed under: discounts, Internuts, travel | No Comments »

The Groupon competition has gotten so bad that competitors are springing up like weeds. If you just tuned in, Groupon is a website that offers daily discounts on just about anything. It’s been very popular with shoppers looking for deals. So popular, in fact, that web giant, Amazon, has decided to get into the act. Their new service is called “Amazon Local” and you can find it at Local.Amazon.com.

Read more

Filed under: Amazon, discounts, shopping | No Comments »