Hasta La Gadget!

So far, iPad keyboard cases seem to follow two schools of thought — the folio and the mini-clamshell — and while both have their merits, neither do the job quite as well as the set of chiclets on your standard netbook. Best Buy’s in-house Rocketfish label has a different idea: forget about making it svelte, and just hand you a full-size Bluetooth laptop keyboard that holds your iPad as well. It’s called the iCapsule, and as you can probably tell it can accommodate your slate in both portrait and landscape modes, and when you’re done it folds up into a hardshell case with an integrated carrying handle. The unit takes two AA batteries — rather than a rechargeable Li-ion cell — and costs $100 to own, though it’s presently both on sale for $80 and unfortunately out of stock. We’ll let you know if we get the chance to try it for ourselves. Two more pics at our source link, if it has piqued your curiosity by now.

[Thanks, Yeti]

Rocketfish iCapsule keyboard case looks ugly but exceedingly useful originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Buy is expanding a buy-back program so customers can sell their old electronics back to the retailer.

The catch: You need to buy into the Buy Back Program when you first purchase your gear.

Starting Monday, Best Buy will offer customers the option to purchase the Buy Back Program when picking up a product in one of five categories: laptops, netbooks, tablets, post-paid smartphones and TVs.

It’s a bit different than the usual trade-in programs that already exist, which usually don’t let you know how much you’ll be getting for your old stuff until you bring it in. In the new Buy Back program, Best Buy lets you know up front how much you’ll be getting back when you decide to sell, based on the amount of time you’ve owned the product. The longer you’ve owned it, the less you get back when you return it to the store.

“We’ve learned from our customers that they do have a fear of new, greater technology to come,” Best Buy Senior Vice President of Services George Sherman told Wired.com in an interview, “and we’ve found it has led to hesitancy to buying. Our program protects against that.”

For example, say your folks bought you a shiny new Galaxy Tab for Christmas. That’s great, until you hear that Samsung will be releasing a new line of Verizon-carried 4G Galaxy Tabs sometime in 2011. If the folks purchased the Buy Back program and you return your now obsolete tablet within 6 months of the original purchase date, you’ll get up to 50 percent of your purchase price back when buying the new piece of hardware.

Not a bad deal for the early adopters out there, although there’s always the Craigslist route.

The price of the Buy Back program varies depending on the price of the gadget you’re buying it for. In other words, get ready for the sales clerk to offer you yet another option along with the useless extended warranty.

Photo: Ian Mutoo/Flickr

Best Buy‘s crafty ploy for the new year has seemingly been uncovered by BGR‘s tipsters. According to those knowledgeable sources (and the paperwork they’ve passed along), Best Buy intends to roll out a new Buy Back Program, which will guarantee a given trade-in value for your gadgets, depending on how old they are. Thus, any laptop, tablet, or smartphone you buy from the retailer will be tradeable for 50 percent of its original price within six months of purchase, 40 percent before the first year passes, 30 in the 12- to 18-month period, or 20 in the dying embers of a two-year ownership period. That’s pretty hefty depreciation and you’ll have to pay an up-front fee to get enrolled in the Program, but hey, if you upgrade like mad, maybe there’s some way to make this a financially appealing proposition for the consumer. Maybe… though probably not.

Best Buy’s Buy Back Program will let you trade in old tat for new hotness originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This isn’t Google TV, though we can see why you’d ask. No, this monster is merely the world’s largest fully-functional Nexus S handset. Presently on display in a Best Buy store in San Carlos, California, the enormous Android is equipped with a 42-inch multitouch screen, rigged to a real Nexus S that does all the processing. There’s a working camera, internet access and the whole Android 2.3 user interface to explore, though it does look a mite difficult to navigate in the video below. Did we mention there’s a video? Stop reading, hit the break, and get on with the show!

Continue reading 42-inch Nexus S stomps into Best Buy, terrifies shoppers and demos interactive Gingerbread UI (video)

42-inch Nexus S stomps into Best Buy, terrifies shoppers and demos interactive Gingerbread UI (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Dec 2010 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Want to feel better gifting electronics this holiday season? Well, Best Buy finally announced that it would stop charging stocking fees, for returned items (except special orders). So if the products that you gift aren’t exactly what the recipients wanted, they can return them without being slapped with a hefty restocking fee, which was previously 15% for most items (pricey).

Best Buy recently announced on its website:

Best Buy continually listens to our customers, and they told us they want to give confidently this holiday season and every other day of the year — and with that comes easier returns. Effective Saturday, December 18, Best Buy is improving its return policy by removing restocking fees for all products except special orders. Customers can visit BestBuy.com for further information.

To elaborate, The Consumerist reported that in an e-mail sent from Best Buy HQ to stores across the country, the company stated that the new policy would go into effect December 18th and would apply to computers (including notebooks, tablets and iPads), projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, GPS navigation, in-car video systems, DJ equipment and lighting, Pro-Audio equipment, and iPhones. They also said that customers who were charged a restocking fee between Nov. 17 and Dec. 17 can come into the store and get the fee refunded.

Happy Holiday’s Best Buy Shoppers!

Via The Consumerist