Visualized: Motorola Xoom rolls into Best Buy

Sure, you’ve probably seen plenty of the Motorola Xoom by now, but have you seen a stack of them being rolled into a Best Buy? Didn’t think so. Well, you can now rest assured that they are indeed arriving in stores ahead of the big Thursday launch date, thanks to the helpful tipster who sent us this image. Unfortunately, it seems that a few pieces fell off the truck on the road to retail.

Visualized: Motorola Xoom rolls into Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Buy adding new Apple laptop SKUs to its systems, foreshadows MacBook Pro refresh

Best Buy’s laptop discovery tool is doing a slightly overzealous job this morning by listing a set of “new SKU” laptops from Apple Computer before said company has had a chance to announce them. This seems to corroborate recent rumors of a MacBook Pro refresh coming next week, as do the $1,199, $1,499, $1,799, and $2,199 price points, all of which are presently occupied by current-gen 13- and 15-inch MBP variants. There is an additional $2,499 sticker for a laptop identified only as “New SKU I,” which presumably points to an upgrade to Apple’s 17-incher. Regrettably, there’s nothing more than the pricing for us to go on, but feel free to fill your time until Best Buy populates its listings with speculation about the hot new processing, storage, and interconnect options Apple might have in store for us.

[Thanks, Michael]

Best Buy adding new Apple laptop SKUs to its systems, foreshadows MacBook Pro refresh originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Xoom up for in-store pre-order at Best Buy, $800 for Thursday availability

No more stunt prices, no more premature web appearances, this (we hope) is finally Best Buy’s fully official listing for the Motorola Xoom. It brings no great surprises to those who’ve been tracking the tablet’s progress to retail shelves, offering first dibs to buyers willing to make the effort and pre-order one in store today, with full availability coming on Thursday, February 24th. The $800 3G-equipped model is accompanied on Best Buy’s site by a $40 portfolio case, a $50 basic charging dock, a $130 stereo speaker dock, and a $70 Bluetooth keyboard, but there’s no sighting of the cheaper WiFi-only Xoom. There was some suspicion that the $600 SKU would launch a little later on and that is indeed what appears to be happening. One final note of caution: even if you’re intending to use the Xoom as a pure WiFi-only device, remember that you’ll be required to activate data with Verizon for at least a month first — don’t ask us why.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola Xoom up for in-store pre-order at Best Buy, $800 for Thursday availability originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google, Best Buy, Sony and others form alliance to defend FCC’s proposed ‘AllVid’ standard

We’ve already seen Sony, TiVo and others come out in support of the FCC’s proposed CableCard replacement, known as AllVid, but it looks like they’re now stepping up their game considerably. In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the group — which also includes Google, Best Buy, Mitsubishi and others — has announced that they’ve formed the “AllVid Tech Company Alliance” in a concerted effort to defend the proposed AllVid standard, and counter arguments from those opposed to it — namely, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (or NCTA) and the cable companies that are a part of it. As you might expect, the Alliance isn’t making a lot of new arguments, but it is stating its position pretty frankly, telling the FCC that “it is essential for the Commission to break down the wall separating the home network from MVPD [or pay TV] networks – not just poke a few holes in it, or rely on progress on the peripheries.” You can find the complete letter (in PDF form) at the source link below.

Google, Best Buy, Sony and others form alliance to defend FCC’s proposed ‘AllVid’ standard originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola pushes up Atrix 4G launch to Feb. 22, shoves Xoom pre-sales back to Feb. 20th?

The best laid plans of Motorola may be in disarray, as we hear the device manufacturer is shuffling release dates for its hottest new Android devices. Supposedly, AT&T customer service reps are getting the above message in their inbox, which suggests the modular Atrix 4G smartphone may arrive more than a week earlier than planned, while a Best Buy memo (image after the break) pegs Xoom tablet pre-sales for February 20th, three days after the date originally communicated. Still, we haven’t heard anything to suggest that the Xoom won’t be 100 percent ready for purchase on February 24th, so you should be just fine saving your eight Benjamins for then.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Motorola pushes up Atrix 4G launch to Feb. 22, shoves Xoom pre-sales back to Feb. 20th?

Motorola pushes up Atrix 4G launch to Feb. 22, shoves Xoom pre-sales back to Feb. 20th? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Buy extends free Buy Back promotion on smartphones and tablets to February 26th

Didn’t get around to taking advantage of Best Buy’s new Bieber / Ozzy-promoted Buy Back program before the post-Super Bowl free-for-all period expired on February 12th? Then it looks like you’re in luck — the company’s just announced that it’s extending the free offer until February 26th. Unlike like the previous promotion that applied to a whole range electronics, however, this latest extension only covers smartphones and tablets, although you can obviously still purchase Buy Back coverage for other devices (a laptop or netbook will run you $69.99). Those that opt for it will be able to sell their devices back to Best Buy for “up to” 50 percent of the original purchase price, which they’ll naturally receive in the form of a Best Buy gift card. Better than eBay? Maybe not — but it’s not the worst option to have while it’s free. Head on past the break for the complete press release.

Continue reading Best Buy extends free Buy Back promotion on smartphones and tablets to February 26th

Best Buy extends free Buy Back promotion on smartphones and tablets to February 26th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid Bionic and HTC Merge hit Best Buy website, accessories galore

Droid Bionic and HTC Merge hit Best Buys site, accessories galore

Prices and release dates for the HTC Merge and Droid Bionic are still eluding us at the moment, but we have at least found a place where you can load up with add-ons. Best Buy‘s mobile accessories site is listing both phones, complete with pictures, and while there’s no information provided about the handsets themselves, this certainly would seem to point to a release in the very near future. Oh, and if you had any doubts these handsets would be compatible with the many and myriad Bluetooth headsets on offer at BBY, you need worry no more.

[Thanks, Matt]

Continue reading Droid Bionic and HTC Merge hit Best Buy website, accessories galore

Droid Bionic and HTC Merge hit Best Buy website, accessories galore originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Xoom up for pre-order at Best Buy this Thursday… for $1,199? (update)

What the what?! Best Buy has just put up word on when you can pre-order the Motorola Xoom — this coming Thursday, February 17th — and a price, $1,199. There are “great” financing offers available, but we can’t get over this price we’re seeing. Our only hope is that this may be a placeholder number, which will get revised soon, though it’s live on Best Buy’s site and there’s nothing to really indicate it’s a mistake. Moreover, that 1-month data activation requirement we noted recently is indeed real, meaning you’ll need to pay a levy to Verizon as well before you get your Android 3.0 groove on.

[Thanks, Joe and Magid]

Update: We’ve heard rumblings that this is indeed just a place holder — much like the way other companies price products they don’t want to sell at ridiculous levels — and the final price will indeed be the $800 we’ve heard most consistently to this point.

Update 2: Best Buy’s listing has entirely disappeared. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola Xoom up for pre-order at Best Buy this Thursday… for $1,199? (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 06:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Thunderbolt exclusively hits Best Buy for $250 at launch, rooted prototype provides hope for easy unlock

Though hard facts on the HTC Thunderbolt’s availability were hard to come by, conflicting rumors were flying fast and strong — now, a Best Buy ad seems to clear most everything up. Like we’d originally heard, the 4.3-inch LTE smartphone will launch for $250 on a two-year contract — or a wallet-crushing $750 without — but the key ingredients here are three words at the very top. The Thunderbolt is apparently a “national retail exclusive” for Best Buy, which explains how the device could simultaneously face Verizon delays and yet come in for a Valentine’s Day landing at the big box store. You’ll also note that the ad mentions Skype video and 4G mobile hotspot functionality, so we’d be surprised if the phone came without, though it’s also possible that the whole kit and kaboodle has been delayed to match — Droid-Life says this ad comes from a February 20th circular, so we might not see anything until then.

In case you needed an additional reason to be excited about the Thunderbolt, the developers at AndIRC have some related news — they’ve already rooted a prototype version (which just so happens to have the familiar codename Mecha) and believe the same technique will work on retail devices. Wouldn’t it be nice to have root on day one… whenever that is?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC Thunderbolt exclusively hits Best Buy for $250 at launch, rooted prototype provides hope for easy unlock originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Thunderbolt exclusively hits Best Buy for $250 at launch, rooted prototype provides hope for full unlock

Though hard facts on the HTC Thunderbolt’s availability were hard to come by, conflicting rumors were flying fast and strong — now, a Best Buy ad seems to clear most everything up. Like we’d originally heard, the 4.3-inch LTE smartphone will launch for $250 on a two-year contract — or a wallet-crushing $750 without — but the key ingredients here are three words at the very top. The Thunderbolt is apparently a “national retail exclusive” for Best Buy, which explains how the device could simultaneously face Verizon delays and yet come in for a Valentine’s Day landing at the big box store. You’ll also note that the ad mentions Skype video and 4G mobile hotspot functionality, so we’d be surprised if the phone came without, though it’s also possible that the whole kit and kaboodle has been delayed to match — Droid-Life says this ad comes from a February 20th circular, so we might not see anything until then.

In case you needed an additional reason to be excited about the Thunderbolt, the developers at AndIRC have some related news — they’ve already rooted a prototype version (which just so happens to have the familiar codename Mecha) and believe the same technique will work on retail devices. Wouldn’t it be nice to have root on day one… whenever that is?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC Thunderbolt exclusively hits Best Buy for $250 at launch, rooted prototype provides hope for full unlock originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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