Hasta La Gadget!

Reuters was tipped off to a survey that reveals Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is testing a new system that would allow customers to scan items with their iPhone then quickly pay at a self-checkout counter. The “Scan & Go” feature won’t let you pay with your phone, at least not yet, but rather than scanning each item individually in line, shoppers will be able to quickly transfer their list to the kiosk and pay in one quick step. The hope is that the new system will dramatically speed checkout times and reduce congestion in the stores. The trial is taking place at the supercenter Rogers, AR, where the entire event will be monitored and recorded for research purposes. Participants are being rewarded with $100 and a $25 gift certificate towards their shopping experience. When or if “Scan & Go” will be delivered to John Q. Public remains to be seen. But we’re sure fans of rolled back prices are eager to see it go live.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Walmart testing ‘Scan & Go’ iPhone self-checkout app, cashiers becoming endangered species originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember what the experience of shopping for a gadget was like at big-box stores years ago? Whatever your actual needs were, the store clerks would invariably steer you towards whatever they were getting a commission to sell, or whatever scratched their personal itch. Why would you even go to a store if you knew you would never get an honest answer? The problem was bad enough for Apple in the 1990s, when Macs were often relegated to a dark corner alongside the Ethernet cables, that the company started up its own retail chain. It didn’t get better for most of us until outlets like Best Buy backed off and sometimes made it a point to advertise commission-free staff. Today, while it’s tough to completely escape personal bias and the occasional exception to the rule, it’s more likely than not that a modern general electronics store will give you a decent shot at buying what you really want.

But just try buying a cellphone at a carrier store today.

Continue reading Editorial: Carriers, let customers choose their own phones

Filed under: Cellphones

Editorial: Carriers, let customers choose their own phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen just about every mobile device around eventually going on sale in the long haul to as low as $0.99 or even free on contract. But for a BMW? Man, that’s extremely rare. But it happened anyway this week in New Zealand. A car dealership there, named Stadium Cars, accidentally sold a 1994 blue BMW 320i online for just $1. And soon enough, the sweet sounding mistake caught the ears of one Trade Me buyer named ”bignz” who is reportedly from Rangiora – a rural town in the South Island of New Zealand. Check out another photo after the break.

Lucky for him, after clicking the “buy now” button, he became the new proud owner of the BMW. Apparently the dealership honored the sale, in spite of the fact that it was a mistake. Stadium Cars manager Mike Nokes said the $1 price was an error. Nokes explained that the dealership will usually put up cars for auction on the site with a $1 reserve. The problem was that the buy now option was mistakenly added to the latest one. “I thought, ‘Whoops’, but it is what it is. You can only laugh about it,” Nokes said. “Obviously not an ideal outcome for us as the seller. However, we are firm believers in the auction process and for it to be fair to buyers and sellers alike.” Ouch, that was a costly typo. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BMW’s Mini retrieves javelins at the Olympics, BMW Motorrad unveils its C evolution electric scooter,

Looking to unload your unwanted gaming gear? You’re probably on your way to GameStop. As the largest dedicated video game retailer in the world, it’s hard to imagine a games enthusiast who hasn’t browsed its wares a time or two. Over the last few years, however, the firm has been expanding outside of retail sales — dipping its fingers into digital distribution, streaming and even phones and tablets. The brick-and-mortar store even seemed to be flirting with building a mobile network. With all these changes underfoot and a new console cycle just around the corner, it seemed like a good time to catch up with GameStop CEO Paul Raines to get some perspective.

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: GameStop CEO Paul Raines talks tablets, OUYA and the MVNO that never was

Filed under: Gaming

The Engadget Interview: GameStop CEO Paul Raines talks tablets, OUYA and the MVNO that never was originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has been filing more than its fair share of NFC-related patents, but it was just granted what could be one of its more important wins at the USPTO. The design for an “on-the-go shopping list” app would help buyers find and pull the trigger on deals through every tool an iPhone has at its disposal, whether it’s taking a snapshot of goods with the camera, punching in the UPC code by hand or tapping an item for an NFC-based “touch scan.” We’ll admit that we’re a bit disappointed at how NFC is used, however. As with an earlier filing, the very short range wireless is kept largely to price comparisons and adding products to a list for a purchase from a store clerk later on, rather than closing the deal outright as we’ve seen with Google Wallet. The original 2008 filing date will also have seen a lot of water flowing under the bridge; there’s no guarantee that any enthusiasm for NFC from the iPhone 3G era will have transferred to the present day. Accordingly, we would be careful about drawing any connections between iOS 6’s Passbook and Apple’s ideas from four years ago — even if Apple has regularly been a never–say–never sort of company.

Filed under: Cellphones

Apple lands patent for NFC-ready shopping app, could make impulse spending an iPhone tap away originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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