Blog Archives for 2014

The days of mass produced, cookie cutter mannequins are waning, and in their place will be more authentic-looking models, designed to better represent a larger base of shoppers whose proportions have never traditionally been reflected by the typical headless forms. Will this affect your shopping?

Is your New Year's resolution to get in shape is a distant memory? Well, try not to beat yourself up. Every day brings with it another chance to renew the commitment. And with it the perennial question that dogs every fitness buff at one time or another: Which athletic shoe is right for you? We talked to Dr. Scott Weiss, a licensed physical therapist and board certified athletic trainer in search of advice on finding the right athletic shoe to fit both your feet and budget.

In a continued effort to crowdsource TV programming from its Prime members, Amazon has offered up another slate of pilots for your consideration, be you kid or adult. Because not everyone has the time or inclination to watch all 10 shows, we've taken the liberty of viewing them for you. We already reviewed Amazon's offerings for mature audiences, and now we're moving on to the kids' shows. Which pilots are worth your child's time?

Not being able to face forking over a ludicrous $15 to see The LEGO Movie in theaters, we instead bought a LEGO set and filmed our own version. We think you'll agree that it's the most awesome movie ever filmed by man.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Apple, bezels, Captain Marvel, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the Internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

Scandinavia is one of the "coolest" travel regions at the moment, thanks to its unspoilt nature, welcoming people, and quirky perspective on accommodation. And thankfully, we've been seeing regular airfare sales of late that can get you there on the cheap.

In a move that's causing uproar among consumer advocates, Comcast will acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion. Comcast is already the largest cable company in the country, but the FCC isn't likely to stop the deal. So how will this merger will affect you?

We love House of Cards around here. In anticipation of the February 14 release of Season 2, we wanted to put together a game everyone could play while binge-watching. Due to the number of episodes in a season, it's probably not safe to play a drinking game, so we came up with a House of Cards saving game instead!

Samsung will likely unveil its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, this afternoon. And if you cash in your old phone now, you could wind up paying close to nothing for that new tech toy once it's available.

For years, people have been saying that wireless charging is the wave of the future, yet it remains far outside of the mainstream. However, two of the three biggest wireless consortia announced that they are joining forces to make sure that their wireless technologies work together. But is it a lack of a standard that's been keeping wireless charging from gaining popularity?

When Google first released the Chromecast, there was much to be excited about. But a lack of compatible apps and content quelled some of that excitement. That is, until now. Developers will soon be able to create and release Chromecast-compatible sites and apps, making a slew of new material available to users in the next few months.

In a move that should make Amazon think twice about its rumored Prime price hike, Newegg announced it will begin testing a Prime-like delivery service. In addition to expedited shipping, the $49.99 annual cost of Newegg Premier will also offer perks like exclusive deals, free returns, and waived restocking fees. But is Newegg's cheaper service an instant win for the DIY crowd or are you better off keeping that 50 bucks in your pocket?

In its continuing efforts to crowdsource TV programming with its Prime members, Amazon has offered up another slate of pilots for your consideration. But which ones are worth your time? And furthermore, which should you "vote" for to have developed into a full series?

The National Retail Federation is predicting that Valentine's Day spending will top $17.3 billion this year, which is actually less than in years past. What's the deal?

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Apple, the Broncos, Forza, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

Jeff Bezos is taking another swing at an Emmy award with a new selection of pilots. Those that get the most votes will be made into a full series. It's a great idea, but the comedies don't sound that funny to us.

Wouldn't it be fun to go to the Sochi Winter Olympics? Don't you wish you could be there for the pomp, the circumstance, the medals, and the ... fancy hotels? Well, don't get super excited, because supposedly the hotels are a mess!

As many shoppers are now aware, Target experienced a massive security breach between November 27 and December 15, 2013, with the personal data of up to 110 million customers having been compromised. In January, Neiman Marcus experienced a similar hack and in the weeks since, various expert reports have suggested that even more stores are currently also at risk. This has left many consumers wondering: How have so many retailers been hoodwinked by hackers? And is there any truly safe way to pay for goods outside of cash? To help better understand the changing credit card landscape consumers are facing, we've laid out all the details on what information might have been at risk and explore the various ways consumers can shop online and remain secure.

In the spirit of offering customers new and interesting food options, there are times that fast food chains have gone too far beyond their core business competency. We'd like to take a moment and reminisce about our five favorite fast food innovations that failed.

These days, we're trusting more and more online retailers to protect our data. Many websites require you to make an account, even if you only plan to shop there once. Faced with the difficult task of making up a unique password for tens, maybe hundreds of sites, many of us fall back on the bad habit of using bad passwords. Unfortunately, a new study showed that 64% of online retailers don't seem to care whether their shoppers are making strong passwords or not.

Just days after Amazon broke the news that it may raise the cost of its popular Prime shipping service by $20 or as much as $40, consumers have taken to the Internet to voice their opinion. While many found it hard to justify a higher price, others claimed a lack of new content on Amazon Instant Video, coupled with the price hike, as reason enough to quit.

It's true that celebrities and conspicuous consumption go together like Beyoncé and the $80,000, diamond-encrusted Barbie Doll she bought for her daughter who isn't even potty trained yet. But in order to look like these seven A-list actors and socialites, you don't need to go broke or take out a mortgage on your house.

Amazon's incredibly popular streaming and shipping program, Amazon Prime, may soon see a price hike of $20 to $40. While nothing has been finalized, a price increase would obviously have serious implications for the rumored 20 million Prime members.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Microsoft, Apple, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the Internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

For a single day in February, up becomes down, black becomes white, and those things that we normally fast forward through become things we actively seek out. Yep, it's Super Bowl time and everyone can't wait to see what commercials the mad men from Madison Ave have cooked up for us.

Beats Music promises its users a mobile streaming experience that tailors playlists to what listeners are craving in that moment — as long as they aren't craving free music, that is. Beats Music costs $10 a month, and (unlike almost every other streaming service) there's no ad-supported free option. Read on for our take on this nascent streamer, and find out whether Beats Music is the service you've been waiting to pay for.

For the last ten years, Animal Planet has been counter-programming the biggest football game of the year with the cutest football game of the year, The Puppy Bowl! Half the fun of any football party is the tailgating experience; you know, the food, the fun, the zaniness? Here's how to tailgates for the Puppy Bowl!

Super Bowl ticket prices are at their lowest in more than a decade. Apparently, no one wants to pay thousands of dollars to sit in the cold for a few hours.

Let's face it: No one wakes up in the morning with a burning desire to buy everyday necessities like pet food, toilet paper, batteries, or diapers. And yet many of these goods are so essential, we'd run out of the house bleary-eyed at 3 am to replace them. However, it's cheaper and easier to stock up on these items when you don't need them — and we've got the data to prove it! That's why we've rounded up a collection of items that you should always buy when you see a deal, even if you're still fully stocked at home.

While some experts say that the days of physical media are numbered, there are still plenty of TV fans who prefer physical discs to streaming services or season pass downloads. But box sets of TV shows cost a pretty penny. That is, unless you know when the best time to buy a TV box set.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Ben Affleck, Nintendo, mobile phones, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the Internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

With Super Bowl XLVIII looming on the horizon, the media outlets are all atwitter about how everyone is buying a new TV for the big game. Clearly, football fans across the country must be rushing out to buy a bigger set in time to cheer on their team of choice. However, a poll of Dealnews readers revealed that only about 3% of people will buy a TV for the Super Bowl.

The Blackphone is a new smartphone designed by an international team of cryptographers and security experts. An ad for the phone shows a montage of headlines about the NSA, making it clear that the smartphone's developers feel their product will find a niche with consumers wanting to avoid the government's prying eyes.

Did you know that Hitachi and Western Digital hard drives are less likely to fail than Seagate storage? In fact, Seagate drives were fallible up to 25% of the time. What's more, our own research suggests that you're actually more likely to find a deal on a Seagate hard drive. Read on for our take on the study's results, and what effect they should have on your hard drive buying habits.

HP has seemingly slighted Microsoft by selling new PCs running Windows 7. Eschewing Windows 8, HP claims that offering Windows 7 meets "popular demand"; the $150 dollar discount on these systems is an additional incentive to buy HP. Will other manufacturers follow?

Weak sales of the Wii U will likely bring even better discounts in the coming weeks and months. Just don't expect the gaming library to grow in leaps and bounds.

There hasn't been an outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl in ... well, ever. But the cold weather won't stop us fans from rooting on our favorite team, or spending a pretty penny celebrating. So grab a seat, hoist a huge foam finger high in the air, and read on for a look at Super Bowl XLVIII by the numbers.

According to NPD DisplaySearch, as many as 19.8 million touch-enabled notebook PCs shipped last year, and the number is expected to increase in 2014. And being the natural penny pinchers we are, we decided to track deals on touchscreen laptops to see where prices are going and how they compare to traditional systems. Our conclusion? Your next laptop purchase needs to include a touch display.

If you haven't ordered a new debit card or taken other measures to protect your identity in the wake of the recent Target and Neiman Marcus data breaches, you really should reconsider. Several security firms have come forward saying that even more retailers may have been exposed to the malware used in the Target attack.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Facebook, Microsoft, Star Wars, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

With 2013 still fresh in our minds, we've decided to take a look back at the year in retail with the hope of gleaning some useful lessons for the coming year. From epic price mistakes and mind-boggling deals, to cringe-worthy CEO fails, we present to you the 2013 DealNews Retail Awards!

No matter how many times Facebook flagrantly walked all over user privacy, we keep going back. Is it so that we can enjoy being righteously outraged again later? Let's relive a few of those gloriously aggravating times when Facebook was the worst.

On Tuesday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck a possibly fatal blow to the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules. The case, brought by Verizon against the FCC, has significant implications for the future of Internet access. But while the 2-1 ruling may seem like a death knell for the open Internet, there's still hope that net neutrality can live on.

Google has landed itself back in the tech news spotlight with its recent $3.2 billion purchase of Nest, a home automating company. As with anything discussed on the Internet, reactions to this news has been mixed — and some people are totally freaked out.

As Super Bowl XLVIII approaches, competitors are rolling out their best game plans and gear to battle — for your dollars. This year's Super Bowl ads are already generating buzz, and at the forefront is H&M's spot for the David Beckham Bodywear line, which is employing "t-commerce," or allowing viewers to shop directly through their televisions.

Every year, CES shows off upcoming technology; however, not all new tech is great. For every higher resolution TV and smarter watch that's shown, there are applications of technology that are just plain bonkers.

Until recently, Bitcoin wasn't a mainstream topic of conversation. But the peer-to-peer payment system is making headlines again. Discount shopping site Overstock has plans to accept Bitcoin by June, making it one of the first major retailers to do so.

Although you might have been disappointed to see that things like wine and milk are destined to be more expensive this year, there's still good financial news on the horizon! Analysts predict certain products will see significant price cuts in the coming months. From 4K TVs to used cars, we've rounded up a list of 13 things you can expect to spend less on this year.

Energy savings is certainly on a lot of people's minds as Winter 2014 has kicked off in fearsome fashion across the United States. Yet savings know no season, and are sometimes affected by a timeline of when energy investments will have paid for themselves. Here we examine seven popular product categories to see how long it might take before you realize a return on your energy-efficient investment.