A complete guide to Black Friday deals, advice, and Ratings

We’ve been busy here getting ready for the holiday shopping season, which—despite its early start this year—traditionally starts on Black Friday. In addition to following deals and offering shopping tips here on the Electronics Blog, our reporters and testers have been updating the buying advice for a host of products at ConsumerReports.org. They’ve also been hard at work in our labs, as the flood of new product Ratings within the last week and a half can attest.

If you’re among the brave ones venturing out in search of deals this Black Friday weekend, we hope this buying guide will help prepare you. For buying tips and deals throughout this holiday season, be sure to check back with the Electronics Blog periodically. Check in also with Tightwad Tod, who is following deals for a number of products and offering useful shopping advice.

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS
Our reporters have combed through a number of Black Friday deal sites and retailer circulars. Below are the fruits of their labor. Many deals carry through the weekend. Even if they’re only valid on Black Friday itself, you might be surprised at what a little haggling can accomplish. And be careful of tempting bundled or package deals—sometimes they aren’t as great a value as they appear.

• LCD TV deals
• Plasma TV deals

Intel Reader: A device that turns any book into an e-book

The Intel Reader (Click to enlarge.)
[PHOTO: Intel]

Today, Intel launches a mobile reading device that converts printed text to digital text and then reads it aloud. The device weighs a little more than one pound, has a 4.3 inch screen and a 5 mega-pixel camera with a flash. Similar to netbook computers, the Intel Reader is powered by an Atom processor and promises long battery life: more than 4 hours of book "reading" or the ability to remain in standby mode for up to 5 days.

This small, portable device will allow blind or dyslexic users to gain freedom and independence by being able to read everything from menus to tax forms without waiting for assistance.

Last week, I got a chance to try out the device and was impressed by its ease of use and versatility. For starters, it is significantly smaller than previous reading assistance devices that were often confined to a desk at a local library. Capturing text from a book or magazine with the Intel Reader was made easy by the fact that the camera faces downward, perpendicular to the screen, allowing the user to hold the device comfortably in front of them. This innovation may spread to cell phones and shopping devices as it is currently very awkward to photograph text or bar codes with the rear facing camera on most cell phones.

Nook, meet Alex: Yet another e-book reader announced

The Alex e-book reader by Spring Design (Click to enlarge.)

Apparently it's The Week of the Wireless-Connected, Android-Powered, Twin-Screen E-Book Reader.

Obviously eager to capitalize—or tread on—publicity for Barnes & Noble's Nook, Spring Design has rolled out its own new e-reader, Alex. And it seems a heckuva lot like the Nook, albeit with a few twists.

Like the Barnes & Noble device, Alex, planned for release by the end of the year at an unspecified price, has a second, 3.5-inch LCD screen below its main e-ink screen; runs on the Android operating system; and connects wirelessly to a mobile network to download content (no carrier has been announced).

It also shares with Nook a feature I didn't highlight in my first impressions of the B&N e-reader: WiFi connectivity. For now, Barnes and Noble only plans to activate that capability when people are using the Nook at Barnes and Noble stores, where they'll be able to browse any title in the B&N e-book library for free and receive special in-store offers and the like.

Alex promises to use WiFi and have access to 3G networks everywhere, and for "full Internet browsing." Spring Design even says that you can browse pages on the color LCD, then transfer them to the black-and-white main screen if you wish. It'll be interesting to see how well that works, and how much the frequent use of the color screen—and of the browser—reduces Alex's battery life.

A browser was vetoed for the Nook, according to BarnesandNoble.com president William Lynch, because "Web browsing on an e-ink device is a clumsy experience." (Based on my own experience with the Kindle's rudimentary Web browser, I concur.) Lynch also said that the Nook's LCD screen won't compromise its battery life, which "is very competitive" with that of other e-book readers, which tend to run for days on a charge. —Paul Reynolds

Extra Extra: Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide is on sale

(Click to enlarge.)

It may be a tad early to start your holiday shopping, but there’s a good chance you’ve at least been thinking about it. Maybe you’ve had a big-ticket gift—like a new TV or home theater—in mind for a while now, but are putting off the purchase till November or December. If it’s sales you’re waiting for, you probably know what you want and how much you’re willing to pay. On the other hand, you might just a teeny bit leery of throwing so much cash at something you know very little about. Which is better: a plasma or LCD TV? Should you upgrade to a Blu-ray player or stick with standard-def DVDs?

If you find yourself in need of expert advice, consider the newest edition of the Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide. Inside you’ll find a wealth of information on everything from televisions and computers to smart phones, GPS units, and much more. For each product, the Consumer Reports editors walk you through the basics, explaining what’s available, which features matter, brand profiles, and offering tried-and-true shopping tips.

In addition to product information, the guide offers advice on how to shop smarter, including:

• Netting the best deals online, and protecting yourself when you shop on the Web


• When to repair and when to replace a broken item


• How to haggle effectively


• Finding the best electronics retailer based on our comprehensive annual survey


• How to save—and what to be wary of—with refurbished or open-box products on store shelves


• Where to get free office software, free computer security programs, and more useful freeware

New Barnes & Noble web site offers e-books for smart phones

Like the idea of reading books on an electronic screen, but don’t want to buy a Kindle 2 or other dedicated e-book reader to do so? Your options for reading e-books on a range of devices you already own have expanded with the launch of a new online e-book store from Barnes and Noble.

Most notably, the site expands the selection and sourcing for e-books to the Phone and other smart phones, using the free B&N eReader app. It’s a challenger to Amazon’s Kindle application for the iPhone, which allows you—effectively, my colleague Mike Gikas found—to buy and read Kindle titles on Apple’s smart phone and iPod Touch.

The B&N app also comes in a Blackberry version, which Amazon does not yet offer—though Amazon has promised to expand its range of smart phone apps, and Blackberry owners can get e-books from some other sites. Barnes and Noble promises to “add a bunch” of other phone apps “in the coming weeks.”

The Kindle 2 vs. Sony Reader 700C: A video comparison

Curious to see how Amazon’s Kindle 2 e-book reader stacks up against Sony’s competing, top-of-the-line 700C Reader—especially given the recent price cut to the Kindle, which now costs $299? A new Consumer Reports video (see right) looks at some of the ways the devices compare.

Though too brief to be comprehensive, the video provides a useful snapshot of the devices’ comparative ease of use, contrasting the Kindle’s wireless downloading with the computer-based downloads of the $350 Sony.

A recent side-by-side report on the two devices highlights further differences between the two. It includes such pluses to the Sony as its decent touchscreen and night-light—the latter being a feature lacking on either the Kindle 2 or big-screen Kindle DX.

However, those past reports predate last week’s price drop for the Kindle 2, which puts it into the same price range as the older Sony Reader 505, which lists at $299. —Paul Reynolds

The Amazon Kindle DX: A video review

The new Amazon Kindle DX is a worthy addition to the Kindle family of e-book readers, as I thought when I used it briefly a few weeks ago. But having used the DX a little more (see the video at right), I've concluded that its heavier weight, higher price, and ergonomic shortcomings make the smaller Kindle 2 the better choice for most people.

But here's who might consider newest and biggest of Kindles, which began shipping on Wednesday at a price of $489 (compared with $359 for the Kindle 2). I've included some caveats:

Students. The DX's 9.7-inch screen, measured diagonally, allows more content to be shown at a time than on the Kindle 2, with its 6-inch screen. Textbook pages are among the reading fare that can most benefit from the extra real estate; charts, diagrams, and their associated explanations will be less likely to be broken among multiple pages. Amazon says it will soon have many more textbooks available for Kindle later this year.
Caveat: For now, though, you can by no means rely on getting any textbook for the device; check availability at the Kindle Store.

Newspaper and magazine readers. Amazon hopes to use the DX to sell more Kindle subscriptions to newspapers (for $5.99 to $14.99 a month) or magazines ($1.25 to $8.99 a month). And you certainly can see more of a story from these periodicals on the DX's supersized screen.
Caveat: Despite the larger size of the DX, Kindle editions of these periodicals still don't generally appear in the same layout and presentation as on paper—for example, you can't see and scan the entire front page of a newspaper as it is laid out in print.

The visually-impaired. The bigger screen of the DX makes its largest type size notably larger than the biggest type on the Kindle DX; the DX sizing is more like that found in the big-print editions of books or newspapers. You can also vary the length of each line of text, which might also help those with vision problems.

I could not find any caveats for a visually-impaired person who was considering buying a DX. However, I haven't been able to have such a reader use the device—and would love to hear comments from any who have.

A final consideration might be the relative availability of these models. A DX ordered today would ship next Wednesday, according to Amazon. The Kindle 2 is available for immediate shipment. —Paul Reynolds.

Super-sized Kindle coming in summer, at $489

Amazon today announced a second version of its Kindle e-book reader, one with a bigger screen and other enhancements aimed at making the device more versatile.

The new device, called Kindle DX, will be introduced inthe summer (no precise date was announced at today's press conference) and will cost $489. That's $130 more than Amazon’s other model, the $359 Kindle 2, which will remain available.

As expected based on early leaks about the new model, it closely resembles the Kindle 2, but has a screen that's about 50 percent bigger—at 9.7 inches measured diagonally.

[UPDATE: We took a closer look at the Kindle DX during a hands on demonstration session at Amazon's press conference today. See our related post, Trying out the Kindle DX: So far, so good. —Ed.]

New Kindle: What to expect, and what we'd like

As Amazon gears up to launch an additional, larger version of its Kindle e-book reader later this morning, here are highlights of what to expect, by all reports, plus a little of what we hope to see from the new device:

• A big-screen version of the existing Kindle 2. Leaked, if indistinct, pictures of the device from Engadget suggest no radical makeover. Rather, it appears to resemble the current Kindle, but have more screen–reportedly 9.7 inches, versus 6 inches for the Kindle 2. That will be better to display newspaper or other large-format pages. It may also make the new device more appealing than the Kindle 2 even to readers of regular books. (One colleague in the office has already expressed buyers' remorse over their recent Kindle 2 purchase.)



• A better browser. If true, as the Wall Street Journal reports (WSJ.com subscription is required), this is welcome. The browser on the first two Kindles was kept under an "Experimental" tab to reduce expectations. Aptly so; having, er, experimented more with it lately on the Kindle 2, I found myself unable to get to Web pages I wanted in any easy manner. A more robust browser promises to bring the Kindle closer to the Web-surfing ease of, say, a netbook or smartphone.



• More textbook content. The Journal story reports that textbook publishers will make more titles available for Kindle, and some colleges will begin pilot programs to have students use the device, rather than paper books, for coursework. E-book readers have considerable and, to date, mostly undeveloped potential for students. Developments like those reported for the new Kindle promise to begin aligning readers with the rise of paperless textbook solutions like PDFs and the like at many campuses. (The new Kindle also will build in a PDF reader, according to Engadget. That promises to eliminate the current requirement to convert these to a Kindle-friendly format before they can be read on the device.)

No reports yet on the price of the new device. Given that the $359 price tag for the Kindle 2 was perhaps its biggest drawback, it will be interesting to see if the new device is priced still-higher–as is likely–or priced the same, with the Kindle 2 then reduced in price.

That strategy might anger recent Kindle buyers–and make my colleague even more remorseful. But it would also allow a gadget that's been premium-priced to reach a little more deeply into the mainstream. –Paul Reynolds

AT&T plans netbooks, talks e-books

AT&T will begin selling netbooks with integrated wireless Internet cards, selling them for as low as $50—with a data plan contract, of course. The rollout will begin in Atlanta and Philadelphia.

AT&T is also looking to enter the e-book market, according a company exec quoted by Bloomberg at CTIA:

"The Kindle, which lets users download books over Sprint Nextel Corp.’s network, has done a 'phenomenal job' and AT&T wants to be part of that market, Glenn Lurie, head of emerging devices at AT&T, said today."

Verizon has also expressed interest in entering the e-reader fray, saying it had been approached by five (undisclosed) companies interested in a wireless connection like that of the Kindle.

The takeaway: AT&T's netbook announcement, along with an earlier one from Verizon, suggests these tiny laptops are increasingly being positioned as much as an additional mobile network-connected device as a supplemental computer.

It's unclear if the AT&T exec's remarks on e-readers are anything more than an off-the-cuff response to the success of the Kindle. But the notion of another carrier joining Sprint—the carrier the Kindle uses—in the e-book business is intriguing. Wireless access to content is one of the most compelling aspects of the Kindle, giving it the edge over competitors like the Sony Reader (which we’ve covered in the past). The other is access to the huge library of e-content—Amazon's 250,000 Kindle titles in the case of the Kindle. And to offer a compelling option to the Kindle, AT&T, Verizon, or any other carrier, will need to find a content partner with a competitive library. It isn't immediately clear who might be able to offer that (perhaps other than Sony, with its Reader library).