2010 Zhu Zhu Pets Get Previewed

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

The Zhu Zhu Pets are the hottest holiday toys of 2009 and are extremely hard to find at the original really low price of $8.
Cepia the maker of the Zhu Zhu Pets is cranking out 220,000 hamsters a day, but it is still not enough. Besides scanning online stores, ToysRUs on Black Friday is the best next opportunity to score a Zhu Zhu at normal pricing and not pay 6x or more.
Cepia has published a teaser on what they call Season 2 of Zhu Zhu Pets. The 2010 Zhu Zhu Pets will feature new hamsters and new accessories.
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Posted on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:43:46 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Snuggies And Zhu Zhu Pets Will Be Under Your Christmas Tree

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

If the supply chain data of Panjiva is to be believed than the chances a Snuggie or a Zhu Zhu Pet will be under your Christmas tree are very high.
Panjiva (Via Computer World) used their new Panjiva Trends service (free to use this month) to analyze which products are showing the biggest gain in U.S. imports this holiday shopping season.
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Posted on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Barnes&Noble Holiday Gift Guide

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

Barnes&Noble (BN) published a broad gift guide.
The BN Holiday Gift Guide offers savings of up to 45% on DVDs, Music, Toys & Games and more. BN features a Gift Finder that will help shoppers find the best gifts for everyone on their list.
Every shopper receives free shipping on orders of $25 or more and BN Members receive a holiday bonus of free shipping on orders of $10 or more. Read more

Posted on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Geek Gift Guide Available Now From ThinkGeek

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

ThinkGeek, the premier shop for gadgets and geek gear, unveiled their comprehensive Holiday Shopping Guide.
The ThinkGeek Holiday Gift Center not only features gift ideas for male geeks, but also for female geeks and the kids of geek parents.

Examples of Geeky gifts for her include: the USB Aromatherapy Oil Burner, Edible Wild Hibiscus Flowers, Dissolving Travel Toiletries and Colored Flame Tea Lights.
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Posted on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Dell Adamo XPS On Sale, Ships December 22nd

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

You can now order the new Dell Adamo XPS, which was officially unveiled earlier this month. The new Adamo XPS is ultra-thin at 9.99mm and is the coolest laptop available from Dell.
The pencil-thin Dell Adamo XPS weighs just over 3 pounds (depends on configuration) and measures 13.39 x 10.71 inches.
The Adamo XPS is priced starting at $1,799. If you configure an Adamo XPS now on the Dell site it says that the preliminary shipping date is December 22nd. This is cutting it very close to Christmas and it is not certain that it will make it under the tree in time.
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Posted on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:16:19 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Assassin's Creed 2 Ships Today

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

The new Assassin's Creed 2 is shipping today. This is another hot video game release for the Holidays and a great gift for Xbox 360, PS3 or PC owners. If you have not bought the game yet you can save on Amazon.
Assassins Creed II sells for $55.99 and you get $10 off a future video game purchase.
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Posted on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

The Beatles: Mono Box Set Is Best Buy Deal Of The Day

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

The newly remastered Beatles Box Sets released in September will be a common sight under Christmas trees this year.
For the real Beatles fan the The Beatles: Mono Box Set is the ideal box set. The Beatles Stereo Box Set ($178.49 on Amazon) is a compromise on delivering the Beatles music experience into the 21st century. Real hardcore Beatles fans will tell you that vinyl is the only way to listen to the Beatles anyway.
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Posted on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:38:32 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Holiday Deal: Cheap Sprint Android Phones At Best Buy

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

If you're a Sprint customer with a hankering for an Android smartphone, you need to roll on down to your local Best Buy while the holiday season is still in full swing. We reported yesterday that the retailer was offering the HTC Hero for only $99. Now we've learned that this deal didn't extend only to the Hero. Best Buy is doing a special holiday discount for all Sprint Android phones.

To be fair, that only includes two devices right now. The HTC Hero and the Samsung Moment both cost just $99 now with a 2-year contract. Since this is Best Buy we're talking about, you don't even need to worry about rebates. $99 is all you pay out of pocket. Since both phones were priced at $179, this is one hell of a deal for Sprint customers.

Posted on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:45:20 CST | by Robert Evans

The Zhu Zhu Hamster Is Already 6x Overpriced

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

The hottest holiday toy of 2009 has already reached an outrageous price point that is 6x the price Walmart sells a Zhu Zhu Hamster for, that is when they have it in stock.
The eBay listings for a single Zhu Zhu Hamster are at $50 for Buy Now offers. On Amazon, third party shops offer Zhu Zhu in the range of $42.75 to well over $50.

We are still about six weeks away from Christmas and the question is how high the prices for Pipsqueek, Mr. Squiggles, Num Nums and Chunk will go up? Should you still try to find a Zhu Zhu at Walmart or ToysRUs or buy at the current prices?
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Posted on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:20:59 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

People Want Practical Gifts This Holiday Season

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

Put away those Faberge eggs! Hide the fancy jewelry! Send the $5,000 massage chair back to the factory! The holiday season, usually a time to receive expensive, impractical luxury items, is going to be a bit different this year. In light of the recession, people are starting to ask for the things they need this year, rather than the things they want. A recent survey by Black & Decker and Zogby International showed that 70% of consumers plan to ask for necessities over luxuries this season.

Considering the crappy state of the economy, that's not hard to understand. If you're unemployed and freezing, a sweater makes a better gift than a Zune HD. The survey did show that about 17% of people wanted an even split of practical and luxurious gifts. While Black & Decker used this announcement as a way to push their ReadyWrench, cordless canister vacuum, and other practical gifts, I'm more interested in what this means for the tech industry.

Posted on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:52:09 CST | by Robert Evans

Tony Hawk: Ride Skateboard Bundle Ships Tuesday

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

The new Tony Hawk: Ride Skateboard Bundle needs no wrapping, the box containing the skateboard controller already looks pretty hot. Announced in May the new skateboard simulation game ships Tuesday, November 17th.

The Tony Hawk: Ride is a motion-sensitive board controller translating your body motions into the game. No buttons, no thumbs, no analog sticks are necessary enabling a real skateboard simulation.
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Posted on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr