This Weekend’s Amazon Unbox Sale

Posted on Saturday, August 23, 2008 by MegaZone

Not much on offer from Amazon Unbox this weekend. Nothing by way of the normal discounted rentals, but if you’re into football they have a selection of twenty NFL highlight clips available for free.

And The Summer Movie Sale is still rolling on. Purchase, not rent, any of 56 titles for $5.99 each.

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Get The DISH Network DTVPalTR-40 CRA Digital Converter Box, Free With Coupon

Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 by MegaZone

Back at CES, EchoStar announced the TR-40 ATSC digital converter with an expected MSRP of $39.99. That would make it free after the $40 government coupon. Then it appeared to be rebranded as the DISH Network DTVPal, which launched with a $59.99 MSRP.

To muddy the waters a bit more, DISH Network is now offering the TR-40 CRA for $39.99 – free with a coupon. And it looks like the TR-40 CRA is identical to the DTVPal, save for the labels. From the site’s FAQ:

What is the difference between TR-40 CRA and DTVPal?

TR-40 CRA is a special limited production version of the DTVPal. Offered at the government coupon price of $40, the TR-40 CRA includes the highly-acclaimed features and functionality of the DTVPal.

DTVPal has garnered much praise in recent months and is recommended as a “top choice” by CNET. DTVPal’s amazing features and consumer-friendly technology make it a great value at only $19.99 with a $40 government coupon.

So if you’re in need of a set-top box for the DTV transition you can get the TR-40 CRA free with a government coupon, and get the same hardware and features as the $60 DTVPal, which is $20 with the coupon.

Interestingly the NTIA list of approved set top boxes also includes the EchoStar TR-40 and a DISH Network DTVPal Plus, both of which are listed as approved, but currently unavailable. At first I thought the DTVPal Plus might be the EchoStar TR-50 ATSC DVR shown at CES, but it can’t be as having the TR-50s capabilities make it ineligible for a coupon, hence it wouldn’t be on the approved list. Curious.

Disclaimer: I work for Sling Media, which is owned by EchoStar.

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Palm Announces The Treo Pro

Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 by MegaZone

Palm Treo Pro

It has been perhaps Palm’s worst kept secret, long rumored as the ‘Treo 850′ with leaks posted on many sites, but Palm has finally officially announced the Palm Treo Pro. The Treo Pro is the latest in Palm’s Treo product line, though it looks more like a next-generation Centro than past Treo models. But while the Centro is an inexpensive entry-level smartphone running Palm OS, the Treo Pro is a high-end smartphone running Windows Mobile Professional 6.1.

The Treo Pro is fully tricked out with a 400MHz CPU, 256MB memory (100MB user accessable), 128MB RAM, 802.11B.g WiFi, 3G cellular support with HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM (tri-band UMTS, quad-bad GSM), GPS, a 320×320 touchscreen, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, microSDHC card support, a 3.5mm headphone jack (aka a standard jack, not the tiny 2.5mm jack on many phones that requires an adapter), and a 2.0 megapixel camera. And Palm has done their usual job of enhancing the WinMob interface to make it much more usable.

Since it is a GSM world phone it should work on pretty much any GSM-based carrier, such as AT&T or T-Mobile, but it won’t work on CDMA carriers like Verizon or Sprint. Palm is also touting the ability to use the Treo Pro as a high-speed cellular modem for your laptop, aka tethering, over USB or Bluetooth.

I think it is a sharp looking phone with a very clean, functional design. If I didn’t dislike WinMob so much I’d really be tempted, and with Palm’s tweaks WinMob 6.1 might even be tolerable. But I’d really love to see something like Google’s Android on that kind of hardware. Maybe there is some hope for Palm’s own ‘Palm OS II’ Linux-based OS, it might be nice on a phone like this.

If you like what you see, it’ll set you back $549 for an unlocked model. It apparently hasn’t been picked up by AT&T or T-Mobile, so it isn’t available for less with a contract at this time.

Palm posted a video “featuring three of the Treo Pro’s very proud parents — Stephane Maes (VP of product marketing), Peter Skillman (VP of design), and John Moses (VP of customer relations)” in their blog.

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Factory-Renewed TiVo Series3 Just $349.99

Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 by MegaZone

TiVo Web Specials

TiVo has updated their Web Specials and they’re now offering a factory-renewed TiVo Series3 for $349.99, considering the value of the ‘Glo’ remote, the added capacity, and the few features the S3 has over the TiVo HD, that’s not a bad value when compared to a new TiVo HD.

However, factory-renewed TiVo HD units are also Web Specials, just $179.99. I don’t think the Series3 is $170 better than a TiVo HD, nearly double the price. So, personally, if I were buying a factory-renewed TiVo, I’d probably take the TiVo HD. (You can also get a factory-renewed Series2DT for just $49.99, but I couldn’t recommend that for most users.)

However, either way, the TiVo Web Specials are good deals. You have the same 30-day return window and the same product warranty as new units. So there is little risk, and you save a good deal of money.

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TiVo Announces Stop||Watch Commercial And Program Rankings For June

Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 by MegaZone

TiVo Wednesday issued a press release announcing their Stop||Watch results for June. The results continue the pattern from past months, with the top rated spots not necessarily being run during the highest rated programs.

TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in advertising solutions and television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today unveiled the Top Commercial and Program Rankings for June 2008, as viewed by TiVo(R) service subscribers.

“June is always an unusual month in the Broadcast calendar because most programming is re-runs and summer fare,” said Todd Juenger, Vice President & General Manager, TiVo Audience Research & Measurement. “However, there are still a few big network program finales that dominate the ratings, such as the 2-hour finale of Lost, which lead the top commercials for both Total Viewership and Timeshifted Viewership. Interestingly, U.S. Open Final (golf) also placed high in Total Viewership, but is nowhere to be found on the Timeshifted Viewership, as the vast majority of viewing occurred live.”

Juenger continued, “What is particularly impressive is that every commercial in the Top 10 for Timeshifted viewing aired during the Lost season finale — in fact, the top 86 commercials for Timeshifted viewing aired during Lost. The rank order of the specific commercials continues to demonstrate the choices viewers are making about which commercials to watch. The top 5 spots in Timeshifted viewing were all for movies, with the highest spot getting a 7.7 Timeshifted rating. The lowest spot from this Lost episode got a 2.8 Timeshifted rating, approximately 64% lower than the audience of the highest rated spot.”

The full press release has table after table of result data if you’re interested.

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