Crave

Soon you will be able to pick up T-Mobile phones, such as the MyTouch 3G, at RadioShack stores nationwide.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

On Thursday, T-Mobile announced a retail agreement with RadioShack to offer its phones (including the new MyTouch 3G) and services in 4,000 RadioShack stores nationwide, starting later this summer.

"Through our milestone partnership with RadioShack, T-Mobile's presence in national retail stores expands nearly twofold, giving millions more people the opportunity to readily access our products and take advantage of the tremendous value T-Mobile provides its customers," said Doug Chartier, senior vice president of sales at T-Mobile USA.

Prior to the deal, RadioShack offered only a selection of the carrier's products online. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the partnership makes RadioShack T-Mobile's largest national retail partner.

Going to a retail store for consumer electronics purchases can be both exciting and frustrating. After working at Best Buy for two years, I have a few opinions to share that you might want to consider before your next shopping trip.

1. We have no formal training in the field of consumer electronics.
Upon transferring to the computer department from home theater, I expressed concern to the manager: "Will there be time for someone to train me on laptops/desktops? What do these specifications mean?" His reply was simple: "Just do your best. A good salesperson can just read the labels and compare specs." Ouch.

Salespeople are not necessarily experts in the products sold in their departments, even if they are expert salespeople. Though many express a strong interest in the products they sell, your time spent at a retail store fishing for information about a future TV purchase could be better spent online researching the products yourself (I heard CNET has pretty great reviews).

"You need those HDMI cables, you know you do."

(Credit: Amazon)

2. We make little off the big-ticket items, so we smother you with accessories.
Remember the story "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"? Well, if you tell a salesman you're going to buy a TV, he's going to want to sell you a DVD player to go with it. Once he sells you the DVD player, he's going to want to get you to buy an HDMI cable, too.

Managers at Best Buy (and possibly all retailers) tell employees that the store profits surprisingly little from video game consoles and computers. Cables, accessories, mice, and other components, however, have a huge profit margin-- stores can make about $120 from a $150 Monster HDMI cable. Angry yet? The point is, we're going to work really hard to convince you to purchase that big item, but once you've said "OK" you've opened Pandora's Box.

Here's my advice: Grab the big item, and run. Purchase all accessories online, including memory cards, cables, traveling cases, and so on. Amazon, Monoprice, and Newegg are all reputable discount Web sites. You'll find what you need at a much lower price.

(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET)

Sprint Nextel and Palm announced on Tuesday an official release date and pricing for the Palm Pre.

The Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract on Sprint's Everything Data plan or Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plan. In addition to Sprint stores, the Pre will be sold online and at Best Buy, RadioShack, and some Wal-Mart Stores.

Accessories for Palm's Web OS-based smartphone will also be available June 6, including the Touchstone Charging Kit (Touchstone dock and Touchstone back cover), which will retail for $69.99. Alternatively, you can buy the dock and back cover separately for $49.99 and $19.99, respectively. (A regular charger will be included in the sales package.) The Pre will provide access to such Sprint content as Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, and Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile Live.

Interestingly, the release date is a Saturday, which in some ways is a good move since it allows for weekend sales. Making the Pre available at other retailers is also a nice move. However, June 6 is two days before the start of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, where we'll most likely see a new iPhone announcement. Currently, the 8GB iPhone 3G goes for $199 with a two-year contract and AT&T offers a range of voice and text messaging plans on top of the required $30 a month data plan. You can check out our comparison chart here.

That said, I'm curious: will you wait to hear about the new iPhone before making a purchase? What do you think about the Pre's pricing? Are you like me and just happy to finally know the price and release date? Please share your thoughts.

Mmmm. Magnolia cupcakes.

(Credit: Wilson Tang/CNET)

Today we get a very pleasant--yet fattening--surprise! A special fan of The 404 sent us some amazing cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery here in Manhattan. Fortunately for you, the sugar rush was captured on tape, so now you can listen to what it sounds like when you eat dessert for breakfast.

Kenley is back on the first half of the show, and we discuss the reasons why a Radio Shack employee might want to punch a customer square in the face. We've all been in situations before where this is probably warranted, so we side with the disgruntled man in red.

Next, we chat about a story Justin posted the other day that involves a clearly delusional man who thinks he's a fictional superhero. He's already hurt himself once trying to save a woman, so we think maybe our masked friend needs a new hobby.

Everyone enjoy the weekend and make sure to call us up and leave a voice mail @ 866-404-CNET or e-mail us the404 [at] cnet [dot] com!

EPISODE 333

(Credit: Alcor Films)

It got ugly in Eau Claire the other day. That's Eau Claire, Wis., where a Radio Shack employee is facing disorderly conduct and battery charges for allegedly punching a customer.

What happened? Well, according to the AP wire report, a customer was trying to return an item Sunday. But the employee said no. The customer then requested to speak to a manager. "That's when the 52-year-old male employee began punching the man," the AP says. A "bystander" then called 911.

I don't know what the guy's defense will be when he heads to court on May 19, but it's too bad "preemptive strike" won't fly because let's face it, who hasn't walked into Radio Shack--or some other electronics store--and thought it might come to blows? I've had some rough experiences as a customer, but I've also watched customer service reps trying to deal with really obnoxious, unsavory characters. So I'm not passing judgment either way here.

Question: Anybody have or witness a particularly ugly customer service experience in an electronics store--as an employee or customer? Let's hear about it.

If you've got old (working) gadgets to spare, Radio Shack will take them back for store credit.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

Starting this week, Radio Shack will pay you to bring back your old, unwanted electronics to its stores.

The retailer has launched a new in-store trade-in program that it's describing as a way to instantly upgrade to the latest technology.

It works like this: Bring in working phones, cameras, MP3 players, game consoles, video games, or GPS receivers to a store and an employee will appraise the product's value and offer a Radio Shack gift card for that amount. The gift card can be used right away, but proper ID and a current address will be taken to ensure that the person trading in the items is the actual owner.

While stores will not take large items like high-definition televisions, monitors, and notebook PCs, RadioShack.com will.

A Radio Shack representative adds this tip: Bringing in chargers, manuals, and other accessories that originally came with the device being traded in can enhance the appraisal value.

The trade-in program is handled by a third-party company, CExchange, which says that the old electronics it takes are refurbished and resold. The refurbished items are not resold through Radio Shack, according to a representative for the retailer.

The in-store program is an extension of the online trade-in program that Radio Shack has offered since October 2008.

(Credit: Boy Genius Report)

According to this leaked ad posted on Boy Genius Report, Radio Shack is poised to offer an Acer 8.9-inch Netbook for only $99 for people who sign up for a two-year mobile broadband contract through AT&T.

This type of subsidized Netbook is hardly surprising--in September, Dell CEO Michael Dell predicted we'd see them--but the fact that Radio Shack appears to be the first major retailer to bring it to the public is.

The tiny notebook features Intel's Atom processor, a 160GB internal hard drive, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, and of course, built-in AT&T 3G that can be accessed anywhere AT&T offers coverage, all in a 2.2-pound package. The ad shows that the computer will be for sale at Radio Shack starting this Sunday.

While we like the rise of Netbooks in general as a way to truly democratize the Web, this deal isn't for everyone. Two years at $60 or more a month is quite a commitment, but for single people who are often on the go this makes more sense than home DSL or even a cable modem. (Though the data rates aren't comparable, the prices are, and the portable factor will outweigh the speed difference for some.)

Look for more deals like this in the near future, especially at 3G carriers' retail presences.

Sanyo S1

(Credit: Sanyo S1)

Despite the impending sale of Sanyo's cell phone division to Kyocera, handset sales are still trucking along according to schedule. The Sanyo S1, for example, is a slim candy bar phone for Sprint that is available now via RadioShack. It seems to be a pretty simple device, with Bluetooth, a speakerphone, and access to Sprint's Vision services. RadioShack is getting a tremendous head start here, as the Sanyo S1 won't even go on sale via Sprint until January of next year. By then, the phone might be renamed the Kyocera S1, for all we know. Stay tuned for any pricing details.

[via PhoneScoop]