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Google Catalogs looks great, performs poorly

The Google Catalogs app for Android Honeycomb tablets aggregates shopping catalogs from over 100 popular retailers. It lets you search and mark items as favorites, gives you links to make purchases directly from retailers' sites, and even lets you create and share visually stunning collages made up of your favorite products. However, as great as the app sounds on paper, it unfortunately suffers from some annoying performance issues that just can't be ignored.

The interface of the Google Catalogs app is beautiful. It's easy to navigate, features high-resolution graphics, and flips through pages quite smoothly. Items on catalog … Read more

Would you please pass the funding?

Just when it seems that the romantic era of garage-based startups is over, along comes San Francisco, Calif.-based Frugalo, a startup keeping the dream of having a home-based company alive.

"We are sitting in the dining room right now, drinking tea and eating toast," said Frugalo founder Michael Cieri, who sits across from the other founder, Scott Reynolds. They are working to get today's product launch up and running. A whiteboard with launch steps looms on the wall over their heads.

"We're going down the whiteboard to-do list and crossing things off," Cieri … Read more

How to get notified when prices drop on Amazon

Say you're shopping for a gift or for an addition to your kitchen gadget collection, but you need to stick to a firm budget. You can scour deals sites, compare prices, and hope for the best--or you can install the great Chrome extension That Is Worth.

For now, it only works with Amazon.com, Direct2Drive, and Steam, but it lets you set a price for any product and then receive notifications when the price falls to your acceptable level. Here's how to use it:

Install That Is Worth from the Chrome Web Store. The extension automatically opens its … Read more

Cell-phone tracking mall operator has second thoughts

It seems that the Cleveland mall operator who last week declared it was tracking mall shoppers in California and Virginia via their cell phones has had a change of, perhaps, heart.

CNN reports that Forest City Commercial Management might have been encouraged to change its mind, heart, and attitude by a phone call from the office of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).

The phone call might have directly relayed the substance of a press conference the senator gave on Sunday.

In it, he suggested that perhaps a more polite way to go about these things was to ask shoppers if they'… Read more

Cyber Monday steal: Ebates offers double the cash back

If you shop online a lot, you need to know about Ebates. And FatWallet Cash Back. And RewardsRunner.com. These and other sites give you back cold, hard cash on your purchases--kind of like a Discover card on steroids.

Take Ebates (that's my referral link, FYI). In honor of Cyber Monday, the service is offering double cash back from 500 stores.

Update: This deal is long since over, of course, but I still think Ebates and other cash-back sites are great for saving money on almost everything you buy online.

And in some cases, more than double. When you … Read more

Black Friday online shopping leaps 26 percent

It appears online retailers will have more to be jolly about this holiday shopping season.

Consumers in the U.S. spent $816 million online on Black Friday, a 26 percent increase over 2010's Black Friday, according to ComScore data released today. The results buttress numbers released Saturday by IBM Coremetrics that showed online sales on Black Friday grew by 24.3 percent compared with the same period last year.

Some 50 million visited online retail sites Friday, a 35 percent increase over last year, ComScore reported. Excluding auction sites such as eBay, the most visited retail site was Amazon, … Read more

How to shop safely online

Savvy online shoppers know they can get great deals on their holiday items without having to brave the Black Friday crowds.

Cyber Monday will be packed with discounted products from many tech companies and shopping sites, giving online customers an opportunity to save big while skipping the Black Friday chaos.

But before you let your keyboard do the shopping this season, peruse these tips for safe online shopping.

Here's the condensed version:

Vet the site you're buying from before you make your purchase Record the details of the item and delivery terms to ensure you get what you … Read more

E-shoppers go mobile on Thanksgiving, Black Friday

Apple's iPhone and iPad helped make mobile devices a key driver of Thanksgiving and Black Friday e-commerce this year, according to a report from IBM Coremetrics.

Online Thanksgiving shopping grew by 39.3 percent year over year, creating momentum that continued into Black Friday, where online sales grew by 24.3 percent compared with the same period last year, said the report (PDF).

And Black Friday witnessed the arrival of the mobile deal seeker, who embraced his or her mobile device as a research tool for in-store and online bargains. Mobile traffic came close to tripling year over year, … Read more

Black Friday alerts: Online scams abound, malls track you via cell

In addition to the usual online scams designed to defraud shoppers during the holiday season, several malls will be tracking people via their cell phones.

Beginning on Black Friday, Promenade Temecula, south of Los Angeles, and Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, Va., will be monitoring signals from shoppers' cell phones, CNN reports.

Mall officials say they want to be able to see traffic patterns in the various stores. No personal data will be collected and the information will remain anonymous, they said. Shoppers are given notice by small signs around the malls.

"We won't be looking at … Read more