retailers

Despite ongoing problems in the company as a whole, Sony's electronics division is looking on the bright side when it comes to the all-important winter retail season.

Looking ahead to the holidays, Sony Electronics' Executive Vice President Mike Fasulo said Tuesday at a small media gathering in San Francisco that the gadget maker is hopeful about better sales this year than last.

"I'm cautiously optimistic about (holiday retail sales). Though I'm cautious about saying I'm cautiously optimistic," he said. Among retailers that sell Sony products, there's also "some notion this will be a better holiday than the previous year."

Sales of consumer electronics sunk 26 percent in the 2008 holiday season, according to one survey.

Fasulo's remarks came on a day filled with announcements from Sony, both on the electronics side, and the video game division, Sony Computer Entertainment America. Although it's only August, the company, like many in its industry, is already gearing up to introduce the products it hopes shoppers will snap up before they head back to school, as well as for holiday gifts.

Sony Electronics introduced a new line of home audio equipment Tuesday, called Altus, that it developed in partnership with Best Buy, though other retailers will eventually offer it too. Altus receivers, speakers, and iPod docks are aimed at a less tech-savvy audience, with minimal setup required. … Read more

What would Google look like if you took it offline and forced it to set up in physical space?

Google's tens of thousands of commodity Linux servers would need to be scattered around the globe so as to collect and then aggregate consumer interest. A lot like Path Intelligence, in other words.

Tim O'Reilly invested in Path Intelligence back in 2007. After lunching with Path Intelligence CEO Toby Oliver Friday in London, I can see why. The idea is to set up receivers in shopping malls and other retail areas to collect mobile data and analyze consumer behavior … Read more

In our current roundup of retail-specific laptops, we've divided our 30-plus systems into four different price categories, from sub-$500 entry level models to high-end ones that cost more than $1,000.

In the "mainstream" category, covering laptops between $700 and $999, we found a wide variety of systems, from the 12-inch touch screen HP tx2 to the 15-inch Core Solo Asus UX50V. Our overall favorite, was the Toshiba E105, which married solid components and performance with worthy features, such as a backlit keyboard, 500GB hard drive, and longer-than-average warranty.

One important notes -- on this particular page we're *only* talking about a handful of retail-specific models that cost between $700 and $999. For a roundup of retail laptops in all price ranges, check here.

Check out details of each system below:… Read more

This week's review of the Gateway NV5807u and an in-progress review of a higher-end configuration in the Dell Inspiron 15 line raised an interesting question: is it better to configure your laptop yourself online, or buy a premade, all-in-one, retail package?

With Netbook purchases, these decisions are rarely made. The internal specs of Windows XP-running Netbooks have already been locked at the same set for months, and consumer decisions instead run to considerations like design and screen/keyboard size.

With laptops, especially the midrange, it's a totally different story. Our review of the Gateway NV5807u is up, and … Read more

In our current roundup of retail-specific laptops, we've divided our 30-plus systems into four different price categories, from sub-$500 entry level models to high-end ones that cost more than $1,000.

In that budget level category, covering laptops between $500 and $699, we we found systems that in many cases offered only modest improvements from their slightly less expensive entry-level cousins, leading us to crown Toshiba's Satellite A505-S6960the winner, as it the offered a true Intel Core 2 Duo CPU (instead of a slower "Intel Dual-Core" model), along with a big 320GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM.

Two important notes -- on this particular page we're *only* talking about a handful of retail-specific models that cost between $500 and $699. For a roundup of retail laptops in all price ranges, check here; for our latest MacBook reviews, check here.

Check out details of each system below:… Read more

Microsoft plans to open two of its first retail locations in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mission Viejo, Calif., CNET News has learned.

The software maker confirmed on Tuesday that it has signed leases in both spots as part of an effort to launch its first retail outlets this fall.

"Over a billion people use our products every day yet we don't always have a way to directly connect with them," said Microsoft spokeswoman Kim Stocks. "We see the physical stores, as well as a consistent online experience, helping that."

The Orange County, Calif., store is in … Read more

Microsoft confirmed late on Friday that store plans posted on Gizmodo are genuine, but represent the company's early thinking and that no final decisions have been made on how the company's retail stores will look when the first ones open this fall.

The designs, which include a giant video wall, Surface computers, and an "answer bar" were leaked to the gadget site, which wrote about them earlier Friday.

"As a part of our process in briefing creative agencies, we shared some early prototypes and concepts of our retail store plans," a Microsoft representative said … Read more

Microsoft's retail plans are getting a big boost as the company confirmed to TechFlash that it has hired a former Apple retail executive to help with its store openings.

George Blankenship, a Gap executive before joining Apple, was in charge of finding the prime locations that Apple picks for its retail stores. His work with Apple goes back to the start of the decade when Apple kicked off its retail endeavor.

Blankenship is working for Microsoft as a consultant, not as an employee, according to a report on TechFlash.

Whatever his role, Blankenship will be an important addition to … Read more

In this tough economy, forearmed is better than forewarned.

At least that seems to be the view of Mark Muller, owner of Max Motors in Clay County, Mo. Because, in August, he is offering a free AK-47 with every vehicle sold.

You might think this promotion a little on the eccentric side. However, Muller is no lily-livered Collapsenikov.

He believes in standing up for one's right to defend oneself. Indeed, he has a motto for his dealership that expresses his feelings very clearly: "God, Guns, Guts and American Pick-up Trucks."

You might wonder how on earth he … Read more