bargain

Xbox 360 price drops now official

After weeks of credible rumors, Microsoft finally made it official: the Xbox 360 will be cheaper as of August 8. The new price points are as follows:

Xbox 360 Core: The cheapest 360 drops just $20, to $280. But since it still doesn't come with a hard drive--which will cost you at least $100--you're much better stepping up to the Premium version (see below).

Xbox 360 Premium: The sweet spot in the Xbox 360 lineup drops $50, to $350. If you don't need HDMI output and you're not planning on downloading a lot of videos, … Read more

Cable for Life: Are Monster's futureproof cables worth the price?

Monster Cable today announced a new upgrade program intended to guarantee forward-compatibility for the company's high-end HDMI cables. Beginning in mid-September, Monster's Home Theater Ultra 1000, M Series M1000HD and 1000HD cable lines will be emblazoned with the new "Cable for Life" logo. Monster is pledging to replace said cables, free of charge, when and if future products eventually appear that make use of higher bandwidth HDMI connections. For instance, current 1080p video streams max out at 8-bit color and 60Hz frame rate, which require about 4.46 gigabits per second of data bandwidth, but Monster is anticipating 12-bit, 120Hz 1080p video streams a few years down the road, which will require more than three times the throughput capacity. So the HDMI output on a 120Hz-capable Blu-ray player that hits the market in, say, 2010 may exceed the current bandwidth capacity of existing cables--and if you've got one of Monster's "lifers," you can swap up to a new one at that time. (Note that the "Cable for Life" guarantee is separate from the lifetime warranty found on many Monster Cables.)

To be sure, the Cables for Life guarantee sounds great--but is it worth it? … Read more

The Venus de Milo of speakerdom

Beauty doesn't always need to be expensive. Well, not the most expensive, anyway.

They may not cost $1 million, but the "Signature Diamond" speakers from U.K.-based Bowers & Wilkins doesn't skimp on materials: These limited editions are sculpted in marble and have tweeters that use diamond crystals "to deliver a cleaner, purer sound," according to BornRich.

And compared with the "Grand Enigma" they're price is a drop in the ocean at $22,000. Each, of course.

How low can DVD players go? Try $17

We have no idea how well Asda's products work, but you've got to give credit to any company that sells a DVD player for $17 (as long as it works and isn't stolen, of course). The "Durabrand 1005" will be sold in U.K. supermarkets, presumably because of its mass-market price, according to Tech Digest. With a name like that, it might be mistakenly stocked in the hardware aisle. And how can it possibly be so cheap? Three words: Made in China.