$299

The rumored expansion of iPad models this year may reduce the price of entry for owning an Apple tablet, if a new report is to be believed.

Despite having its report on Apple planning to triple its iPad lineup this year firmly rebuffed by many onlookers, Taiwan-based tech site DigiTimes today reiterated that assessment, also claiming that the change could bring big price cuts at the low end.

In a research report issued earlier today, the site once again asserted that Apple plans to expand its lineup of iPads by adding models that serve the "high-end segment" and &… Read more

RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook lives! It is back at retailers sporting the same deep $300 discount as before.

After selling out at Best Buy last month, the retailer now has stock of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models.

As of Monday night, Best Buy was selling the 16GB model for $199.99, the 32GB for $249.99, and 64GB for $399.99.

The heftiest discount--$350--is on the 32GB model. The other two models remain at $300 off the regular price.

Take note that the PlayBook does not come with native e-mail, calendar, or contacts applications from RIM--yet (Web-based apps of … Read more

Verizon Wireless confirmed today that the Galaxy Nexus will finally hit stores tomorrow.

The Samsung device, which is the first to run on the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, will cost $299.99 with a two-year contract, the carrier said in an e-mailed statement.

The phone has been eagerly anticipated since its unveiling in Hong Kong in October, and is designed to be a showcase for Ice Cream Sandwich, which includes a number of new features and combines the tablet and smartphone interfaces into a common experience.

It's also the latest Verizon device to run on its 4G … Read more

The HTC Flyer is the latest tablet to see its price kicked down a couple hundred bucks, as the market adjusts to the impact of the $99 HP TouchPad fire sale and a just-announced $199 Amazon Kindle Fire.

HTC's 7-inch Flyer fell from its pricey $499.99 heights at Best Buy to $299.99 on Friday.

It comes with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system, a 1,024-by-600-pixel 7-inch color touch screen, front and rear cameras, 16GB of storage, 1GB RAM, Wi-Fi, a microSDHC card slot, and a single-core Qualcomm processor.

If the truth be told, the HTC … Read more

Text-to-speech software is helpful for presenting text to anyone who is visually impaired. It's also helpful for anyone who needs extra editing help and doesn't have an extra set of eyes. As its name suggests, Text to Wav offers a way to convert written text into sound files, but thanks to a vague interface and lack of help, we're reluctant to recommend it.

The program's user interface is pretty bland, with most of the controls crammed into the left corner of the toolbar. There are a few self-explanatory buttons for adjusting your text size and font. … Read more

In the wake of the PS3 Slim price-cut landslide of news, one small wound still lingers, and has now gotten worse: the PSP Go is still $249.

Now that the PS3 Slim is $299, and the Xbox 360 Elite is well on its way to the same price, the ceiling for console gaming is finally coming down. This isn't a surprise; it happens every gaming generation. But, considering the components of multipurpose systems like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, this generation of consoles has hovered at higher prices than consoles of the past. Now, however, all three home consoles are within $50 of each other. The next sensible step would be for the Wii to take a price cut as well, and it most likely will happen this holiday season in some form (be it a real cut or a new bundle with Wii MotionPlus and Wii Sports Resort, for instance).

However, while consoles have been seeing price drops, handheld game systems have been seeing an odd recent trend--price increases. The PSP Go, which was seen as Sony's handheld comeback, actually costs more than a regular PSP, despite having fewer features. At $250, it's not just the cost of the original PSP; it's also only 50 dollars less than a PS3. The Nintendo DS Lite, which costs $129, received a revamp in the form of the improved camera-equipped DSi, which can also download more affordable games...at an increased price of $170.

Handheld game systems aren't just taking hits in terms of system costs, either. While DS cartridges and UMDs at $19.99 and $29.99 a pop once seemed like affordable alternatives to 50- and 60-dollar console boxed games, downloadable games on PSN, Xbox Live Arcade, and WiiWare are routinely being released for $15 and less.

As our own Jeff Bakalar reflected, handheld game systems are dinosaurs, in a sense. They hearken back to a time in the early '90s when there were no smartphones or cell phones at all, no MP3 players, no portable video outside of a Sony Watchman. A handheld like the Game Boy afforded portable entertainment that nothing else could. Now, DSis and PSPs have to compete with iPhones, iPod Touches, a flurry of other handhelds, and even the occasional Zune. Many of these can also play games now, forcing Nintendo and Sony to include features like cameras, MP3 playback, and video downloads to justify the cost of purchase.

Maybe we're calling this flatline too early here at the CNET emergency room, but are dedicated handheld game consoles on their way to extinction? We hope not.… Read more

Updated coverage: Read CNET's full review of the PS3 Slim

Sony on Tuesday finally took the wraps off the much-rumored PS3 Slim and gave it the more affordable $299 price tag consumers have been clamoring for.

Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai performed the unveiling at a press conference in Cologne, Germany, preceding the opening of the Gamescom Expo. He took the stage and announced the PS3 was "getting a new model" and that, indeed, it was called the PS3 Slim.

The Slim is hitting stores September 1 in North America and Europe and will cost $299 (or for those who live in regions, 299 euros or 29,980 yen). Hirai says the device has the same features and functions as the "old" PS3 but is 33 percent smaller, 36 percent lighter, and comes with a 120GB hard drive. (See photo comparison here).

Sony says that to achieve the new form factor, the internal design architecture of the new PS3 system has been completely redesigned--"from the main semiconductors and power supply unit to the cooling mechanism."

The PS3 Slim is powered by a new 45nm version of the Cell processor, which runs at the same speed as the 60nm processor in the "old" PS3 but is smaller and more energy efficient. According to company reps, power consumption for the Slim has also been cut to two-thirds, "helping to reduce fan noise," which is important.

On the cosmetic front, this model has a textured surface finish that gives the PS3 a fresh, casual look that the company hopes will make it more appealing to a wider audience (read: casual gamers). As previously rumored, the PS3 logo has undergone a redesign and Sony's changing the PS3 brand name from "PLAYSTATION 3" to "PlayStation 3" (we've actually been calling it the PlayStation 3 for a while).

Like the 80GB and 160GB models, the 120GB PS3 Slim has built-in Wi-Fi and two USB ports (sorry, Sony didn't add IR or backwards compatibility for PS2 games). You can also upgrade/replace the hard drive without voiding the warranty, though Sony has moved the hard drive from the side of the unit to the front for "easier access." (To remove the hard drive, you simply unscrew two screws). The one feature missing from the Slim is the ability to install another operating system (i.e., Linux)--Sony is doing away with that feature. … Read more

For all those who've been waiting for the PS3 to drop in price from $399 to $299, that day apparently has finally arrived.

While Sony has yet to make an official announcement, Kmart.com features an ad on its home page that reveals a price cut and appears to announce the arrival of the new PS3 Slim.

Additionally, Kotaku has posted an image of an apparent promotional poster that a reader sent in, announcing price cuts for the 80GB PS3 ($299), as well as for the 160GB bundle ($399).

We're off to a press event at Sony headquarters … Read more

Updated at 4:30 p.m. PDT: adding Windows 7 and Celeron processor information.

There's a new $299 laptop in vogue at stores--and it's not a Netbook.

These laptops sport big screens, optical drives, plenty of memory, and reasonable graphics horsepower. In other words, this is nothing like a $299 Netbook.

And, in case you haven't noticed, they sell out quickly. The $298 Wal-Mart laptop was gone before most people could reach for their wallet and the Best Buy $299 Acer laptop vanished almost overnight once the price went viral.

Best Buy chimed in again very briefly for a few days (during the week of August 3) with a $299 Toshiba laptop sporting a 15-inch screen but then bumped the price up to $329.

But whether it's a $298, $299, $309, or $329, it's a laptop design that has landed. And it is a real competitor to the 10-inch Netbook, which costs about the same.

Here's the challenge: a lot of the Netbook's appeal is price. If retailers offer something with more robust hardware in the same price range, these tiny laptops are at risk of… Read more