Insignia

Amazon pushes Kindles for classrooms

Wednesday's CNET Update is syncing your reading assignment:

Amazon has launched a way for teachers to easily push out reading assignments through a Kindle. Today's tech news roundup looks at Whispercast, which allows organizations to manage books and documents synced to a group of Kindle accounts. Everyone the group doesn't need to own a Kindle, but they do need a device with a Kindle app. Classrooms can also order Kindles with custom profiles that block Web browsing or disable purchasing.

In other news, Best Buy is joining retailers like Barnes & Noble and Toys "R" … Read more

Best Buy's Insignia Flex tablet to get mid-$200 price tag

Best Buy has priced a homegrown Android tablet to take on offerings from Apple and Samsung.

The Insignia Flex, which the electronics retail giant revealed on Facebook last week, will sell for between $239 and $259 when it hits the market on November 11, according to a Reuters report. The tablet will feature a 9.7-inch screen and be powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The tablet will be available only from Best Buy, but the page didn't reveal any additional details regarding memory, storage, screen type, or wireless configurations. CNET has … Read more

Insignia Connected TV review: TiVo-based smart LED

Is the time of TiVo behind us? It's been 10 years since Sarah Jessica Parker gushed about the device on daytime TV. Best Buy's Insignia Connected TV would like to suggest otherwise as it licenses the TiVo interface, if not the functionality. The Insignia Connected TV E859A11 offers a decent array of on-demand services, but picture quality takes a back seat to out-and-out features.

Read the full review of the Insignia Connected TV series.

Buzz Out Loud 1521: Internet Explorer IS for dummies (Podcast)

On today's show, the sad news that even those of you who are grandfathered in to AT&T's unlimited plans will be subject to throttling. sorry. Also, Adobe tries to future-proof itself with a new HTML5 Web animation tool, the darknet is not your mom's social network, and RIM doesn't make pizzas.

Adobe shows off Edge HTML5 tool

Vimeo launches a new Pro service for $199 a year that offers a large amount of video storage and streams, Logitech drops the price of its Google TV-powered Revue to $99, and Adobe releases a preview of a new HTML5 design tool called Edge.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

It lives: TiVo-powered Best Buy Insignia HDTV coming soon

It appears a Best Buy Insignia-connected HDTV blessed with TiVo's HD interface may actually be available by the end of July.

The relationship between the retailer and DVR manufacturer started more than two years ago. Then there was an announcement last year that development had started to integrate TiVo's software and services into broadband-connected Insignia TVs. And now it looks like there's an actual product.

Arriving July 31, the new Insignia cTVs (presumably "c" is for connected) will be available in two sizes--32 and 42 inches--and have built-in Wi-Fi for accessing broadband content from Netflix, … Read more

Insignia NS-HD01: HD Radio to go

HD Radio sounds better than satellite, Internet, or analog AM and FM radio. Have you heard it yet? Chances are a few of your local AM or FM stations broadcast HD Radio signals, but they probably don't mention that fact on the air. To find out if your local stations are HD, check with iBiquity Digital, the company that licenses the technology. HD Radio--unlike digital satellite radio--has no subscription fee.

The Insignia NS-HD01 ($50) portable HD Radio's sound quality is a big step up from most mini radios, and it's the least expensive way to listen to … Read more

Insignia gives portable HD radio second chance

Last year, Best Buy's Insignia brand made a minor splash by introducing the first portable HD radio player, priced to fly out the door at $49.

For the second-generation of the player (NS-HD02), Insignia is giving its HD radio the Nano treatment by switching to a 2.5-by-3-inch capacitive touch-screen interface and introducing a Live Pause feature that can cache up to 15 minutes of a live broadcast. The NS-HD02 will also serve up "Artist Experience" content, available in 10 to 20 markets, allowing album art and artist photos to be transmitted along with audio and ID … Read more

Tech for Less has the Insignia NS-CNV10 GPS Receiver for $60.15, after $239.84 savings.

Save $239.84 on the Insignia NS-CNV10 GPS Receiver from Tech for Less >> Regular price is $299.99 >> Sale price is $60.15 >> Savings $239.84 (79.95%) >> Click here for deal

Attack of the giant Chumby

Available on Best Buy's Insignia label, the Infocast ($169) is a surprisingly unique product based around the same Chumby apps platform as the Sony Dash and Chumby One. It works as a photo frame, video player, news reader, game console, Internet radio, alarm clock, and weather forecaster, along with hundreds of extra features provided through free, Flash-based apps.

Best of all, unlike any previous Chumby spin-offs, the Infocast uses an extra-large screen that measures 8 inches diagonally, putting it in league with digital photo frames.

Do you need one? Well... no. As with all of these Chumby-based products, the … Read more