TiVo's sharp promo

King C. Gillette, the brains behind the razor and razor blade business model would be proud at TiVo's latest offer: The DVR maker is giving away a free factory-renewed Tivo box for customers who buy a 12-month or lifetime TiVo gift subscription. That means you have to shell out at least $149.99, the price of the one-year subscription.

The offer is good through July 17. The offer was e-mailed to some customers on Tuesday and is featured on TiVo's Web site.