(Credit: Outsanity Photos/Flickr)

Jeff is taking the week off to get a head start on Thanksgiving, so Wilson and I invite Mark to help us out on today's episode of The 404 Podcast. After spending a couple days out of the office last week, it feels great to get back in front of the mic. It's no fun being home with the flu, but it did give me an opportunity to check out Twilight. No, not The Twilight Saga: New Moon, I meant the first one, which I never bothered to watch in theaters. I'm glad I didn't spend $12 to watch it, too! Get all the details plus a sneak peek at the new movie in theaters now. Wilson also checked out Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey's new movie, "Precious." The movie also features Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique, who's up for an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Precious' abusive mother.

(Credit: Hulu)

The first story of the day is about the much-publicized-but-never-materialized Hulu iPhone App. The self-proclaimed "bada**" portable player was first announced in April '09, successfully drumming up hype for a product that never actually came out. Wilson and Mark speculate that it could be because Hulu is preparing to launch a paid version of the streaming video site, which could potentially be holding up development of the iPhone version, which leads us to pose the question: How much would YOU be willing to pay for a monthly Hulu subscription on your iPhone? Do you frequently watch video on your smartphone, and if so, how much does it eat up your battery life? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Mark and Wilson know a thing or two about Black Friday after heading out to Best Buy every year to video tape the anxious shoppers waiting in line, but this year is a different story. While those two are fast asleep in their beds, others will be pushing, fighting, and kicking to get the best deals at their local big box retailers. But as Chris Matyszczyk tells us, some of the deals might not be awesome as they seem. Watch out for deceptively low product quantities that give zero hope for anyone NOT third in line, as well as "derivatives," aka products that are advertised as brand name but are actually "inferior models." If you're planning on waiting in line, be sure to listen to this segment for helpful tips on how and where to shop for the best deals this Black Friday.

We're only recording three shows this week, but be sure to tune in LIVE tomorrow and Wednesday for a few surprise guests and more turkey talk!

There's certainly no shortage of coverage about Black Friday tech sales, and savvy shoppers have no doubt already scoped out their favorite deals from the leaked ad scans and early deals posted on sites such as BFads.net.

We've scanned some of the ads and picked several potentially promising Black Friday deals, including limited-time special offers, in order to give you some context on what constitutes a good doorbuster deal, and what's just a bust.

Note that many of the prices cited below are only available during the early hours of Friday morning.

Sony NW235, $399, Best Buy
Intel Pentium Dual Core; 4GB RAM; 320GB hard drive; 15-inch screen
Unlike some of the cheapest Celeron laptops out there, we find models such as this, with an Intel dual-core CPU, to fit the basic definition of usability. Best Buy is offering this as a Friday doorbuster, with a minimum of 10 per store (ticket required). We've typically seen similar systems for around $500.

HP G60-507DX, $197, Best Buy
Intel Celeron; 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 15-inch screen
A full-size laptop for under $200 may seem tempting, but we suggest you avoid any Celeron-powered systems. The nearly Netbook-level performance will definitely disappoint in a15-inch laptop. This is also a limited-quantity doorbuster, and would normally sell for around $350-$400.

eMachines eME627, $198, Walmart
AMD Athlon 64; 2GB RAM; 160GB hard drive; 15-inch screen
As Acer/Gateway's nearly forgotten entry-level brand, you don't hear a lot about eMachines these days. This deal is available 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Black Friday, but we're still adamant that your expectations must be kept pretty low.

HP G71-329wm, $398, Walmart
Intel Celeron; 4GB RAM; 320GB hard drive; 17-inch screen
Update: Walmart is now listing this system as having an Intel Celeron processor, making it less of a good deal than we originally thought. It's still inexpensive for a 17-inch laptop, but not something we'd go out of our way for.

HP Pavilion (model unknown); $379, OfficeMax
AMD Sempron; 3GB RAM; 160GB hard drive; 15-inch screen
Remember how we said you should avoid a Celeron-powered midsize laptop? Same goes for AMD's Sempron processor. We've seen similar systems for around $399, so it's not even much of a bargain.

Delstar DS700, $119, K-Mart
CPU unknown; 128MB RAM; 2GB SSD; 7-inch screen
It's like the first prototype Netbook ever made crawled out of the primordial swamps and stuck a "for sale" sticker on itself. Hopefully we don't have to tell you to avoid this Windows CE system, with components more typical for a mobile phone, even if it is being offered for $120 (down from the usual $150) as a Black Friday doorbuster.

Toshiba Satellite L505-S5984, $399, Best Buy
Intel Core 2 Duo T6500; 3GB RAM; 250GB hard drive; 15-inch screen
A real Intel Core 2 Duo CPU for the price of an HP Mini 311 Netbook. Considering it's only $50 more than the non-Black-Friday price of a typical Celeron-powered Toshiba, this is a decent mainstream deal.

In a troubled economy, companies and consumers are looking for any advantage they can get. So it is that Best Buy is jumping the gun by as much as nine days on Black Friday, announcing that, starting immediately, shoppers can get Black Friday bargain pricing on select products.

The electronics retailer says that the come-hither pricing will be offered on "certain models of flat panel televisions." It will also feature reduced pricing on some home-theater products. The deals are available in-store and online.

"Best Buy is committed to continuing to offer a superior shopping experience this holiday season," Best Buy's vice president of home theater said in a statement. "Customers can be confident that they are getting some of the best prices in the industry, as well as the convenience of being able to shop when and where they want either in store or online."

Unfortunately, the selection of products that Best Buy will be offering at a discounted price isn't all that deep. A handful of Dynex-branded HDTVs will have a lower price starting on Thursday. The company will have Black Friday pricing on some Samsung HDTV models starting on Sunday. Best Buy didn't provide much more information on the models or the products that will be reduced in price ahead of the Friday after Thanksgiving, historically a huge day for shopping--and bargains.

Regardless, it's an interesting strategy on Best Buy's part. As a company that doesn't have a major direct tech competitor in the big-box space, it's in an enviable position. But the reduced pricing might be a response to expected deals from online sites, such as Amazon.com, that consistently beat Best Buy on pricing. Either way, Best Buy didn't say why it has decided to reduce prices on the early side.

But we can still guess. So what do you think? Why has Best Buy decided to reduce pricing so soon? Are the deals likely to make you start shopping sooner? Let us know in the comments below.

See also: Be prepared for Black Friday tech deals

Best Buy is set to launch its lowest-advertised-price laptop to date--an Acer model based on Intel's venerable Celeron chip.

Acer laptop

(Credit: Best Buy)

Thought Netbooks were as low as a laptop's price can go? Another category of ultra-low-cost laptops has quietly emerged. These aren't small or ultra-thin or frugal with power consumption. There's nothing remarkable about these laptops--except price.

Best Buy said it will start selling on Wednesday the $249 Acer laptop--the retailer's lowest-advertised-price laptop ever. The laptop comes with an Intel Celeron processor, 15.4-inch screen, 2GB memory, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Premium. The model is available while supplies last.

Currently, the lowest-priced laptop listed on Best Buy's Web site is an Acer Aspire with an Advanced Micro Devices Athlon Processor (model: AS5532-553). On Tuesday, it was selling for $329.

Why the proliferation of low-cost laptops? "It's gone from one PC per household to one PC per person," said Justin Barber, a Best Buy spokesman. "And sometimes more than one laptop per person," he said, referring to Netbooks, which are marketed as companion devices to a higher-end PC.

At the core of the low-cost Acer laptop is an Intel Celeron Processor 900--not an Intel Atom chip, which is standard fare for sub-$300 Netbooks. The Celeron is a faster design than Atom: the 900 series packs 1MB cache of cache memory and is rated at 2.20GHz.

By comparison, the Z550 Atom is rated at 2.0GHz and integrates only 512K of cache. The Atom's performance is also hampered by fundamental design constraints: it is built for power efficiency not speed.

Netbooks continue to be the most popular low-cost laptop category, however. Best Buy lists dozens of Netbooks on its Web site from Hewlett-Packard, Asus, Samsung, Gateway, Nokia, Lenovo, and Toshiba, among others. Most are priced around $350.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

On Wednesday, Verizon Wireless officially announced that its first Google Android device, the Motorola Droid, would hit streets on November 6 with a price tag of $199.99. Of course, to get that price, you need to sign up for a two-year contract and deal with a $100 mail-in rebate; however Best Buy Mobile is making things just a bit easier for customers.

According to the consumer electronics retailer on Thursday, it is now taking preorders for the Droid and will not require a mail-in rebate. An instant rebate will be applied at the point of purchase, so you'll pay $199.99 upfront (taxes excluded, obviously) and not $299.99 like you would at Verizon. Sounds like a pretty good deal to us. Who's in?

(Via Engadget Mobile)

Wal-Mart is preparing to offer in-home tech support to its customers, according to Reuters.

The retail giant will partner with product-support firm N.E.W. Customer Service Companies, the report said. By the holiday-shopping season, all U.S. Wal-Mart stores plan to offer customers the opportunity to use N.E.W.'s service in their homes. Reuters said the service already kicked off this month in specified locations.

Wal-Mart will give shoppers the option of buying service plans "on a prepaid card, ranging from $99 to $339," Reuters said. The service plans will provide "basic television installation on the low end" to more advanced services like home-network or home-theater installation. Reuters said the plans include a "preliminary consultation and a tutorial after installation is completed."

The decision to bring on a Geek Squad-like service seems to underlie Wal-Mart's desire to become a major player in the electronics business. It may also solidify its position as Best Buy's most dangerous brick-and-mortar competitor since the death of Circuit City and its FireDog in-home service.

(Credit: CNET)

If the $50 price drop on the Nintendo Wii was enough to make you pull the trigger, we definitely recommend checking out a few accessories for the console. Sure, not all of them are necessary, but we think most of them will improve your overall experience with the Wii.

(Credit: Nyko)

The first pair of accessories you'll probably want to invest in is another Wii remote ($35) and nunchuk ($20) attachment. The Wii only ships with one set and if you plan on playing with more than one person, you're going to need these. While the nunchuk doesn't require batteries, the remotes do. Replacing their AA batteries can become expensive so we highly recommend picking up one of our favorite chargers, the Nyko Charge Station (in either two- or four-capacity models).

While the Wii can be hooked up to your television right out of the box, we definitely think you should consider upgrading the AV wires that ship with the console, especially if you have an HDTV. The Nintendo Wii Component Cable ($30) will give you a better picture and allow for 480p output.

Now that we've taken care of the basics, it's time to look at a few nonessential items for the Wii. While you don't need any plastic attachments for the system, the Wii Zapper ($20) is the cheapest plastic add-on around and it comes with a great shooting game (Link's Crossbow Training) to practice with.

(Credit: CNET)

Nintendo recently introduced Wii MotionPlus ($20), a small device that attaches to the bottom of a Wii remote and improves overall accuracy and performance of motion control. While there aren't many games that take advantage of it, there are some that do require it (Wii Sports Resort, Red Steel 2). Don't forget, you'll need one unit for each Wii remote control you have.

Finally, if you're serious about retro gaming, you may want to consider purchasing the Nyko Wing Wireless Classic Controller($30). The Wii gives you access to a huge library of old school games via the Virtual Console and the Wing controller is the best way to play these older games. The included Wii remote will only work with some of the games, but the Wing's compatibility runs across the board.

For an easy to read, side-by-side breakdown of these accessories, check our must-have Nintendo Wii accessory roundup.

(Credit: Blake Stevenson)

Now that I've moved into a new mouseless apartment, I can finally settle down and live the dream of digital cable television. First things first, though: I need a new TV. Since it's been eights years since I've even considered buying a new box, needless to say I need all the help I can get. Luckily I've got Jeff, Wilson, and CNET's HDTV World to help me decide on a size, resolution, and brand! Feel free to send me your shopping advice or hot deals at the404(at)cnet(dot)com or @the404 on Twitter.

Everyone's talking about the latest gossip: Attack of the Show stole our show motto! In light of this controversy, our buddy Blake Stevenson drafted the amazing fight announcement poster you see to the left.

With so many awesome fans like Blake on our side, we're sure to win this Battle for the Brow. And if you think that Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn can even occupy the same air as our low brow-itude, you're on the wrong side of the ring. D-Topping, pearl necklaces, bean bag chairs, buzz-outlouding!? We DARE Attack of the Show to step to us and find out what happens when you mess with the Nerdy Dirty (please don't steal that one).

Click thumbnail for larger image.

(Credit: Brian from Pittsburgh)

Jeff brings a great first story to the table about Best Buy's Geek Squad charging $130 to set up a PlayStation 3! This story is so ridiculous that it actually prompts Jeff to bring back the classic "ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME!?" and sadly...they aren't. Neither Best Buy nor Geek Squad have the best customer service reputation, but this might as well be a crime. We understand that there are some fairly techno-inept folks out there, but setting up a PS3 literally requires one plug. Save your $130 and buy some games.

Finally, much thanks to Brian from Pittsburgh--the first winner of our "Take-a-photo-of-yourself-in-a-hockey-rink-with-a-404-sign" competition! Click on the thumbnail over yonder to see him in all his hockey-garb glory. A copy of NHL 10 is on its way to your doorstep, Brian! There's still time left to submit YOUR photo to the404(at)cnet(dot)com, so don't sleep on your chance to win!

The XP3 isn't a looker, but it's strong.

(Credit: Sonim)

Last year we reviewed the Sonim XP1, one of the most durable cell phones we've ever had the pleasure of throwing to the floor. As it never made it to a U.S. carrier, the XP1 wasn't widely available in the United States. But thanks to Best Buy's welcome interest in unlocked phones, an XP1 descendant will live in a big box store.

You wouldn't call the Sonim XP3 Quest attractive--the yellow version is particularly ugly--but brawn before beauty is the whole point. Sonim claims the phone can withstand drops to a concrete floor, excessive shock and vibration, punctures and pressure, extreme temperatures, dust and particles, and even a full dunk underwater. Sonim has a nifty video on its Web site showing the phone enduring torture tests. We're expecting a review model so we'll see just what it can handle.

Features include a 2-megapixel camera, a music player, GPS with turn-by-turn directions, Bluetooth, messaging, a music player with an FM radio, a flashlight, and an external memory card slot. At $399 it's not cheap, but you should be able to shoot it out of a cannon.