Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We’ve seen no shortage of unorthodox alarm clocks, but Bandai’s latest creation is nothing short of spectacular. Rather than making users defuse a bomb or catch a runaway helicopter, the appropriately named Gun O’clock actually forces heavy sleepers to aim a gun and successfully strike the bullseye to shut the undoubtedly obnoxious alarm up. Best of all, those who enjoy challenges can set it to “Hard” mode, requiring them to blast the center target no fewer than five times in order to hush it; after you’re satisfactorily awake, you can utilize the game mode to work on your aim. This magnificent wonder is all set to launch in Japan next month for ¥4,095 ($41), but we don’t see any obvious signs of it ever coming Stateside. Anyone feeling an online petition? We hear those work really well.

[Via UberReview]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Ready for some excitement in the form of watching a startup squirm as it waits for its product to gain traction? Take a glance at Peek, which is churning out a dedicated handheld that handles e-mail, a few chain forwards, and more e-mails when you’re done with that. At first glance, one may consider such a one-trick-pony quite ridiculous, but it’s hard to say what will end up catching on these days. The biggest problem facing Peek is the pricing: it’ll be $99.95 up front when it lands in Target next month, plus $19.95 per month to send unlimited e-mails over T-Mobile’s network. Of course, if anyone figures out how to load Opera Mini up here, the Bulls-eye Shop won’t be able to keep the shelves stocked.

[Via Silicon Alley Insider]

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Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/xbox/60GB_Xbox_360_pops_up_in_Target_where_else’; Amazon and Circuit City might have that new 60GB Xbox 360 SKU up for pre-order with delivery in August, but Microsoft’s game console has always tended to pop up in Targets first, and this time out’s no exception — yep, there it is, hanging out in NYC. Anyone seen one poking around the dish towels and cheap-chic furniture at their local? Let us know in comments!

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Filed under: Gaming

We’re not exactly sure what kind of behind-the-scenes relationship Target has with Microsoft, but this marks the third time by our count in which it has revealed something pretty important about the Xbox 360 before Redmond told anyone else (on the record, that is). Whatever the case, the Xbox 360 Pro is being let go at Target’s brick-and-mortar locations (read: not online, so you’ll actually have to slip some shorts on and leave the basement) for $299.99. Guess that confirms the US price drop, huh?

[Thanks, Ryan]

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Filed under: HDTV

It’s no secret the rest of the display industry hasn’t been happy with Vizio shaking up the low end with its cheap HDTVs, and now Mitsubishi and others have joined in a lawsuit accusing the manufacturer of refusing to license necessary patents. The 15 patents allegedly violated are for MPEG-2 compression that Mitsu, Sony, Samsung, Philips, Thomson, JVC and Columbia University of New York claim Vizio refuses to license. Vizio says it don’t need no stinking licenses, since its suppliers already have them and it believes these licenses extend to its products. MPEG-LA also filed a similar suit against Target’s TruTech house brand of televisions; while we’ll have to wait for a ruling on the case to see who is right, it seems if they can’t compete with these lower prices, other manufacturers will make sure cheap HDTVs cost more to make. For its part, Vizio says it does not believe this suit will have a materially adverse impact on its business, so for now, let the low-price flat screens roll.

Read - Mitsubishi, Samsung Sue Vizio Over Video Patents
Read - VIZIO Comments on MPEG-2 Lawsuit By Electronics Competitors

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Filed under: Gaming

Last we checked we actually weren’t in the Twilight Zone, but quite frankly, the bigwigs at Gibson just might be. Seemingly out of nowhere, the famed guitar manufacturer sparked up a lawsuit against Activision claiming that Guitar Hero titles violate one of its patents. Now the company appears to be on the warpath, suing Wal-Mart, Target, GameStop, Amazon, Toys ‘R’ Us and Kmart in an attempt to get the game off of store shelves. Reportedly, Gibson took “this action reluctantly, but is required to protect its intellectual property.” For the retailers that did comment, they chimed in only to say “we aren’t commenting,” and judging by the looks of things, the games are still widely available — for now.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Not only is the British army hoping to make tanks and troops invisible to the naked eye, but it’ll soon be honing in on targets way before the mind would normally allow. In a $58.8 million deal, Thales UK has been selected to supply the troops with new Surveillance System and Range Finder (SSARF) technologies, which will reportedly “enable quick identification of enemy locations along with the ability to determine the best mortar or artillery firepower the situation on the ground requires.” Best of all, the handheld system will feature integrated GPS, thermal imaging and a five kilometer range, but unfortunately, it won’t be giving any Britons in the field an edge until 2009.

[Via MOD]

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Filed under: Displays

Ugh, we were already sick of digital photo frames — and now it looks those now-discontinued virus-ridden Insignia units from Best Buy and several other models produced in China were carrying a much nastier trojan that we’d originally heard. According to an analyst form Computer Associates, the trojan, called Mocmex, is able to block more than 100 types of security and anti-virus software from killing it, and bypasses the Windows firewall to download files from remote locations, spreading them randomly over your hard drive and any portable storage device you plug into your PC — like, for example, a digital photo frame. The trojan is apparently set to only steal gaming passwords at present, but CA says it’s capable of stealing nearly any information on your machine, and thinks it might be a test for a much worse virus yet to come. Infected frames have come from Sam’s Club, Target and Costco, in addition to Best Buy, so we’d say to avoid picking one up until this mess gets sorted out — or, you know, forever.

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Filed under: Gaming

If you’re the kind of cat or kitten that listens to “reports” on “things,” then you’ll want to turn your furry ears in this direction. Apparently, a stray Target receipt containing some elicit information made its way out onto the internet today (you know how those get around). Just what does this slip of paper tell us? According to the supplier (a Target employee), the store has begun listing the Wii as “White” in color, as opposed to just “Wii-colored” or “sold-out.” The suggestion is that with the sudden delineation of color, more than “White” may be on the way — speculation due mostly in part to Target’s receipt-prescience on things like iPod deletions and the like. Of course, we’ve been hearing this kind of stuff for awhile, so we’re not holding our breath on the issue, and suggest you do the same. Er, don’t do. Don’t hold your breath.

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Yeah, we pretty much expected every big box retailer known to man to carry these things, but just in case you were worried about locating a TV converter box in preparation for the upcoming cutover, here’s some comforting news. Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Target, Sears and Sam’s Club are all on the list to carry equipment necessary for analog TV owners to receive OTA programming after February 2009, and just in case one of the aforementioned giants aren’t anywhere near you, around 100 more smaller retailers have been certified to stock ‘em. Also of note, you can start the new year off right by reminding your great grandparents (or other family members, too) that they can go on and apply for up to two coupons — which should arrive around six weeks later — worth $40 apiece to purchase the required boxes. Or, of course, you could just pick them up a new television this holiday season and be done with it.

[Via BroadcastingCable]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Although you may be accustomed to picking up your used wares from locales such as GameStop, Target is hoping that the scavengers of all things pre-owned will stop by its online electronics site, too. The retailer is currently testing online sales of used gizmos, including iPods, camcorders and HDTVs. Reportedly, the company made the call to start selling these goods after noticing that many returned items came back in “perfect working order,” but it has yet to decide whether it will continue the business. We also heard that refurbished consoles would be up for grabs, but after running a quick search, we came up empty handed. Still, we’d be awfully careful before we ordered, say, a pre-owned iPod, from Target — you really never know what you’re gonna get.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

You can’t keep a good retailer down, especially the kind that gadget nerds like us so adore: those that breaking sales embargoes and put hotly anticipated product (like these new Zunes, for example) on store shelves early. Behold, new Zunes — which aren’t supposed to be on sale until next week — popping up on store shelves at Circuit City and Target. Granted, we don’t know how many (if any) sold, since it sounds like they may have actually gotten pulled before customers made a dash for the registers, but who knows, perhaps you might strike Zune gold by trawling the shelves at your local mega-retailer this very weekend. You know who to tip off if you bring home the booty, right? (Note: read link only hits up the Target Zunes, not CC’s Zune batch, which is separate.)

[Thanks, Ryan and Scott]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

Ah, Target. The home of so many broken street dates. Just days after letting the Xbox 360 Arcade slip out of its doors early, the retailer is apparently proving that the 40GB PlayStation 3 is indeed coming to America — and for $399.99, no less. Reportedly, the system is all set to “officially” be released here on October 28th, and while we’ve no way of confirming, we’re hearing that it may be bundled with the upcoming Spider-Man 3 flick, too. Anyways, we’ll let the photos take it from here — click on through for more.

[Via N4G, thanks Alexis]

Continue reading 40GB PlayStation 3 shows up in US Target for $399

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

Well, would you look at that. A Target store in Haverhill, MA has one of those Xbox 360 Arcade getups we’ve heard a thing or two about lately. If our eyes don’t deceive us, that blurry pricetag is showing off a $280 pricetag, which isn’t too surprising no matter how exciting a $250 tag would’ve been. Who knows how much more evidence it’s going to take for Microsoft to finally fess up to this one, but we’re enjoying the spy shots while they last. There’s another pic after the break.

[Thanks, Paul A.]

Continue reading Xbox 360 Arcade finds a shelf in the wild

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We’re tempted to believe this story just isn’t true, but if the details are indeed factual, we’re a bit flabbergasted to say the least. Turns out, a teenager’s mother scurried to Target in order to snap up a video iPod for her daughter’s upcoming birthday, and she put it on a Target credit card in order to receive a discount. Upon opening it up, the gal’s 14th birthday party took a turn for the worse as Regan Ritter found nothing but rocks packaged neatly inside. After demanding a refund and getting rejected, store employees were able to locate another iPod at a different Target location. As you can probably guess, that box was also stuffed with rocks. Target still refused to refund the lady’s dough and insisted that she blow the $350 on other store merchandise instead. As it stands, Ms. Ritter is expecting some higher-ups to contact her and truly resolve this, but there’s no word as to whether or not Regan ever acquired an iPod from anywhere else.

[Via Techmeme]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!