Deals for students- Check out before they're gone

Being a consumer electronics reviewer can be great fun when you’re playing with innovative and exciting new products. The only problem is not everything that comes across my desk fits the bill. Most are mediocre and more than a few are just plain horrible. There is no end to the number of new products hitting store shelves on any given day. Looking at my e-mail in-box shows a plethora of companies begging for attention and reviews. There is no way I can review it all, but I do make a good show of it. Here are a few pieces sitting in my e-mail box waiting to get a little attention.

With back-to-school season ramping up advertisers are putting a lot of products for the high school and college kid front and center.

Logitech X-230 - PC Multimedia Speaker System 2.1

Has decent sound for the price. Logitech is a good company that makes quality products with only a few exceptions.

Buy.com was offering this at 19.95 but has since sold out. A good price for a decent two-speaker system, perfect for the college kid where space is a premium and isn’t worried about paying top dollar for overrated speakers. Most speaker systems for computers aren’t that great. With little difference between those costing $100 and up from their low price competitors. If you don’t know about wattage, decibels, or ohms don’t bother paying more than $40 for a these speaker packages. It’s a waste of money.

Again, sound is important but if you don’t own a top of the line sound card paying a lot for computer speakers is insane.

Lexmark X2350 All-In-One Printer, Scanner, Copier

All in ones have been all the rage for some time now. For those working in cramped quarters an all-in-one is the only option. This Lexmark is currently on sale from Walmart for $39.88 with an added bonus of shipping for less than a buck. With only one printer cartridge to replace the busy student won’t be spending precious studying or partying time walking the aisles of Staples searching for printer ink. The scanner is decent for it’s price class providing all the features students should require. Though at only 15 ppm anyone doing intensive printing, more than a few hundred pages a day should pick up one of the cheap sub-$100 laser printers.

Kingston 1GB USB 2.0 DataTraveler - DTI/1GBKR

Here’s another good deal from Buy.com. As long as you don’t mind rebates, this 1GB USB flash drive is a steal at $17.95. For this price, typically, we have to look at off brand memory but prices have been falling and Kingston is a decent company. Every student needs a flash drive. For college students it’s a non-negotiable.

Xbox 360 controller deals

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller

With a search of major online and brick and mortar stores the two lowest prices come from Overstock.com and Buy.com. With a low shipping price from Overstock.com the total comes to 44.35 while Buy.com is 39.99 with free shipping. Both are good deals. Pick them up before the sale is over.

If you own a 360 the wireless controller is the only way to go. Far superior to any branded or off brand Xbox controller of the past, the official Microsoft wireless controller is an all around great product. Simple to use the 360 has built in controls for up to four wireless controllers. They have no signal issues and connect quickly. The crew from Redmond also allowed the controllers to shut down and power up the console. A much-needed upgrade from the original Xbox.

Sound like I’m a fan. That’s because I am. After years of testing nearly every controller on the market for the Xbox it’s nice to see Microsoft making a good controller. It isn’t a bad price for a good controller unless you’re trying to buy enough for your friends to play as well. At the regular retail price that’s makes playing with your friends a couple hundred dollar proposition.

Still by purchasing the additional plug and play rechargeable battery solution, it’ll pay for itself in just under 5 years. Just in time for the next consoles to hit the market.

HDTV prices continue to fall One particular typical in consumer electronics is-- the moment you buy an item you’ll find it for less right after the price match deadline ends at the particular store from which you purchased.

Right now, for televisions that typical is made all the more potent. High Definition television prices have been dropping like mad. Just when you think they can’t fall any farther, they do. This won’t last forever. Soon, the market will fall in-line with consumers. Prices won’t go up but they won’t keep falling because of new products coming to market. Big innovations will slow. The glut of newcomer TV manufactures will dwindle.

I can’t say this is the time to buy a T.V. There are clearly better TV’s on the horizon. Worth waiting for? I really don’t think so. Once you’ve hit the 1080P HD level- there isn’t much left to improve upon. The next step is more features. Better looking pictures through improved black levels and contrast ratios. Cable-card and satellite built in-hook ups, and so on and so forth.

For the casual buyer, this is the time to buy. Besides these T.V aren’t rated to last forever like the one your family owned when you were a kid. Lamp life is an important factor for a number of these TV’s; a spec savvy customers have begun paying attention of late.

Just don’t be suckers. Do your homework? Know what you want before you shop. Make sure what the correct size T.V is for your viewing area. Pay attention to little things if you plan to put it in a bedroom. Such as does it have a bright blue light on the front of it that stays lit when the T.V is not turned on? (There are a few of these offenders. And you’ll be rightfully pissed when you get home and try to go to bed with these blue-eyed Cyclops staring back at you.)

-Listen to salespeople but never trust they have all the facts. Look up the specs on the T.V. Read reviews from the experts and more importantly from people who actually own the T.V.

Then don’t over think it to death. Remember this is supposed to be a fun purchase. It’s an exciting new world for home entertainment.

Such potential in the Fry's brand

I’m addicted to looking at electronics stores I’ve shopped all the majors and stop in any of the minors that I run across. I’m a regular fixture in Best Buy, Circuit City and Fry’s; not to mention CompUSA, Office Max and Staples. Even Costco electronics department gets a once over from me every couple of weeks. So, why is it I love Fry’s but dislike my local Fry’s ever-so-much.

There seems to be a major difference in which Fry’s you visit. In San Diego California I’ve visited a couple that are pristine works of art. The building is immaculate, the aisle makes sense, and there is great customer service.

The one down the street from my house in Wilsonville, OR is converted from a now defunct electronics warehouse. If it weren’t for the name outside you’d never guess it was at all related to the rest of the Fry’s brand. It is plain. Ordinary. I dare say messy looking. The rhyme and reason to the merchandising is non-existent. (An observation from a long time shopper at this store. Anyone not a regular customer must be at a tremendous disadvantage.) Entire product lines are removed from their home to fill endcap-displays. And if you ask one of the myriad salespeople (who always appear to busy to be bothered with any mere mortal) they haven’t a clue where the product has been moved.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of Fry’s. They have the most potential as an electronics brand to make good on their promises to consumers shopping for electronics. Best Buy never will. Circuit City doesn’t even try. And so on. However, this eyesore in the company must not be a lone mistake in their chain. So why do they tolerate such a ridiculous abstraction of their company model?

Fry’s is one of the few electronic stores where you can actually find nearly every type of electronics and gadget known. (Okay, not quite but their selection is superior to anything you’ll find in any of the other giants of the industry.) If only they could see how close, they are to becoming the ideal for consumer electronics shoppers. A touch of greatness you’ll see if you visit a couple of the stores I’ve seen in California. If those were, the rule rather than the exception there would be no real competition left for this retail mega-chain.

Lackluster Tech Summer

Spring and early summer tends to be bit lackluster in the technology department. Consumers and technology pundits alike tend to have little to inspire them in the second quarter. Everyone is out enjoying their boats and barbeques since there is little to keep them indoors at this time of the year. Other than rehash all the cool stuff we are waiting for in the coming months, let’s review some of the crap from this year so far. Okay, so I don’t have enough room to go over all of the crap instead I’ll concentrate on some of the items that were underwhelming or should’ve been better than it turned out.

-Worst Video Game Tie-in--- X-men the official Video Game

Any title that claims to be official typically turns out to be a dud. With X-men we have a great franchise that falls so far under the mark with this game release as to beg the question, are monkeys running the company? There are other offenders this year, like Over the Hedge and the Da Vinci Code. Still, they don’t hold a candle to the disappointment with this lousy game. There are pieces that could be successful if not for the overall feeling that it was rushed to release. The controls are sloppy and difficult to use. The game play lacks a cohesive point of view and detracts from a couple of fun moments. Moments that could be more plentiful if not for the horrible camera problems plaguing this game. Stay clear of this game and use your time replaying Halo 2 or watching paint dry. Either way you’ll have more fun.