LG Electronics will run its first-ever Super Bowl commercial, to trumpet “the company's commitment to exploring new technologies and communicate the bold message that OLED TV isn't just a new TV,” but “a whole new era in television technology,” the company said in a Wednesday announcement. To produce the 60-second spot, LG hired RSA Films, the production company run by Ridley Scott, who directed "1984," the Apple commercial that launched the Macintosh. That commercial ran during the third quarter of the January 1984 Super Bowl telecast and was its only national airing. Super Bowl 50 airs Feb. 7 on CBS. LG representatives said they had no information on how much the company will pay CBS to run the ad or when during the game it will air.
Two weeks ahead of Christmas, shopping deals continue to pop up, following frenzied weeklong events around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. After a wildly popular run over Black Friday weekend (see 1511300024) Microsoft hasn’t had enough. The company announced Wednesday it’s bringing back discounted Xbox bundles through Dec. 26. with all Xbox One console bundles selling for $50 off, starting at $299. The company is also running a game sale Dec. 22-Jan. 7 in the “biggest digital game sale of the year.” Elsewhere, on Wednesday, Day 9 of Samsung’s “12 Days of Deals,” the company knocked $70 off the price of an 11-inch Chromebook 2, bringing it to $209 until midnight with free standard shipping. The Apple Watch is $100 off at Best Buy, doubling the discount the retailer gave it during a pre-Black Friday two-day sale last month (see 1511190010). The 42mm Sport Watch dropped to $299 in six colors with a 4.5 star rating from 1,451 reviews. Free expedited shipping on Wednesday orders would get the watch to shoppers by Thursday, Best Buy said. A stainless steel case added $300 to the price. Amazon’s electronics Deal of the Day Wednesday was a 15 percent off ticket for Sennheiser headphones. Prices started at $198 for the RS-165 wireless headphones, down from $219. At the top of the line, discounts reached $100 for the RS-185 ($284) and the RS-195 ($395) models, said the website. In the third day of Abt Electronics’ 12 days of savings sale, the Nomad iPhone 6s charging wallet dropped by $31 to $68 with free shipping.
Abt Electronics began a 12 Days of Savings promotional campaign Monday, led by the Acer R554LA-RH71T 2-in-1 laptop PC. The 15-inch laptop, with Intel Core i7-5500U processor, was snipped to $648 from $699, including an instant rebate, Abt said. Additional features: webcam and super-multi DVD burner with dual-layer support.
TVfreedom.org, Antennas Direct and TV stations gave away over-the-air TV antennas to more than 2,000 people in Albuquerque, Denver, Oklahoma City, and Rapid City and Sioux Falls in South Dakota, said TV Freedom in a news release Monday. The giveaway was part of TV Freedom’s “Broadcast TV Liberation Tour.” The total retail value of the antennas given away “was approximately $225,000,” the release said.
PCs and peripherals have turned heads early in holiday season sales, with some deals dipping into the double digits, we found. At Fry’s Electronics, consumers who use a code from the store flier through Dec. 5, in store, can get a refurbished Lenovo Windows 7 PC for $84 and a 20-inch widescreen Dell HD monitor for $69 while supplies last. Also in Fry’s Cyber week deals: a 10-inch 2-in-1 touch-screen laptop with Intel quad-core processor for $149, a Samsung Galaxy 7-inch tablet for $79 and an Acer Iconia 7-inch tablet for $49. At Walmart Monday, a Nextbook 8.9-inch 2-in-1 tablet with Intel Atom Z3735G quad-core processor came in at $89, an RCA 7-inch tablet priced at $34 and a Toshiba 15-inch laptop was selling for $249. Best Buy Cyber Monday computer deals included an Acer Aspire 15-inch laptop for $199 and $200 off select MacBooks. HDTV deals at Best Buy: a 32-inch Westinghouse TV ($119), 39-inch Insignia TV ($179) and 40-inch Samsung ($279). Also at Best Buy: an iPhone 6 for a buck with two-year activation. On the manufacturer side, Bowers & Wilkins entered the Cyber Monday fray with savings of $200 on the A7 AirPlay wireless speaker, bringing it to $599. B&W’s P5 headphones were chopped by $100 to $199 and the P3 headphones from $199 to $129. Bose took roughly 10 percent off its SoundLink III Bluetooth speaker ($269) and SoundLink color speaker ($119) for Cyber Monday and joined the free shipping trend. Amazon took 17 percent off the Echo speaker/personal digital assistant ($149) and shaved $15 off the kids’ Fire tablet ($84) and $20 off the Paperwhite Kindle ($99).
The Bose Solo 15 TV sound system was an Amazon Deal of the Day Monday, dropping from $449 to $299 through midnight. The Solo 15 had a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 201 customer reviews. Amazon compared the Solo 15 to similar products: a Sony HT-XT1 2.1-channel soundbar with built-in subwoofer ($198), a Klipsch SB 120 Bluetooth TV sound system ($198.75) and a Zvox 360 SoundBase ($369).
Adorama signed on as official sponsor of CBS Radio New York’s new live studio and event venue, called Adorama Live Theatre, in the Hudson Square neighborhood of lower Manhattan, the New York photography and CE retailer said Friday. The Grammy-winning band Train will open the venue Tuesday with a live performance for a studio audience of local radio listeners and audio and broadcast professionals, Adorama said.
Smarthome hit back-order status at 11:30 p.m. EST Tuesday after announcing it would give away an Insteon Hub ($80 value) with the purchase of an Amazon Echo through Friday, or while supplies last, it said Tuesday. To receive the offer, consumers have to buy the Insteon Hub and Amazon Echo Starter Kit ($179), it said. The Alexa personal digital assistant behind the Echo understands and facilitates voice requests from across a room and can be used to set a connected lamp to a specific dimming level or to turn off all lights, for example. Users can create groups comprising Insteon devices along with other manufacturers’ products, such as Philips' Hue and Belkin WeMo devices, and then control them via Alexa, said Smarthome. Some 200 Insteon products, starting at $29, are compatible with the Insteon/Echo solution, said Smarthome. Orders were still being taken in the order in which they were received late Tuesday. The company is working with its suppliers "to bring in additional units and will fulfill all orders as soon as possible," it said.
LG will use its sponsorship of the 2015 Holiday Fair in New York’s Grand Central Terminal to showcase its OLED TVs, the company said in a Monday announcement. A highlight of the sponsorship will be a "38 Days of OLED TV" giveaway promotion, offering attendees a chance to win an LG OLED TV each day through Dec. 24, the company said. To qualify, attendees who register at the LG booth in Grand Central and answer a series of questions about their OLED TV viewing experience will be entered to win a set each day, it said.
New and existing Sprint customers who activate a “qualifying” Samsung smartphone through Nov. 30 can receive a full year of Amazon Prime for free when they sign a two-year contract or pay full retail price for the device, Sprint said in a Friday promotional announcement. Qualifying Samsung smartphones include the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and Samsung Note5, Sprint said