Well, while wandering around a local Best Buy [BBY] store, I found myself standing at the Apple [AAPL] kiosk, in front of:

1. an iPad;
2. a 11.6″ MacBook Air;
3. and a 13.3″ MacBook Air.

So, of course, I just had to start meanderingly playing with the three devices, each in turn.

Was very interesting to see that the 11.6″ MacBook Air is as wide as one side of the iPad.

Also comforting to know: the keyboard and trackpad handling of both of the MacBook Airs is virtually identical to the current generation of aluminum keyboards and trackpads shipping with Macs and other MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

The thinness of both the 11.6″ and 13.3″ MacBook Airs was also surprisingly nice; the TV commercial about the MacBook Air somehow gave me a distorted impression that the side profile was more abruptly wedge-like, but in person, it is a more graceful and gradual rounded taper.

The $1,221 Question

But, as I’ve been wondering for the past few years: Is this, finally, the suitable replacement for the venerable 12.1″ PowerBook?

This clearly bears more investigation… Another road trip, perhaps?

Earlier today, I was strolling through a Best Buy [BBY] store, meandering through the games section (as most adults, and even some children, tend to do), when I began noticing several DVD-cased PC games with a blue-banded cover along the spine (the top 1/5-1/4 and the bottom 1/5-1/4). I pulled several of the titles off the shelves to inspect them…

Three key things here:

• The game titles are either second- (or in the case of a few, like Age of Empires 1 & 2, third-) tiered games, or casual games;
• The prices are uniformly $9.99 (plus tax);
• There is an offer for a free digital download from Best Buy’s online download site.

Many people have mentioned to me that they’ve thought (or in the case of some of you, seen) that PC gaming is on the decline. Perhaps Best Buy management has thought the same thing, so they’ve worked out a deal with various game publishers to re-release their older titles under this new program.

I checked further by interviewing several of the Best Buy salespeople, who all told me that they, unfortunately, were unaware of this new program. When I asked them whether they felt it was something that should be better advertised, several of them said yes.

Management Perspective

Extensive past experiences with e-commerce has taught us quite a bit, particularly involving older inventory that just does not seem to move well. We can either wait for consumers in the long tail to “catch up” with their purchases over a fairly long period of time, or we can encourage the mainstream as well as the long tail folks to take a closer look at our older inventory, with incentives to buy. With books, music, and games, there is a lot to be said about maximizing revenue and profits on the release dates, so there’s no need to reiterate that. However, there is a lot of additional value to offer nominal discounts on older inventory to move the product, rather than have it languish at the distribution points or send it back to the publishers. In most cases, even if you offer a game that retailed at USD $49.99 four years ago at, say, $9.99 today, you’ve managed to salvage some value by freeing the storage space at your warehouses and still walked away with somewhere between $1.99 – $7.99 profit on an item that was not going to sell for several more years, if at all. Add to that the enticement of a free digital download to attract potential buyers to your other lagging sales center, the digital download store, which provides you with even greater profit margins… well, that’d be just super-great.

This also benefits the game publishers and the dev studios, who may have been hurting over the past couple of years due to the massive financial depression suffered worldwide. Allowing their fully-developed product a second run (or a third run) at generating more revenue for them without a significant retooling or redevelopment effort is quite valuable.

You knew, deep in your heart (and the dark recesses of your mind), that sooner or later, Apple [AAPL] would start selling their popular iPhone 3G smartphones online, preferentially their own online Apple Store.

It’s been later rather than sooner, as the iPhone 3G has already made the rounds with the usual suspects of retailers like Best Buy [BBY], but better late than never…

The method of acquiring the iPhone 3G from the Apple Store is similar to the in-person experience: on the site, you’ll have to submit your profile information, which gets filtered through to an AT&T server for “eligibility”, and then you’ll get the subsidized price for the iPhone 3G and a setup for a contract with AT&T (if you are in the US):

• 8 GB version – USD $199
• 16 GB version – USD $299

If not, you can still get the iPhone 3G for the higher pricing, but you are still obligated to sign up for a new AT&T service contract:

• 8 GB version – USD $399
• 16 GB version – USD $499

Well, you’ve probably heard about the previous rumored release date for the Palm [PALM] Pre being May 17, 2009…

The latest release date rumor has shifted the date to sometime between June 5 – 7, 2009, during a series of Palm corporate meetings, according to a leaked internal memo, as reported by The Boy Genius Report (BGR). This dovetails into a previous rumor, also reported by BGR, that the retailer Best Buy [BBY] would acquire several thousand units to sell at a “trial launch” event on June 7, 2009.

There is also speculation that this delayed launch date may be timed to defuse the expected tour de force that is the iPhone OS platform portfolio due at this year’s WWDC by Apple [AAPL].

N.B.

Other related Javamancy posts (in reverse chronological order):

• WWDC 2009 Sold Out
• Palm OS Development Still Predominates
• Caveat Venditor: Profiting from Online Mobile App Stores
• CTIA Wireless 2009
• iPhone OS 3.0 Preview Announcements Today
• Palm Treo Pro
• Palm Pre Pricing and Availability Still Fuzzy
• Palm Pre
• Developer Interest in iPhone Still High

More reading:

• Post at BGR on the new Pre launch date(s)
• Post at BGR on Best Buy trial launch of Palm Pre devices

Well, it seems that yes, in fact, yesterday was quite an interesting traffic-laden day as people struggled with rushing to and from Circuit City stores, jamming roads and doing circles in parking lots while waiting for their accomplices within the stores rummaging around and looking for some sort of “special deals” to be found.

Given that, since yesterday, the amount of discounting has been considered by a lot of the shoppers polled to be “so-so” (30% for furniture, 20% for CD’s and DVD’s, but 10% for everything else), the amount of actual buying seems to be fairly low. As a results, many people spent their time browsing in a frustrating manner, with several people loudly proclaiming to their children that they would be heading shortly to the nearby Best Buy [BBY] to check for any discounting on the same items they saw at Circuit City, or just look for something better-priced to get.

In a couple of cases that I witnessed, the Circuit City stores were less than 2 km away from the nearest Best Buy, so making that quick hop to the competition was not difficult.

To check the atmosphere at the Best Buys, I headed over there after those two nearby Circuit City stores… It seemed like business as usual at Best Buy, with the typical ebb and flow of customers standing and getting processed out at the checkout lanes. It seems that, even with the liquidation discounts at Circuit City, there are still plenty of items that are better-priced at Best Buy.

For example, one area which pricing tends to be fixed and controlled is, of course, video games and video gaming hardware. In several cases, Best Buy had older and second-tier Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games at lower prices than Circuit City, even when you consider the 10% discount being offered yesterday. On the other hand, Circuit City had already been lacking several of the titles that were observed at Best Buy.

The discount rates will most likely be increased at the Circuit City stores over the next few weeks, but the available inventory would also be dwindling. So if you’re still looking for that “awesome” bit of electronics, you may want to wander over to your local Circuit City to make sure it’s still there by the time the price point hits a level that you’re comfortable with.

 A Little Bit:

The game developer Free Radical is down… and out. The company door locks were changed so employees were unable to get access to their former work premises. Instead, they were told to report to an offsite location (a hotel meeting room) for a (de)briefing and a “Thanks for all your help, and goodbye” talk.

Kotaku reports a follow-up post on the subject.

While it is not uncommon for game studios to shut down, and there are certainly plenty of reasons for it (lack of funding, lack of interest, loss of distribution, etc.), more well-known developers may be heading for the chopping block as the economy continues to worsen and/or concepts collapse into obscurity. Earlier this year, Flagship Studios closed down, with Namco still running the game servers until early next year (and despite plenty of copies of Hellgate: London still being sold at full retail at Best Buy).

Well, not exactly…

“Er, what?”

I was minding my own business, alternating between playing Saints Row (since Xbox LIVE has been brought back online earlier today) and following CNBC [GE] coverage of the ongoing financial disaster, when I inadvertently flipped to a random TV channel and saw Felicia dressed in a funny blue shirt and white pants.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Our Cheetos Girl has appeared in another TV spot, this time for the “Blue Appliance Crew” advertising campaign that Sears [SHLD] is touting for their appliances sales in its bid to regain favor with major household consumer appliance buying audiences.

The Sears Angle

For several years, Sears has tried to break into the “softer side” of the household goods segment, with mixed success but ever-increasing pressure from retailers above and discounters below. At the same time, it abdicated its traditional home improvement segment to the H/I superstores like Home Depot [HD] and Lowe’s [LOW].

Now, there seems to be an opportunity to go head-to-head against the giant of appliances sales, Best Buy [BBY], as the latter is apparently easing itself back toward consumer electronics, media, gaming, and other entertainment.

But the current financial turmoil across multiple sectors has thrown a wrench into this new strategy because of widespread consumer clampdown on purchasing. We’ll have to keep monitoring how this scenario plays through.

The Felicia Angle

Felicia has been showing up in a surprising range of traditional broadcast and online places.

Over-exposed? Dunno.

Career-expanding? Maybe.

Fun? Apparently so.

N.B.

Other related Javamancy posts (in reverse chronological order):

• Felicia Day on Felicia Day
• Felicia Day to be on House M.D. Episode
• Felicia Day on House M.D. Season Premiere?
• Penny Arcade Expo 2008
• Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

As was mentioned here several weeks ago, Apple [AAPL] and Best Buy [BBY] had inked a channel deal for the latter to start selling the former’s iPhone product at their retail outlets, to start this month.

Today was the launch, and it was clearly advertised in the circulars that went out to the public.

However, when investigating the initial reception of the iPhone device at several local Best Buy stores today, I noticed that none had staff manning the Apple stands inside the Best Buy stores, and many of the stores lacked any iPhone devices on display. Additionally, when I asked several people milling around at both the Apple stands and the nearby wireless device stands about whether they would be interested in purchasing their iPhones at a Best Buy, all of them expressed concern at the lack of enthusiasm and a potential lack of enough technical expertise to meet their needs. Fortunately, in this area are a couple of official Apple Stores that, according to all of the customers, they would be visiting shortly to get more details on the iPhone devices.

Chances are fair that the consumer reaction to this initial rollout was underwhelming because of a pointed lack of marketing leading up to today’s launch. Also, Best Buy has a poor track record in terms of technical know-how available on staff; hence, when combined with Apple’s advertising campaigns that indicate the high level of technological whiz-bang incorporated in an iPhone, it may not be surprising that Best Buy has not need seen as a primary destination for the iPhone by mass consumers.

On the other hand, for people who have desperately wanted to get an iPhone but were unable to (due to lack of supply in their area at the AT&T retailers and Apple Stores), this presents an opportunity… at least at the Best Buy stores that have been prepared with the Apple stands and the iPhones in stock.

Hopefully, with the Apple product announcements looming (in just two days), this situation will be corrected in time for the expected rise in consumer interest.

Hot on the tail (tales?) of Apple’s [AAPL] latest news of iPhone connectivity problems and App Store concerns, the Palm [PALM] Treo Pro was announced yesterday, followed today by the RIM [RIMM] BlackBerry Bold.

Huh?

The Apple iPhone 3G

The iPhone 3G has been out the longest, and it has been steadily gaining developer acceptance and consumer interest, despite the reported issues associated with its AT&T [T] 3G data and voice connectivity and reception.

While there are some outspoken critics of the signal problems, it appears that the majority of iPhone 3G users are pleased overall with the product (including this person), given the limitations of the competing smartphones available at the time of its rollout. The fact that Apple [AAPL] is consciously trying to transform the iPhone 3G into a corporate-worthy type of smartphone rather than merely a cool status symbol among the general consumeristas is significant: it is attempting to provide Exchange integration and other similar “office” capable features, either via the base software stack or via third party developers.

What’s more telling is that there are still supply shortages of the iPhone 3G at the various outlets around the U.S. It is expected that the Best Buy [BBY] distribution deal will help to improve the availability of the product somewhat. And this is despite the increased cost of owning the iPhone 3G, in the form of the AT&T service plans required.

But now it’s been a bit more than a month since the iPhone 3G launch, and there’s new competing products getting announced…

The Palm Treo Pro

The first thing that jumps out at me about the Treo Pro (formerly identified by many bloggers and analysts as the 850W) is not any technical aspects of it, but rather that it is stated by Palm to be sold as an unlocked multi-band GSM phone, rather than tied to any carrier. This means that a CDMA-based carrier like Sprint or Verizon would not be supporting this phone on their networks. On the other hand, since Sprint already has the Treo 800W, this may not be as big of a concern to many people. But the price of the unlocked, unsubsidized phone at $549 retail may be too much for the average consumer, or even a techie, to want to endure. Assuming that the potential owner of a Treo Pro has a compatible carrier and is paying into a fairly low service data-and-voice plan (like any of the $30-60/month plans), getting an unsubsidized phone and plugging it into such a plan may be a decent option financially.

Now, comparing the Treo Pro to the earlier-released Treo 800W reveals a lot of shared features. However, the Treo Pro is physically thinner and lighter but a tad bit wider and longer. It also seems to have a bit more sophisticated Wi-Fi capability. But both devices are still Windows Mobile devices, running the 6.1 version, which some people are less-than-thrilled about. And while the Palm press folks have mentioned that the Treo Pro is aimed at the mobile professional who needs a certain sophistication and lack of hassle while on the move, there’s another vendor that has already proven that claim for a few years…

The RIM BlackBerry Bold

The vendor in question is, of course, Research in Motion [RIMM], with their BlackBerry line. With a heritage that began with an enhanced pager and then later with a smart communicator, the modern line of smartphones continues to be the darling of corporate travelers. Which is great, but what about the appeal to the mass consumer crowd?

While RIM has long touted the BlackBerry for the sophisticated (read: “rich”) business road warriors, it has attempted to do an about-face by catering to the medium-to-high end consumeristas who are already being targeted by Apple. It already launched a series of TV commercials showing all of the nice things you can do with the phone in a moving diorama of “stuff”, like take photos and videos and send some E-mails and even browse the Web. So far, so good, right?

So the BlackBerry Bold 9000 is the latest model from RIM, to stem the tide of interest in the iPhone 3G and its ever-expanding portfolio of applications and services. Unlike some of the other BlackBerry devices, the Bold is positioned as the top end model, supplanting the BlackBerry Curve 83×0 series. While marginally larger than other current BlackBerry devices in at least one dimension, it gains video recording (similar to what’s seen in the BlackBerry Pearl models) and revamped rounded edges. But, like all other BlackBerry devices, it suffers from the its dependency on the RIM server network: the severe BlackBerry outages and hacker attacks on the devices are well-known and have been effective in deterring new users.

And the Winner Is…

… dependent on what is important to you.

If you are looking for the tasty-freshness of the iPhone 3G, then there ya go. If you are already a BlackBerry fan and very comfortable with the BlackBerry feature set, then there ya go. The BlackBerry Bold is most likely not going to win over people who have been considering the iPhone 3G for its capabilities, but it may pick up people who cannot wait for iPhone availability in their area.

The odd man out appears to be the Treo Pro, in more ways than one: in addition to being a bit behind the tech curve, it is an orphaned smartphone in the U.S. market. It will make much more sense in European and Pacific markets, but its unsubsidized price may deter many Windows Mobile OS fans. But if security is a major concern, while all three smartphones exhibit vulnerabilities, the Treo Pro may be the safest of the three (if you consider Windows Mobile underneath to be reasonably secure recently, given the news about hacker attacks on iPhone and BlackBerry phones).

Perhaps getting less fanfare than the other (more ominous) news mentioned here earlier, there was news reported by CNET that Best Buy [BBY] will start selling the Apple [AAPL] iPhone at their retail outlets starting this September.

This leverages the existing relationship between Apple and Best Buy, which involves an Apple section in many Best Buy stores, selling Mac and iPod products and accessories.

Certainly compared to the news about the reception problems with the iPhone 3G, this news is more positive and is aligned with the previously reported (and unconfirmed) estimate of greater than 3 million units sold of the smartphone since its July 11th release. With the support of a nationwide retailer like Best Buy, Apple may be able to sell 10 million units by the end of 2008.