GeekSugar

AT&T Launches ShopAlerts Deals Program; Will You Use It?

Kristen Hawley — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:02:43 PST

All aboard! Joining the truckload of other location-based deal programs, AT&T just announced one of its own. Called ShopAlerts, this program is currently available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco, and texts you with special deals and offers when you're near a participating retail location. While there is no cost to join, normal text message fees do apply.

The difference between the new ShopAlerts service and other similar services, like Facebook Deals, is that it doesn't require the user to check in or perform any other action in order to get the deal. Just being in the vicinity of a participating location or retailer is enough to receive the alert. Messages vary, and may be notifications for sales, special events, new products, or special offers. And, thankfully, the service is limited to just four notifications per week, so there's no worry about becoming inundated with invitations (or messaging fees).

Find out who's already on board with ShopAlerts (and if there's any news on expansion) when you read more.

Download of the Day: Pose For iPhone

Kristen Hawley — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 04:00:56 PST

The social shopping trend has moved from the web to mobile, and now a new app is poised to help you shop and inspire you with suggestions and recommendations from others. Pose is meant to enhance your in-store shopping experience by allowing you to take photos of merchandise, recording pricing and location information. Then, share it with friends for feedback via email or social networking to get trusted opinions.

If you're looking for inspiration, Pose has you covered; continuously updated style feeds show popular items, the latest posted, and an editorially selected feed featuring "the finds of a handpicked group of exceedingly stylish shoppers."

Pose for iPhone is free to download; an Android app will be available soon.

Download of the Day: RedLaser For iPhone

Kristen Hawley — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 07:30:07 PST

With all of the extolling I've done for Google Goggles, it's surprising that I've waited so long to laud the capabilities of this app. But eBay's RedLaser is the perfect shopping companion for finding the best deal no matter where you are. Initially launched for last year's holiday season, the updated app is packed with new features and costs less than its previous $2 price tag.

To use the app, launch it and quickly scan an item's bar code. (If you were addicted to self-scanning everything in sight with an in-store price checker as a kid or in love with the self-checkout at the grocery store, this app is for you.) A list of stores that carry the product (both physical stores nearby and online retail outlets, even eBay results!) is displayed, along with quick price comparisons to help you find the best deal. Find out how else you can use RedLaser (spoiler: it has nothing to do with shopping), and how much it's gonna cost you, when you read more.

Reminder: Triple-Check Return Policies Before You Buy!

Kristen Hawley — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 09:00:51 PST

Holiday shopping is kicking into full swing this week, and with so many retailers offering Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, getting swept up in the shopping fun is easy. But before you check out or click Purchase, be sure to make sure you understand the return policy for your item.

Many stores, including tech giant Best Buy, implement special holiday return policies. Instead of Best Buy's standard 14-day return policy, for example, items purchased after Nov. 1 are returnable through January 31. BUT, this does not include computers, monitors, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, and radar detectors, which are subject to the same 14-day return policy as always. Find out about Target's holiday return policy after the break.

Looking For Savings? Play Shopkick's "The 12 Days of Kickmas"

Kristen Hawley — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 04:40:42 PST

After its initial launch over the Summer, rewards-based app Shopkick has just announced a new holiday program culminating in a grand prize of more than four million kickbucks to put toward a reward of your choosing. "The 12 Days of Kickmas" is a 12-day holiday sweepstakes that awards 12 different Shopkick users with prize packages.

To enter, shoppers should download the free Shopkick app for iPhone or Android and use it to check into a participating store upon entering. Shoppers will receive Kickbucks from participating stores like American Eagle, Best Buy, Target, and Macy's. Each check-in also warrants 50 entries into the sweepstakes, which starts today and ends on Christmas Eve. Winnings will total more than 31 million Kickbucks, which are redeemable for items from MP3 downloads to magazine subscriptions to big-ticket items like TVs.

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Are Budget Designer Collaborations Worth the Cost?

Emily Co — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 06:00:59 PST

The fast-fashion retailer, H&M, has partnered up with high-end designers in the past including, Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, and now Lanvin. If you ever wanted a Lanvin dress, but could never afford one, perhaps you should check out the Full Lanvin For H&M lookbook on Fashionologie. The high-fashion designer has collaborated with the affordable clothier to come out with a collection that's a lot cheaper than what the Lanvin brand generally sells for. The line comes out in stores on November 20, so I'm sure plenty of budget fashionistas have their wallets ready.

I was looking at the selection, and it can be considered a good deal if you take into account how much Lanvin clothes cost - the Lanvin For H&M pieces are around 90 percent off the designer price. Still, those dresses range around $200 and are a lot higher than the regular under $50 H&M dresses. What do you think of these collaborations - are they worth their price tags?

Would You Rather: New Expensive Gadget or Last Year's Model?

GeekSugar — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:45:43 PDT

Since I write about the newest, shiniest gadgets all day (some of which won't even see a store shelf for months!), I lust after the newest technology on a daily basis. But each time I hit the store and see last year's versions of cameras, video cameras, MP3 players, or any other technology - especially when they're on sale - I'm tempted to pick one up instead. Why spend double (or sometimes triple) the amount of money on a device just because it's new? And it's not just products that are on sale - refurbished devices can work as well as they do brand-new, and sometimes even come with a warranty, too.

When the newer version is slightly superior but more expensive, which would you rather have? A more affordable option that gets the job done, or the brand-new, just-released gadget on the top of its game?

Download of the Day: Daily Candy For Android

GeekSugar — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:45:26 PDT

I'm obsessed with the PopSugar Daily emails I find in my inbox each morning. Whether they're spotlighting a new product, a new trend, or a super sale, it's a great tool that helps me plan my extracurricular (read: shopping) activities. Similarly for locals, the new Daily Candy Stylish NYC Alerts app takes these tips on the road and uses your Android phone's GPS function to monitor your location, alerting you via a push notification when you're near a Daily Candy-approved sale or event.

Non-New Yorkers, don't worry, Daily Candy plans to build out the service to include its other cities soon.

Have you found a cool download-worthy treasure you'd like to share with the rest of us? Join the Download of the Day group, where you can submit your favorite downloads, apps, and widgets.

Bookmark Your Favorite Images Online With Pinterest

GeekSugar — Sun, 30 May 2010 11:00:21 PDT

I'm smitten over the latest site trend: bookmarking and displaying collections of your favorite things in a beautiful, visually stimulating way. Pinterest is one such site, allowing users to create a category and post photos of clothing, products, books, or anything else to create a visually stimulating virtual inspiration board. You can browse pages by user or category. To make your own collage, upload photos directly onto the site, or use Pinterest's bookmarklet; just drag it onto your browser's toolbar and click it to "pin" any product to your board. There's also space to comment on each item. It's a simple idea but presented in such a stunning way - I'm in love!

Would You Use Your Phone to Pay For Store Purchases?

GeekSugar — Sat, 08 May 2010 06:00:27 PDT

A leaked press release confirmed that a new partnership between Visa and a company called DeviceFidelity will produce a new mobile payment system.

According to the release, the technology involves a smartphone case containing a secure memory card hosting Visa's payment application, called PayWave. This will allow customers to simply wave their phones in front of terminals to pay for purchases without swiping a card, similar to the MasterCard PayPass system, which has been around since 2005. Allegedly, this technology will work with any phone that has a slot for a memory card.

Given the ease of losing a phone, I'm a little wary of this type of technology. Though I suppose one could argue it's just as easy to lose a credit card, as it is to lose a cell. Would you use this type of technology?