jpeyton

About $1400, but I'm still not done. The night is young here on the West Coast.

The younger the better. As much as people want to be "old school" and give kids more traditional things, computers are going to become more and more interweaved with everything we do in life. Giving your kid "computer smarts" will definitely be an advantage. I would personally want my kid to learn as young as they can, and I think its great your kid wants one.

Probably the $190 Compaq V2402US laptop from CompUSA.

(3) Compaq V2402US Laptop Computer | MSRP $699 each - Cost $189 each = Total Saved $1530 (2) iPod Nano 4GB Black | MSRP $249 each - Cost $179 each = Total Saved $140 Sony PSP | MSRP $249 - Cost $179 = Total Saved $70 Grand Total Saved $1740 Of course, remember that MSRP isn't necessarily what these items can be had for everyday; MSRP is simply the worst-case scenario price if you bought the item at a retail location. For example, some places have the PSP for $225 and you can even order a Nano for $230 through Apple's Education Store. And the Compaq V2000 laptops go on sale for $399-$599 every other week.

I paid $949 for a Premium console, extra wireless controller, play & charge kit, and eight games. And nobody knows exactly when they are shipping more, but it will be well before XMas. This is prime shopping season and Microsoft knows it.

XBOX 360. I'm lucky to have grabbed two online; we'll see if they show up on the shelves in the weeks to come, but since launch NOBODY has had these on the shelves.

Edited my post above yours. Definitely the PSP.

Depends on the age of the child and what games they would prefer. Older children (and adults) might prefer the PSP for more mature-themed games and media player capabilities. Younger children (and children at heart) might prefer the DS because of first-rate Nintendo titles (Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart, etc.), huge library of games from the DS and Game Boy Advanced catalog, and longer battery life. The DS clamshell design is also a bit more durable (PSP definitely needs a case to prevent getting banged up). Both systems have the pluses and minuses.

Yes, be sure to keep us up to date on how your *call* with AOL goes It was never a great deal at $479. That is why they had so many left over the following day.

While you may think its okay to advocate outright fraud (because that is exactly what you are doing), I don't think this is what GottaDeal is about. You signed a contract and now you are hoping that AOL/CompUSA cannot find you to make you pay the amount stipulated in the contract. Go away.

No sales tax here. The CC Toshiba was $380 after AOL fees, right? Not a bad deal; probably the best BF laptop deal (mine technically wasn't on BF). And you're right, after I'm done upgrading it, the price will be closer to $250. The hard drive isn't such a big deal for me because most of the things I do are not hard drive intensive (Word, Frontpage, Outlook, etc.). I personally did order an internal WiFi card because the unit does have an open MiniPCI slot accessible in the bottom; I didn't want an external adapter either. While the Toshiba does have a 15" screen, it is XGA and 4:3 format, which means 1024x768 resolution. The Compaq has 14" widescreen WXGA with 1280x768 resolution, so technically the Compaq has more room to work with. The power capacity of the batteries is 29WHr (2000mAH) for the Toshiba and 43WHr (2900mAH) for the Compaq. Not sure how actual battery life plays out though.

No offense, but the only reason Monster is more expensive is so retail stores can make a killing off selling people cables and accessories with low-profit-margin electronics purchases. Having personally spoken to many people in the retail business, I know for a fact that the markup on Monster cables is shockingly high. Their consumer grade cables are no better than cables from any other reputable brand, and the cables themselves have a similar wholesale cost to other comparable-quality brands. Monster just sets their MSRP much, much higher and lets the salespeople do the work. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-742 http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-153 http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-155

My friend got one at Best Buy on BF; said it was a winner. Congrats.

Just a little update. I guess the Compaq V2402US that CompUSA advertised for BF ($299.99 AR w/ AOL sign-up, or $549.99 AR w/o AOL sign-up) wasn't such a hit with consumers, because MANY CompUSA stores had the laptop in stock on Saturday. Probably the AOL thing that scared people off. Anyways, in response to that, CompUSA released a special Saturday only rebate that made the laptop $399.99 AR, no AOL sign-up required. I'm haven't explained the good part yet. As I mentioned earlier, if you sign-up for the $14.95/month AOL plan, you end up paying $179.40 for a $250 giftcard. The deal was supposedly only good on BF, but it ended up working on Saturday too. Now the giftcard deal is dead, though; instead of $250, you only get $125 for signing up. So Saturday afternoon, long after the BF crowds had gone, I walked into CompUSA with three $250 giftcards that I got for three separate AOL signups. I asked the salesperson for the laptop, which was $729.99 with $330 in rebates, for a final total of $399.99. I paid for the laptop with my three giftcards, which cost me $179.40 each. $179.40 x 3 = $538.20 minus $330 MIR = $210 minus $20.01 remaining giftcard balance = $188.19 final cost after rebates and AOL fees. Seems like a lot of work, but it really wasn't. Three AOL giftcard sign-ups took me 10 minutes each; cancelling three AOL accounts (now or later) will take a few minutes on the phone with an AOL CSR; and the rebates will take about 15 minutes to fill out and mail. Significantly less time than waiting 10 hours overnight in front of WalMart or Best Buy. CompUSA rebates are golden, BTW. Ever since they were investigated for rebate fraud a while back, they have mailed every rebate I've submitted in one month or less. For comparison, HP took almost three months to get my rebates to me. The laptop itself is great (check it out here). Added a cheap 256MB stick of memory for $25, and a WiFi card for $15. I love the BrightView screen, and the Sempron feels snappy. Best of all, it came with a full 6-Cell battery; most cheap BF laptops came with 4-Cell batteries. EDIT: Even more good news; the $300 CompUSA rebate can be submitted online, which I am doing right now. The $30 HP rebate must be mailed in.

We definitely need pictures for confirmation :)