shopping

IBM partners with Honeywell to create mobile shopping app

IBM is introducing its own in-store shopping companion app.

Dubbed the "digital shopping assistant," this mobile app allows consumers to scan items they want to purchase at retail stores with their smartphone and then use an IBM self-checkout station to pay.

"Retailers can now deliver a more personalized shopping experience that is less of a chore and more of a convenience for consumers," IBM Retail Store Solutions vice president John Gaydac said in a statement. "By enabling consumers to scan and check-out a wide variety of products at their own pace, retailers can not only … Read more

Google tries, tries again with online shopping

Amazon may not exactly be quaking quite yet, but Google is taking another stab at revamping its lackluster online-shopping business by forging closer commercial links with online merchants and improving its product-related search function.

The Web giant rolled out a new initiative today that renames its fornerly uninspiring "Google Product Search" service as "Google Shopping" while also changing the ground rules:

First, by requiring merchants to pay for listings (Google calls them "product-listing ads") that were formerly free; Second, by inserting these paid product placements into general search results more obviously and with bigger … Read more

Pinterest users twice as likely to buy stuff than Facebook users

Are you more apt to buy an item you see pop up on Pinterest or Facebook?

Most of the Pinterest and Facebook users polled by marketing firm SteelHouse said that the sites play a key role in their online buying. But Pinterest users are twice as likely to buy items they see on the site than are Facebook users.

Drilling further the results of the 309 online shoppers polled, 59 percent of Pinterest users said they've already bought something they saw pinned on Pinterest. In comparison, 33 percent of Facebook folks said they've bought a product or service … Read more

Seven tips for smarter shopping on Amazon

Amazon.com is a wonderfully convenient e-tailer to shop at. Where else can you order an LCD TV, stand mixer, diapers, and pet food on the same order, then have them all delivered to your front door within two days? It's a shopper's paradise, all right.

To help you get the most out of shopping on Amazon.com, here are seven tips to consider:

Price tracking Amazon.com already has some of the most competitive prices anywhere, but their prices can fluctuate on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. If you're not in a hurry, you can track … Read more

Ebates offers 13 percent cash back from over 100 stores

I'm increasingly fond of cash-back Web sites like BeFrugal, Ebates, and FatWallet, which refund you a percentage of your purchase just for shopping via their portals. It's easy money (back).

Granted, those percentages tend to be fairly small: 2 percent here, 4 percent there, maybe the occasional 7 or 8 percent.

Here's your chance to get a much bigger refund. To celebrate its 13th birthday, Ebates is offering 13 percent cash back from 132 stores.

For example, you can get 13 percent back on anything you buy from Accessory Geeks or Cell Phone Shop, which offer inexpensive … Read more

How tech is transforming the DIY movement (video)

Laser cutting, machine sewing, woodworking -- these are some of the basic skills used to build today's latest tech products. And more and more entrepreneurs are getting hands-on training to make their ideas a reality.

TechShop -- described by CEO Mark Hatch as "shop class on steroids" -- is one of the places that inventors go to make prototypes of their projects.

"A lot of people like to make things. It's fundamental to what it means to be human -- at least, we believe that," says Hatch.

He sat down for an interview recently … Read more

Intel's Ivy Bridge arrives: Here's what you need to know

You've likely heard the name Ivy Bridge tossed around over the past six months or more, and might even know that it represents the next generation of Intel CPUs and chipsets. But what do these new parts mean if you're currently shopping for a laptop or desktop PC?

This basic FAQ should answer some of your most immediate shopping questions (with more background on Ivy Bridge and its new 22nm transistors here). For a more in-depth look at Ivy Bridge performance results on laptops and desktops, check out our system reviews, benchmark scores, and analysis at the related links below.

Should I look for an Ivy Bridge sticker at the store? Post-launch, you'll likely rarely hear that name again. It's an internal code name (like Sandy Bridge before it), that we use as a quick shorthand. In reality, this is Intel's third-generation Core series processor family, which will use the same Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 names as the previous two generations.

If the names are the same, how can I tell which PCs have the newest parts? On the mobile side, it's easier. The 2012 Ivy Bridge (or third-generation) CPUs have a part number that begins with the number 3. For example, one of our test systems has an Intel i7-3720QM CPU. Our Sandy Bridge test system from last year had an Intel Core i7-2820QM. The new mobile CPUs are: i7-3920XM, i7-3820QM, i7-3720QM, i7-3612QM, and 3610QM. The desktop CPUs are: i7-3770K, i7-3770, i7-3770T, i7-3770S, i5-3570K, i5-3550, i5-3450, i5-3550S, and i5-3450S. … Read more

Find cashback deals more easily with the Ebates Toolbar

As a general rule, I am not a fan of toolbars. When I sit down at a friend's PC and see half a dozen toolbars littering their browser, I read them the riot act. (That may explain why I don't get invited over much.)

That said, there are two I'll allow on my system: Web of Trust and the new Ebates Cash Back Toolbar.

The latter makes it quicker and easier to identify and score cash-back deals from online stores. As someone who uses Ebates pretty religiously, it's a no-brainer addition to my browser.

For those … Read more

Put Kindle on your Android

The free Kindle app for Android is a rock-solid e-reader option that seamlessly ties to your Amazon account. It may not have many bells or whistles, but it does its job well, and can easily reach into Amazon.com's enormous library of downloadable works.

The app opens up directly into your Kindle library, which shows all of the books tied to your account. If you want to expand your library, you can tap the Kindle Store button on the top right and sift through Amazon.com's catalog of books, magazines, and newspapers. And thanks to a recent update, … Read more

Get meal plans and grocery lists on Android, iPhone

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It goes without saying that food is important to our ability to function. Despite this importance, planning and preparing meals often falls on the back burner, with things like work or school taking priority. If you find yourself often forgetting to purchase key ingredients, or are feeling uninspired in your meal planning, check out Food on the Table for Android and iPhone. Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Download and install Food on the Table on your Android or iOS device.

Step 2: The app requires some basic setup to function. Get … Read more