Insignia reveals 8-inch Infocast Internet Media Display, Sony Dash is like 'brother?'

Maybe we're just seeing things, but darn if Insignia's new Infocast Internet Media Display isn't a dead ringer for the Sony Dash. Out of seemingly nowhere, Best Buy's own in-house electronics brand has outed an 8-inch connected display meant to bring glanceable information as well as a slew of web-based widgets to your bedroom / office / den / underground cavern. Boasting inbuilt 802.11b/g WiFi, an integrated microphone, SRS audio and an 800 x 600 resolution touchpanel, the Infocast is equipped with 2GB of internal storage as well as a media card reader, and in case you couldn't guess, the software is provided by none other than Chumby Industries. Users should have no issues displaying photos, video and music, and the $169.99 asking price is a full $30 less than the Dash's MSRP. According to Best Buy's website, this here gizmo is simply "coming soon," but according to our man on the inside, it'll be ready for purchase on June 20th. So, who's down for squeezing a battery into this thing for some makeshift tablet action?

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HTC EVO 4Gs flooding into Best Buys, some Radio Shacks opening at 6AM on Friday

EVO fever -- have you caught it? Things are seriously starting to ramp up in preparation for Friday's festivities, the day that Sprint's EVO 4G hits shelves (though most will likely be sold before they even touch a shelf, truth be told). Radio Shack hit us up with the knowledge earlier today that it'll be opening some locations as early as 6AM -- and what's more, they claim to have "specifically set aside" some units for folks who didn't pre-order, so that might be your best chance. We're also getting a bunch of shots from tipsters who say their Best Buy locations have started taking delivery of the retail units, so at least you'll know they'll be in stock on Friday -- but for how long is another question altogether.

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Sony Internet TV, DISH first with Google TV this fall; Adobe, Logitech and others along for the ride

Sony will be first out of the gate with a Google TV powered device, with its "Sony Internet TV" devices -- in the form of either an HDTV or a set-top box with Blu-ray player -- arriving on shelves this fall. The rest of the partners were just as the rumors indicated, with Logitech adding a QWERTY Harmony remote, "companion box" to bridge the gap to existing home theater equipment and eventually video chat capabilities, Intel providing the CE4100 Atom processor at the heart of the devices and an Android 2.1 OS with Chrome browser brings it all together. DISH Network and Google have admitted to their ongoing trials but there's no word on any release date,(Update: We didn't catch it onstage, but DISH just announced it will enable "advanced integration" via HDMI on all of its HD DVR receivers this fall, details after the break) while Best Buy is already on board to sell all of this and inevitably offer to hook up those IR blasters for a fee, while Adobe is just happy to see another device that runs Flash 10.1. The rest of the details are in press release and video form after the break, but you can sign up for updates at Google.com/tv (developers check in here) or check out our ongoing liveblog right from Google I/O.



Update: Vic Gundotra just confirmed in a post-keynote press conference that TV will go international next year.


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Kin starts getting all social on Best Buy locations

In the event that you've got a Best Buy a click closer to you than a Verizon store -- and you just happen to have a hankering to check out Microsoft's Kin devices -- well, you're in luck, because the phones are showing up. Of course, offering a device like this that requires a $30 data plan under the roof of a building alleging to be a "Best Buy" seems a tad disingenuous, but who are we to judge?

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Samsung's R30 and R80 Touch of Color laptops now on sale

Plain they are not, and Samsung's Touch of Color laptops that were launched at the tail-end of CES this year have finally begun to ship. As of now, the Core 2 Duo-equipped R430, Core i3-packin' R480, and Core i5-based R580 / R780 are all on sale at Best Buy, with prices ranging from $629.99 to $829.99. The whole lot seems to be available for shipping or direct pickup, so give that source link a look to figure out which configuration fits you best. Or don't -- no pressure.

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Leaked image says iPad lands at Best Buy... on launch day

We'd heard buzzing for some time now around the internet that Apple planned to sell its iPad in more than just its own stores, and usually the name Best Buy was mentioned in the same breath... but now we've got some photographic evidence. The above shot comes from what looks to be an internal memo from the big box retailer, not only stating that the stores will be getting the iPad, but that they'll be getting the iPad on launch day. Now, there's no way for us to confirm that is 100 percent the real deal, but we speculated this could be coming back in mid-February, and there's lots of corroborating evidence to suggest this is no joke (such as COO Tim Cook explicitly mentioning the device would be sold at Best Buy) -- we just didn't expect to see it day one. We're digging for more info on this story, so stay tuned.

Update: Best Buy's iPad playbook is certainly looking legit at this point. Our tipster sent us another two screenshots (they're after the break) showing off BB's new retail display which includes the iPad. Interestingly, they also tell us that the iPads are set to be delivered to stores on the night of April 2nd, and that quantities will be limited to about five of each model on launch. TUAW has also just published more of the playbook if you want to head over there and check it out.





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Viliv S10 Blade gets reviewed, Best Buy now selling Viliv devices

The folks at UMPC Portal have already treated us to an unboxing of Viliv's new S10 Blade convertible netbook, but they're now back with a full review that gives a better picture of the device. On the whole, they seem to be fairly impressed with the device, noting its thin and sleek design, and its "silent, rugged operation." They were also pleasantly surprised by the battery life, which clocked in at an impressive 7.5hrs with WiFi on during general use. On the downside, the resistive multitouch screen wasn't quite as responsive as they would have liked, and there are a few other minor annoyances -- like the lack of a button to rotate the screen in tablet mode, no mic input or Ethernet port, and some fairly lackluster built-in speakers. In other Viliv news, it looks like none other than Best Buy has recently started carrying the company's devices (online, at least), although it doesn't yet have the S10 up for order.

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