Best BUY Co., Inc.

On the heels of the big 3-D television presence at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Sony and Samsung are joining Panasonic, LG Electronics, and others in promoting the new technology. On Tuesday, Sony said it is aiming for 10 percent of its TV sales within the next year to be 3-D models, and Samsung announced a range of HDTV sets and Blu-ray players will ship later this month.

At a press conference Tuesday in New York City, Samsung announced what it described as the "world's first available full HD 3D LED TV," as well as a variety of related 3-D home entertainment products.

In one of the funnier moments of Sunday's Academy Awards, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin thought they spotted Avatar director James Cameron in the audience. The hosts whipped out 3-D glasses to scan the audience for the man whose top-grossing film has fueled more interest in 3-D viewing.

Common Sight

While the gag got some laughs, it may not be unusual for more people to carry around 3-D glasses this year. All the top manufacturers are planning 3-D television models.

The world's biggest retailer has long struggled to dominate the streaming video market against competitors like Netflix, Apple and Blockbuster. Now Wal-Mart is taking a new tack, The New York Times reports.

Sources told the Times that Wal-Mart has agreed to buy VUDU, a three-year-old company that embeds its streaming technology into high-definition TVs and Blu-Ray DVD players. Wal-Mart and VUDU began briefing movie studios and TV makers about the deal on Monday.

Control the User Experience

More customers chose to point and click rather than park and swipe this Christmas season, with a five percent increase in online shopping over the same period last year, a study by the Internet marketing firm comScore says. By comparison, in-store retail shopping grew only 3.6 percent, according to credit-card spending tracked by Mastercard Advisor's' Spending Pulse.

"Overall this year, we have seen increasing stability in spending, as opposed to the free fall of 2008," noted Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for SpendingPulse.

Although prices for some Blu-ray players dropped below $100 this holiday season, customers are hesitating to jump into the next-generation video format. Even people who already own Blu-ray players are still buying movies on DVDs.

One big reason: Blu-ray discs won't play on standard DVD players found in cars, computers and bedrooms.

Nokia is reducing its retail presence in the U.S. The Finnish phone maker announced Thursday the closing of its two flagship stores. The company said the decision to close the stores in Chicago and New York was based on advertising success as U.S. consumer awareness has grown substantially since the stores opened three years ago.

After a dismal 2008 holiday shopping season, retailers are gearing up early with major Black Friday discount announcements. Best Buy is at the head of the pack with several steals.

Best Buy is selling a limited number of HP G60-507DX laptops, which typically retail for $549.99, for just $197 on Friday. The company is also trying to drive excitement with deals on Android smartphones, Sprint MiFi, Samsung products, and VIP contests.

In a move to compete more aggressively in the digital age, Best Buy is launching its own on-demand video service through a strategic partnership with Sonic Solutions. As part of the multi-year agreement, Best Buy will license and deploy Sonic's Roxio CinemaNow technology platform. The deal opens the door to on-demand digital content delivery as a standard feature on the electronics devices consumers purchase at Best Buy.

Nokia joined the netbook crowd with the release Tuesday of its Booklet 3G mini-laptop. The new Windows 7 product is being offered with a data plan from AT&T, and will be in Best Buy stores next month.

The company "recognizes that the most powerful device is the one that doesn't have you running for the power plug or network point," said Nokia President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. In addition to 3G, the Booklet also has Wi-Fi, an HDMI port for high-definition video out, a front-facing camera, Bluetooth and a SD card reader.

'A Premium Product'