TheBolt

Windows Phone is bringing their Enthusiast Tour to Chicago tonight and tomorrow.  What’s it all about?  Where is it?  You will have to reserve a spot by visiting Windows Phone’s Facebook Page to find out where this is held in Chicago this weekend.  Enjoy free music, chances to win great prizes and enjoy great food and drinks.  Reserve your spot now!

Come on in today to Abt Electronics as we wrap up our customer appreciation sale.  Shop for excellent prices on appliances, electronics and more.  Don’t forget to visit our atrium and get yourself some free fresh baked cookies, coffee and balloon animals for the kids.  We will be open until 6:30 this evening.  Hope to see you there!

All of us here at Abt love Halloween.  It gives us the opportunity to dress up and impress each other as well as our customers with our fun, spooky and creative costumes.  If you are looking to stop by Abt, do it today and see us all in our goofy, ghoulish glory!

Forbes.com released an article about the benefits a consumer has while shopping at an independent retailer over a “big box” chain store.  “New research shows that where once shoppers would research items online and then buy in stores, the opposite is now true. Consumers are using physical stores as showrooms and then buying online to save a few bucks”, Forbes mentions.

While this may cause problems for big box stores, it is beneficial for independent stores.  Independent retailers, like Abt.  We strive for excellent customer service and complete satisfaction.  With the upcoming holidays approaching, be certain you will find the lowest prices, best selection, all with a personal touch you won’t find anywhere else.

I got a text from my friend Crawford the other day and he said, “Check out the ‘OmniTouch’.  The future is here.”  I did and was thoroughly impressed.  If you haven’t’ seen it, Microsoft and XBOX’s partner, Kinect, had researchers combine a Kinect sensor with a projector to expand the possibilities for interactive screens.

A new prototype can transform a notebook into a notebook computer, a wall into an interactive display, and the palm of your hand into a smart phone display. Researchers at Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University say their new shoulder-mounted device, called OmniTouch, can turn any nearby surface into an interactive touch screen.

OmniTouch works by bringing together a miniature projector and an infrared depth camera, similar to the kind used in Microsoft’s Kinect game console, to create a shoulder-worn system designed to interface with mobile devices such as smart phones, says co-inventor Chris Harrison, a postgraduate researcher at Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute in Pittsburgh and a former intern at Microsoft Research. Instead of relying on screens, buttons, or keys, the system monitors the user’s environment for any available surfaces and projects an interactive display onto one or more of them.

Very cool, but not entirely futuristic.  I’ll be really impressed when scientists can finally clone dinosaurs.  Then, the future will be NOW.

“You look tasty.”

I was never interested in a tablet when they first arrived.  It seemed like another gadget that was going to become available only to the wealthy.  Maybe something you would find at a local “Sharper Image”.  As time went on, competition grew between manufacturers and the prices of these portable devices began to slowly decline.  Different features were added and so the competition grew fiercer.  And that still continues to this day.

Taking this product out to demo it in real-life scenarios gave me a great opportunity to really get a hold of one of these items and I am pleseantly surprised with my results.  Using the Samsung Galaxy Tablet was a real treat.  For anyone who loves carrying an MP3 player, or watching movies or doing any kind of work on their smartphones, a tablet will do exactly that, but bigger and better.

On my last day GQ, Crawford and I had all day to wait around until the bus back home arrived.  Having been checked out of the hotel and no where to really go, we hunkered down in a bar on Beale St. for the last 9 hours of the day.  The Samsung Galaxy not only became a source of entertainment to pass time, but became a talking piece.  I had numerous people from Memphis (Mephisians?) ask me as much as they could about it.  I’m not in sales, but I could tell you one thing, I certainly didn’t do any harm for Samsung Corporation on that trip.

Since the Samsung Galaxy Tablet runs the Android Honeycomb 3.1 software, I had access to the entire android marketplace.  Making sure I uploaded a few of my favorite apps, I came across ones I never used.  Like the Netflix application.  Contrary to Netflix’s current business plans, the application was extremely simple and easy to use.  I was able to have streaming movies from my account on a beautiful 10.1’’ screen with just a few quick taps.

The only two real flaws I discovered over this weekend was the size of the unit and (given the model I had) lack of 3G accessability.  When it came to passing any kind of time, or jotting down notes I needed to remember for anything, the tablet was a life saver.

If you are on the fence on whether or not you should get a tablet, feel free to weigh the pros and cons.  While it isn’t a necessity of life, it definitely makes it a bit easier and much more enjoyable.

Need a place to register for that special ocassion?  how about Abt Electronics?  Feel free to make your gift registry easy and convenient by checking out our new registry application.  If you even have a friend or relative who is already registered you can check their information and pick out the right gift.

Canon has released news of their new DSLR.  The S100 includes a 12.1-megapixel CMOS image sensor, 5x optical zoom lens starting with a 24mm f2 wide angle focal length, 3-inch LCD, up to 6400 ISO light sensitivity, FullHD 1080p video capture with a dedicated movie button, stereo sound and HDMI output, and an optical image stabilizer. Super slow motion capability is also added. This is really an image/movie maker’s dream.   Check it out as it hits the stores.

Sony’s innovative new tablet is hitting shelves at Abt Electronics.  You can purchase two versions a 16GB model or a 32GB model.  Some of the great features are a new lightweight design that rivals other tablets, PlayStation network capabilities, universal remote controls as well as access to hundreds of unique apps and games.  check out our videos on the new Sony Tablet S.

Overview Video

Unboxing Video

Labor Day, the unofficial end of the summer is here.  No need to be sad.  Cheer yourself up at Abt.com on our last day for our Labor Day Sale!  Find some great items at excellent prices and enjoy those last bits of summer!