HP TO SELL REFURB TOUCHPADS FOR $99 ON 12/11

Starting Sunday, December 11th at 6:00 p.m. Central time, 16GB and 32GB Touchpads will be available on HP’s ebay store. A $79 accessory bundle will also be available, which includes a case, charging dock and wireless keyboard. Look for them in the laptop section. As you would expect, there are some caveats with this deal with the main disappointment being these are refurbished TouchPads rather than the brand new models sold during the first firesale.

The refurbished 16GB and 32GB models will be available in an unannounced quantity. Sales will be limited to just two SKUs per ebay member and PayPal must be used to complete the transaction. All sales are final and the product only comes with a 90-day warranty.

HULU PULLS ITSELF OFF SALE TABLE

After all the speculation over who would buy Hulu, the company just announced on its blog that the answer is: no one. While that's been out there as a possibility, it's still a surprise after Hulu's long summer. Things started with a surprise bid from Yahoo back in June, followed quickly by an invitation for more offers. Ultimately however, the networks that own the site have decided keeping it to themselves is the best option -- we'll see what that does to its growth and future plans.

RUMOR: AMAZON IN TALKS TO BUY PALM FROM HP

A well-placed source is saying that HP is currently looking to rid itself of Palm as soon as possible, and that Amazon is the closest to finalizing the deal, among a handful of contenders. There is no word on price or conditions of the sale. When asked for comment, an HP spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on rumors and speculation. Amazon has ignored all requests for comment.

LEAK: JERRY YANG MEMO SAYS YAHOO IS FOR SALE

After Yahoo fired CEO Carol Bartz, cofounder Jerry Yang told employees that the company had not begun a sales process.
Since then, reports here and elsewhere have suggested that is a bunch of malarkey and that Yahoo's board is very much putting the company up for sale.
Today, Yang copped to as much in a company-wide memo.
In it he says that Yahoo has hired investment bank Allen & Company to help it field "inquiries from multiple parties that have already expressed interest in a number of potential options."

Dear Yahoos:

In our recent all hands meeting, we talked about the Board’s strategic review to help return the Company to a path of robust growth and industry-leading innovation. While our teams are working to evaluate the many opportunities by which Yahoo! can continue building on our success, all kinds of people have been – and will continue – speculating in the media about where that work is headed, so we thought it best to provide you with some additional context directly from those of us who are closest to it. We don’t have specific news to share with you today, but we are committed to communicating with you directly from time to time – especially given the level of external swirl – so that you know where we are in the process. You can expect periodic updates from us and we encourage you to communicate with us as well.

At the heart of what we are doing is our belief that Yahoo!’s core strengths are not only relevant to where users are going today, but can serve as a foundation for the next phase of our company’s growth. Consider our strengths: we have 680 million users worldwide. We have nine of the #1 properties in the U.S., and we are a leader in display advertising. Our brand is iconic – we are not the only ones who bleed purple. By whatever measure you want to use – engagement, quality of products and services, our value to our advertisers – we all feel that we have what it takes to succeed. Also, our Asia assets remain one of our top priorities and we continue to work well with the teams there. As you may have seen, Alibaba Group has just announced a liquidity event for its employees that reflects a continued appreciation in its value, and therefore of the value of our stake.

What Yahoo! needs to do better – and we’ve talked about this – is accelerate innovation, reignite inspiration, and give our users what they want now – great content that is engaging and easy-to-use on any device and provides an experience in which they can participate and contribute. Perhaps most importantly, we need to anticipate what they will want next. That is the path to enhancing the value of Yahoo! for all of its stakeholders, including its users, customers, shareholders, partners and Yahoos everywhere. Our strategic review is designed to help us map out the best way to achieve that.

At this point, we cannot offer many specifics about the Board’s review; we’ve just gotten started. You should know that the entire Board and management team are fully aligned and unanimous in their views regarding the scope of this work. Allen & Company was a logical choice to help us in this review, because they have been one of our advisers for some time, and this is familiar territory for them. Achieving success in our sector is intrinsic to what they do for a living, and they will be constructive partners.

Our advisers are working with us to develop ideas that we will pursue proactively. At the same time, they are fielding inquiries from multiple parties that have already expressed interest in a number of potential options. We will take the time we need to select and structure the best approach for the company, its shareholders and employees.

In addition, as we announced previously, the Board has commenced a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer. That process also continues.

When we have updates that we can share we will do so. There will be plenty of rumors and speculation as different parties try to advance their agendas in the media – but it is important that we not be distracted by the rumors and speculation.

You are instrumental to the success of our business – we can’t do it without you. While we will move with a sense of urgency, this process will take time. Months, not weeks. We know that’s a lot of potential distraction, but we believe it will be worth the wait. We are forging a path to a next phase of growth for Yahoo! that feels like our best days: fun, full of possibility, and always in search of how to deliver the new thing people want from us. Together, we can write the next great chapter in the Yahoo! story and secure our place as one of those rarities: an internet company that endures.

Jerry Roy David

MICROSOFT DROPS OUT OF BIDDING FOR HULU

Microsoft Corp. is dropping out of the bidding for Hulu LLC, the online video service put up for sale by its media-company owners, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, told Hulu executives last week it wouldn’t continue into a second round, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to talk publicly. The person didn’t rule out Microsoft re-entering later.

Hulu bankers at Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners met in the past four weeks with Microsoft, which already rents and sells films and TV shows through its Xbox video-game console, to solicit an offer, people with knowledge of the situation said on July 1. The bankers also met with Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., AT&T Inc. and as many as eight other companies, they said.

Elisa Schreiber, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Hulu, declined to comment, as did Frank Shaw, a spokesman for Microsoft.

NEWS CORP SELLS STRUGGLING MYSPACE

News Corp. has sold their struggling social network MySpace for $35 million. The deal with online advertising network operator Specific Media is expected to close later Wednesday, a day before the end of News Corp.'s fiscal year. News Corp. will maintain less than a 5 percent stake in the company.

News Corp. bought the holding compay of MySpace in 2005 at the height of MySpace's popularity for $580 million. Since then MySpace has seen its users decline drastically due to the emergence of other more popular social networking sites, specifically Facebook.

Specific Media confirmed the acquisition but not the terms of the deal Wednesday.

"There are many synergies between our companies as we are both focused on enhancing digital media experiences by fueling connections with relevance and interest," said Specific Media CEO Tim Vanderhook, in a statement. "We look forward to combining our platforms to drive the next generation of digital innovation."

HULU CONFIRMS IT IS FOR SALE

Hulu has hired bankers Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners to sell the online video site. Hulu is jointly owned by News Corp's Fox, Disney's ABC and Comcast's NBC (although NBC has no voting power or a seat on the board). Hulu has stated it is on track to generate over $500 million in revenue this year, making it a quite attractive property.

Earlier this week it was rumored Yahoo was interested in Hulu and had tendered an initial offer. No news on if that offer was considered, but the board has not met to discuss any offers, so it is doubtful Yahoo's offer was sufficient.

Last year, Hulu and Morgan Stanley floated the notion of an IPO, which went nowhere because the company couldn’t secure long-term exclusive content licenses from its owners.

LEAK: APPLE BACK-TO-SCHOOL SALE STARTS TODAY, JUNE 16

Rumors for Apple’s back-to-school deal have been floating around since before WWDC 2011, and now new evidence seems to confirm that the promotion will kick off TODAY.

MacRumors was able to get a photo of Apple’s marketing material for the promotion indicating that the sale would start June 16 and run through September 20. Also, instead of the rumored $200 off an iPad with the purchase of a Mac, the offer is for a $100 Mac App Store gift card that can also be used for purchases from the iTunes Store. In previous years, a free iPod was offered instead.

This new offer makes a lot of sense considering all the updates coming with Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, and the iCloud. The Mac App Store will be built-in to Lion, and the iCloud will make it super easy to sync apps and music purchased through iTunes.

WHITE iPHONE FINALLY GETS AN OFFICIAL LAUNCH DATE

The elusive white iPhone 4 that has been rumored for over a year has finally been confirmed by Apple with a launch date. The white iPhone 4 will go on sale at the Apple Store tomorrow, Thursday April 28th. It has the exact same internals as the regular iPhone, just in a white outer shell.

DELICIOUS BEING SOLD FOR $1-$2 MILLION

Yahoo is about to close a deal to sell bookmarking site Delicious for $1-$2 million, says a source familiar with the discussions. The source isn't sure what company is buying it, but says it's a "strategic partner," something like StumbleUpon. StumbleUpon just raised a fresh $17 million round, so it could easily afford Delicious.

Yahoo's plan to get rid of Delicious leaked in December. The reason the sale is taking so long is Delicious infrastructure is entirely reliant on Yahoo technology. Yahoo has been taking Delicious off its infrastructure for a number of months.

The source says Delicious has zero monetization, but it's one of the most highly regarded products at Yahoo. People are very loyal to the product, and Yahoo says it's the most widely used internal property at Yahoo.

The code name for the sale is "Project Dragon," and our source says the deal could close as soon as next week.

BLOCKBUSTER FOR SALE

Blockbuster, the once mighty video rental juggernaut has fallen on hard times. The lands it once dominated have been taken over by the likes of Netflix and Redbox and to a lesser extent sites like Hulu. The company recently filed for bankruptcy protections and is now listing itself for sale.

Bids for the company have started at $290 million. CEO Jim Keys put a positive spin on the whole thing and said this will "allow for the consolidation of ownership of the company to those with a clear and focused vision for Blockbuster's future." Could 2011 finally be the year Blockbuster hits the deadpool?

RADIO SHACK SELLING DS LITES FOR $75

Radio Shack has reduced the price of the popular DS Lite to $75, just in time for the last minute holiday shopping. This offer is only available in store and only for the stock that is available, there will be no rain-checks. [Joystiq]

RADIOSHACK DROPS iPHONE4 $50

RadioShack announced a limited-time promotion on Friday that offers a $50 discount on Apple’s iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS. The promotion applies to brand new devices — not refurbished phones — and there are no tricky terms and conditions to be afraid of. Interested parties just need to be eligible for a two-year agreement, and the offer is valid from December 4th through December 11th. Pricing works out like this:

• iPhone 3GS: $49.99
• iPhone 4 (16GB): $149.99
• iPhone 4 (32GB): $249.99

In addition, The Shack has a “Trade & Save” promotion running that allows iPhone 3G and 3GS owners to trade in their devices for a credit of $75 and $125, respectively. This means a 32GB iPhone can can be purchased for $124.99 when trading in a 3GS, and the 16GB iPhone 4 can be had for as little as $24.99. Eligible trade-ins must be in working condition and cannot be unlocked. [BGR]

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL ROUNDUP

Engadget has posted a great list of Black Friday deals. These are considered some of the best sales available.

Deals happening early

Dell's giving away a Froyo-packed Droid Incredible for free on two-year contract, with free activation and free shipping to boot, and you even get a $25 Dell gift card with your "purchase," too. Deal ends Monday, or while supplies last.

Lenovo is chopping some Benjamins off of select ThinkPads and ThinkCentre PCs, be sure to use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY.

Xbox Live's Thanksgiving Week sale goes through next Tuesday and includes discounts on tons of games, including discounts on Arcade games and Add Ons.

TokyoFlash is offering up to 50 percent off certain items as well as 15 percent off all watches beginning tomorrow online if you use the code BLACK.

Mimoco's got a sale going on already that runs through Cyber Monday. It includes a 30 percent discount off everything in their web store and free shipping if your purchase is over $30.

Samsung 46" 3D 1080p LED HDTV bundle for $1,520 at Newegg. This one comes with a Samsung BD-C5900 3D Blu-ray player, and a Shrek 3D Starter kit. All you need to do is add the television (which is regularly $1899) to your cart and use the coupon code EMCZZNN54.

MacMall's Black Friday event is going on right now and has some decent discounts, including a 13-inch MacBook Pro for $1,098. Their sale runs through Friday and is already underway.

EarphoneSolutions is offering 20 percent off site wide from now until Monday. Just use coupon code: CYBER2010

CyberPower and Newegg.com will make an AMD Athlon II and Intel Core i5-powered desktop system available at savings of more than 30 percent. The sale begins on November 24th and will run through Cyber Monday. Both systems have limited quantities so customers should plan on shopping early and visit the Newegg website to score some super holiday savings.

AMD's Facebook page is currently hosting a deal stream for notebooks, desktops, processors and other goodies featuring AMD technology, all of which were uncovered and tweeted with the #AMDdeals hashtag by AMD fans and shoppers all over North America.

Amazon VOD is offering a rental movie for 75% off through the 30th with the promotional code "RENTDEAL"

Apple authorized resellers MacConnection and MacMall have jumped the gun to offer discounts on Macs, MacBooks, MacBook Pros, iMacs, and even the new MacBook Air starting on Thanksgiving. They'll even throw in free shipping and a free printer with each Mac sold. MacMass is also offering a free copy of Parallels Desktop 6. Typically it's the resellers, not Apple, who offer the best Black Friday deals. See AppleInsider for a detailed rundown on the savings.


General sale resources

Newegg.com starts its sale today at 4:00PM EST. We'll update with the best deals as we find them.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 unlocked for $190. Sure, it's chained to an antiquated version of Android, but boy is it cheap!
Need an e-reader? Perhaps the $90 Aluratek Libre Pro will do. It doesn't have an e-ink screen, but what do you expect for $90? Well, if you're lucky at Amazon this Friday (see above) you could pay the same for a Kindle 2...
Itching for a gaming mouse? Newegg has deep discounts on three -- a $35 Logitech G500, $40 Razer Lachesis Banshee and a $45 Microsoft SideWinder X8. There's also a Logitech G15 gaming keyboard for $50, or $30 after mail-in rebate.
There's also a pair of super-cheap LCD monitors for $90 each -- the 20-inch LG W2043TE and the 19-inch ASUS VE198T.
Building a desktop PC? You're going to need some memory, and good luck finding a better deal than this 4GB of G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 for the low price of $50.

Walmart will have both Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sales that start at 3:00AM EST on both days.

Target starts its Black Friday sale at 4AM on Friday. (TGG does not condone shopping at Target due to their attempt to buy a homophobic Minnesota governor)

Deal Vista has a massive Black Friday spreadsheet that is not for the faint of heart!

AUSTRAILIAN APPLE STORE DISCOUNTS OF 10%; BLACK FRIDAY FORSHADOWING

Apple has been teasing a Black Friday sale this week and now Australia's Apple website is showing what Apple may have up its sleeve. Most items have been discounted around 10%, iMacs, Macbook Pros and Macbook Airs going for A$121 less than normal, iPads and iPods are A$51 less while the iPod Nano is A$25 cheaper. If any of this interests you, get ready for tomorrow because the sale will only be around for one day! [Engadget]

APPLE HOLDING A BLACK FRIDAY SALE

While the words “Apple” and “sale” don’t align as often as most would like, the crew from Cupertino apparently decided to take advantage of the sale craze this year. A teaser is now up on Apple’s site inviting customers to visit the Apple Online Store this Friday for “dozens of great iPad, iPod, and Mac gifts.” We doubt Apple’s deals will be spectacular, but it will be nice to save a few bucks if you were already planning on ordering up some new Apple kit. It all goes down on Friday, November 26th, so get those credit cards ready. [BGR]

APPLE iPAD $399 AT MARSHALLS AND TJ MAXX

We’re not sure exactly what’s going on here, but reports started surfacing yesterday evening that some TJ Maxx store locations had Apple’s iPad on sale for $399. Those reports have been confirmed, with the 16GB Wi-Fi model quickly selling out at most TJ Maxx stores with that amazing price. The Twilight music isn’t getting any softer, however, as now Marshall’s stores are also retailing the device for $399. The pricing is lower than authorized Apple retailer’s cost, and no one is sure if the merchandise is coming direct from Apple or somewhere else. The $399 pricing is also much less than Apple’s own site is selling refurbished iPads for at $449. Black Friday blowout? Clearing inventory for the iPad 2 in January / February? Who knows, but $399 for Apple’s 10-inch tablet with no contract is the best deal on the planet, and they sure as heck know that. [BGR]

WALMART SETS BLACK FRIDAY TIMES AND REVEALS SOME SALE ITEMS

Black Friday shoppers typically line up and wait for the store to open at the crack of dawn so they can get those incredible, or not so incredible, deals for themselves and their loved ones. Walmart is getting a jump on the day and will open at midnight, the very second Thursday turns into Friday. However, shoppers will have to wait until 5am to get some of the best deals like a $69 Magnavox Blu-Ray player with $10 in VUDU credits or a Nintendo DS Lite for $89. Also on sale at 5am is:

• 15.6" HP Laptop – $298
• Emerson 32" LCD HDTV – $198
• Sansui 19" LCD HDTV – $98
• 15.6" eMachines Laptop – $198
• Kodak C183 Digital Camera (14 megapixels) – $59
• Tom Tom GPS XL 335 SE 4.3" GPS – $79

When the store opens at midnight the following items are on sale:

• Nintendo Wii – $199 with $50 Walmart Gift Card **
• Toy Story 3 DVD – $10 **
• Zhu Zhu Pets – $4
• Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker, 5-qt Oval – $9.97
• 500 Thread Count Sheets from Beautyrest – Full, Queen, King – $19.88
• Shark Steam Mop – $36
• Wrangler Jeans – $9
• Infant and Toddler 2-piece Character Sleepwear Sets – $4
• Lego Tubs – $15
• Power Wheels – $88
• Bikes – starting at $29

Of course all those are while supplies last, so get there early! [Engadget]

TOYS R US BLACK FRIDAY DEALS

Toys R Us isn't going to wait for you to digest that Thanksgiving meal before opening for their Black "Friday" free for all. The doors will open at 10pm on Thursday and people will be lining up for two items in particular. The first is an unnamed 7" netbook, complete with WiFi, three USB sockets, a sub-two pound weight, a red chassis and a mind-scrambling $79.99 price tag. The second is a 7-inch Sylvania tablet, sporting Android 2.1, WiFi and an SD card slot; we're assuming it's the same unit Kmart is hawking for $180, but Toys R Us will have it for the low, low price of $139.99. Other hidden treasures include a Vivitar point-and-shoot for $39.99, 7-inch Coby digiframe for $24.99 and a Vivitar pocket camcorder for just $19.99. [Engadget]

AMAZON WIRELESS HAVING $.01 SALE ON AT&T PHONES

AmazonWireless announced Thursday that all AT&T phones on its website are now on sale. The popular online retailer is offering smartphones and feature phones from AT&T for as little as 1¢. The sale even includes just-released Windows Phone 7-powered smartphones from AT&T, like the HTC Surround. Here are some highlights:

•BlackBerry Torch: 1¢
•HTC Surround: 1¢
•LG Quantum: 1¢
•Motorola BACKFLIP: 1¢
•Motorola BRAVO: 1¢
•Motorola CHARM: 1¢
•Motorola FLIPOUT: 1¢
•Motorola FLIPSIDE: 1¢
•Palm Pixi Plus: 1¢
•Palm Pre Plus: 1¢
•Samsung Captivate: 1¢

The sale will run from Thursday through Monday, November 15th, and sale prices require two-year agreements. During the sale period, Amazon Prime members will also have their activations fees waived. [BGR]