The survey, obtained by The Verge from an anonymous source, is a customer interest survey conducted by Norwegian firm Confirmit, which has done research for Best Buy in the past. The real question is whether the specs listed in the survey come from actual data about the long-rumored iTV, or are just guesses. Given Apple’s famed secrecy about upcoming products, it is hard to imagine a research firm in Norway obtaining such detailed information about the iTV so far in advance. Nor is it likely that Best Buy would have access to this kind of detail about the iTV this early. Apple frequently shares little (if any) more with retailers than with the public. While most of the specs listed are reasonable, they are also almost certainly guesses.

The Verge has a gallery with screencaps of the iTV related questions. The screencap showing the specs is included below, courtesy of The Verge.

What do you think? Is Best Buy guessing, or could they know something the rest of us don’t? Sound off in the comments.

Best Buy’s Super Bowl advertisement, which will appear during the third commercial break of the 1st quarter of Sunday’s big game, will feature tech inventors like camera phone pioneer Phillippe Kahn and Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom. Although well informed readers like yourself might recognize those names, it’s safe to say that the general public may not.

This marks a definite shift from previous years of advertising. You remember Best Buy’s big Super Bowl spot from last year right? The Ozzy Osbourne / Justin Bieber commerical that has Ozzy wondering “what the f*ck’s a Bieber?” Here it is, to jog your memory:

“Big brands like to hire celebrities,” Best Buy Marketing Chief Drew Panayiotou told Bloomberg. “We looked at everyone from George Clooney to Stephen Colbert. We believe the inventors are more than enough. I give those 125 million viewers a lot of credit. I think they’ll appreciate the story.”

Best Buy was all set to air a celeb-heavy ad, common practice for the high-cost real estate of a Super Bowl commercial. But apparently, the outpouring of tributes to the late Steve Jobs that seemed to dominate the latter part of 2011 changed something. It spurred the idea of a tech-themed commercial.

The ad is not meant to be funny – focusing more on the story of how technology is brought to the consumer. It’ll be going up against Budweiser and M&Ms in its block.

Best Buy will be fighting in a Super Bowl ad space filled with blockbuster film trailers, Seinfeld reunions, vampires, Star Wars dogs, and a Ferris Bueller rehash starring Matthew Broderick. Will it make an impact? We’ll just have to wait and see.

[Image Courtesy Trendy Gamers]

Best Buy, Future Shop, Walmart, and London Drug have all reported similar returns from customers. Clearly the Merchants (and consumers) have been victimized in a scam to return fake merchandise in for a profit. As many as 25 of these fraudulent devices have been sold in the Vancouver area and more victims have come forward since the break of this story on Monday.

Most of the victims have already been issued refunds however, some consumers report being persecuted at the time of return. Obviously there is always a chance that one of the perpetrators is posing as a legitimate customer. I like to think most sellers would give paying customers the benefit of the doubt even at the cost of a overlooking a few bad apples (no pun intended)

It sounds like it is safe to say, retailers will be inspecting these products more closely at the point of purchase in order to protect themselves and consumers. Still it leaves some asking; why hasn’t this been the policy all along? iPads are not inexpensive devices. Sellers should be checking for damage and also that everything is in order with the packaging from the factory.

Apple has agreed to cooperate in the investigation in any way possible but has not made any specific comments about the incidents. Consumers beware; scams like these are becoming more common in the fast-paced world we live in.

[Source: CTV News]

Product searches bring up a wealth of data, including the number of available models for a particular kind of device, the price range, physical dimensions, and various features.

While the array of results for products or categories that WolframAlpha finds is amazing, the service can be a bit finicky about which search terms it accepts. Search terms that are either very general or very specific are best. For example, a search for “TVs” or “high definition televisions” brings up results, while a search for LCD televisions, or LCD TVs, brings up an error, as does searching for a specific model, like “Panasonic Viera” or “Sony Bravia.” Similarly, a search for “tablet computers” or “blackberry tablets” will bring up results, as do searches for “iPhone” or “iPad,” but ask about a “Galaxy Tab” or “Galaxy Nexus” and Wolfram thinks you’re talking about, well, galaxies.

These results are fairly consistent across platforms, with Siri returning the same kinds of errors as a search on WolframAlpha.com. The main difference between the two is that on Siri searches must be prefaced with the word “Wolfram” in order to signal to Siri that you want results from WolframAlpha, and aren’t making some other kind of request. Also, when WolframAlpha’s web portal couldn’t find something, it returned a simple error message, while Siri helpfully offered to run a regular web search.

What do you think of Wolfram’s new feature? Will you use it for shopping? Try it and let us know what you think in the comments.

First up, Engadget has obtained some internal pricing documents from Costco that list the Galaxy Nexus as available beginning 12/15/11. The price of the device is listed at $289.99 with a new 2-year agreement. Of course, if this proves accurate, it still doesn’t guarantee that Verizon stores would have the device on that date. But it’s a hint that it might pop up somewhere on the 15th.

This date lines up with one reported over the weekend over at Droid Life. Their sources said that Verizon was “telling all employees, stores, managers, and indirects that December 15th is the new target just like they did with December 9th.”

Their reference to December 9th concerns the previous rumored release date. Verizon sources said that the 9th was the date that everyone expected the phone to drop, but it was delayed at the last minute by the higher-ups.

Many feel that the supposed Verizon delay could have been due to a giant LTE outage. If the December 9th release target was a real one, then Verizon could have delayed it to make sure everything was up and running perfectly for the big launch.

At this point, we have plenty of indication that the devices are sitting on the shelves of at least some retailers. Earlier this week, excited Android fans were reporting that Best Buy and Verizon retail stores had sold them the Galaxy Nexus, but were asking for its speedy return.

Of course, rumors are still just rumors. But that time is fast approaching where any more delay would just be devastating – I mean, it’s less than two weeks until Christmas.

If you’re unbearably impatient, Business Insider found that Newegg has the unlocked version of the device available for a cool 700 bucks.

Have you been able to hold out? If it does in fact launch on the 15th, will you be one of the first in line? Let us know in the comments.

According to a Best Buy source quoted by Engadget (with accompanying screenshot), they will have the device in inventory by December 11th. Of course, this isn’t a release date – simply a date for when the phone will arrive at their stores. It’s possible that the Galaxy Nexus could go on sale that day, and it’s also possible that it could go on sale days or weeks later.

But it is a sign that December is going to be the month for the release. Leaked documents surfaced earlier this month that indicated a December 8th launch for the device in the U.S. Other sources said earlier this week that December 8th would be the day – but that source also pegged November 29th as the kickoff for pre-sales. Obviously, this prediction was incorrect.

While the specific date is unconfirmed, Samsung did confirm that the U.S. release would occur in December.

Even if Best Buy does have to wait until the 11th to get the phone, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Verizon stores couldn’t have it by the 8th, like rumored. When pushed for further comment, a Samsung rep told CNET that the Galaxy Nexus launch date “is not public information at this time.” She once again confirmed that it will show up in the U.S. before the year is over.

You can find more daily video round-ups here.

Trolling a predator is much, much better if you do it in Batman costume:

Today, Radiohead announced their King of Limbs performance as part of the “From the Basement” series will be sold in DVD format. Here’s a video of them performing “Bloom,” which will appear in the DVD:

If you’ve ever wondered what would be a great way to prank Best Buy, look no further:

Best Buy will be giving away an HTC smartphone to anyone who purchases the game, given that you do the whole contract thing. So if contracts aren’t your thing, this isn’t the deal for you. But if you were planning on signing up for a 2-year plan anyways, and love shooting people in the face with sniper rifles – this is your lucky day.

Participants will have three smartphone options: The EVO 4G for Sprint, the Incredible 2 for Verizon or the Inspire 4G for AT&T. The deal also includes a free case as well as a bonus MW3 package that lets players tack on more experience points at the outset for stuff like weapons upgrades.

In recent years, you probably noticed all the mobile sections popping up inside your local Best Buys. That’s because the company has been trying for years to set itself up as the go-to place for mobile. This holiday season, they are planning a huge campaign through TV, social media, and print ads to hammer home Best Buy Mobile.

A $25 million ad campaign, according to CNET.

“We want to get customers to realize there is a better way, and that better way is Best Buy,” said Allister Jones, head of marketing for Best Buy Mobile.

You can expect more promotions like this MW3/HTC one in the upcoming weeks.

Modern Warfare 3 hits the shelves on November 8th.

As a result of the acquisition, Rhapsody will simply add the Naspter subscriber base to its own for one combined subscriber base. Here are some statements the company released:

“This deal will further extend Rhapsody’s lead over our competitors in the growing on-demand music market,” said Jon Irwin, president, Rhapsody. “There’s substantial value in bringing Napster’s subscribers and robust IP portfolio to Rhapsody as we execute on our strategy to expand our business via direct acquisition of members and distribution deals.”

“This is a ‘go big or go home’ business, so our focus is on sustainably growing the company,” said Irwin. “We’re excited to welcome Napster music fans to the best on-demand music experience anywhere.  Our new members will have more places to connect to the music they love and to discover new favorites, guided by Rhapsody’s rockstar editorial team and the tastes of other Rhapsody members via our innovative social features.”

The deal is expected to close at the end of November.

While Napster might not get the attention it once did, there’s no question that it had an incredible impact on the music industry and how people find music online.

That’s because Google and Best Buy have announced a special promotion for the Nexus S smartphone. Today, at any Best Buy store, you can get the phone for free with a 2 year contract.

Best Buy Mobile today revealed an exclusive one-day sale on Nexus S from Google phones valid on all carriers who support the device – AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Customers can receive a free Nexus S phone, either as a new phone or an upgrade purchase, with two-year activation at all Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile specialty stores, and online at BestBuy.com/Mobile.

Nexus S is a pure Google experience phone and runs Android 2.3, Gingerbread, the fastest version of Android available, and will be offered free starting tonight at 11:00 p.m. CST, through Aug. 3, at 11:59 p.m. CT.

The Nexus S, which was launched first for T-Mobile and Sprint, debuted on the AT&T network a little over a week ago.

The Nexus S has a 4 inch AMOLED screen and a 1GHz processor that can support 3D. It is also NFC capable and includes both front and rear cameras. It is a definitely a Google phone all the way, with complete Google mobile app integration.

When Google debut the Nexus S, they also unveiled a game to advertise the device. Nexus Contraptions is a fun little Rube Goldberg-based game that will seriously ruin your productivity. Trust me, you’ve been warned.