Smart Consumer: 2008

Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V4000 40 Inch Full-HD LCD

Brand: Sony
Type: Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V4000 40 Inch Full-HD LCD
Full-HD: 1920 x 1080p resolution
50 Hz
Dynamic contrast: 33000:1
Audio modes: Dynamic/Standard/BBE ViVa/Virtual Dolby
Viewing angle: 178 degrees
Digital Comb filter
BRAVIA Engine 2
Connections: Digital audio-output (optical) / 3 x HDMI / HDMI-signal capability for the PC / PC input (15-pins D-Sub) and audio in / 1 x component / Composite video input/ USB 2.0 Input / Mini jack connection: 3.5 mm / PCMCIA-card slot / RCA audio out / RF connection / Scart 2 x RGB / BRAVIA Sync
Colour & design: “Draw the line’ piano black finish
Image format: 40 inches
Signal: 576i / 480p / 576p / 1080i / 720p / 1080p
24 P-input
Advanced Contrast Enhancer
AFD (Auto Format Detect)
Automatic noise reduction
Picture in Picture
Image ratio 16:9
S-Force Pro Front Surround
Analogue Terrestrial Tuner
Digital Terrestrial Tuner
Digital TV-cable tuner
Auto Labelling and Auto Start-Up/Tuning
EPG
Included accessories: Table stand / Remote control RM-ED013 / User’s guide
Dimesions: Including table stand (B x H x D): 98.6 x 68.4 x 27.9 cm / Excluding stand (B x H x D): 98.6 x 64.6 x 11.0 cm
Warranty: 2 years

Price: € 699,95

Blurb

"The Sony KDL-40V4000 40 inch Full HD television is the latest in the BRAVIA series and is equipped with the new BRAVIA 2 engine for a better contrast. With its “draw the line” design and the glossy black piano finish, the BRAVIA KDL-40V 4000 is a real vision to look at. The exclusive BRAVIA 2 engine creates unprecedented viewing quality with enhanced depth, improved clarity and high definition. You have a 40 inch viewing area at your disposal with an amazing resolution of 1920 x 1080p. Combined with an extremely high dynamic contrast of 33000:1 and with 3 HDMI ports, this gem of a TV ensures that you are all set for the future. Experience the effect of digital Surround sound from just two loud speakers with Virtual Dolby sound and BBE ViVA sound technology. This full HD TV is equipped with the Bravia Theatre Sync with which you can operate your sound system, TV and DVD player with just a single remote control. With the 3 HDMI ports, it is now easier than ever to connect high definition sources to your TV. At last, you get to watch movies the way the director meant it to be, with the Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V4000 40 inch full HD television!"

Awesome deal. Buy it if you can. Do not expect it delivered until mid-January though. €12.50 shipping to Ireland.

Just like to point out that both of these are going to expire TOMORROW, 16th December.

XPS ONE for €495 delivered

Dell all-in-one premium iMac knockoff is going for half the going rate. Presumably that means it's on the way out, but it's an ok deal for people with a need for an average but very portable/storable machine. The keyboard and mouse are a cut above the norm too. The built-in tuner means you can use it as a TV with PVR features. 20" is nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done. Throw in an accessory worth about €35 to qualify for 10% off, bringing the final price down to €495.

23" Full HD Monitor for €186 delivered

A nice, sizeable monitor with a 1920 x 1080 screen. At a nice, not too sizeable price.

Let me save you the bother. Nothing interesting this week. Tv, speakers, printer, graphics card. No bargains.

Those of you who know Boffer should know that the free boff is still in progress. Those of you who don't, this means every product is free except for shipping charges, although those are free in some cases too.

If you missed it, don't worry. Apparently there is a secret sell-off on or before the ninth which should have plenty of cheap goodies thrown into the middle of it.

But don't tell anyone. It's a secret. That's why I'm not going to tell anyone about it either.

NETGEAR ProSafe Switch 8P gigabit

€ 39.00

-34%

My €0.02
It's cheap, but who needs an 8 port gigabit switch? If the answer is you, this is cheaper than any equivalent products at misco or pixmania. That said, for a little more you could get a much better product...

Logitech MX Air Rechargeable Cordless

€ 95.00

-13%

My €0.02
I have one of these. They rock. Cost 15 euro this time last year.

Samsung 22" LCD Syncmaster T220HD

€ 273.99

-9%

My €0.02
There must be something seriously wrong because elara want 440 for this. Pixmania are selling it for 269.

Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H, GeForce 9400

€ 139.49

-7%

My €0.02
Not a bad price but only buy if you want the GeForce 9400. Which I find unlikely.

Brand: Samsung
Model: LE40A615
40 Inch Full HD
1080 24p Real Movie
Resolutiion:1920 x 1080p
Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 30.000:1
Entertainment Mode
Picture in Picture
Picture Ratio: 16:9
100 Hz Technology
DVB-T
Clear Panel
Movie Plus
Wide Colour Enhancer 2
DNIe Pro
A2/NiCAM
Downfiring speaker
SRS TrueSurround XT
Electronic Program Guide
Loud Speaker Output: 20 Watt (2 x 10W)
Power Consumption: 240W
Connections:
3 x HDMI / Component (Y/Pb/Pr) / 2 x Scart / Video Monitor Out (L/R) Only Audio / PC Connection (D-Sub) / Optical Audio Out / USB 2.0 / S-Video / Composite / Headphone
Dimensions: 99.8 x 63.8 x 8.4 cm (WxHxD) / 99.8 x 69.9 x 30 cm (WxHxD) including Foot
Weight: 17kg / 20.2 kg including Foot
Warranty: 2 years

Price: € 777,00

Go iBOOD. That is one serious telly. I would buy it in a heartbeat if I wasn't up to my eyes in tv's, projectors and monitors at the moment. €12.50 shipping seals the deal.

Epson Projector EMP-X5, 1024x768, 2200 ANSI, 400:1

€ 469.00

-6%

My €0.02
This projector must be nearing the end of it's life cycle by now. I would go for a newer model, which would deliver more bang per buck. Or a Infocus IN1 for less than €200.

Creative Zen 4GB, SD/SDHC slot, MP3/AAC,2,5" LCD screen, DivX/XviD/WMV

€ 65.00

-12%

My €0.02
Why? All I want is an iPod Touch with an SD cart slot. And who watches video on a 2.5" screen?

Canon IXUS 80 Silver 8.0MP 3x opt.zoom

€ 148.00
-0%

My €0.02
Beats pixmanias €159. Any good? Dunno.

Samsung 19" LCD-TV Syncmaster 932MW, Widescreen, TV-tuner, DVI, 5ms

€ 189.00

-5%

My €0.02
19" LCD TV again? It's still pointless.

The code is buy4now

D-Link DSL-2740B Wireless N ADSL2/2+modem and router

€ 109.00

My €0.02
Great router, bad offer. Actually, isn't this the regular price?

Samsung 19" LCD-TV Syncmaster 932MW,Widescreen, TV-tuner, DVI, 5ms

€ 189.00

-5%

My €0.02
19 inch tv? Really?

Samsung 26" LCD-TV LE26A330-

€ 379.00

-13%

My €0.02
Wouldn't it make more sense to get one of these?

Western Digital Passport Elite 320GBTitan, USB 2.0

€ 99.00

-29%

My €0.02
Still a bad deal, just like last time...

In celebration of reaching 100 posts (wowzers!) I'm going to do an extra large Midweek Madness. Like most of you are probably facing up to, Christmas is rapidly advancing so that means you needs gifts and ideas tout de suite! And as I am on a hundred post high, I will oblige.

37" LCD TV from BigPockets

This looks identical to my 37" Hannspree, which cost €500 delivered last year. Well worth the money in my eyes. Approx €420 including shipping

http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/product.php?product=ELONEX004

Yankee Candles - the stink of good cheer

Want to fill your house with Americanised Christmas smells? Sure you do, it'll mask the smell of gin! All Yankee brand candles are half price at Home Store + More.

http://homestoreandmore.ie/

Cheap printers at Tesco

Tesco have been quietly doing good deals on printers over the last couple of weeks. You'll find a variety of Wifi enabled or multi-function Lexmark printers for under €40.

http://www.tesco.ie/

Branch 309 Shoe Sale

Buying shoes online is always daunting. Branch 309 are nice to deal with, so you could do worse than dipping a toe (hur hur) here. The sale makes their good prices even better!

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Branded-Footwear-at-Branch309

Portable Mega Drive

It contains 20 Mega Drive games and costs €22.49. I mean, come on. It also has Tv-out.

http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=30001&catalogId=1500001151&langId=-1&searchTerms=Mega+Drive+Portable

4GB Micro SD card

4GB Genuine Kingmax TF Micro-SD Memory Card for ~€7.50. Can't knock that.

http://www.focalprice.com/4GB_Genuine_Kingmax_TF_Micro_SD_Memory_Card_4G_MF075B_5440.html

Know thy exchange rate

This year the dollar is up and the pound is down, so grab those british bargains

http://www.xe.com/ucc

~~~100~~~

OCZ DDR2 PC6400 4GB KIT, Reaper X HPC, 2x2048MB, Heat Pipe, (CL4-4-3-15), E.P.P

€ 93.00

-11%

My €0.02
I'm pretty sure those heatspreaders would be a nuisance. I'd go for these instead.

Samsung 32" LCD-TV LE32A430

€ 477.00

-6%

My €0.02
Does anyone else actually sell this model?

Netgear ReadyNAS Duo RND2150 500GB

€ 305.00

-9%

My €0.02
I get the distinct impression that most people would be better served by a low-end PC from DC running linux. Cheaper than play.com.

Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5,PCI-Express 2.0, DVI-I/HDMI/HDCP

€ 285.00

-5%

My €0.02
Hah. A good price for this expensive space heater. Still, cheaper than a Quadro 5800.

For those of you who missed out on Monday's iBOOD Argosy 500GB offer, or who couldn't decide in time if it was what they wanted, here's what it aspires to.

The DVICO 6500 is a pretty high-end piece of kit. "Does it support format X?" Yes. End of discussion. It is one of the best devices ever for format support, especially HD because this sucker goes all the way to 1080p without breaking a sweat, unlike the 720p/1080i Argosy.

The 1TB SATA drive is almost the least interesting part, given that you can replace the Argosy's 500GB SATA drive at any time. A second drive bay would be nice, given the size. Still, better than a kick in the teeth.

I haven't used divxplayer.nl myself, but I hear good things. Head over to MPC club to find out more.

Oh, and why is it a bargain? Well, check out the usual price... (full specifications available)

Yes, it's the same projector that cost €200 from elara back in the day. I picked one up then and I'm not sorry in the slightest. These are in limited stock so grab them while you can, last time they went quickly.

Comes with a free projection screen too! So it's cheaper AND you get a freebie!

UPDATE:

Unsurprisingly, this now appears to be out of stock. Maybe a few people might be tempted to part with theirs on ebay et al?

Nothing happened last week.

Really.

Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-Ray Player

€ 199.00

-17%

My €0.02
I would rather a PS3 for 299... seriously, who buys a low-end Blu ray player that ISN'T a PS3? Kindly explain the logic of that one.

Sony DCR-SR35E, 30GB HDD recorder

€ 296.00

-13%

My €0.02
Another hard disk camcorder. They all cost around 300 beans and all have 20 - 40 gigs of memory. The only differentiating factor is battery life and this pissed off guy says it drains rapidly in standby mode. Not ideal when the stated charge life is 110 minutes..

Freecom USB Storage XXS 320GB USB-2

€ 89.00

-10%

My €0.02
Terrible value. Next.

Asus P5N32-E SLI, nF-680i SLI, ATX,S-775, 2xGbLAN, DDR2, 2xPCI-Ex16 demo

€ 99.00

My €0.02
A really strange mobo with some funky heat pipes. If you buy it, make sure the bios is the latest version.

Plus some other consoles are reduced too...

DS for 119.99 ( from 159.99)
Wii for 202.46 (from 269.95)
XBOX 360 for 179.99 from 239.99
Sony PSP for 134.96 (from 179.95)
Sony PS3 for 299.95 (From 399.99)

25% off DVD's music cd's and games too.

Marks and Spencer Dine For Two
Still going and will be on every 2 weeks until Christmas. Get down there now before all the good stuff goes! Got a large organic chicken, roast potato with veg, sticky toffee pudding and a bottle of wine last week. De'lish.
Valid until Sunday.

Dunnes Stores 20% back on everything this weekend
In VALUEclub points, naturally.
Valid until Sunday.

Tesco 25% back on booze + random in-store deal
25% back on beer, wine & spirits in points. Additionally, each store has there own deal at the moment: mostly bonus clubcard points under certain conditions.
Valid until Monday.

NZXT ADAMAS Black, Full Aluminum chassis, 4 chassis fans 120mm, No PSU

€ 59.00 (-34%)

My €0.02: A decent case. Price is ok too. But may be a little pricey to ship... perhaps the 'plett are offering an incentive for people to try the pick-up point?.

Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1TB SATA232MB 7200RPM

€ 127.00 (-15%)

My €0.02: Cheaper at Dabs. Cheaper at Misco. Used to be cheaper at Elara! I think I'm starting to understand how Komplett's product managers work (previously I had assumed that a ouija board was involved)

Western Digital Elements 500GB USB2.0

€ 65.00 (-6%)

My €0.02: 500GB. Big whoop. At least it's not a Seagate.

Gainward Radeon HD 4850 1GB GDDR3, PCI-Express 2.0, 2xDVI, "Golden Sample"

€ 169.00 (-6%)

My €0.02: As usual, graphics card equals ripoff but this is an ok price for what it is.

Crucial PC2700 DDR-DIMM 1024MB CL2.5 6ns Unbuffered, Non-parity, 2.5V, 128Meg x 6

€ 26.00

-16%

My €0.02

Same price on dabs but of course the shipping is half price there. And I picked up something similar from ebay 6 months ago, for the same price including shipping. Thanks FastMemoryMan!

AXP Powersupply ATX 500W Retail, SATA, Dimension mm(163x150x85) 20+4 pin

€ 29.00

-36%

My €0.02

Dunno, but this guy is selling an aging gaming rig with a 630 Watt rated model. Maybe a little old?

WD Passport™ Essential 320GB Real Red, USB 2.0

€ 89.00

-25%

My €0.02

Under 90 seems to be a theme for this one, find it at misco for 88 and dabs for 85.

LG 19" Wide W1934-BN, 1440x900, 5ms, 700:1

€ 129.00

-10%

My €0.02

I fail to see how this is different to the W1934S-BN at pixmania. Typo, perhaps?

Poor show, big k. Only one item wasn't beaten on total price and that's because nobody else sells it anymore.

Image courtesy of Marks and Spencer

It's Friday and I've got food on my mind. Good thing there are some tasty bargains to be had this weekend :)

Marks and Spencer Dine For Two
A personal favourite. A nice main, salad, desert and a bottle of decent plonk to wash it down? What could be better?

Dunnes Stores 50% back on Groceries this weekend
If you're into that whole clubcard thing, that is. Personally I don't shop there often enough to make it worthwhile. Thursday to Sunday. 25% back on wine/champagne and laptops(how random) too.

Lidl Granary Medium Sliced Loaf
Half price bread? I'll take it.

Move over DX, meet FocalPrice
Yup, a pretender to the throne. Maybe they are so cheap because they didn't need to pay to create a new website design? Not that DealExtreme was the prettiest in the world to begin with... Cheap $0.01 deal on iPod Nano 4G skins this week (1 per customer)

Good watching at the Hut
Yes, I do like the Hut. Free shipping and they keep the prices updated and competitive. Oh, and you get the order within a few days. Beat that, CD-WOW. Peep Show for approximately €24, anybody?

One rotten egg for Zavvi
Well, from the sound of nightly explosions it's that time of the year again. Zavvi have raised their shipping prices to Ireland, £4 to an address or £2 for in-store pickup. Boo! Hiss!
Please note: I do not condone the pelting of stores with rotten egss, tomatoes or poetry.

Sony Bravia 40" LCD-TV KDL-40W4000 Full HD, DVB-T, DVB-C

€ 1,157.00

-15%

My €0.02
An extremely good TV at an extremely average price, assuming you use the new collections facility. You could find it cheaper through private sales.

Western Digital My Book Home Edition 320

€ 80.01

-8%

My €0.02
Meh. Old stock?

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 896MB GDDR3, PCI-E 2.0, 2xDVI/HDCP, 448bit

€ 255.00

-6%

My €0.02
Ok price for Europe. The yanks get it far cheaper, of course.

Corsair Dominator TWIN 2X8500C5D 4096MB, DDR2,2x2GB(KIT), DHX, E.P.P, CL5-5-5-15-2T

€ 99.00

-9%

My €0.02
15 yoyos cheaper than dabs.

So, Komplett have finally opened their collections depot and surprisingly they are implementing a charge for you to pick up your stuff, so it looks like victory goes to elara. Full press release below.

From Komplett.ie

Komplett.ie is proud to announce that we have today, October 1st 2008, opened our Pick Up Point in Dublin 15 for business. When placing an order you will now have the option to choose Pick Up Point as the delivery method once you get to the payment screen, under delivery options. The cost of Pick Up is lower than any other method of delivery on any items, but you will really notice the difference when ordering large items such as TV’s – the price of delivering items under 10kg in weight is now €8 and over 10kg is €13.

This compares to An Post €13 for sub 10kg, and prices pushing up to and beyond €100 for big items such as TV’s depending on carrier. So we’re very happy that we can now make big deliveries a lot cheaper for you, and quicker too – if an item is ordered before 1pm it will be delivered 2 days later, which is quicker than An Post and DHL in many instances!

The Pick Up Point is located just past the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre / Blanchardstown Bypass (which connects to the M50) in Blanchardstown Corporate Park 2 – A helpful tip is to look out for the Texaco petrol station directly across the road from the entrance to the park. (Drive in the gate past the security post and take a left, not a right! And yes, we’re currently looking at signposting the route with Fingal County Council.) Full details can be found here and maps here.

Please do note that we do not sell stock directly in the Pick Up Point, it must be ordered online; and while we will be accepting payment in the Pick Up Point in a few weeks, for the moment you must pre-pay online as usual. We do not and will not accept cash in the Pick Up Point, but we will be accepting Laser and Visa debit cards when we begin accepting payment at the Pick Up Point itself.

You may also drop back RMA’s, as the returns department lives in the same building as the Pick Up Point. Please do note that you have to have an RMA number issued through the regular customer service lines (email and phone) before we can accept it in the Pick Up Point.

Komplett.ie

Samsung 22" LCD Syncmaster 226BW TCO03,1680x1050, 2ms, 3000:1

€ 234.99

-10%

My €0.02
Hmm. Good quality panel, but a little too old for my liking, with questions over colour bleed. I'd prefer the 2253BW for the same money, shipped.

D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N WirelessGigabit Router, 802.11n (draft 2.0)

€ 95.00

-21%

My €0.02
Expansys have increased the price to €136 and dabs are still not competitive at €103. Reality appears to have restored itself after the aberration in July.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB SATA232MB 7200RPM

€ 113.00

-19%

My €0.02
Seagate? No thanks.

Sennheiser Headphones HD 515, 14-26000Hz, Cable 3m, 255g

€ 52.01

-12%

My €0.02
Yeah, whatever. Have you ever seen Ferrari sell a cheap car?

Logitech MX Revolution

Cordless Laser mouses

Overview

Smarter, faster, and fully-loaded, the MX™ Revolution gives you powerful new controls that will streamline the way you work. Logitech´s innovative MicroGear™ Precision Scroll Wheel lets you fly through long documents at hyperspeed, or switch to precise click-to-click scrolling for navigating lists, slides, and image collections. Toggle between open documents with the convenient Quick-Flip thumb wheel, or search the Web by highlighting a word or phrase and pressing the Search button.

Hyper-fast scrolling: Fly through long documents at hyperspeed. Shift to precise click-to-click scrolling to navigate lists, slides, and image collections.
SmartShift™ technology: MX™ Revolution detects your current application and automatically applies the scrolling mode that best fits the task at hand
Document quick-flip: Move effortlessly between documents. Cut and paste between applications, compare documents or check email.
One-Touch™ search: Highlight a word or phrase and press the search button to instantly display results from your favourite search engine
Rechargeable Li-Ion battery: Never worry about replacing batteries. A 4-stage battery level metre lets you know when to recharge
Cordless laser: Full-speed USB wireless technology and state-of-the-art laser engine deliver absolute precision and control.

System Requirements

PC
- Windows^® XP
- Windows Vista^™ (requires Internet connection)
- Available USB port
- CD-ROM drive
Mac
- Mac^® OSX 10.2.8+
- Available USB port
- CD-ROM drive
- Internet connection

* Logitech Control Center 2.1 or later is required to enable advanced mouse features such as scroll wheel fine-tuning and One-Touch Search. LCC is compatible with both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs running OS X.

Package Contents

Logitech^® MX^™ Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse
Recharging station
AC power cord
USB micro-receiver
Logitech^® SetPoint^™ software CD
User's guide

In English

This is a good mouse and dell are selling it about €20 cheaper than anyone else.

Of course, your mileage may vary. Usual electronics restrictions and free shipping apply.

DVDs from €4.49

CDs from €4.49

Books from €4.49

Games from €11.49

K time.

OCZ nVIDIA SLI DDR2 PC6400 4096MB KIT,XTC, w/two 2048MB, CL5-4-4-15

€ 75.00

-12%

My €0.02
Hey the Yanks get this for $82, and $52 after a rebate! WHY? No fair, but that's life eh? Actually, 75 is not a bad price at all if you don't want to gamble on ebay.

Canon Pixma MX850 31/24ppm printer/copier/scanner/fax USB

€ 237.00

-3%

My €0.02
Yay, a printer. Defile the corpses of some dead trees, and get ink all over you hands to boot. As this printer goes, it is cheaper than the alternatives.

Western Digital Passport Elite 250GB Titan, USB 2.0

€ 93.00

-6%

My €0.02
Passport Elite... wtf? Oh it's a 2.5" external hard drive? Nonsensical nomenclature aside, what makes this better than this Toshiba? Or WD's own Passport Essential for that matter?

MSI Radeon HD 3870 x2 1GB OC GDDR3, PCI-E, 2xDVI-I/Tv-Out/HDCP/HDMI

€ 184.00

-29%

My €0.02
Again? Did Komplett buy all the stock of these in the country or what? Old, but still good and better value than Dabs.

Looks like a solid week for Komplett. In ither good news, the new local branch is ready to open any time now. Here's the address:

Komplett.ie
2. Unit 287, Block G
Blanchardstown Corporate Park 2
Ballycoolin
Dublin 15

GMap link

Monday, December 15, 2008

Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V4000 40 Inch Full-HD LCD

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Friday, November 21, 2008

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Monday, November 10, 2008

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Monday, November 3, 2008

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Monday, October 20, 2008

Monday, October 13, 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Monday, October 6, 2008

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Sunday, September 21, 2008