| Putting Online Shopping to the Test
Halloween is over and you can't avoid it any longer. Holiday shopping is calling your name. Economists expect 1 out of every 10 Americans to do 75 percent or more of their shopping online this year to save cash. But just how much are we talking about here? We picked a digital camera, an LCD television and a toy set and priced them in a store. Then we looked for bargains online. While it may be cheaper in some cases, local retailers say buying online can leave a lot to be desired. Cameras have been hot gift items for years. "It deals with memories. You're capturing memories," said Austin Pittman with Bedford Camera and Video. He showed FOX16 one particular Canon digital camera that's popular with shoppers. Including tax, it'll cost you about $860 at Bedford.
Tiny gadgets bringing filmmaking to masses
Until recently, Paulino Brener used an 8-mm camcorder to shoot videos and sometimes edited them on his PC with software from Microsoft Corp. But the Minneapolis-based Spanish teacher found the video-making process cumbersome, since the camcorder downloaded video slowly. And he used the Windows Movie Maker software to make only simple changes. So four months ago, Brener bought a small $130 device that stores video on built-in memory and plugs right into his computer. He said his new Flip video camera from Pure Digital Technologies Inc. is easy to use to film short clips, and he rarely needs any software to edit his footage. Today, the 33-year-old posts videos on video-sharing sites such as YouTube and his own blog more regularly than in the past. Brener is part of a new generation of consumers taking a different approach to making home videos.
Bag a bargain online
Christmas shoppers can bag substantial savings by going online rather than to the high street, research by UK consumer group Which? shows. It found that savings of more than 1,000 pounds could be made on a shopping list of five popular gifts - a flat-screen television, camera, camcorder, hi-fi and DVD recorder. Researchers compared prices on 72 products at 111 retailers and found that online savings ranged from 11% on digital camcorders to 29% on LCD and plasma televisions. Savings could also be made on everything from books (14%) and MP3/MP4 players (11%) to CDs (7%) and champagne (2%). But games consoles - such as the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 - were found to be similarly priced. "The trick to bagging a bargain is to discover which stores offer the most extras," Which? said in its November magazine.
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