Productopia | Breaking News

In an attempt to thwart online competition, several brick-and-mortar stores are offering price match guarantees to boost holiday sales and encourage shoppers to make in-store purchases.

According to a national survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin.com, "more than four-in-ten (43 percent) of smartphone or tablet owners have 'showroomed,' i.e. used their device to research and examine merchandise in a brick and mortar store without purchasing it there, then gone online to search for a lower price." Of those participants who showroomed a particular product, 97 percent say they subsequently bought the same item online for a lower price at one time or another. Although some stores already offer price match guarantees for local competitors' brick-and-mortar stores, they are now stepping up their game to compete with online retailers.

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The critics agree: the iPhone 5 is lighter, faster and prettier than ever before and hands-down one of the best smartphones you can buy today. Unfortunately, critics also agree that Apple's new Maps app -- which replaced the Google Maps app found in previous version of the iOS operating system -- is a big step down in terms of quality and all-around functionality, despite the newfound addition of turn-by-turn navigation.

How bad is Apple's Maps app? Should you avoid upgrading your older iPhone to iOS 6 because of it? Should you even -- gasp -- avoid getting an iPhone 5? Let's find out. Read more

While anticipation builds regarding a possible mini version of the iPad (probably in October), Amazon headed in the other direction, rolling out a larger, 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD at an event on Thursday. Priced at $299, it offers tons of new features (a front-facing camera, for example), robust Wi-Fi MIMO technology, more memory (16 GB), and a faster processor than the original to go along with a high-resolution 1200 by 1900 pixel display. You can check out CNET (as well as about a hundred other sites on the net) for a full rundown on the specs. A version with a 7-inch screen, but otherwise identical features, will sell for $199. Amazon also announced a step-up version of the 8.9-inch Fire, with 32 GB of memory and 4G LTE connectivity via AT&T. It's priced at $499, plus $50 per year for a data plan that allows just 250 MB of traffic a month -- fine for web browsing or checking email, but far too little for streaming movies or even music. The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD ships Sept. 14, while the 8.9-inch versions ship on Nov. 20. Read more

In order to fill the market niche for vehicles capable of delivering kids to Little League at a pace somewhat comparable to that of a Le Mans GT-class racer, Mercedes-Benz is beefing up its range of AMG performance-tuned SUVs.

The completely overhauled seven-passenger 2013 GL-Class (unveiled in April at the New York Auto Show) is now the third Mercedes-Benz SUV to be massaged by the company's in-house tuning division, AMG. Following the ML63 AMG and recently announced G63 AMG, the new GL63 AMG will no doubt ensure timely arrival to soccer practice,  Zumba class, and any other conceivable suburban activity. Read more