Retailer Best Buy has reportedly been sending out surveys to its customers seeking feedback on potential new products. This is something that many major retailers do on a regular basis, but this time round as The Verge is reporting this latest one was asking about an Apple HDTV.

It was asking customers how they felt about the device based on some proposed promotional material, which included “Apple finally reinvents what a TV can do”. It was also saying that it will come running iOS and will support iCloud, and users will be able to control it with an iPad or iPhone. Users would also have access to the likes of Netflix, Flickr, and YouTube.

According to the Best Buy survey it says the device will feature an iSight camera, which hasn’t been used by Apple for a while now. It will also come ready for Skype, which would be surprising considering Apple’s FaceTime feature. Now interestingly the retailer has the proposed device priced at $1,499 for a 42-inch model, which is quite a lot dearer than rival models from established TV manufacturers.

The survey has been carried out by a Norwegian research company that has been previously known to have Best Buy as a customer. The survey could just be based on the numerous speculation circulating around the internet, but it could be some clever marketing by Apple to gauge how the consumer would take to such a device and how much they would be willing to pay for it.

Would you pay $1,499 for a 42-inch HDTV from Apple?

Both Best Buy and Mophie have issued separate recalls regarding some iPod and iPhone battery packs that could overheat. iPodnn is reporting that retailer Best Buy has recalled its Rocketfish branded iPhone 3G and 3GS battery case. While Mophie has also recalled some of its battery cases for the iPod Touch 4G.

With both sets of cases there have been some reports that they have overheated, which could also result in a fire. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said that around 31,000 Rocketfish battery cases are affected in the recall for the iPhone 3G and 3GS in the US, while Canada has about 1,000. There have been fourteen cases reported to it and Best Buy of overheating in the US.

There were three reports of minor burns to owners of the cases, as well as four other reports of minor property damage. In another post on the CPSC website it is being reported that Mophie have received 110 reports of its iPod Touch case getting warm. There were also 44 reports of the case deforming with nine reports of burns to owners.

Consumers affected by the recall are advised to contact either Best Buy or Mophie with Best Buy offering customers a $70 gift card in the US or a $105 in Canada. Mophie are offering customers a replacement case.

Have you been affected by this latest recall?

If you have been following the US release journey for the Galaxy Nexus, you’ll know that December 8th ‘seemed’ to be the final resting place for the 4G LTE Galaxy Nexus, but new information coming out of Best Buy threatens to override that once again.

According to an internal Best Buy inventory image obtained by Engadget, the Galaxy Nexus will be launching three days later on December 11th, which happens to to fall on a Sunday which you may find strange since Thursday is usually the traditional day for all new Verizon smartphone launches.

The reassuring aspect of this new leak is that it is obviously just three days later, as we’re sure the majority of you will not be bothered too much about waiting a further few days to pick up the world’s first (official) Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone. All these delays though are obviously not too good on the heart, and again we wonder why Verizon do not just announce an official launch date to put everyone’s mind at ease.

Given what has happened though with the US Galaxy Nexus, that would be too easy wouldn’t it, and who’s to say that we won’t have even more twists and turns before December 8? Anyway, treat this as another potential date for now, but let’s hope that December 8 remains the date when the device will finally arrive.

How accurate do you think this new Best Buy listing is? Would it be logical for Google and Verizon to launch the device in the US on a Sunday?

The team over at Electronista is reporting that Best Buy suddenly started to cancel orders for the device over the weekend. Some who had already ordered the tablet PC are saying their orders were dropped even after money had been taken and was almost ready for dispatch.

People on the Best Buy forums have been saying the retailer had been “overextended”, and checks have shown all orders have been cancelled. It is unclear why Best Buy cancelled the orders as its promotion was part of the RIM plan that is expected to last until the start of next month.

The cancelled orders also come as the listings for the device are also taken down from the retailer’s site, and now only have accessories. Other retailers such as Staples and Office Max are also showing a limited number of models for the PlayBook available.

It could just be that the discount for the device has seen a sales surge that has cleared out available stock, which mirrors the situation that was seen with the HP TouchPad fire sale. The retailer does normally leave products on its online store even when they have temporarily run out. This situation does make you wonder if Best Buy is planning on restocking the PlayBook though.

The retailer had originally threatened HP to pay for unsold TouchPad’s ahead of the devices fire sale. There could also be the possibility that RIM could stop making any new stock of the current model ahead of a refresh or a total pull out of the tablet market.

The first Best Buy UK store opened its doors back in April of last year, and now the company has announced that they will cease trading in the country by January 15th 2012. They have also closed its stores this weekend to prepare for its closing down sale according to Bitterwallet. The sale will cover its online operation as well as its brick and mortar stores.

If you have any Best Buy gift cards in your possession you have until January 15th to use them, and they are no longer available for sale. Any existing service plans are still valid as they are covered by insurer Aviva, but new ones will not be offered.

Best Buy have said they will still deal with any existing warranty claims and for any new product purchased they normally come with at least a one year manufacturer warranty. The retailer has said that any product installations already booked will still go ahead but obviously won’t be taking any new ones.

The store will also still deliver any existing orders or any new ones placed online in the coming weeks, and any repairs that have been promised will still be carried out. The sale promises anything from 10 to 30 percent off so expect Best Buy’s stores and its website to be extremely busy tomorrow.

Will you be trying to get anything from the Best Buy closing down sale?

The TV promises stunning images up to 1080p with a 4000:1 contrast ratio, and is currently on offer over at Best Buy for $499.99, saving $200. For your money you also get three HDMI inputs to connect all your HD equipment to, and has a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080. The display has a 3D digital comb filter that provides better color and picture detail.

Its 500 cd/m² brightness will provide the viewer with nice crisp images on the screen, and the stereo sound system will provide a better audio experience. Other inputs include 1VGA, 2 A/V, 1 composite, 2 component, and 1 PC audio that are all situated on the rear of the TV.

There is also a PC video input that allows you to achieve high resolution images from your computer. Supplied with the set are the stand and remote with batteries supplied, and obviously the instruction manual. Owners of the set have left reviews with ninety percent of them would recommend it to other people. Out of a total of 234 reviews the RCA has an overall score of 4.4 out of 5, with many saying how easy it was to set up.

It may not be the best TV out there but for the money it would make a good second set or for someone on a budget needing a new HDTV.

The laptop we are talking about now is the Lenovo 15.6-inch G575-438343U, which you’ll be able to pick up for a very low price during the holiday sales. Lenovo are becoming renowned for their well-built solid computers, and this particular model we have here offers decent specifications at a very good price.

Here’s a quick run-through of specs for the G575: It features a 15.6-inch display with HD glare technology and runs on a 1.3Ghz AMD Dual-Core E-300 Processor with 2GB of RAM backing it up. This model will come with a 250GB hard drive, and offer reasonable battery life with its included 6 cell lithium-ion battery. You’ll be pleased to know that this isn’t a laptop that comes with those pesky ‘Intel Integrated HD graphics’ as you’ll be able to enjoy low-end PC games thanks to the included Radeon HD 6310 graphics card – don’t expect to play Skyrim on optimal settings though as this won’t be possible.

As our title suggests though, one major setback for consumers looking to get this model, is the fact that it won’t come equipped with an HDMI port. This is usually a standard feature in new PC models and allows users to hook their laptop up to the TV, allowing audio to output through the TV as well which is a very useful feature. Sadly though, you won’t to use this with the Lenovo G575-438343U.

How important is this feature to you? Will you still look to pick this model up during the holiday sales? If you have owned a Lenovo in the past, give us your overall impressions of previous devices.

It looks like retailers such as Best Buy may have this model as an exclusive, as we couldn’t find any official information on Sharp’s website about this TV. What we do know about it though, is that it will have a 60Hz refresh rate, 176/176 viewing angles and 3 HDMI inputs to suit your media needs.

Considering the secrecy regarding this Sharp model, you can bet that quantity is going to be extremely limited, so if you intend to pick one up during the holiday sales, then prepare yourselves accordingly by getting down to retailer queues early.

As a point of reference, Best Buy will be opening their doors for the start of their Black Friday sales on November 24 at 12am. We’ve heard however though that those planning to buy doorbuster items will be able to pick up tickets starting at 10pm, so make a note of that if this TV interests you.

Once we gather more intel on this elusive Sharp HDTV, we’ll update this info, but in the meantime feel free to post any information that you have found as well. Does the 42″ Sharp LC-42SV49U interest you this year or have you found a better TV to aim for this year?

The joint venture between the Carphone Warehouse and US retailer Best Buy will come to an end with the closure of eleven stores by the end of this year. An official statement by the Carphone Warehouse announced the news this morning, and could result in over 1,000 job losses.

It now plans to concentrate on its smaller Carphone Warehouse stores after it closes its Best Buy branded large retail outlets. This comes after the company reported loss of £62 million in its first year of trading in the country.

In the statement the company said the stores had achieved good customer feedback since launching in April 2010. Consumers in the country have been feeling the pinch recently and cutting back on spending on items such as the ones that Best Buy sells. The company now plans to consult with employees over the store closures with the intention to close all by the end of 2011, and hopes to redeploy as many as possible to other parts of the company.

It is likely the company will use the busy Christmas period to sell off stock, but the news will come to a shock to staff that will now face an uncertain future. The Carphone Warehouse has also announced an end in its interest in buying a share of Best Buy Mobile US arm.

Does the closure of the Best Buy stores come as a shock to you?

The retailer has announced its midnight launch plans for the game for owners of the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC who will have a chance to play the game early. According to an article on Examiner.com gamers can also get their hands on a free HTC smartphone.

Over 250 Best Buy stores across the country will be giving out Play It Early tickets to the first 200 people who are in line on Monday November 7th. This special ticket will give gamers access to the Best Buy Magnolia home theater department, where they can play the Spec Ops part of Modern Warfare 3 from 8:00PM until 11:30PM. After this the line will be formed for the 12:01AM release of MW3.

If you purchase the game from Best Buy you will also get the opportunity to bag a free HTC smartphone. With the Call of Duty Premium Elite membership and a limited edition case, gamers will receive either the HTC EVO 4G on Sprint, HTC Droid Incredible 2 on Verizon, or the AT&T HTC Inspire 4G. This offer obviously needs you to agree to a new two year contract, and runs until November 12th 2011.

To find out what Best Buy stores will be running the Play It Early promotion click this link and select the In Store Demo option. Will you be going to Best Buy to get MW3?