Best Buy will hire fewer temporary workers for the 2011 holiday season compared to last year, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The nationwide electronics retail chain will take on 15,000 new temporary employees, compared to the 29,000 it hired in 2010. Best Buy is not alone in its decision. Research from the management consulting firm Hay Group suggests that about 25% of U.S. retailers will hire fewer temporary employees this holiday season. “The consumer is being really careful about where he or she is s...

Amazon’s wireless division announced on Friday that it will provide a $50 gift card with the purchase of any Verizon Wireless device between Friday and Monday, September 26th. The card can be used anywhere on Amazon.com or can be used for wireless accessories on the AmazonWireless website. The HTC ThunderBolt 4G is currently priced at just $0.01, which means you’re basically getting paid $49.99 to pick one up. AmazonWireless is also selling new devices such as the Motorola DROID BIONIC, one of Ver...

In an effort to edge in on MetroPCS and Sprint-owned Boost and Virgin Mobile, Verizon Wireless will introduce a brand new $50 monthly prepaid this week that includes unlimited text, talk and web, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The new plan, which first launched back in April as “Unleashed” in limited markets, will be available to customers in Verizon stores, Walmart, Target and Best Buy. The new plan is much cheaper than Verizon’s current unlimited talk and text prepaid option,...

HP began rolling out the webOS 3.0.2 update to its TouchPad tablet on Monday evening. The software update is expected to improve the performance and stability of the device and also includes a number of enhancements. According to HP’s change log, webOS 3.0.2 offers improvements to the calendar, email, music, photos and videos, and web browser applications. Users should now see faster scrolling inside email with improved message content and image display. In addition, HP has reduced audio skipping while ...

RIM officially revealed the BlackBerry Bold 9900 earlier this year during its annual BlackBerry World tradeshow and now it appears carriers are finally preparing to launch the phone. PhoneArena has obtained a leaked internal T-Mobile screenshot that suggests the phone will become available on August 31st. It also mentions that there will be a $50 mail-in rebate but does not confirm the subsidized price of the Bold 9900. BlackBerry fans will appreciate the device’s thinner design, more powerful hardware,...

If you’ve been waiting for HP’s highly anticipated TouchPad tablet, the company just sweetened the deal a bit more for you. HP recently announced that anyone who purchases the 32GB TouchPad before July 31st will get a $50 mail-in rebate off of the purchase price. The catch? You’ll have to prove that you already own a Palm Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi, or Pixi Plus smartphone. The TouchPad offers a 9.7-inch display, NFC capabilities for unique interactions with HP webOS phones, and a 1.2GHz Qualcomm S...

We’re big fans of Verizon Wireless’ Novatel Mi-Fi 4510L 4G LTE hotspot, and now you can pick one up for just $49.99 with a new two-year contract — a $50 savings over the original launch price. If a hotspot isn’t quite your style, Verizon is also offering Novatel’s USB551L 4G LTE USB modem for just $19.99 with a new two-year contract. We’ve been blown away by Verizon’s 4G speeds, and we’re told the sale will only last until July 18th, so be sure to check these out if...

Last week T-Mobile said that the high demand for the G2x had resulted in “inventory constraints,”and that it was working with LG to get the device back on shelves as quickly as possible. As a result of those constraints, however, the carrier has increased the price of the G2x to $249.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate —a $50 boost from its debut price of $199. Hopefully T-Mobile drops the cost back down after LG increases its production volume, but the carrier has given no indication that will be the...

Trying to save a few bucks for your summer vacation? Today, Verizon Wireless officially launched “Unleashed,” the carrier’s own unlimited prepaid service. A spokesperson told Fierce Wireless that the service is available in parts of Florida and Southern California, to start. Customers can choose between four different plans — including daily and by-the-minute — but the most attractive offering is a $50 monthly option that provides unlimited calling, texting, and web browsing. There are o...

U.S. wireless carrier Sprint has launched a new promotion that aims to ease the financial pain of cellular defectors. Through April 16th, the company will offer a $125 service credit to users that port their number to Sprint from another carrier and sign a two-year smartphone contract. If a smartphone is not in your future, Sprint will offer a $50 service credit to those users porting to a non-smartphone plan. After moving your number over, apply for the credit, and 60 days later an service credit will appea...

In a move that smacks convention right in the face with the back of its hand, T-Mobile has raised the prices of two old smartphones. Rumors of such a move have been circulating for a while but logic and reason made it hard for us to believe such a move would ever be carried out. But alas. The gray-haired T-Mobile myTouch 4G and T-Mobile G2 have both been bumped from $199.99 to $249.99 on contract. $250 is a steep price for last year’s gear, especially considering how fast Android evolves. We’re n...

On our second spin through the Samsung booth, we noticed something we — in our excitement to see the Galaxy S II and Tab 10.1 — missed yesterday: two Wi-Fi only Galaxy S devices. Dubbed the Galaxy S 4.0 and 5.0, Samsung has set it sights on a popular smaller tablet-alternative, Apple’s iPod touch. Let’s go over the specs… (more…)

We have just been informed that as of February 15th, Telus in Canada will be offering SIM unlocking options on almost all handsets and devices. To qualify, you will need to be an active post-paid customer with an account that has been open for a minimum of 90 days. Telus will charge $50 for the unlock code and will unlock both iDEN and GSM devices. Not a bad offering, right?

Yesterday, we told you about a tasty little rumor we’ve been hearing about a February 24th launch date for the HTC Thunderbolt. Now, it looks like the LTE handset has made a cameo in a weekly Best Buy circular — complete with pre-order instructions and the tagline “coming soon.” For a $50 deposit, BB will allow you to reserve one of the latest and greatest Android offerings from VZW. No word on when, specifically, “soon” is, but if the February 24th release date proves to ...