Electronics, Holiday Shopping | featured news

Best Buy's holiday sales fell despite a surprisingly resilient showing in the U.S., and the consumer-electronics retailer said its cash flow continues to weaken.

Revenue at Barnes & Noble stores fell 10.9% during the holidays, as sales of Nook devices slipped, a sign that the retailer is falling behind in the tablet battle with Amazon, Apple and Google.

As you may have seen if you've visited Apple's (AAPL) online store today, the company is offering some modest discounts for Black Friday here and there, nothing huge. Macrumors's Arnold Kim has the lowdown on which things are cheaper.

Black Friday Shoppers Black Friday is just a few days away, and with consumer confidence creeping back to levels not seen in some time, I think consumers are ready to open their wallets again after 5 years of economic uncertainty.

Investors are sending Apple's stock below $600 for the first time in three months, after the consumer electronics behemoth reported earnings for its latest quarter that missed expectations and warned that profits in the holiday quarter would fall from last year....

With the rumblings from Amazon about the early success of its new Kindle Fire over the holiday season, the company’s disappointing fourth quarter results came as a surprise. More surprising was Amazon’s silence regarding total Kindle Fire sales for the quarter. During the earnings call, Amazon’s executive team deferred questions about the device to the press release, which simply regurgitated sales data from December.

A research firm says U.S. sales of consumer electronics fell 5.9 percent this past holiday season, as smartphones cannibalize sales of standalone gadgets like cameras, camcorders and GPS navigation devices.

In an unexpected twist, TVs are topping many Christmas shopping lists this year. Wal-Mart says TVs are among the top gifts people are putting on layaway at its 3,000-plus U.S. stores during the holiday season. The Westinghouse 46-inch LCD HDTV that was on sale for half off at Target for $298 was a top seller during the start to the season last weekend. And Abt Electronics already has sold out of 55-inch Samsung LED TVs that were marked down by half to $1,099.

If you’re like most Americans, your holiday shopping bonanza officially starts Friday, Nov. 25. Or as it’s more commonly known: Black Friday. The precursor to the gift-giving season that is this hallowed Friday seems to be now inexorably tied to the industry I cover: consumer technology and gadgets. Perhaps 30 years ago, the shopping masses were more concerned with gifts of ties, mixers and Mattel toys — but now they seem to only have eyes for the battery-powered, pluggable and 3G-connected.

If you've been weighing buying a new Mac or iPad but are holding out for one of Apple's rare discounts, Black Friday is your chance.