Consumer Electronics & Appliance News, Reviews & Information.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And hey, if it’s not feeling so wonderful, there’s an app to make it better. In fact, there are loads of Christmas apps, for kids and adults, for your tablet or smartphone. So here’s a list of our top 5 favorites; hopefully they’ll make your holidays more fun, festive, and stress-free.
If there’s any ritual I both dread and look forward to every year during the holidays, it’s sharing photos. I’m sure many people reading remember passing around glossy 3.5″x5″ photos and hoping no one ruins the only copy with an errant gravy spill. In that respect, at least, modern technology has made this process simpler – or at least more compact – by allowing us to store photos on our phones and computers, and create galleries that can be viewed online.
From weekend getaways to worldwide jaunts, the globetrotter is always on the move. It’s not easy to pin this person down for dinner, let alone for a holiday get-together. We’ve compiled a list of gifts made just for the traveler, the explorer, the world wanderer—items that complement their nomadic and inquisitive lifestyle. They’ll be sure to love these items, if you can get them to stay put for a few minutes and open the box.
(Image by Marta Crowe, used under creative commons)
Do you have any music lovers on your gift list? You know the type: always talking to you about the latest bands and songs they are discovering, going to shows and concerts every other weekend, and obsessed with having top-quality audio products for listening and sharing their music—all the time. If this sounds like someone you’ll be shopping for this holiday, let us make your job a little easier. From stocking stuffers to bigger presents, here’s a list of ultimate gifts for the audiophile.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—the time when you can unabashedly watch Christmas movies every night of the week. (Well, every night might be a little too festive.) There are those classic Christmas movies—like It’s a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street—and then there are the newer favorites. Here’s a list of my top 5 Christmas movies, which may be missing from the usual roster. So make some popcorn, turn on your flat screen TV, and grab your favorite seat in the house. You’ve got some holiday movie watching to do.
Well do I remember the first time I looked at the back panel of my new AV receiver, and didn’t see the familiar RCA jacks marked Phono.
Blasphemous. A slight upon all right thinking individuals.
What I didn’t know, as I was cursing this new-fangled gimcrackery, was the modern AV receiver would be the best thing to happen to analog recording since we went to diamond needles. →
There’s quite a few Christmas decorations. Hopefully there’s some power surge protection buried in there! (image used under Creative Commons. Photo by donielle.
This week at Vann’s, we’re getting ready to deck the halls! (Or more specifically your halls, with the new products we’ll be seeing soon)
Over the years I’ve seen some impressive displays of Christmas lights. Even Missoula has its own unofficial tour of lights if you know the right people.
Of course, when I look at a house as decked out as some, the second thing I think about (after the ooh’s and aah’s wear off) is about how much power is running through those systems. And when I think of power, I start thinking about surges. Or, more specifically, surge protection.
We’ve talked about the importance of a good power surge protection for your home theater system, your office, and even your bedroom before. If you’re plugging Christmas lights into your home, that amount of extra electrical power being used might cause some oddities for the rest of your home.
Here are our top 5 picks for the best holiday surge protectors for your home electronics. →
Image by paulaloe, used under Creative Commons
If you’re a long time fan of the site, you may have noticed that the inventory situation here at Vanns.com has been… in the slow lane.
But Vanns.com is about to make a hard U-Turn and step on the gas. Our new owners have a firm grip on the wheel, and are making all the right moves to get our inventory flow back into the fast lane.
Our new owners aren’t only interested in replacing what’s gone either. We’re starting to branch out into new areas of merchandise as well. Without leaving the core of our business, we are going to find new avenues to explore, while making sure we keep up with the latest from the companies that we’ve always dealt with. Here are a couple of new things to look for in the near future, one from an old friend and another an entirely new product to us. →
Vann’s is hosting giving trees for organizations around the state of Montana this holiday season. Come into the store and support your local community!
This holiday season, Vann’s is teaming up with local organizations to help serve the community. In each of our five stores we have put up a giving tree and will be accepting donated gifts for individuals in need. We encourage you to stop into your local store, pick a name off the tree, and help out this season. Here’s some information about the different organizations that we are partnering with and the work that they do.
Black Friday go!
Well folks, this day is finally upon us: the biggest, baddest shopping day of the year. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and grab those sales by the horns—or, you know, just grab them off the shelf before someone else does. And in case you needed a little inspiration, here’s a Black Friday playlist just for you. So pump up these tunes, put on your shopping shoes, and be the savvy consumer you were born to be.
|
|
|
