TUAW reader Ethan pointed us in the direction of something new, cool, and available only for iPhone and iPod touch (take that, Palm Pre and Android phones!)

BestBuy has an exclusive on the new Viper SmartStart System, which can do a number of things for your wheels:

• Start your car with virtually unlimited range
• Warm your car in winter; cool your car in summer
• Unlock your car or truck
• Arm the alarm to protect your car
• Activate panic alarm to protect yourself
• Receive push-button status notifications

It uses a free iPhone app [iTunes link] to give you that remote love, like when you are visiting friends overseas and want to scare people by starting your car up while it's sitting by itself in the airport parking lot. The developers also note that in the near future, a new release of the app will give you push notification if your car alarm goes off.

There are two versions available: a module (SmartStart VSM100 Module, US$299.99) for cars that are already equipped with compatible Viper starting systems, and a fully loaded package (SmartStart VSM4000 System, US$499.99) for the rest of us.

Some of the app reviewers have noted that you're not only paying for the system and your iPhone bill, but there's also a US$29 monthly annual GSM service bill that you'll have to pay (the first year of service is complimentary with your purchase). However, if the money isn't an object and you're already clueless about what to get a loved one for Christmas, this might be an idea to consider.

The NPD Group has released amazing numbers this week: Apple is generating one quarter of all US music sales. Equally impressive, but less surprising, is that Apple is also responsible for 69% of all online music sales.

Wal-Mart is #2 for US music sales at 14% (that's a combination of both their online and CD sales) and Best Buy is third. Speaking of CDs, the aging format is still the overall top seller in the US and Wal-Mart is the top CD distributor. However, NPD expects that Apple's sales will equal that of CDs by 2010.

I know it's impossible to say what I'm about to without sounding like a grumpy old man, but here it comes anyway. For me, the tremendous thing isn't that Apple has commandeered the market so handily, it is the rate at which the distribution model has evolved. I'm only 38 years old, but as a kid I had a box of records. By the time I was in junior high school I was buying cassettes and in college I bought CDs.

Today, I can't remember the exact last time I bought music in a format I could physically hold in my hands. I'm glad the big wigs in the music industry are starting to get it. Now if only the TV execs would follow suit.

The following is a re-enactment of the mysterious and sudden failure of Megan Lavey's MacBook.

It was the evening of Tuesday, July 14, 2009. Megan Lavey heads out to the movies to watch the eagerly anticipated Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince. But the excitement of the night was short lived.

Upon her arrival home, Megan found her MacBook in an unconscious state. She tried several attempts to revive it: plugging it and unplugging it, removing and reinserting the battery, as well as performing an SMC reset. However, these attempts proved futile.

In a last ditch effort, Megan made an emergency visit to her local Apple store to meet with a genius. They had both good news and bad news. The good news was that they identified the problem with her MacBook (the logic board) and could save it, but -- and here comes the bad news -- could cost up $750 to repair. What's worse, Megan didn't have AppleCare coverage. In a state of shock and sadness, Megan leaned on the shoulders of her fellow TUAWers, each of whom offered words of encouragement her:

Chris Rawson: "My wife's mid-2007 MacBook is having the exact same issue right now. Luckily, it's covered by AppleCare, and going to the local repair place ASAP."

Erica Sadun: "":( :( :(""

Sang Tang: "Hey, this would make an interesting post. I'm going to write something on this."

There are many Megans in the world, and each is faced with the difficult task of deciding whether or not a repair is worth its cost. It's also times like these that one regrets not purchasing AppleCare, for often times repair costs outweigh the cost of AppleCare. And this raises the question. Should you purchase AppleCare? Several months back, TUAW's Robert Palmer penned a piece on why he believes AppleCare is worth it. This post expands upon that and provides examples of when AppleCare is and isn't justified.

Remember the pre-Macworld buzz about a $99 iPhone 3G? Well, how about a $99.99 iPhone 3G?

Several sharp-eyed TUAW readers have let us know about a deal that Best Buy is offering for Reward Zone members. If you're a Reward Zone Premier Silver member, you can buy an 8GB iPhone 3G for US$99.99 through February 28th. The 16GB model is available for US$199.99. If you're a regular Reward Zone member, you pay just US$50 more for your iPhone 3G -- US$149.99 for 8GB, US$249.99 for 16GB.

Best Buy notes that you must be an existing Reward Zone member as of February 21, 2009, to take advantage of the special pricing, so you can't sign up for the program today and expect to get the discount. A two-year activation is required as well. If you're eligible and interested in getting a new iPhone 3G for a penny less than US$100, click the "Source" link below for details.

AppleInsider, MediaBistro and more are all pointing to some sweet Best Buy discounts on Apple products for Black Friday weekend that include laptop and desktop computers. Sale prices are good online and in-store.

Best Buy apparently stocked up on inventory to support the event. Apple employees will also be staffing Best Buy locations to push sales. The four-day sale extends from Sunday until Wednesday. (Thanks, Michel.)

Also of note: Apple retail stores will match other authorized retailers' advertised prices. According to ifoAppleStore, if you supply proof of the competitor's pricing (like Best Buy's circular), Apple retail employees have the authority to approve a discount matching that price.

If that weren't enough, as Cory mentioned earlier, Apple will also be having its own online Black Friday promotion.

After the jump, discounts ahoy!

Maybe this is a coincidence, coming as it does on the eve of a big Apple announcement... it could be meaningless, just regularly scheduled inventory maintenance, the BB version of the yellow sticky note. Sure, that's probably it -- nothing to see here. Yeah. No reason at all to think that Best Buy's website downtime could have anything, really, to do with the anticipated introduction of new Apple laptops tomorrow... right?

As if our conspiracy generators weren't already in full gear: suppose it is related. Could Best Buy be getting an exclusive deal on the $900 laptop outside of Apple's own stores? [Note that many sites are now reporting the "$899 MacBook" may in fact be a Cinema Display.]

Thanks to Horza for the tip

You've seen the Geek Squad with their fancy Volkswagens, spiffy ties and shiny, orange buttons. You've also seen the Apple Geniuses walking around with their crisp T-shirts, swell ID badges and all that knowledge.

They're both cool (for professional nerds), but who's happier? According to Glassdoor Blog, it's the Geniuses. They make more money on average and spoke better of their work environments in recent satisfaction surveys. Plus, who wouldn't choose to wear jeans and a T-shirt to work over a shirt and tie?

Actually, I kind of like the Geek Squad uniforms. They're a cross between Men In Black and Waldo from the Hot For Teacher video. But ... nerdier.

If you are looking for an iPhone 3G to spend your money on (and who isn't), look no further than your local BestBuy. Last night, BestBuy stores around the country started selling their newly acquired stock of iPhone 3Gs. This deal between Apple and the big-box giant was most likely a strategy to relieve the long waits at AT&T/Apple Stores.

We at TUAW do have a question: Does this change your iPhone buying habits? Will you buy an iPhone at BestBuy, or will you continue to buy at the Apple Store? We want to know, so take part in our poll and chat about in the comments.


Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

MacNN is reporting that US big box store Best Buy will begin selling iPhones on September 7th. The move could help reduce the long lines that are still developing at Apple and AT&T stores. You may remember a rumor about this last month.

Best Buy has been slowly developing a retail relationship with Apple. A few years ago, certain locations were given Mac minis to sell. That program has matured to the "mini stores" in place today. AppleInsider suggests that a major overhaul of the mobile phone departments at all Best Buy locations was the step that finally convinced Apple to hand over the iPhone.

So, will Best Buy move many iPhones? I still encounter much anti-Apple sentiment from hardcore Windows lovers, and big electronics stores can be an epicenter for that type of thing. However, it seems to be reserved to Apple's computers.

My hope is that the staff is well trained, as I'm sure we all remember the unpleasant experience of shopping for Macs at Circuit City several years ago.

Boy Genius Report is reporting that Apple may allow sales of the iPhone at BestBuy and RadioShack retail stores in the U.S. This, of course, is in addition to it being sold at Apple and AT&T stores.

This would be the first time since the iPhone's introduction that a third-party reseller would be able to sell the iPhone. These rumors are definitely unconfirmed at this point so we don't know if this will happen in time for the retail giants to get in on the July 11th introduction sale.

[via MacNN]

Several readers have written to let us know that Apple's Time Capsule is listed in the current Best Buy flyer. It is scheduled for a February release, so this could mean that we'll see it in stores this week.

If any TUAW readers visit a Best Buy this week, let us know if you find a Time Capsule on the shelves, and if you buy one!

Thanks, to everyone who sent this in!

We've heard about them, and now Ian sends us his Flickr tour of the "Apple shop" inside a Best Buy. It's a weird combination-- Apple's elegance with Best Buy's garish discount electronics warehouse look-- but from what we've heard, it works.

Would you buy an Apple from Best Buy? Ian says the nearest Apple store is 15 miles away, so for actually buying and purchasing a Mac, I'd rather go to the Genius Bar. But of course this store isn't meant for me (even though I do buy games and electronics at Best Buy)-- it's meant for Windows folks coming in to get a new PC, and reconsidering for the purchase of an iMac.

The problem with that is that Apple doesn't compete on price, and Best Buy does (ironically enough, Ian points out that Best Buy's plans are actually more expensive than AppleCare). Apple competes on the pleasure of the UI and usability-- that's why Apple stores work so well, because the whole transaction is designed around using the item. Still, making their computers accessible and open like this even at Best Buy (as much as possible, anyway-- the place looks a little cramped) is a start at reaching the unwashed Windows masses and enticing them into a better world.

Canada's Best Buy* website has posted a page (littered with typographical and grammatical errors) that interested Canadian shoppers can use to sign up for email notification of iPhone availability. So, it looks like the iPhone will be available at Best Buy in Canada, once it launches.

Now someone get a copy editor on that ad, mmkay?

*Best Buy is a big box electronics store in the US and Canada.

Thanks, Grant!

A few weeks ago, we wrote about Apple's plan to expand their presence in Best Buy stores (Best Buy is a big box electronics store here in the US) in 2007. Now, some of these store-with-a-store "boutiques" are beginning to appear, and they look great. The Macs are prominently displayed on their own minimalist set up, all running and ready to go. PB | Central says of the setup:

"The makeover is so major that when you first come across it, you might think you took a wrong turn somewhere. Once you step foot into the new Apple section, you might think you were magically transported to a regular Apple Store..."

If you come across one of these, let us know. They look great.

[Via MacDailyNews]

First it was Best Buy, now AppleInsider is reporting that US retailer Target will become the next third party chain to sell the Apple TV. You can expect to see units in stores by the end of the month (you can currently get one online at Target's website), and a few locations will even feature full-blown demo setups.

It has been reported that Apple TV sales have been a bit slow at Best Buy, so who knows what will happen at Target. Let us know if you see any, especially a demo model.