Daily electronics deals: Westinghouse 40-inch 1080p LED LCD HDTV

Today’s electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• Best Buy: Westinghouse 40″ 120Hz 1080p LED LCD HDTV for $400
• J&R: Ematic eGlide XL2 4GB 10″ Android Tablet for $150 + free shipping

Entertainment

• NewEgg: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector’s Edition [Xbox 360, PS3, PC] $79.99, free ship
• Amazon: Syndicate [Xbox 360, PS3] + $20 Amazon Credit $59.99, free ship

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn’t be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.

Video: The Sony PlayStation Vita handheld game system

When it comes to dedicated handheld game systems, it’s hard not to think of the Nintendo 3DS as the reigning champ. But challenging the game system with 3D graphics, introduced last year, is a new portable game system from Sony’s PlayStation line, the PS Vita.

The PlayStation Vita appears similar to Sony’s previous mobile gaming system, the PlayStation Portable or PSP, but offers some interesting features. While it doesn’t offer 3D graphics, like Nintendo’s mobile game system, the PS Vita does offer a 3G connectivity option, similar to smart phones and tablet computers.

Matt Ferretti, Consumer Reports in-house gaming expert, takes a look at the PS Vita and some of its advanced capabilities—such as augmented reality gaming.

Watch Consumer Reports Video: Sony PlayStation Vita for more information.

Do you think its smartphone-like size and gaming capabilities could dethrone Nintendo? Or, will other devices—such as Sony’s Xperia line of smart phones and Tablet P computers—continue to erode video game sales?

Report: Google and others tracking Safari browser users

Google and other companies which deliver online ads have been tracking which websites Apple Safari browsers have been accessing—despite default settings which are suppose to block online advertisers from doing so. Should you be concerned that Google is spying on your privacy?

According to the the Wall Street Journal, a study by Stanford University’s Security Lab and the Center for Internet and Society, found that Google—and three other online advertising firms, Vibrant Media Inc., Media Innovation Group LLC and PointRoll Inc.—have been able to place so-called “cookies” on the Safari browsers of iPhones and other iOS devices. Such third-party software code allows for additional “functionality”—serving ads that closely match which the topic of sites you’ve visited or, in the case of Google, allowing users to tell others they “like” a particular ad or website using Google’s “+1″ feature.

Since the Journal’s report, Google has stated its cookie code—delivered via online ads—wasn’t designed to invade anyone’s privacy nor did it collect any personal information from Safari users. And it has reportedly removed the code from ads served by its DoubleClick unit as well as repaired the parts of the Safari software that allow third-party cookies to bypass the browser’s default privacy settings.

Ioana Rusu, regulatory counsel for Consumers Union, the consumer advocacy arm of Consumer Reports says technology companies “should be checking their programs for vulnerabilities constantly, to make sure this type of thing doesn’t happen.” And while consumers might not have direct control over how pieces of software technology interacts with each other, Rusu says technology users can take steps towards online privacy.

“Consumers should continue to learn about and explore the various tools currently available to opt out of online behavioral marketing, said Rusu. “For example, they can set their browsers to reject third party cookies, periodically clean out the cookies on their machine, enable a browser’s Do Not Track tool, or opt out through the industry self-regulation mechanism found at http://www.aboutads.info.”

For more about protecting your online privacy, see Consumer Reports Guide to online security.

How Google Tracked Safari Users [Wall Street Journal]
Google Dodged IPhone Users’ Privacy With DoubleClick, Stanford Study Finds [Bloomberg]
Google Accused of Tracking Safari Usage Without Permission [PC Magazine]
Google’s Safari Tracking Dilemma: Reality Check [PC World]

Sound Byte: A review of Verizon’s LG Spectrum smart phone

The LG Spectrum, first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, is an Android smart phone available through Verizon. It boasts a 4.5-inch high-resolution (1280 x 720) display that supposedly borrows technology from LG’s best TV sets, a 1.5-GHz dual-core processor, and an ultra-fast LTE 4G connection.

Consumer Reports senior electronics editor Mike Gikas visited Into Tomorrow to give our first impressions of this promising phone. Listen to our Sound Byte podcast for details!

About Sound Bytes
Every week, Consumer Reports experts produce a short (less than two minutes in length) audio segment which cover a wide variety of issues regarding consumer electronics and technology. These small “sound bites” can be heard on Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline. The Sound Byte that is featured in the Consumer Reports Electronics Blog is a segment that aired on last weekend’s Into Tomorrow over-the-air broadcast.

About Into Tomorrow
Now in its 17th year, Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline covers the Latest in Consumer Electronics & Technology available today and… into tomorrow. The show airs on over 160 AM and FM radio stations around the U.S., on SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio, radio stations in Germany, Bermuda, New Zealand, Canada and several other sources including Mobile Broadcast Network, BeOS Radio, Sprint Radio, TiVo, and many others—every weekend. “Into Tomorrow” is also heard around the world on the Armed Forces Networks in several other countries. You can also catch all Into Tomorrow episodes on the Web. (The most recent show is usually added about three or four days after it has been broadcast on the radio.)

Daily electronic deals: Vizio M320VT 32-inch Razor 1080p LED HDTV

Today’s electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

• TigerDirect: 32-inch Vizio M320VT Razor 1080p LED HDTV (refurbished) $299.99, free ship
• Logitech: Logitech MK550 Wireless Wave Keyboard and Mouse Combo $39.99, free ship
• eBay: SanDisk 8GB MicroSD Card for $5.99 w/ Free Shipping

Entertainment

• Green Man Gaming: 30% off Select Horror Games (Alan Wake [PC Download] $20.10

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them—though some of the sites may be included, and recommended, in our Ratings of retailers for computers and other major electronics (both available to subscribers). Price shouldn’t be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies for restocking fees and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for many of the products on sale above, check out our free Buying Guides.