giveaway

Crave giveaway: Davek Note Bag and umbrella

Congrats to Russell D. of Turners Falls, Mass., for winning an 8GB Archos 101 tablet in last week's giveaway!

If Russell were to seriously blow away the odds and win this week's prize too, he'd have a nice carrying case for his new tab. We're giving away a Davek Note Bag from Davek Accessories. Specifically designed for tablets, e-readers, and Netbooks, the bag measures 10 inches by 11 inches by 3 inches, making it a smaller, slimmer version of Davek's messenger bag.

Valued at $149, the Davek Note Bag is made from high-impact 1689D ballistic nylon and comes in black, navy blue, and hunter green (your choice). It sports a cool aerial hang glider buckle, which is our favorite touch.

And just because we love you, Crave readers--and because plenty of you are probably still feeling waterlogged from last week's torrents--we're tossing in a Davek Solo umbrella, a sturdy, stylish brolly with an automatic open and close button system. It's valued at $99 and comes in black; black and yellow; black and green; and bruise style, black and blue.

So how do you try to win this week's prize? Let us enumerate the basic rules. Please read carefully; there will be a test. … Read more

Free giveaway of a popular word game - TextTwist 2

Happy Friday! Just in time for a long three-day weekend over here in San Francisco, we've partnered with GameHouse to bring you an exclusive FREE offer on one of the most popular word games of all times - TextTwist 2.

Rated 4.5 stars by CNET, you can get a copy of TextTwist 2 completely free for one week only. Grab one, grab two, share it with your friends and family, but be careful - you may end up spending hours with this word game because it is that addicting. MMORPGs I used to play always used to warn … Read more

Crave giveaway: 8GB Archos 101 tablet

First off, congrats to Jason B. of Morrisville, Pa., who snagged an XtremeMac Luna SST alarm clock with detachable speakers in last week's Crave giveaway. We're sure Jason will never be late to work again.

Now, on to this week's giveaway. If you've been wanting to join the tablet-toting masses, here's your chance to do it for free, nada, bupkis. We're offering up an 8GB Archos 101 touch-screen tab, one of a few Android 2.2 tablets with a large 10.1-inch screen.

The Archos 101 sports an ARM Cortex-A8 1GHz processor. Considering the tablet's low price of $299, extras such as Mini-HDMI output; USB host and sync ports; MicroSD memory expansion; and a front-facing camera that can shoot both video and stills at a VGA resolution of 640x480 pixels are impressive, says CNET tablet reviewer Donald Bell. Note that while the tablet can't record HD video, it can play it at 720p.

The tablet has a built-in kickstand on the back that folds out far enough to prop the device at a slight angle, which helps with typing; the stand can also be used to keep the tablet upright for videos or photo slideshows. Instead of the aluminum-and-glass construction of the iPad, the Archos 101 is mostly plastic, meaning it's lightweight (around 16 ounces), if not rugged. As long as you don't plan to use it as a hard hat, you should be just fine.

So how do you try to win this week's prize? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read carefully; there will be a test. … Read more

Crave giveaway: XtremeMac Luna SST alarm clock with speakers

It's getting to be back-to-school time, and you know what that means, parents (besides lost coats, lice, and moldy backpacks). You best not oversleep! This week's prize is here to help rouse you from your slumber so you can get the kiddies off to class in time.

The XtremeMac Luna SST is a dual alarm clock that wakes you via iPhone/iPod music, FM radio, or chime. It has full stereo sound and optional detachable speakers that can be strategically placed for optimal dual-sleeper waking power. It also integrates with XtremeMac's alarm clock app for a more customized waking experience (including a customizable snooze button--yee-haw!).

Normally, the XtremeMac Luna SST would cost you around $130, but you have the chance to get it gratis.

So how do you try to win this week's prize? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please stay awake; there will be a test. … Read more

Crave giveaway: Sony ZX700 headphones

No one seems to get tired of headphone giveaways, so we're going back-to-back. After last week's Captain America cans (congrats to Gary C. of Garden City, N.Y., for winning them), we have a pair of Sony over-the-ear MDR-ZX700 headphones that are part of its new ZX series. Here's what Sony has to say about them:

Perfect for use in and out of the studio, these on-ear, high-quality MDR-ZX700 ZX Series stereo headphones add a subtle element of '70s soul to your listening experience. Featuring noise-isolating earpads, 50mm neodymium drivers with OFC copper voice coils, and integrated, multi-layer film diaphragms, these headphones offer all the bells and whistles of ultra-modern audio equipment-accented with just the right tones of understated '70s style.

Also, check out Brian Tong's video below from CES earlier in the year. In his spot review he says, "I'm likin' these."

Normally, these Sony headphones would cost you around $120, but you have the chance to get them gratis, superhero wannabes.

So how do you try to win this week's prize? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test. … Read more

Crave giveaway: Coloud Captain America headphones

First off, congrats to David K. of Aberdeen, Md., who won a Garmin Nuvi 255WT GPS unit preloaded with a Darth Vader VoiceSkin in last week's Crave giveaway. May the Force be with you, David!

Now, on to this week's giveaway, a pair of Coloud Captain America headphones. They may not be made of vibranium, but consider them your own dose of Vita-Rays. The 'phones are part of Coloud's line of Marvel-themed headphones, which also come in Ka-Pow, Wolverine Retro, Punisher, and X-Men styles.

Normally, Coloud's Captain America headphones would cost you around $40, but you have the chance to get them gratis, superhero wannabes.

So how do you try to win this week's prize and stand out from the crowd of standard-black headphone wearers? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test. … Read more

Crave giveaway: Garmin GPS unit with Darth Vader VoiceSkin

If you're a Star Wars geek who happens to get lost a lot, it's a good thing you found your way to this week's Crave giveaway. The prize is a Garmin Nuvi 255WT GPS unit preloaded with Garmin's newly released Darth Vader VoiceSkin.

That means the dark lord will be steering you around town with such directions as "Turn around when possible. I find your lack of faith disturbing," and "In 100 yards, take the exit left, and do not fail me this time!" Does your fancy-shmancy in-car nav system talk to you like that? We didn't think so. (Hear samples of the menacing commands here.)

Normally, the Garmin Nuvi 255WT GPS unit with a preloaded Darth Vader VoiceSkin would cost around $125.99, but you have the chance to snag it gratis.

So how do you try to win this week's prize? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test (in Bocce, of course). … Read more

Mint launches Sneak Previews; starts with Bill Reminders

Online personal-financial management service Mint is giving some CNET readers the chance to try out a new feature it's testing.

Called Bill Reminders, the service sifts through the Mint user's bank statements from the prior month and plucks out the bills they pay. From there, users can determine whether they want to be notified about the bills to ensure they're not late on future payments.

According to Mint, the reminders are sent to users via e-mail, SMS, or both, depending on their preferences. Users of the company's iPhone app will receive notifications about upcoming bills right on their smartphone, but they will not be able to use Bill Reminders from the app. Mint told CNET in a phone interview yesterday that notifications will be available to Android users "at a later time."

In addition to having Mint find bills, the service also lets users input bills the company might have missed. To do so, users need only assign the bill a name, input an amount, choose a date, and save it.

One of the features Mint touts is its timeline. On the main Mint page, users can view the next month, and find out which days they need to pay bills, marked by green bars. The bars come in different sizes, depending on how much the user owes. The taller the bar, the more they owe.

I had a chance to try Mint's new feature, and I was generally pleased. It found several of my bills without any trouble, and inputting new bills was quick and easy.… Read more

Crave giveaway: Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5

This week's giveaway is really something to talk about. The winner will score Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Home Edition for Windows, an upgrade from Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.

Nuance promises that the software refresh, released last month, delivers faster, better speech recognition. In fact, the company says this version boasts 15 percent greater accuracy out of the box than Dragon 10, and can reduce recognition errors by up to 35 percent compared with Dragon 9.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Home Edition also features new voice commands that let you post to Facebook and Twitter (get ready to start talking in 140 characters), along with new formatting and editing commands and more shortcuts.

Normally, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Home Edition for Windows would cost $99.99, but you have the chance to get it gratis. That's a great deal for anyone who suffers the perils of too much typing--or really, really likes to talk. … Read more