Best Buy Offers Last-Minute Holiday Gift Ideas

Business Wire, Dec 15, 2003

Business Editors

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 15, 2003

Top "last-minute" gift ideas include laptops, MP3 players, digital

cameras and camcorders, LCD TVs, wireless technology, home theater

systems and entertainment products such as CDs, DVDs

As last-minute gift-givers begin their pursuit to complete this year's holiday shopping list for family and friends, Best Buy offers popular technology products to serve as the perfect gift solution. Consumer electronics and entertainment products are more affordable, are easier to use, have more capabilities than ever before and are the gifts that most people are looking for this holiday season.

In addition, a recent National Retail Federation (NRF) holiday survey revealed that the average consumer has completed only about one-third (36.9 percent) of their holiday shopping, compared with last year when consumers had finished slightly more (38.7 percent) of their shopping by Dec. 1.

Gifts for Dads

Get the ultimate live experience with the Rolling Stones four DVD collector's set, "Four Flicks," exclusively available at Best Buy stores. "Four Flicks" is packed with three Rolling Stones concerts (in Paris, New York City and Amsterdam) from the 2002-2003 world tour, never-before-released live songs, feature-length documentaries and more.

Dads will love "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (extended version) DVD. The second film in Peter Jackson's series of screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's internationally popular Lord of The Rings trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" literally begins where "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" ended, with the Fellowship splitting into three groups as they seek to return the Ring.

Gifts for Moms

Moms will find the ideal scrapbooking solution with the KODAK EASYSHARE system, which includes the camera (DX6340) and the optional KODAK EASYSHARE Printer Dock 6000. The Printer Dock 6000 is compatible with any DX or CX 6000-series or LS633 model in the KODAK EASYSHARE digital camera portfolio. The Printer Dock is perfect for scrapbookers in that it produces true Kodak quality, permanent, durable, waterproof 4" X 6" color prints in as little as 90 seconds, with or without a computer attached, directly from the camera.

Long road trips will never be the same with Toshiba's Portable DVD/DVD-R/CD-R/RW Player with 7" Widescreen. Moms will enjoy the active-matrix display for an amazing lifelike picture and a digital photo viewer that lets you display digital photos on screen in a variety of formats, and create slide shows. 3D Virtual Surround Sound provides a simulated surround sound effect from stereo sources. When the show's over, you can relax to CD music, even MP3-CDs, through the built-in surround sound stereo system.

Gifts for Teens

Teens are looking for the latest in portable MP3 technology to listen to music from the Internet in its most popular format (MP3 files). The Phillips/Nike Michael Jordan limited edition sport digital audio player (psa 256max), available at Best Buy stores and on www.BestBuy.com, offers both 256MB internal memory and skip-free audio playback, with a design that allows for movement with any athlete. The audio player also includes Custom EQ with four presets for rock, hip-hop, funk and techno; a splash-proof exterior; no-look buttons for hassle-free control; and a backlit LCD display that shows track number, time, title and artist plus volume and battery levels.

Teens will be looking to play the new Namco Museum on their PlayStation 2 gaming system. The video game features a number of classic arcade hits in one package, including Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaxian, Dig Dug and Pole Position.

The hottest game to go with a teen's Game Boy Advance (AGB S MPA) system is Donkey Kong Country (ESRB Rating = E for Everyone). The game has a variety of challenges as Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong swing on vines, rocket out of barrel cannons, navigate mine cart rides and more.

Gifts for the Family

The entire family will enjoy the benefits of the Samsung 15" LCD TV (LTN-1535) with extraordinary resolution, brilliant color and a built-in NTSC tuner. The High-Definition-capable flat-screen TV is so thin and light, you can use it almost anywhere in the home or office.

Here is the family's chance to have all the digital options they need with the Sony MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 2.5" SwivelScreen Color LCD Monitor (DCR-TRV19). The digital camcorder with still camera gets great close-up shots with 10x optical zoom, a digital video editing program and a photo mode that can store hundreds of individual still images sized for sharing on e-mail. Families can share memories in a matter of moments with the detail and clarity in both video and still photo images that feature SteadyShot and NightShot modes.

Families can complete their home movie experience with the Panasonic 600W Progressive-Scan DVD Home Theater. The stunning progressive-scan DVD playback along with ultra-hi-fi DVD-Audio reproduction brings the home viewing experience to another level. The Panasonic home theater system features extra impact and intelligibility to surround-sound movies. This is a complete system with a slimline home theater receiver, integrated five-disc progressive-scan DVD changer, five surround speakers and a 220-watt active subwoofer.