They will have to put in a bid before May 11th. The estimated cost for this venture would be $6.5 million–this includes the website and the brand name. We currently don’t know if anyone else is bidding on it, or if Systemax will even go through with this, but it seems a likely move.

Especially when you consider the forward-thinking moves Systemax has been taking lately by reopening CompUSA stores with a different attitude (easing up on demo unit restrictions and matching online prices) and expanding their retail presence.

According to liquidators Great American Group, SB Capital Group, LLC, Tiger Capital Group, LLC, and Hudson Capital Partners, the sales have in fact set records for the retailer.  Ironically once the end was in sight, shoppers turned out in greater than predicted numbers to snap up a last-minute bargain.

“Thanks to record shopper turnout at many of the store locations and the attractive discounts offered on all merchandise, the sales actually went quicker than we expected” Scott Carpenter, executive vice president, director of operations, Great American Group

The liquidation sales started on January 17th, at 567 retail locations across the US.  Early predictions pegged the whole process as taking eight weeks; in fact it will have taken just seven.

In cellphones, it looks like the Helio Ocean 2 is almost ready to ship, but it could be too little, too late now that the Palm Pre is catching all the headlines.  Latest Pre rumor is that Vodafone UK will be picking it up as an exclusive; for all the details on Palm’s new smartphone, check out this round-up post and then head over to Pre Community.

Meanwhile HTC aren’t going to go down without a fight, no matter what Palm bring to the table, and their leaked 2008 line-up looks pretty impressive.  There are also rumors that they’ve turned to NVIDIA’s 1080p-capable Tegra mobile chipset, which could help create some real powerhouse handsets.

In netbooks, we saw Sony’s VAIO P (and yes, okay, they’re not calling it a netbook, but it’s not getting its own entire paragraph for “Digital Lifestyle PCs”) unboxed, as well as heard rumors that HP are planning at least three new Mini models, one of which will have integrated 3G.  What might be even more exciting is if they used Intel’s upcoming Atom N280, the minor clock-speed bump of which comes second to its new, HD-capable GN40 chipset.

The “bad news of the week” award goes to Circuit City, though they’ll likely have to sell their mantelpiece in a liquidation sale.  Not far behind, however, go Google, Motorola, Seagate, Sanyo, NEC and Microsoft, all of whom have been hit by the economic crisis. 

Finally, we wrapped up our CES 2009 coverage, including a look at Wilson’s MobilePro Cellphone Amplifier (expect a full review very soon) and the sight of my ears being filled with pink gunk.  It’s all in the name of pro-audio, however.  Remember, you can check out our full show coverage by clicking on the CES 2009 tag; next month is Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in November last year, after axing 155 stores was not enough to sate the demands of nervous suppliers.  According to the filing, as of August 31st the retailer owed around $2.32bn to more than 100,000 creditors, with HP, Samsung and Sony taking the top spots.  Circuit City assets were valued at $3.4bn.

A statement is expected to be released shortly, but with the liquidators already named – American Group LLC, Hudson Capital Partners LLC, SB Capital Group LLC and Tiger Capital Group LLC - it seems unlikely to bring with it any surprises.  Circuit City shares are now at just 7 cents a piece, down 53-percent.

“In large part, a Chapter 11 filing is due to three factors, all of which contributed to a liquidity crisis that prevented the company from completing its turnaround goals outside of formal proceedings: erosion of vendor confidence, decreased liquidity and a global economic crisis” Bruce Besanko, CFO, Circuit City

If the Chapter 11 petition is successful, Circuit City will be able to continue in business with the county court – in this case in Richmond, Virginia, where it is based – supervising the repayment of creditors.  According to the filing, as of August 31st the retailer owed around $2.32bn to more than 100,000 creditors, with HP, Samsung and Sony taking the top spots.  Circuit City assets were valued at $3.4bn.

Best Buy has recently confirmed that it is interested in taking over those Circuit City locations closing, though it has not suggested which it is considering nor even if such plans have been made.  Meanwhile analysts believe the large-scale liquidation of the axed Circuit City stores could have a knock-on effect that damages Best Buy’s holiday sales performance.

Full list of stores affected after the cut

Affected employees have been sent a letter (see the gallery below) informing them that their jobs will terminate on or before December 31st; Circuit City “has not yet determined” if they’ll be eligible for severance pay, but they’ve made clear that transfers between stores are not possible.  In fact, those being made redundant must wait until that process is fully completed before they can apply to work at an alternative store.

Liquidation teams are apparently set to move into the 155 stores and begin the process of selling as much stock as possible; no new deliveries will be made.  Warranty work already in progress at repair centers will be returned to alternative locations, while items waiting to ship out to the repair centers from affected stores will need to be picked up again by customers.

[via Consumerist]

This LG frame has all that you’d expect from a digital picture frame. It has a 3-in-1 memory card slot, USB upload capability, and the ability to play video and audio files. However, this is no ordinary device. In fact, with the built-in DVD player, you can watch a movie right on your desk.

But there are added features that really amp up this product. For instance, you can rip photos off of a DVD or CD to display on the frame and with the dual headphone jacks, a pair can watch a film on the frame without disturbing anyone else. There are also built-in speakers, a battery pack and more. You can pick up your very own LG DP889 for $279.95.

[via Coolest Gadgets]

I know, shocking, it’s just so wrong. That’d make a great speech for tech addicted teens though, it will probably be about as effective as the similar one given to get you to finish your vegetables. Well if you do feel the need to buy different flash drives to suit your mood of the day, this cute little drive from SanDisk would be great for those that prefer their drives to be stylish.

The SanDisk Cruzer Patter USB Drive isn’t just some designer item being sold for outrageous amounts either. It is being sold at Circuit City for $11.99 for a 2GB drive.

[via chipchick]

Circuit City posted a $200 million loss towards the end of 2007. Blockbuster is constantly battling Netflix, as well as its other Brick and Mortar competitors and the loss that online movie download services have brought the company.

Together they would make an $18 billion a year company and both would likely save money from the several synergies they could create, especially the fact that they’d be able to combine the video purchasing efforts from their suppliers. Furthermore, if Blockbuster does in fact come out with a set top box, Circuit City would be the perfect platform to launch such a product.

[via Crave]