EXCLUSIVE!: Future Shop to Offer HD DVD Trade-ins

Future Shop has exclusively informed Marketnews (sister magazine to this blog) that the retailer will be offering an HD DVD player trade-in program, similar to Circuit City's recent announcement in the U.S., starting tomorrow (March 7). The program, which will run up until April 3, 2008, will afford customers who have previously purchased an HD DVD player from Future Shop with the opportunity to exchange it in-store for a $100 credit toward an HD DVD/Blu-ray combo player from either Samsung (the BD-UP5000) or LG (BH-200). This, however, excludes the HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 gaming console, which has been reduced to $50 as of late.

It's a pity that there isn't a promotion involving the return of an HD DVD player for credit toward a dedicated Blu-ray player, but you have to admit that the offer is still pretty darned compelling. Think about it: you can buy one of the players (LG's is currently selling for $430 and Samsung's for $800, which are realistically in and around the same price points as Blu-ray-only players anyway) and you're still able to play back all of the HD DVD discs you already have, as well as newly-acquired discs in the Blu-ray format. It's the best-of-both-worlds scenario for people who have taken the HD DVD plunge; and especially for those who have stocked up on tons and tons of HD DVD movies.

As for Blu-ray only players, Future Shop will be offering $50 off on all Blu-ray players (including the aforementioned combo models). Unfortunately, this excludes the Sony Playstation 3 gaming console, which has a Blu-ray player built in. When asked whether the retailer had any plans to offer a trade-in program for dedicated Blu-ray players, Ken Sorhus, Merchandise Manager for Home Audio, DVD & Blu-ray said that Future Shop will indeed investigate the possibility, but it has "no plans at the moment".

Will consumers see value in this existing promotion? Probably not all of them. But if the situation fits, it's certainly an incentive. Right now, if you want the high-def movie experience, Blu-ray is your only option. If you already have an HD DVD player, rather than let it collect dust, or position it next to a fancy new Blu-ray player you plan to buy anyway, why not just trade it in and use one device?

As for the returned players, what does Future Shop plan to do with them? The retailer has partnered up with The Boys and Girls Club of Canada, and will be donating the players for use in after-school and evening programs. Kudos on that philanthropic decision.

[Photo: Future Shop's Ram Manaktahla poses beside Samsung's BD-UP5000 combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player].

Rogers Lets You Talk For Free

OK, not exactly, but the wireless carrier is running a promotion whereby you can choose five friends to put on a special calling list, then make unlimited, local calls and text messages to them for free. Well, not entirely for free: the plan, called MY5, will cost $25/mth, or can be added to select existing plans for another $10. Although MY5 is open to any Rogers Wireless subscriber, judging from the press release I received this morning, Rogers is targeting the promotion primarily to youths.

This is surely a great way to help parents save money, especially with Chatty Cathy kids that can’t go one hour without talking it up with their “BFF”. But this promotion poses a few questions. For one, do parents really want to encourage their kids to blab on the phone for hours on end? With per-minute plans, parents can easily argue that once the kid has reached his minutes for the month, he’s not allowed to use the phone until next month (unless he gets a j-o-b to pay for it!). With this particular plan, kids can pull the “but mom, it’s free!” card. The parent is, of course, the authority figure here either way, and has the final say. But if I were a kid, I’d be asking why you signed me up for this plan if you don’t let me use it?

Second: although the plan affords unlimited calling and texting to your five favourite friends, regardless of which carrier the friend is on, what happens if these five people aren’t on the same plan? Uh-oh. When it comes to kids, this means angry neighboring parents banging down your door insisting why your daughter told little Billy it was free to talk on the phone. If you are a parent signing your kid up for this promotion, make sure that the parents of the five friends chosen are aware of the details, so they can either sign their kid up for the same deal, or instruct them that their standard calling rules still apply. One good thing to note is that, according to the fine print, this promotion does include landline phone numbers as well, which might be the best route to take to save your friends money if they aren’t on the same MY5 plan.

Third: what happens if Suzy gets into a fight with Jenny and wants to remove her from the “five friends” list. Or maybe they got into a fight because Jenny wasn’t included in the first place! According to the FAQs on the promotion, numbers can be changed once a month. So feel free to threaten your buddies with removal from the fantastic five if they don’t wisen up!

Crafty customers should also note that you can’t choose your own number or special voice mail access number; nor any 1-800/1-900 numbers, within your five. Darn!

If you plan to sign up for MY5 (or any promotion for that matter), I advise you call the carrier, or visit in store, and go over every finite detail. It’s better to be safe than to receive an inflated phone bill!