gifts

Take a Leap in May with motion control

This is the CNET Update you're looking for:

Get ready to control your computer like a Jedi: Leap Motion's controllers are arriving mid-May for $80. Watch the video above to see how users can navigate programs with the wave of a hand or the wiggle of a finger. Developers like Corel and Disney Interactive are releasing apps that work with Leap.

But that's not the only company taking the "touch" out of touch screen. At Mobile World Congress, STMicroelectronics shows how to control a tablet without making contact.

Also in Wednesday's tech news roundup: … Read more

Facebook prompts users to send gifts to friends with good news

Facebook has started nudging members to send gifts to friends with especially good news.

The company is featuring "Give a Gift" buttons in the News Feed alongside select status updates that mention special occasions such as a job change.

The buttons were first spotted by Inside Facebook, which obtained screenshots of status updates that talk about new jobs and show the Give a Gift suggestion. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to CNET that the buttons are part of a "newer test," and are "signaled by keywords."

The appearance of the buttons in News Feed marks … Read more

Facebook embraces Valentine's Day to hawk gifts

There's no escaping Valentine's Day -- especially on Facebook. In addition to catching countless updates from friends loving or lamenting the day, you'll find that the social network has morphed into a last-minute V-day gift shop.

Facebook is today showing members a customized Valentine's Day prompt that encourages them to surprise friends or loved ones with a not-too-late little something purchased from the social network's Gifts online marketplace. The promotion is live atop the Facebook News Feed for a large percentage of U.S. users, a company spokesperson confirmed to CNET.

Facebook members who have … Read more

Buying a new mobile phone? Best Buy will give you a $50 gift card

Thinking of buying a new cell phone sometime in the next few weeks? How about the next few months? Before the calendar strikes 2014? If you're willing to part with a few bits of information, Best Buy will give you a $50 gift card when you buy a new phone -- even if it's not for another 11 months.

Interesting, no? I've seen retailers offer gift cards for purchases made within a small window, but never anything quite like this. All you do is give Best Buy your existing and active mobile or landline number and your e-mail address, … Read more

Good news on mobile, Zuckerberg! Now answer these six questions

Mark Zuckerberg and his top lieutenants of course had plenty to say about the social network's fourth-quarter performance on yesterday's earnings call with investors and analysts. But what they didn't say proves more telling.

When it came to Facebook's newfound health on mobile, they shared lots. So much, in fact, that it obscured hot topics such as the engagement potential of the just-rolled-out Graph Search; Facebook Gifts; and the Instagram backlash over the terms of service mess.

Intentional oversights? Absolutely. Wise withholdings? The jury's still out as investors consider -- maybe guess is a better … Read more

Facebook testing new status icons

Thursday's CNET Update talks about feelings:

Facebook has been busy coming up with new icons to share your moods. It's also launching a new type of gift card that can be assigned to different merchants before being mailed to friends. But make its own Facebook phone? Well that's just silly.

Also in this news roundup:

- Twitter tweaks photos and video viewing

- GameSpot: No Wii U price cut

- Foursquare reveals "best of" based on check-ins

Watch CNET Update in the video above, or subscribe to the podcast via the links below.

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Facebook launches Facebook Card, a reusable gift card

Facebook today announced the launch of Facebook Card, a reusable gift card that can be used at Jamba Juice, Olive Garden, Sephora, and Target.

Facebook members can purchase and send the multitasking gift card, accessible from the "Gift Cards and Digital" category within Facebook Gifts, to their social-network friends.

"We're starting this early rollout as another way for people to instantly send their friends gifts through Facebook," a company spokesperson told CNET. "Each gift is a set value at a particular retailer, chosen by the sender."

The process for sending a Facebook Card … Read more

Time for Zuckerberg to unwrap his plans for Facebook Gifts

When Facebook reports its fourth-quarter earnings today, investors will be hyper-focused on how much progress the social network is making on mobile. The rapid shift to mobile has, of course, been the key part of the Facebook story since the company went public in May. First mobile was a giant problem; then CEO Mark Zuckerberg artfully reframed the problem as a giant opportunity.

And that opportunity extends to Facebook Gifts, which Facebook rolled out to all U.S. users near the end of the fourth quarter. Of all the products that Facebook unveiled in late 2012 -- and there were many … Read more

What to do with the gifts you hate

Every year there's always one or two gifts that prompt you to ask yourself "what were they thinking?" You know it's something you'll never use, and you're left with the question of what to do with it. This year, don't let it sit in your closet collecting dust, and most certainly don't throw it away. Turn that unwanted gift into something you do want, be it cash, a gift card, or another item you'll actually use. Here's a few different ways you can deal with the gift you loathe.

Sell … Read more