One right after the other, the big three game console makers have been bragging about their sales, now with Nintendo joining in the dueling press releases. According to an AP story, Nintendo sold 600,000 Nintendo Wii gaming consoles on Black Friday. They also sold an additional 900,000 Nintendo DS handheld gaming systems on the same day.

Nintendo joins Sony, which reported moving 4.1 Million Play Station Move Controllers out to retailers, and the Microsoft Xbox Kinect, which was purchased at a rate of 2.5 million in its first 25 days. It is not unusual for gaming systems to sell well during the holidays. With the addition of motion controllers, the big three all have similar offerings this holiday season.

One big difference in the numbers reported is that Nintendo is reporting selling 1.5 Million gaming systems. Neither Microsoft nor Sony broke down how many of their sales were just the controllers or add-ons and how many were fully integrated bundles of the console with either the Move or Kinect included. So, perhaps there is still some juice left in Nintendo’s platform. Certainly the lower initial price has an impact on the sales. A Nintendo Wii with 1 controller and a pair of games is selling for $200 at Amazon. Add an additional controller set for $34 bringing the total for a system and two controllers to $234.

A similar bundle of the Playstation 3 with a 320GB hard drive and a single controller and Move controller is $400 at Amazon. Add a second controller for $45 and a second Move controller for $50 (sold out at Amazon) and you are playing nearly $500 for the ability to have two players simultaneously enjoy the new Sony system.

A 4GB Xbox 360 bundle with a game and a Kinect sensor is $375 at Amazon. An additional controller will cost $39. You don’t need to buy any additional hardware to get a second person playing Kinect games. It already works with two players out of the box.

As you can see, the Wii has a distinct price advantage.

Nintendo Joins Sony and Microsoft with Brisk Holiday Sales is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

However, this is not comparing two of the same. Microsoft’s report was of sales while Sony is reporting the number shipped out to stores. What if 4 Million of them go unsold? That likely won’t happen, but before you believe reports that are misstating the facts, you should know that Sony isn’t releasing actual sales figures yet.

Also it is worth noting that to use PlayStation Move all players need a controller, unlike the Kinect which can act as the controller for everyone playing. So a family of Four will need to purchase four Move controllers while the same family would only need one Kinect accessory. This is important because it speaks to the install base for the technology which is often used by publishers to decide which motion based tech to use when making a new game.

Below is a review of the Move:

Sony Move on the Move with 4.1M PlayStation Move Controllers Shipped is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

During Black Friday eBay saw a surge in mobile bidding, up 30% compared to last Friday, a trend that matches up with an increase in PayPal payments which were up 27% on Black Friday. PayPal reported an increase in mobile payments of 310% over Black Friday 2009 which could be shoppers paying for auctions, chipping in for holiday group gifts or splitting the cost of a Black Friday lunch.

The Hottest Black Friday Products from eBay for Black Friday 2010:

• Kinect for Xbox 360 for an average selling price of $228, up 281 percent over the November 1 to November 24 period.
• Apple iPad for an average selling price of $650 (ASP reflects all models and conditions), up 35 percent over the November 1 to November 24 period.
• Apple iPhone 4G for an average selling price of $724, up 12 percent over the November 1 to November 24 period.
• Canon SX120 10MP digital camera for an average selling price of $152, up 28 percent over the November 1 to November 24 period.
• Nintendo DS for an average selling price of $113, up 99 percent over the November 1 to November 24 period.

eBay wasn’t the only one tracking Black Friday, FortiousOne tracked tweets about brands and stores on Black Friday and clued us in on the winners and the losers in technology. Here’s an interactive map of Tweets by audience.

It’s no surprise that Apple was the top electronic brand in number of tweets, losing out to Walmart in overall tweets. Apple bested Microsoft by about 84% in overall tweets, but that may not have included tweets about the Xbox 360, Xbox Kinect and game deals. Overall, PlayStation 3 took top billing in tweets beating out Xbox 360 (by 21%), and the Nintendo (by 41%).

Apparently Android took the day form Apple with 46% more tweets about the Android than about the iPhone. This is likely due to the fact that the iPhon4 4 didn’t see Black Friday discounts in line with what many carriers offered on Android phones from the carriers and from Amazon at a penny.

In terms of Laptop brands, Sony beat out Dell by 49% on Black Friday, all trailing Apple which was one of the most searched for Black Friday laptop makers we saw here at Notebooks.com.

What was most popular on Black Friday for you? Tell us about your score in the comments.

Black Friday 2010: Popular Products and Brands is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Our top picks for Black Friday deals under $300 are the Westinghouse 40″ 60Hz 1080P LCD HDTV, Apple iPod Touch 32GB with Free $50 Gift Card and the PlayStation 160GB Holiday Bundle plus $50 coupon for future purchase

Best Black Friday 2010 Deals Under $300:

Westinghouse 40″ 60Hz 1080P LCD HDTV – $298 at Target

If you want a great price on a decent size HDTV this 40″ Westinghouse from Target is your best bet. It can handle 1080P, but has a slower 60Hz refresh rate which could be a dealbreaker for sports fanatics and gamers, but general TV watchers can enjoy this sale.

Apple iPod touch 8GB with Free $50 Gift Card – $225 at Walmart

If an iPad Touch is on your holiday shopping list this deal is too good to pass up. Well, unless you want the 32GB iPod Touch from Toys R Us which is also on this list.

Lenovo G550 15.6″ Notebook – $279 at Office Depot

This budget laptop is a Black Friday Best Buy in our Under 300 laptop category. It has a single core processor and should be able to handle the needs of a basic home user who wants to surf the web, email and watch YouTube. It’s not for gaming or phot and video editing, but could be a good fit for some home users.

Samsung 5.1 Channel 1000-Watt Blu-ray Home Theater System – $299.99 at Sears

This system includes Blu-Ray and supports BD Live as well as the ability to add Internet streaming.

Apple iPod Touch 32GB with Free $50 Gift Card – 299.99 at Toys R Us

This is more than likely the best deal you will see on an Apple iPod Touch during Black Friday, or even through the rest of the holiday season!

XBox 360 4GB Game System Kinect Bundle – $299 Walmart

If you need an Xbox 360 and want to experience Kinect gaming this bundle is your best bet. It’s not on sale, but it’s new enough that it will be on many wish lists for the holidays.

PlayStation 160GB Holiday Bundle plus $50 coupon for future purchase – $299 at Meijer

If you are near a Meijer, this Bundle comes with a nice $50 coupon that you can use to pick up a game later or to buy groceries! Either way you’re beating the bundles at most other stores by $50.

Need more ideas, check out 10 Things to Buy on Black Friday Besides a Laptop where you can find other affordable Black Friday deals.

Also, check out our other Black Friday Buying Guides;

• Black Friday Deals under $50
• Black Friday Deals under $100
• Black Friday Deals under $200

Black Friday Buying Guide: Deals Under $300 (Black Friday 2010) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Best Black Friday 2010 Deals Under $50:

Free $3 Amazon MP3 Credit – Free

All you need to do is enter the code “GetMP3S” and you’ll find yourself with $3 in Amazon credit to use on DRM free music downloads that will work on any device that plays MP3 files.

Free Amazon Prime for Moms and Students – Free

If you are a Mom (or Dad) or Student, you can get a free membership in Amazon Prime which gives you free two day shipping for 3 months and $3.99 overnight shipping. Amazon Prime is normally $79 a year which makes this deal HOT!

Xbox Live Arcade Black Friday Game Deals – $1 to $8

Xbox Live arcade games, character add ons, in game content and more for $8 or less. Many of these items are half price and represent a great value for gamers on Black Friday.

Xbox Live Movie Download Sale – $4.75 to $9

Buy your favorite flicks in HD direct from Microsoft for playback on the Xbox 360. These deals include action movies like 300 and chick-clicks like P.S. I Love You.

DVD and Blu-Ray Deals from Amazon $3.99 to $12.99

Thousands of hot movies are available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Amazon including recent releases like Slumdug Millionaire, The Dark Night, The Blind Side and Get Him to the Greek. You can find similar deals in store at retailers like Best Buy, but why wait in line when you can order right now?

SanDisk 16GB Cruzer USB Flash Drive – $24.99 at Office Depot

Need to take a lot of photos or media files with you in your pants pocket? This small, but high capacity, USB thumbdrive is a good deal at under $25 on Black Friday.

PlayStation 3 DualShock3 Wireless Controller – $39.99 at Buy.com

Save $15 on this wireless dual-Chock PS3 controller as part of Buy.com’s Pre Black Friday sale. The satin silver finish is perfect for blinding flashy players who want top show their opponents they shouldn’t b messed with.

iHome iP11 Speaker Spacesaver For iPod/iPhone – $39.99 at Office Depot

This slick little iPhone, iPod Touch, dock will keep your phone off your nightstand and give you more sound than the built in speaker. Best of all the clock will make it easy to see that you’re running behind as your iPhone alarm blares over the speakers.

FallOut New Vegas for Xbox 360 – $39.99 at Gamestop

Pick up one of this fall’s hottest games for $20 off. It’s guaranteed in stock on Black Friday at Gamestop.

Seagate 1TB Internal SATA Hard Drive – $49.99 at Office Depot

Need to make room for all those holiday pictures? pick up this internal hard drive form Office Depot and you’ll have enough storage to see you through to next Black Friday… at least.

MacAlly Hi-speed eSATA/USB2.0 3.5” SATA Hard Drive Enclosure – $27.99 at MacMall

If you need a nifty looking hard drive enclosure for your Mac, this MacAlly eSata USB 2.0 enclosure will do the job and look pretty at the same time.

Lexar 32GB TwistTurn USB Flash Drive – $49.99 at Office Depot

If the 16GB USB thumbdrive we linked to earlier in the guide isn’t enough, this 32GB hard drive from Office Depot should do the job.

Need more ideas, check out 10 Things to Buy on Black Friday Besides a Laptop where you can find other affordable Black Friday deals.

Black Friday Buying Guide: Deals Under $50 (Black Friday 2010) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The PS3 makes a great gift for the entire family. Besides being a game console, the PS3 can play Blu-ray titles and connect to the Web to run applications such as Netflix.

Amazon, and most other retailers, normally sells the PlayStation 3 160GB console for $299.99. That means that you’re essentially getting two PS3 games for free. This is a good deal if you or your kids actually want these two titles, but we recommend skipping it if you’re after different games. There will be plenty of PS3 bundles to be had this Black Friday.

For more information about this deal, visit Amazon.com. You can find more Black Friday deals at the Notebooks.com Black Friday page. A summary of Amazon.com’s Black Friday deals are here.

Black Friday: $299 PlayStation 3 160GB w/SingStar, Rachet and Clank at Amazon is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

Black Friday HDTV Deals from Sony:

• Pre Black Friday Sale: Save $400 instantly on theSony 32″ Class BRAVIA EX700 HDTV(KDL32EX700) - now just $599.99 ENDS 11/24
• Save $1200 on the Sony 55″ Class BRAVIA HX800 3D HDTV(KDL55HX800) - now just $1999.99. Plus add a Playstation®3 for $199.99 ENDS 11/29.
• Save $1000 on the Sony 46″ BRAVIA HX800 3D HDTV(KDL46HX800) - now just $1499.99. Plus add a Playstation®3 for $199.99 ENDS 11/29.
• Save $150 instantly on the Sony 40″ BRAVIA EX400 Series HDTV(KDL40EX400) - now just $549.99 ENDS 11/29.
• Save $70 instantly on the Sony 32″ Class BRAVIA BX300 HDTV (KDL32BX300) - now just $379.99 ENDS 11/29.

If you’ve been looking to pick up Playstation Move, Sony has a PS3 Move Bundle available on Sony Style for $99 as well.

• Get moving with a PS3™ and new PLAYSTATION®Move bundle. Shop Now!

Early Black Friday: Huge Savings on Sony Bravia HX and EX HDTVs and PS3 w/ Move is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

PlayOn TV helps you get Internet streaming content on a TV. There have been an explosion of dedicated set-top boxes for this recently, like the Roku Box, Boxee Box, AppleTV and now Google TV. All of those require the consumer to buy another box and hook it up to the TV and Internet. Since the major networks are blocking their content from Google TV, PlayOn TV may be a better solution

PlayOn TV will stream TV from sources like Netflix, hulu PLUS, Major League Baseball, Amazon On Demand and even the TV networks web sites to your TV. The only thing you need is a Windows computer on a high-speed network and a networked media device like a gaming system, which  many people already have. I tested it using my Wii and my DirecTV HR20 DVR.

First, download the software. It is free to use for 14 days after which it is $39.99 for the first year and $19.99 thereafter. If you like, you could instead pay a one-time charge $79.99. There is a free version but it only plays music from Pandora or your own content in a folder that you point the software to on the My Media tab (see image to the right).

The software runs in the background on your Windows computer. On Windows 7 it just shows up in the lower right corner (system tray). Double click it and the configuration screen is displayed.

It is a good idea to read the User Guide to figure out what you will have to do to configure things. But for the most part it should run out of the box. Make sure that you select all the check boxes on the General Settings Screen (except for the Parent Control boxes, unless you feel the need to filter adult content from young people. If the box in the upper right is green and says running, that means everything is working and should function as planned. To double-check, click on the System Check tab and be sure all four boxes are green.

The next step is add content. You do this by installing Plugins. The easiest way is to install the supported plugins from PlayOn TV. Some are already installed for you. You may need to add your login information for premium services like Netflix and hulu PLUS. Revision3, the great tech Internet channel, has a plugin as does NBC, CBS, NFL, Food Network, SyFy and more. If you are inclined you can create a plugin. There is info about that on the plugin page.

Once you have some plug-ins installed and your information is added for logging in, now you have to configure your device. For most, this doesn’t require anything. My DirecTV HR20 DVR was working right away without any configuration. The only requirement is the device must be on the same network. The list of supported devices is at PlayOn.TV.

In addition to devices hooked up to a TV, PlayOn has an iOS app that runs natively on the iPhone and iPod Touch. It also works adequately on the iPad. Until then, the iPhone app works well and the videos themselves actually run at the iPad screen resolution when played on an iPad. When I asked Quinn Wageman, a spokesperson for PlayOn TV about this he said:

…streaming quality is also optimized for the larger iPad screen over Wi-Fi (3G doesn’t support due to limited bandwidth). There is no sacrifice in streaming quality with the iPhone app on the iPad.”

Wageman also informed us that there is an update to the app that is coming soon which will make it a universal app working on both the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch at each devices native resolution. If that is not sufficient, iPad users can use the mobile access site which will play video at the native resolution of the device. See below for my experience on the mobile access site.

An Android app should be out early next year. Also compatibility of the mobile access web site for Android will be added then. Other mobile device apps are not in the works at this time.

If the device you are wishing to watch is supported and works, then all you have to do is go into the interface and begin watching. Here are some demos from the company for various devices.

Playstation 3

Here are some screen shots:

XBOX

Here are some screen shots:

Wii

DirecTV and iPad

In my video review I show it on the DirecTV HR20 DVR and on the iPad.

Mobile Access

There is still one more way to watch PlayOn TV content. It is called Mobile Access. If configured properly on the Mobile Access tab, the service will stream content when a user goes to http://m.playon.tv. Your network router will have to support Universal Plug and Play, a feature that allows devices and services like PlayOn TV to poke a hole through the router’s security just for this service. If it doesn’t work automatically, you may need to manually configure it to work. I had to do this by forwarding port 57331 to my PC’s IP address. If that all sounds like Greek to you, then it would be best to get a friend who understands such things to set it up for you because it is different on every network router.

Conclusion

The issue of having to manually configure port forwarding shows that PlayOn TV can be a great alternative to watching streaming video from the Internet on a computer, but also can be a maddening service that only Geeks or someone who has access to a Geek can set up. It solves the problem of how to get content from the Internet to the TV. And it also solves the problem of how to get Flash video onto an iOS device. But it is not perfect.

In my tests I had some problems with content not streaming when I wanted it to. Initially I had difficulty configuring it to work on my network. And the Mobile Access service didn’t work for me out of the box so I had to manually configure it, a task that is not something the average user will be able to do. If you have problems like I did, be sure to visit the support page or the user forums. Or just click the support link on the first tab inside the PlayOn TV configuration software.

The good thing is you get 14 days to test things before you have to pay. A little effort on the part of a tech savvy user can result in Internet streaming video on all of the TVs in your house. If you have more than one TV then you can get service similar to a Roku Box or a Google TV without having to buy more than one of those devices. And you can watch Flash video on your iOS device from sources that don’t want to play nice with the likes of hulu or Netflix.

Pros:

• Streams content you can’t find on hulu
• Once configured it is simple to use
• Supports a lot of devices
• Streams content to many devices so you don’t need a separate set-top box for each TV
• Works on iOS devices well

Cons:

• Takes some configuring at the start
• More expensive than just using a computer on the Internet
• Poor video quality a little sometimes
• Requires always on PC
• Devices must be on the same network
• Mobile Access failed in my test
• Only iOS devices supported
• Android app not coming till 2011

PlayOn TV: Internet Video on a TV and Flash on Your iOS Device is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Remote Play is probably the most intriguing feature. It allows the user to remotely play the PlayStation 3 on the VAIO notebook or on the Sony PSP. With Remote Play the processing is done on the PS3 with a live video streamed over WiFi to the VAIO or the PSP.  Not every game will work with Remote Play, but you can find a list of Remote Play supported games here.

The keyboard feature can be used in the Sony Home area and in games that support the official PS3 wireless keyboard.

Sony VAIO EA users should be able to find the download in the VAIO Update tool as well as some other VAIO models, but there is not yet word on the officially supported Sony VAIO notebooks. If you want to use Remote Play without a VAIO, and don’t mind rolling up your sleeves, you can download a hacked version of the Remote Play software to use on non-VAIO notebooks running Windows 7 and even a VMWare installation on a Mac.

Sony VAIO Laptops Get PS3 Remote Play, Keyboard support is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, stated, “Hulu Plus is not a replacement for Hulu.com.” Rather it is a “new, subscription product that is incremental and complementary to the existing Hulu Service.” Think of it as a Pandora, Pandora One situation. Here is a breakdown of the new features that are offered to Hulu Plus subscribers, starting today.

• Full Seasons of shows – Every episode of the current season is now offered. Additionally, many shows, like Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives, offer all of their episodes from all seasons.
• Watch on your TV – With select Internet-enabled Samsung TVs and Blu-ray players, Hulu content can be streamed directly to your TV. There is a Hulu Plus application now available on the Samsung app store.



• Watch on your iPad – Starting today, there is a Hulu Plus App for the iPad, allowing content to be streamed over 3G or WiFi.



• Watch on your iPhone or iPod Touch – There is also a Hulu Plus App for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod Touch (Current Generation). Content can be streamed over 3G or WiFi.



• 720P HD – All native HD content is now streamed in 720P high-definition.
• More to come – Hulu Plus is being developed for more platforms, including the PlayStation 3.
• Updates all platforms – When you begin watching a movie on your TV, you can pick up where you left off on your iPad, and so on. This feature is similar to Apple’s bookmarking using the iBook application.

Jason Kilar said that this is just the beginning. Expect more platforms and features to emerge as Hulu Plus gains momentum.

So how much does this service actually cost. All of these features, with more to come, can be yours for only $9.99 a month. Right now, the service is only offered on an invitation basis. However, you can request and invitation here. To increase your odd of getting an invite, follow Hulu on Twitter or Like it on Facebook.

Via Hulu’s Blog

Hulu Plus, A Premium Subscription Service is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.