A little later than I had anticipated, but welcome to the new look DVD Bargain Alerts. We’re 3 weeks into 2009 and while I had hoped to refresh the look of the site a little sooner, but better late than never springs to mind.

The old theme was always a little rough around the edges and was starting to grate on me a little hence the change. I’ve cut out a lot of the redundant pages and features that seemed like a good idea at the time. The forum has gone – a difficult decision to make since the forum was the mainstay of the site when it was created back in 2006, but since hardly anyone has posted there over the last 12 months it was clearly time to say goodbye, that and the fact that adapting this skin for use on the forum was going to delay the go live date for too long a time.

The main features are still intact. The Price Comparison has been enhanced with the inclusion of a DVD Boxset search and I have added a couple of widgets to highlight popular searches throughout the site along with top 10 lists from Amazon for the majority of categories. Also you’ll notice that when searching titles I’ve added the ‘Best Price’ column to let you know whether an Item is worth clicking or not.

So there you have it. Hope you like the new look, and lets hope for a new year of great bargains.

Misc

Its not often I find the free DVDs offered in the Sunday Papers interesting enough to inspire me to go out of my way to buy them but this one is a little different. Life on Mars has been one of my favourite shows of the last few years and starting this Sunday (17th January) the News of the World are offering every reader the chance to get their hands on the complete 1st and second series of the hit show starring John Simm as Sam, and Philip Glenister, who plays bolshy 70s copper Gene Hunt.

The first disc comes in a special collector’s wallet and Episodes 1 & 2 of Series One. Just complete the voucher printed in the paper each week and take it to a participating WHSmith store.

Click here for more Details

Misc

*** You cant buy a wii fit for love not money these days and its only going to get harder as we approach Christmas***.

Visit Game to view their selection of Nintendo Wii Fit Bundles

Wii Fit, the exercise game that has sold over 1.4 million copies since its launch in Japan last December, is finally coming to these shores. Nintendo have announced that you will be able to tone your abs while you play from the 25th of April, but it will set you back around £70 for the privilege.

There are four categories of workout: Aerobic, Muscle Workouts, Yoga, and Balance Games with more than 40 routines available. Up to 8 people can track their progress and monitor performance via a new Wii Fit Channel on the Wii welcome screen. Now the reason for this post is simply to alert you to the fact that these are going to sell like hot cakes! Chances are if you don’t pre-order one for the release date they may well be difficult to get hold of.

UPDATE: OK Since Wii fit is now released, but still rarer than rocking horse business, you can compare prices of wii fit here

Key features:

# Learn to block soccer balls, swivel hips to power hoop twirls or balance to hold the perfect yoga pose – as users stand on the Wii Balance Board, included with Wii Fitness, their body’s overall balance is tied to the game in a way they’ve never experienced before.

# Wii Fitness also uses the Wii Balance Board for daily tests – these evaluate two key measures that a household can track via progress charts:
- Body Mass Index (BMI): A weight evaluation based on a ratio of„« weight to height.
- Wii Fitness Age: The Wii Fitness Age is measured by factoring the user’s BMI reading, testing the user’s centre of gravity and conducting quick balance tests.

# Wii Fitness includes more than 40 types of training activities designed to appeal to all members of a household – training falls into four fitness categories:
- Aerobic Exercise: 10-minute exercises that are designed to get the heart pumping
- Muscle Conditioning: Controlled motions using arms, legs and other body parts.
- Yoga Poses: Classic poses that focus on balance and stretching.
- Balance Games: Fun activities, such as ski jumping and heading soccer balls, that challenge the player’s overall body balance.

UPDATE: OK Since Wii fit is now released, but still rarer than rocking horse business, you can compare prices of wii fit here

Misc

I seem to be neglecting this blog at the moment, but honestly theres a real reason for it. I’m writing this post laid up in bed convinced I’ve got pneumonia – my wife on the other hand reckons its man flu, or worse a cold. Honestly my muscles ache, I feel like my throat is on fire and I can feel my brain bouncing off my skull when I move my head – man-flu my ar*e.

However, just so you don’t think I’ve forgotten about you here’s a heads up about a new feature thats just been implemented on HDandDVDbargains. Its called Amazonwatch and as you can probably guess if your a regular visitor to this site its the sibling of Storewatch, but geared specifically towards monitoring price changes at Amazon.co.uk. Its much more reliable than storewatch as it get updated automatically every day, however if I can sort out a new web host for DVD Bargain Alerts in the near future then Storewatch will become a much more rounded product with more stores and regular updates. Watch this space.

Misc