Budget Saving Apps

These tough economic times have everyone searching for the best prices and the greatest bargains - especially when it comes to gas prices and everyday items. But what if you can still buy some of the things you want and like, while also purchasing the necessities you still need? Companies are creating mobile applications that connect users with great bargains, deals, sales, and discounted products. Other mobile applications are also being created to find the cheapest gas prices in a specific location and the best price on consumer goods from clothing to groceries.

Shopping with PayPal

So today's post is pretty cool. At least the commercial is. Ladies and Gentlemen, PayPal, that payment system you used pretty much in eBay has stepped up its game quite a bit. Trust me on this one. Remember that Google Wallet that I talked about last week? Well take that, and inject it with steroids.

In the video at the bottom of the screen, we get to see four noteworthy features of this new mobile technology that PayPal offers. There aren't any hard details from PayPal yet, but they're set to unveil this either tomorrow or Sunday according to what I've heard. 

Apple unveils new iPad with 3.1M-pixel Retina Display

Earlier today, Apple announced the release of a new iPad that has been nicknamed the "iPad 3" or "iPad HD". This product will be coming to 10 countries starting on Friday, March 16th.  With a 2,048-by-1,536-pixel resolution, the product's Retina Display crams 3.1 million pixels into a 9.7-inch display.  Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller, noted that the screen on the new iPad has more pixels than a 1080p television.

So what features come with the new iPad?

Nordstrom's New Mobile Check-Out System: No More Standing in Line

Nordstrom, the well known department store chain, is a high end, luxury retailer that prides its self on incredible and friendly customer service. If you have every made a purchase at a Nordstrom store, you most likely know exactly what I am talking about. There are many factors that go into creating this indescribable customer experience. Whether it be friendly and attentive staff, a good selection, the ambiance, or whatever your personal preference is… Nordstrom seems to have this down. But according to the typical customer and MSN Money, Nordstrom ranks #4 for the best customer service.

Swipe or Tap: Your Choice

So here’s a video on the latest development in monetary transaction: using your phone. According to this video, instead of having to break out your wallet, find the debit or credit card, clumsily (if you're me) try to slide it the correct way through the machine, punch in the pin, then put it back in your wallet, and try to put it back in your pocket while looking subtle and if you know what you're doing, you'll be able to use your smartphone instead and tap a receiver. Pretty cool right?

This is pretty crucial because a good 35% of the US adults use smartphones already and having the ability to put financial transactions will only add to online banking and other electronic services such as PayPal and the Intuit Company which makes applications like TurboTax and Mint.com, a practical monetary tracker. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Google, Target and others are in the run to use this sort of transaction processing, making it easier on them.

While there are companies that try to combine credit cards and smartphones (like the GoPayment device from Intuit and the Card Reader from Square) Google, MasterCard, and Citicard are the ones leading the way with the new Google Wallet application, a service that safely and securely takes care of all your financial needs. To use it, download the Google Wallet mobile app. However, it only works with the Nexus S 4G  by Google for Sprint customers.