Best Buy offering free HTC smartphone with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 purchase

By Andrew Couts Updated November 4, 2011

Talk about a good deal: Best Buy announced today that it will offer customers who purchase Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which hits stores on this coming Tuesday, the option of receiving a free HTC smarphone with the signing of a two-year contract (of course).

The phones Best Buy is giving away are the HTC EVO 4G for Sprint, the Droid Incredible 2 for Verizon and the Inspire 4G for AT&T. Not a bad selection at all, especially when you can get it for free (plus contract price), which will save you between $100 and $150, depending on which device you choose. We recommend the EVO 4G, assuming you’re on Sprint. It is the best overall device.

According to CNet, the free smartphone offering is part of Best Buy’s strategy to build customer awareness about its variety of wireless offerings.

Best Buy has become an increasingly prevalent retailer in the smartphone game. The big box store became the first non-Apple outlet to offer the iPhone, and a growing number of new Android devices, like the HTC Rezound, which was unveiled on Thursday.

Whether or not Best Buy can lure in hoards of Modern Warfare 3 customers remains to be seen. But if you’re planning to start up a new wireless contract and pick up a copy of Modern Warfare 3 next week, then we literally can’t think of a better place to get both of these things than Best Buy. Smooth move, Best Buy. Smooth…

Topics

Cellular Carriers

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…

Mobile

I record interviews for work. These are my favorite free recorder apps

The iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro's voice recording apps running together.

The Voice Recorder app on a phone (left) and the Voice Memos on another phone Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Before you head to the app store on your phone to buy a voice-recording app, take a moment to consider the apps that may already be installed on your phone. Why? In my experience, they're likely all you really need. I’ve recorded interviews and voice-overs for work for years, and I’ve found the two best examples come preinstalled on your phone already, so they’re entirely free to use.

Mobile

The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases: 10 best ones so far

Two Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones next to each other -- one is open and one is closed.

Samsung’s next-generation foldable is here with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This iteration has some notable improvements, including a new hinge design that eliminates the gap from previous generations when the device was folded. You also get a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the outside while having a 6.7-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the inside, with both screens having a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, they're about as nice as you could ask for.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is made with premium materials, and the triple-lens camera system packs in a 50MP main shooter, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There’s a 10MP selfie camera on the front cover, and a 4MP camera on the inner display. You also get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip inside for the best performance and power efficiency.

Mobile

Google Pixel Tablet just got its first big discount and it’s worth a look

Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

Tablets are a dime-a-dozen these days, with offerings from all the great brands including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, and more. So, if you really want to stand out in a sea of similar tech, you need to do things a little differently. That's what Google's Pixel Tablet offers. How? It comes with a unique speaker dock that can be used to both charge the device and offer room-filling sound -- almost like a smart speaker add-on. Better yet, when your Pixel Tablet is docked it benefits from the Hub Mode, turning the device into a smart display, with digital photo frame support, smart home controls, and hands-free Google functionality. Of course, it could set you back at full price, normally $499 unless you find it included in a roundup of the best Google Pixel deals. Well, guess what? Thanks to a Best Buy Google Pixel Tablet deal, you can get it today for $439 and save $60. Hurry, though, it's part of Best Buy's recent 48-hour sale so it won't stick around for long.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Tablet
Okay, okay, so in our Google Pixel Tablet review, Joe Maring did give it less than stellar remarks, but he called out its reliable fingerprint sensor, comfortability during use and excellent speaker dock. Honestly, how many tablets come with a matching speaker dock that transforms the entire experience? This tablet also marks a "lot of firsts" for Google, as it's the first tablet from the company in nearly five years, the first Android tablet in eight years, and can be converted into a smart home display with the speaker dock. All of which are notable milestones.