Looks like Roku's going aggressive on price with its lineup of streamers in response to Sony's new $130 Netbox streamer, the upcoming Google TV launch, and rumors that we'll see that rumored $99 iOS-based Apple TV arrive on Wednesday. The SD box is down to $59 from $79, the standard HD is now $69 from $99, and the HD-XR with dual-band 802.11n and soon-to-be-enabled USB playback support is now $99 from $129. The HD-XR is also due to get 1080p streaming support later this year; it'll be focused on USB playback at first since most of the streaming channels are 720p right now.

Those prices are definitely getting close to impulse-buy territory, especially since a Roku is now one of the cheapest ways to get Netflix and Amazon VOD on a TV, along with other channels like MLB and UFC. In fact, Roku says its goal is to put three streamers in every house -- one next to every TV in the average American home. We applaud the ambition, but we've got a feeling this entire market is about get turned upside down once Apple and Google launch their initiatives.

Roku lowers prices across the board: HD box now $69, $99 HD-XR to get 1080p support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forget, TVs, laptops and Blu-ray players, this year's go-to Black Friday doorbusters are smartphones. And as tantalizing as the deals might look, do yourself a favor. Pretend you never saw them.

It's a reliable rule of thumb for the rest of the year, made invaluable by the Black Friday hype: Unless you are planning on buying a smartphone anyway—a specific smartphone, on a specific carrier—upfront price deals are a trap. And even though this may seem obvious to a lot of people, some advice is worth repeating, especially with National Irresponsible Impulse Buy Day bearing down on us like some kind of perfectly prophesied minipocalypse. A friendly reminder, about math and the human psyche, from your Gizmodo!

Take the $80 Motorola Cliq at Radio Shack. It's advertised as a huge cut; implicit in the deal is that you're getting 60% off of your new Android phone, which feels great. But what you're really getting is a 6% discount off your total cumulative cost of owning the phone, which, if you get a data plan, is originally at least $1880.

Granted, $120 is still $120, and if you were planning on entering a multi-thousand-dollar two-year contract with T-Mobile anyway, the deal is worth a look. Just don't decide to start a new contract because of one of these deals. You're going to be living with this phone, this carrier, and this contract for two whole years—hen you're standing in line at Best Buy, with a misleadingly-priced cellphone in hand and four months left on your current contract, make sure that the five bucks you're going to be saving each month is really worth it to you.

Because chances are, it's not. [Deal via PC World]

While you're busy not buying a new smartphone, make sure to check out Sean's definitive master list of other crappy deals to avoid.

It's been a pretty wild month (or so, since it's been a while guys) for Android apps. Donuts and music and people and Heroes and space cares are flying all over the place:

The Best

Pandora: Pandora the music streaming service comes to Android, finally. There's really no reason not to know what Pandora is at this point, but for the uninitiated, when you enter a song or artist, it'll create a playlist of similar stuff that you'll (probably) like too.

Foursquare: Foursquare's a location-based social networking service (yawn, 'cause there's a million of 'em, right?), BUT you get points for going places and checking in, and there are Xbox Live-style achievements, so it gives you an excuse to go out a lot, and to pull out your phone instead of actually talking to the people you're there with. "Hold on, I just need to check in." "Didn't you check in 20 minutes ago?" "Uh..."

Facebook: Another "at last" app, an official Facebook app is one of those little symbols that Android's legit. While it's not nearly as visually impressive or feature-packed as the latest iPhone version, you can actually get a constant stream of updates, so you always feel connected, anyway.

OpenTable: OpenTable is favorite way to grab a restaurant resys without actually resorting to picking up the phone and talking to a real human being. In New York anyway, a ton of restaurants participate, so the service is pretty excellent, especially since you can see real-time availability for tables at particular times.

Amazon: It came out back in early August, but we haven't highlighted it yet, so I'm talking about it anyway. Why? Because it's the easiest way to impulse buy crap you don't need from a phone, or to talk yourself out of paying a full brick-and-mortar store's price for something, since you can see right there it's cheaper on Amazon. Plus, it's got barcode scanning for finding stuff on Amazon. If Newegg releases an app like this, I'm pretty much screwed. Image via Lifehacker

Ustream: Not the first live streaming video app for Android (that'd be Qik), but this one obviously uses Ustream's service, with its integrated Twitter and chat powers, and it has a few features Qik doesn't, like the ability to seamlessly switch your stream's source to the phone and back.

Twidroid Pro: Our favorite Android Twitter app goes pro. What's that entail? Well, besides costing real money now ($5), it's got a better UI, themes, multiple account support, native bit.ly support and video posting. The free version's got a better user interface too, but it's missing some crucial powers from the paid app, like the ability to see a list of followers and who you're following (which really, should be in the free version). Still, Twidroid's about as good as it gets on Android.

Remember the Milk: Everybody's favorite iPhone to-do list and task manager app, Remember the Milk's Android debut doesn't disappoint, and should be pretty much everything you need in a task manager app. It's got online syncing, location awareness for tasks and it integrates with Gmail and Gcal. Plus, it's not a bad looking little app.

Speed Forge 3D: The best-looking Android game yet is 3D space racer that makes me want to play F-Zero 64. But it's got mines and homing rockets, two things you don't have in F-Zero. Only 6 tracks and 3 vehicles, and it's accelerometer controlled (not my favorite way to play) but still well worth $3 to see what your phone can really do.

Other Android App News

• Moto Blur on the G1
• Google Voice Will Go Untouched on Verizon Android Phones
• Full Flash Coming to Android, Not iPhone
• T-Mobile Pushed Out Donut 1.6
• Cyanogen's Awesome Mods Will Live On, Sans Google Apps

This list is in no way definitive. If you've spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps, see our previous roundups here. Have a great rest of the weekend, everybody!