Give the gift of life and save 12% at Abt Electronics. Saturday, March 20th, Abt and LifeSource are teaming up for a blood drive. All donor participants will receive a 12% discount on an in-store purchase or 5% discount on an on-line purchase.

To schedule an appointment, call LifeSource at 877.543.3768 or register on-line at www.lifesource.org and use sponsor code ABT1. Walk-ins are always welcome. LifeSource will be at Abt from 11:00am through 5:00pm.

Remember, if you are donating blood, eat well, stay hydrated, and bring a photo id.

-Kelly B.

Gladiator is the only complete line of garage organization including appliances, made for an ever changing garage. Garageworks will help you organize and store anything, from season to season in any climate.

The entire Garageworks line is interchangeable. Gladiator’s unique modular design can grow and change with your needs. We carry garage workbenches, garage cabinets, garage flooring, garage wall systems, garage wall components, and garage appliances from Gladiator, backed by Whirlpool.

Save 20% on Gladiator Garageworks products, shop online or call one of Abt’s phone specialists for more details now until April 30th.

Check out the new Gladiator Garageworks organization system display in the store or at Abt.com.

-Kelly B.

Tuesday evening, the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP), Chicago Chapter, toured Abt. The IoPP is a group, “dedicated to creating networking and educational opportunities that help packaging professionals succeed” (IoPP, 2010).

I spoke with Craig Jarvis, Senior Packaging Engineer at Pactiv, about what this group hopes to learn at Abt. He wanted to see “what we offer the industry along with getting a good feel for our inner workings.” Jarvis told me, “I’ve always wanted to stop in the store; it’s very unique.”

The IoPP began their tour in the Sony store with a talk from Jon Abt. He spoke about Abt’s history and about the business today. When Jon concluded the group went through our 300,000 square foot warehouse to the co-generator room, our on-site recycling center, and concluded their visit at Jolane’s Café.

Abt is proud to host businesses, educational, and leisure groups for tours. For more information on an Abt tour, contact Cari Boyk in customer service for more details.

-Kelly B.

Abt Electronics wishes you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way -
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.
-Author Unknown

-Kelly B.

Panasonic’s Touch the Future Tour is in Chicago through tomorrow. Megan M. is representing Abt at the 3D-centered show. She is answering questions about 3D technology and handing out coupons for use at Abt.

There are different booths displaying different Panasonic 3D technology. One booth is a working 3D home theater system, another is a 3D TV with Blu-ray player, and the third is the only working 3D gaming system, on display.

The 3D Invidia graphics card to convert 2D video gaming to 3D video gaming for computers. It must be used in conjunction with Panasonic 3D-ready TV and glasses, along with HDMI 1.4 cables. To date, it is the only 3D gaming system experience.

Along with the cool 3D displays, V103 is broadcasting live from the event.

Abt will be back at Touch the Future tomorrow from 11-2. For more information on the Tour, click here.

Will you stop by and check out the tour? It will hit 15 cities in the US, after Chicago, the tour heads to Boston.

-Kelly B.

Proudly, Abt now carries the Crestron Home Automation system, Prodigy. It is a simple, affordable, and easy to use connection for your home and entertainment system.

Once connected, control your home theater, lighting, thermostat, and security system with a wall unit or remote after linking them to a central controller. One of the greatest features of the Prodigy is the wireless set-up.

For more information, please contact one of Abt’s custom audio specialists at 847.544.2307.

-Kelly B.

It looks like the economy may be in an upswing. Master Card is reporting consumer electronics sales are up 6% in February 2010. This increase was over a one year period, following a slight climb in sales by 0.4% in January.

Despite the horrible storms in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and North Central regions of the country, consumer electronics sales have steadily risen and are continuing to do so.

Another retail sector that is enjoying the increase in volume is e-commerce. Those sales swelled by 16.7% over the course of a year. It’s likely that internet retailers benefitted from the bad weather.

Is this a sign that things are getting better? What do you think?

-Kelly B.

Abt’s 3D display is up and playing 3D movies. Check out the latest TV technology in Abt’s home theater department through Sunday. We will have experts on hand to answer all of your 3D technology questions.

-Kelly B.

Spring ahead with Abt. We are having a Pre-Spring Customer Appreciation Sale now through March 14th, the start of Daylight Savings Time.

Every year we lose an hour of sleep by setting our clocks ahead one hour, but we gain energy-saving environmental benefits. By better utilizing the daylight hours we save energy; everyday in March and April there is a potential to save energy equivalent to 100,000 barrels of oil. In California alone, people save a combined 11 million kilowatt hours of energy during Daylight Savings Time, enough to power 1600 homes. Just think of the collective impact on the environment. It may seem like a small amount, but over time it really adds up.

Each year when Daylight Savings Time approaches, the Abt sales specialists field hundreds of questions from customers on changing clocks and time keeping devices in the home.

It can be time consuming and frustrating if you are not familiar with how to change all of the different clocks in your home, especially because clocks aren’t the only time keepers that need to be reset. Many appliances and electronics in the home will need to be changed as well. Ovens, Microwaves, VCRs, DVD players, older TVs, watches, and clock radios will all need to spring forward. If you need help setting your clocks, come into the store or give us a call.

Come to Abt Saturday or Sunday for the Pre-Spring Customer Appreciation Sale and speak with a sales specialist with any of your questions.

-Kelly B.

Today, Abt had some special visitors. The co-founder of Sonos, Tom Cullen, and Sonos’ senor public relations manager, Tom Meyer, came to see the store, meet with Jon (Abt) and discuss their products.

Their first stop was in Abt’s Apple Store, home to the Sonos ZPS 5 Zone player. It’s got two tweeters, two 3” mid-range drivers, and a 3.5” woofer. The ZPS 5 can stream music from internet radio stations like Pandora and Last FM, in addition to playing your iTunes library.

One of the coolest features of the ZPS 5 is its iPhone and iTouch compatibility. With a free, downloadable app from Apple, you can control your Zone player with the technology you already have in your pocket. Tom Meyer explains, “iPhone is in your pocket, owning an iPhone or iTouch eliminates the cost of buying a remote.”

For more information on the Sonos ZPS 5 Zone Player or any Sonos product contact an Abt sales specialist on the phone or in the showroom.