Current Events in October 2012

Last month we reported iPhones tend to have a lot of accidents. SquareTrade, a company that sells smartphone insurance policies, released a study showing that damaged iPhones have cost U.S. consumers $5.9 billion since their introduction in 2007.

But where and how does this damage occur? SquareTrade can now answer that question, releasing a study that shows 51 percent of accidents to iPhones happen around the home, usually in the kitchen.

Unusual not so unusual

The study also revealed that "unusual" iPhone accidents are much more common than previously expected: In addition to an astonishing nine percent toilet mishap statistic, the research shows that five percent of iPhone users have put an iPhone in the washing machine and six percent of users have put their device on top of their car and then driven off.

"Smartphones have become our third hand -- our instinctual resource for information and entertainment," said Ty Shay, SquareTrade's CMO. "Whether or not you're the one in ten that drops your iPhone in the toilet, you're likely taking your phone everywhere, and that habit needs protection."

Danger zones

As far as danger around the house, the survey ranks it this way:

1. the kitchen (21 percent of accidents around the home happen here)
2. the living room (17 percent)
3. the bathroom (16 percent)
4. the driveway (10 percent)
5. the bedroom (8 percent)

SquareTrade, of course, would like to sell you an insurance policy to cover your phone or other device. Considerations before making such a purchase should be how much you paid for the phone and what the replacement cost would be, what exclusions or deductibles are included in the policy, and how careful you tend to be.

Keeping your phone out of the kitchen, it appears, greatly improves your odds.

The battle for supremacy in tablet computers is about to kick into high gear, and not because of Microsoft's just-released tablet Surface.

The Surface may turn out to be a popular device, time will only tell. But its price -- starting at $499 -- doesn't put it where the real action is at the moment. That would be in the seven-inch tablet space, where devices cost $200 or less. And that's where it's about to get interesting.

Cryptic invitation

Apple Tuesday sent out a number of invitations to the technology press for an event October 23 at the California Theater in San Jose. Like Kremlinologists who once analyzed every nuance of the Soviet Politburo to figure out what was happening in that country, the tech press has scoured the invitation and concluded the event will be to unveil a long-rumored "mini iPad."

Though Apple has not confirmed that it will introduce a smaller version of its top-selling iPad, a number of reporters who follow the tech world are convinced Apple will introduce a smaller version of its iPad that it can sell for $199.

If that were to happen, an already competitive market would get red-hot. The reason is simple. A lot more people are willing to pay $200 for a tablet than $500. The extra screen size just doesn't seem worth $300 to many consumers as long as the tablet has the same functions as its larger competitors.

Kindle set the pace

Amazon demonstrated this fairly convincingly with its Kindle Fire last year. It was a lot more than just an e-reader. It featured a color screen, WiFi connectivity, a browser and hundreds of Android apps. Consumers bought them in droves.

Last month Amazon introduce three new tablets -- what it calls the “Kindle Fire HD family.” Two of the three have 8.9 inch screens and sell from $300 to $500. But the third model, the Kindle Fire HD, is the updated version of Amazon's seven-inch tablet selling for the old price of $199.

Another major player is the Nexus 7, a joint venture by Asus and Google. It has won rave reviews since its debut, when Wired's Nathan Olivarez-Giles called it "the best 7-inch" tablet I've tested. It starts at $200.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 fits in the small tablet category, even though its entry point is slightly higher -- $250. It offers a lot of things other smaller tablets don't. Its pluses include front and back cameras, the ability to add memory and a TV remote function.

The Barnes and Noble Nook is another e-reader that evolved into a tablet. The latest Nook wins praise for its screen clarity and offers 16 GB of storage. While ideal for downloading and reading books, the device also has an excellent video display for watching movies. It, too, lacks some tablet features like cameras but starts at $149.

This is the playing field Apple will enter if it chooses to unveil a seven-inch tablet later this month. However, if it does and prices it around $200, the impact may be hard to quantify. Consumers that have hesitated to buy an iPad because of the price might now take the plunge -- if they haven't already purchased one of the seven-inch competitors.

It's been said that no one does anything about the weather but everybody talks about it. Or something like that. In recent years, of course, the prevailing theory is that we have done quite a bit about the weather, perhaps too much, providing even more to talk about. 

And so it makes sense that a new social networking site will give those with lots of spare time the opportunity to endlessly discuss weather conditions past, present and future.

The brainchild of two New England TV weathermen, SkyWatchers.me, promises to provide all weather, all the time. Its website, still forming off on the horizon, promises to provide "the future of weather."

Hmmm.  Actually, we would probably have future weather with or without the website, but who's quibbling? After all, New England has more than its share of weather, so the site should get a warm reception locally, especially among longtime fans of Dick Albert, who's been the meteorologist at WCVB-TV in Boston for 31 years. His sidekick, Steve Cascione, holds forth come rain or shine a bit to the south, at WLNE in Providence, R.I.

Lots of it around

“During things like hurricanes and flooding and New England blizzards, there’s a massive amount of people who are involved in the weather and want to know before it starts,” Albert said, according to the Boston Herald.

“Weather is more and more the lead story on local news and the story in national news," Albert said. "And, generally speaking, it will become more and more talked about because 100-year storms are now 10- and 20-year storms. ... There’s just a multitude of things happening more often than they used to.”

SkyWatchers will offer the ability to search by town, city or ZIP code for hourly and long-term forecasts, radar, and satellite information, and will feature forums, almanacs, blogs, a weather story of the day, teaching tools and mobile applications, the chatty weathermen promise.

It might seem odd, considering gasoline prices are at a record seasonal high, that more consumers are looking at full-sized pick-up trucks these days. These vehicles, after all, tend to use more fuel than smaller cars and trucks.

But during the third quarter of the year, shopper interest in new full-size trucks on AutoTrader.com showed significant year-over-year growth, indicating that other economic factors might be at play. AutoTrader says interest in full-size trucks showed year-over-year increases in July, August and September -- a time when prices for regular and diesel fuel rose over 40 cents per gallon.

What could be behind this puzzling trend? The folks at AutoTrader believe it's a sign that the housing market -- especially the market for new homes -- is finally gaining traction. Construction workers, they say, hope to replace their aging trucks, which they've been driving since before the 2008 housing collapse.

Counter-intuitive

"Shoppers typically move away from larger vehicles in times of rising gas prices, particularly when those prices are above $3.75 per gallon, but that wasn't the case in the third quarter," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of automotive insights at AutoTrader.com. "Seeing a big spike in interest in July and continuing to see interest well above the levels of 2011 is a solid indication that the recovery of the housing market was strong enough to overcome shoppers concerns about the price of fuel."

The company says overall, interest in full-size trucks was up 14 percent in the third quarter, compared with the same period in 2011. In looking at the numbers month-by-month, the biggest year-over-year spike was in July, when interest was up 25 percent.

August and September also showed growth year-over-year, with interest up 13 percent in August and up eight percent in September.

Rising gas prices

While all of this was happening, prices at the pump were rising. In the third quarter, prices for regular gasoline went from $3.50 per gallon in July to $3.78 in August and $3.91 in September -- an increase of 41 cents per gallon. Prices for diesel fuel went from $3.72 per gallon in July to $3.98 in August and $4.12 in September, an increase of 40 cents per gallon.

AutoTrader may be onto something. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, new building permits were up 29.5 percent in July, up 24.5 percent in August and up 11.6 percent in September year-over-year.

Housing starts also hit a four-year high in September, up 15 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000 units. With the average age of vehicles in the U.S. at 11 years, AutoTrader says it's likely that this growing interest in full-size trucks is being fueled by the need for workers in the industry to replace their aging workhorses.

You can't go online these days without seeing ads promising to either reduce your debt or get you out of debt altogether. It's something that keeps the Federal Trade Commission busy.

The agency has charged an Ohio-based company and its owner with fraudulently claiming on 17 Websites they operated that consumers could quickly get out of debt by working with one of several debt settlement companies. And now the company owner, Ryan Golembiewski, has agreed to a settlement barring the deceptive claims, and to a judgment requiring him to pay more than $390,000.

Golembiewski and a company he controlled -- United Debt Associates -- were “lead generators” paid by debt settlement companies to refer consumers who responded to the deceptive ads, according to the complaint. Using Websites such as legitimatedebtsettlement.com, debtreliefemergency.com, DebtDecreaser.com, freedebtreductionhelp.com, and disputedebts.com, and earning approximately $24.60 per lead generated, the defendants directed consumers to either provide their contact information online, or call a toll-free number for help with their credit card debt.

Consumers who called either were routed directly to the debt settlement companies or were asked to provide preliminary information to the defendants, the complaint stated.

'Deceptive claims'

According to the complaint, the deceptive claims the defendants used to entice consumers to contact them included:

• “Once creditors agree to make a deal, you can get out of debt from 12 to 36 months.”
• “The U.S. government decided to introduce a stimulus package to boost the financial institutions and prevent them from breaking down. Part of this stimulus money is being utilized by the [c]redit card companies to offer debt settlements to the users.”
• Debt settlement companies “can take all of your outstanding debt and not only eliminate at least 50% of it but also provide a realistic repayment plan for the rest of your debt.”
• “If you play your cards right, your debt problems will vanish before the first year ends.”

Purported consumer testimonials on the defendants’ Websites, which conveyed the impression that consumers could successfully and quickly reduce or eliminate their debts by using the supposed debt settlement services the defendants advertised, were not genuine, the FTC alleged.

The defendants did not have support for the claims they made that the debt settlement companies would substantially reduce or eliminate consumers’ debts, according to the complaint. Instead, they merely posted claims provided by the debt settlement companies, or copied information from other debt relief Websites.

Are you a fan of "The Biggest Loser," the TV program that shows obese adults losing large amounts of weight over several months? It appears that this is more than just another of those so-called “reality” shows that seem to have captured the attention of a lot of TV viewers.

In fact, a study conducted by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) that involved some of the folks on the show found that exercise and healthy eating reduce body fat and preserve muscle in adults better than diet alone. The study was recently published online in Obesity.

NIDDK senior investigator Kevin Hall, Ph.D., analyzed the individual effects of daily strenuous exercise and a restricted diet by examining data from 11 participants from "The Biggest Loser." Participants were initially isolated on a ranch followed by an extended period at home.

"By including the show's contestants as voluntary study participants, this research took advantage of a cost-efficient opportunity to study a small group of obese individuals already engaged in an intensive lifestyle intervention," said Hall, who has no financial ties and no other affiliation to the show.

Gauging progress

Researchers measured body fat, total energy expenditure and resting metabolic rate -- the energy burned during inactivity -- three times: at the start of the program, at week 6, and at week 30, which was at least 17 weeks after participants returned home.

Participation in the program led to an average weight loss of 128 pounds, with about 82 percent of that coming from body fat, and the rest from lean tissue like muscle. Preserving lean tissue, even during rapid and substantial weight loss, helps maintain strength and mobility and reduces risk of injury, among other benefits.

Hall used a mathematical computer model of human metabolism -- currently intended for research conducted by scientists and health professionals -- to calculate the diet and exercise changes underlying the observed body weight loss. Because the TV program was not designed to directly address how the exercise and diet interventions each contributed to the weight loss, the computer model simulated the results of diet alone and exercise alone to estimate their relative contributions.

Diet vs exercise

At the competition’s end, diet alone was calculated to be responsible for more weight loss than exercise, with 65 percent of the weight loss consisting of body fat and 35 percent consisting of lean mass like muscle. In contrast, the model calculated that exercise alone resulted in participants losing only fat, and no muscle. The simulation of exercise alone also estimated a small increase in lean mass despite overall weight loss.

The simulations also suggest that the participants could sustain their weight loss and avoid weight regain by adopting more moderate lifestyle changes -- like 20 minutes of daily vigorous exercise and a 20 percent calorie restriction -- than those demonstrated on the television program.

More than two-thirds of U.S. adults age 20 and older are overweight or obese, and more than one-third of adults are obese. Excess weight can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and certain cancers.

"This study reinforces the need for a healthy diet and exercise in our daily lives," said NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers. "It also illustrates how the science of metabolism and mathematical modeling can be used to develop sound recommendations for sustainable weight loss -- an important tool in the treatment of obesity -- based on an individual’s unique circumstances."

With the labor market still in a squeeze, it's not an exaggeration to say that some folks will do almost anything to land a job. But sometimes it's the little things that get job-seekers noticed by prospective employers, a new survey by OfficeTeam suggests.

Human resources (HR) managers were asked to recount the most impressive action they have seen or heard an individual take to try to land a position.

Here are some of their responses:

• "An applicant walked in with coffee and donuts, and her resume underneath."
• "I've had someone outline what he planned to do for the company in his first six months."
• "One job seeker sent a handmade get well card when she heard the hiring manager was under the weather."
• "I've had people offer to work for free."
• "I recall someone who traveled a great distance just to be interviewed."
• "One applicant sent a gift and an invitation to coffee."
• "We had a candidate who contacted our board of directors to try to make his case for being hired."

The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 650 HR managers at companies with 20 or more employees in the United States and Canada.

Show and tell

Some job seekers did a little show and tell:

• "I recall applicants who have impressed me with their overall marketing approach. A few have sent in fancy CDs that contained a video message explaining why they should get the job."
• "Someone applying for a position as a car detailer brought in his own vehicle to demonstrate his skills."
• "I was impressed by a candidate who prepared an elaborate online portfolio and presentation."
• "One woman showed up with, literally, a suitcase full of binders containing letters of reference, certificates of achievement and other accolades."
• "A job seeker brought in a performance review from his past employer."
• "The most impressive thing to me is a creative resume."

The pros

There were professionals who shined by going back to basics:

• "One applicant explained what he knew about our company. I was very impressed with his knowledge and research."
• "I had a follow-up email from a candidate immediately after our meeting."
• "I liked the way one job seeker explained his skills in a way that correlated directly to what we needed for the position."
• "A candidate gave me a thank-you note right after the interview."
• "One woman didn't just recite her skills -- she provided many examples of her work."
• "The candidates I recall most are the ones who were persistent in calling to make sure they got the position."
• "An entry-level job applicant arrived for the interview in a three-piece suit."
• "I am impressed when a job seeker arrives on time and is well-dressed. It's that simple."

The best policy

And then sometimes employers just want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth:

• "The most impressive thing to me in any applicant is honesty."

"Extreme tactics aren't always the best way to stand out with hiring managers. Often, perfecting job-search basics can get you noticed," said Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam. "There is much to be said about showing up on time for interviews, dressing in professional attire and doing your homework."

If there's anything worse than graduating college and not being able to find a decent job, it has to be not being able to find work AND facing a mountain of student loan debt.

According to a report released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Student Loan Ombudsman, private student loan borrowers say they are sometimes surprised by the terms and conditions of their loans, they are given the runaround by their loan servicer, and they have few options to refinance or modify repayment for a better deal.

“Graduates don’t have a fair chance to pay back their debts if they are faced with surprises, runarounds, and dead-ends by student loan servicers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray, who was presented with the report today. “These young consumers are facing serious challenges in dealing with their debt, which can hold them back from getting ahead in life.”

Familiar scenario

“Student loan borrower stories of detours and dead-ends with their servicers bear an uncanny resemblance to problematic practices uncovered in the mortgage servicing business,” said CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra, who wrote the report. “Consumers deserve clarity, not chaos and confusion.”

“I graduated from college in 2003, had a student loan for $8,000 and have been paying it off continuously since then,” writes Rebecca of Lyman, NH, in a ConsumerAffairs post. “I still owe $5,000 on my loan and have paid more than originally borrowed so far, doubling up on my payment most months. Even so, I will end up paying more than double the amount I borrowed by the time I am done. This is a very bad loan for anyone. Citibank also calls my house up to three times a day at all times of the day and night (often when you pick up the phone there is no one there!) and harasses me from the day the payment is due until it is paid each month. I tell them I have paid it online, the time and date, but they say their system won't update for days and I will be contacted regardless. If there is not a lawsuit on unethical business practices with this company, there should be.”

Kimberly of Cairo, GA, has a student loan with rates of 10.75% with Wells Fargo. “They call me morning, noon, and night asking for money,” she tells ConsumerAffairs. “I could not pay a bill of $650.00, so I took a hardship deference. Now the deference has come to end, they expect me to make a payment of $800.00! I have tried to make smaller payments, but they will not accept these. I also have other student loans which I do stay current because they are more affordable. I am afraid they are going to go after my husband, which is my cosigner. I am not a traditional student either. I am 43 years old, and I have a family. I graduated in May 2011, and dealing with this is a nightmare!”

Huge burden

Student loans have now surpassed credit cards as the largest source of consumer debt in the United States. Earlier this year, the CFPB announced that outstanding student loan debt crossed the $1 trillion mark.

Before the financial meltdown, the private student loan market boomed and many consumers borrowed significantly to pay for post-secondary education. But unlike federal student loans, private student loans generally have higher and variable interest rates and may not allow borrowers to easily manage their payments in times of hardship.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established an ombudsman for student loans within the CFPB to assist borrowers with private student loan complaints. Today’s report, which was mandated by Congress, analyzed approximately 2,900 private student loan complaints, comments, and other submissions and input from borrowers. The report found that roughly 95 percent of the complaints are about loan servicing -- when borrowers try to pay back their debt or are unable to pay.

Top findings

The three major findings of the report are:

• Surprises cause borrower confusion: Private student loan borrowers told the CFPB that after they graduate, some have a hard time figuring out how much they owe. Borrowers complain that they may not receive the information they need about their loans when repayments begin, and are caught off guard by unexpected terms and costs. Some surprises include unknown or misunderstood terms and conditions, accounts changing hands, unauthorized payments, and unexpected forbearance fees. With limited information to anticipate and avoid these surprises, some borrowers end up in trouble.
• Borrowers report getting the runaround from servicers: A common theme found in the complaints is the difficulty some borrowers face when trying to contact their servicer. Borrowers report having difficulty taking advantage of the incentives promised to them before they signed up for the loan. Then, whether it is looking for clear and accurate information about bills, trying to find payment options, or simply trying to get payments processed properly, some borrowers complain about getting the runaround. This may include payments credited late or unevenly, faulty record-keeping, and inadequate assistance from servicing staff. The report finds that the service problems in private student loan servicing reported by borrowers mirrors the experiences borrowers have reported in mortgage servicing.
• Borrowers face refinancing dead-ends: The report found that another theme of the complaints was that responsible borrowers find themselves locked into loan terms they cannot negotiate out of – no matter what their circumstances. Despite efforts to make good on their loans, some borrowers stated that they ended up in distress with limited or no options for deferrals, forbearance, or interest-rate changes. According to the complaints, even some co-signers who were promised that they would be released from responsibility after a period of on-time payments, may find themselves trapped in the loan. The results can be disastrous for some borrowers, especially ones new to the job market and struggling to find work.

There's a lot of talk about cutting the banking fees paid by lower-income consumers but so far it's hard to find anything more than talk.

There are scattered new entrants, like PerkStreet and Simple, that offer free checking and debit cards but they don't have physical branches. So without direct deposit -- something the underemployed often don't have -- it's difficult to make deposits in a timely manner.

And as for established banks, a new study by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) finds that consumers are having difficulty avoiding rising checking fees unless they directly deposit regular income checks such as paychecks, pension checks, and Social Security checks.

The CFA found that many interest and noninterest-bearing checking accounts require consumers who are unable to maintain average balances of $1,500 -- a large majority of checking customers -- to be charged regular monthly fees that total as much as $300 annually.

Just triggering one debit card overdraft, having one check returned for insufficient funds, and having one deposit rejected could add an additional nearly $100 in charges to the annual cost of using a checking account, CFA found.

This is what happened to Mark of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who posted on ConsumerAffairs about his recent experience with Bank of America: "I am disabled due to 9/11/2001. I have a fixed income and try to balance the account to the penny. Something went wrong this month, and I was overdrawn $3. The bank charged me $35. This is causing me to get further behind. I called a supervisor who told me I had reached my quota for courtesy adjustment and could do nothing to help."

This is not something that is flying under consumers' radar. We conducted a computerized sentiment analysis of 39,000 consumer comments on social media over the last year and found bank fees about as popular as a Black Plague epidemic, with nearly 60% of the expressed sentiments being negative.

CFA's study

CFA performed research analyzing both bank checking account characteristics and consumer attitudes towards checking accounts as part of their analysis of the 25 largest banks according to the number of branches. The research revealed a great diversity of checking policies and prices at the 25 banks. 

For example, the following banks each offer free checking with no waiver requirements – PNC’s “Free Checking,” M&T Bank’s “Free Checking,” First Citizens Bank’s “Free Checking,” Huntington National Bank's “Asterisk-Free Checking,” and New York Community Bank’s “My Community Free Checking” and “My Community Interest Checking.”  At the other end of the scale, consumers would have to keep $25,000 in combined accounts at BB&T to avoid paying $25 per month for the Elite Gold interest-bearing account or at Keybank for the “Key Privilege” account.

And while these banks may offer free and low-cost checking, that doesn't mean that every customer benefits, or that the plan always works out as consumers expect. Witness the example of PNC customer Lori, who posted to ConsumerAffairs recently about her experience: 

"They constantly reverse sequencing of checks so they can cause overdraft on checks that were previously processed. I have been overcharged huge overdraft fees because of how they reverse sequences. They make sure they process the largest check that will cause all checks that were previously processed to bounce!"

“Banks are increasing fees and balances needed to avoid fees,” Jean Ann Fox, CFA's Senior Adviser for Financial Services noted.  “These higher fees and hurdles to avoid fees are especially challenging to the 45 percent of accountholders who maintain low balances and are most likely to overdraw their accounts.”

It should come as no surprise that consumers are annoyed, even hostile, about this state of affairs. This chart shows the top negative and positive emotions expressed by consumers while discussing bank fees:

Examining the verbatim comments that are summarized in this chart, by the way, reveals that the positive emotions are generally related to banks and credit unions that do not gouge their consumers. There were virtually no positive comments directed towards high-fee banks.

Low balance

An analysis of Raddon Financial Group survey data on consumer checking accounts found that nearly three-fifths (59%) of respondents saw checking balances fall below $500 in a typical month, with over one-third (36%) saying their balances fell below $100.  And less than one-quarter (24%) said they had been able to keep balances above $1,000.  

The survey found that those with low balances were the most likely to overdraw their accounts.  Two-fifths (40%) of those with low balances below $500 said they had overdrawn their checking account in the past two years, while only 3 percent of those with low balances above $1,000 said they had done so.  Thirty percent of all respondents said they had overdrawn their checking account in the past two years.

Direct deposits and income

The likelihood of directly depositing income checks was also highly correlated with income.  Only 25 percent of those in the lowest income quintile used direct deposit.  That figure was 52 percent for the second quintile, 66 percent of the third quintile, and over four-fifths of the upper two quintiles.  These differences are important because a large majority of big banks will waive minimum or average balance requirements if income checks are directly deposited at least monthly.

“The families who most need free or low-cost checking are the least likely to be paid by direct deposit, either because their employers do not offer the service, they work in short-term positions, or because they are unemployed,” noted Stephen Brobeck, CFA's Executive Director.  “Consumers who cannot waive fees through direct deposit and who do not have a comfortable cushion in their accounts at the end of the month pay the full freight for checking accounts.”

Unfortunately, even those who carefully set up and maintain direct deposits are not immune from high overdraft charges, as Chase Bank customer Natalie of Woodridge, Ill., reported in a posting to ConsumerAffairs:

Diverse checking accounts

CFA surveyed checking accounts at the 25 largest banks by number of branches, collecting information on each bank’s budget or all-electronic account, mainstream non-interest checking account and the lowest-cost interest-bearing account.  One positive finding of this research is that nearly all bank websites now include both useful summaries of each checking account and also links for fuller descriptions of the accounts including monthly fees, though finding details on overdraft fees and practices sometimes required further searching.

• Budget Checking:  Nine of the 25 surveyed banks offer accounts described as "budget" or "basic."  These accounts cost $7 or less a month even when checks are not directly deposited and any required minimum balances are not met.  Most of the free accounts, listed in paragraph 3 of this release, fall into this category.

• Electronic Accounts:  Bank of America, Fifth Third, and Keybank offer electronic accounts that usually require customers to conduct all banking at ATMs or online.  Monthly fees can be avoided, depending on the account, by maintaining a $500 minimum balance or directly depositing income checks.

• Non-Interest Checking:  Most consumers utilize non-interest bearing checking accounts, which we found at 24 of the 25 banks surveyed.  Monthly fees on these accounts, when minimum or average balance requirements are not met, are usually $9-10 but were found to be as high as $15.  CFA’s research found that nearly all banks will waive these fees if the minimum or average balance requirements are met which most commonly is $1,500, or if funds are direct deposited.  Additionally some banks will waive the fees if a minimum number of transactions occur during the billing-period.

• Interest Checking:  All surveyed banks offered at least one account that received interest on deposits. These accounts generally are subject to higher minimum/average balance requirements and monthly fees than non-interest accounts. These average balances are as high as $25,000 at BB&T and at Keybank, while the monthly fees are $25 per month at Bank of America, Chase, BB&T, TD Bank, and Keybank.

“As the FDIC’s 2011 Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households found, high fees and minimum balance requirements are an obstacle to account ownership for some unbanked consumers, especially for households who had recently been banked,” Fox noted.   “Since the FDIC survey was conducted before the rash of fee hikes and higher minimum balance requirements in late 2011, it is likely that rising fees and higher thresholds to avoid fees are a serious barrier to bank account ownership for families struggling in this economy.”

The complete report can be found here.

I’m starting to notice more and more tiny white whiskers on my chin -- and if you ask me, I think dealing with my bank is a partial contributor.

With its secret fees and spiteful penalties, dealing with banks and financial institutions can easily turn one's hair from its natural color to a premature grey.

And one would think the introduction of online banking would have removed most of the hassles associated with doing business with traditional banks, but somehow most of them, whether big or small, consistently find a way to stick it to the consumer, so it’s always great when you hear an outside-of-the box statement like this one from a bank:

“We believe that sort of business model (charging bank fees) creates an adversarial relationship between banks and their customers, since the bank benefits when customers make mistakes. That’s not right. We’re adamant about minimizing fees and never penalizing our customers.”

Now I know I just typed that, but did that last sentence really say customers never get penalized or charged fees for having a financial misstep?

It's Simple

This eye-catching statement is from the website of the virtual bank “Simple,” formerly known as BankSimple.  

The company’s CEO Josh Reich says although people will initially consider Simple a bank — especially because of its former name — it’s really a company that focuses on improving the customer experience rather than  charging a bunch of fees to stay afloat and pay for overhead costs.

“Simple replaces your bank, but we are not a bank,” said Reich in an interview. “We entertained the thought [of starting a traditional bank], and from our perspective we wanted to solve the user experience problem.”

And  how does the company plan to solve that problem of bad user experience and change the negative perceptions many people have about banking?

Well, what’s different about Simple is all of your funds are kept in an FDIC-insured account with Simple’s partner bank, The Bancorp Bank, not in a branch -- so one never has to make their way to a physical location.

This may all sound a bit like PerkStreet, which also works through Bancorp, and in fact, it is.  PerkStreet provides a free online checking account and rewards debit card but hasn't ventured into the iPhone and Android sphere to the extent Simple has. 

And it's not like traditional online banking either, because all transactions are primarily done through your smartphone or mobile device. It's really banking on the go.

In fact, Simple says the company is really set up for those who use their smartphones or mobile device on a regular basis, as the collection of services it offers goes hand in hand with web and mobile use.

The company also says although iPhones will work best for its banking, any iOS device that runs on IOS 5.0 or higher will provide a person with full user capability. Simple also plans to release an app for the Android ICS, it says.

Safe to spend

The digital bank also has a budget assistance feature for users, as its screen has a section called “Safe to Spend,” which provides customers with a clear and large listing of their balance, the amount they have in their pending transactions, and what upcoming payments they have coming in.

Of course other banks list similar information, but Simple's banking system allows you to search for specific expenditures like the meals during a vacation, and by clicking the search tab, only those particular purchases will appear in big bold blue letters.

The company says this will allow you to have a better understanding of what you’ve spent, allowing you to save money easier.  

The difference between Simple and the virtual bank Mint is the latter company works with outside banks and will provide budgeting information from all of your other accounts, whether it’s a Mint account or not.

Simple, however, wants to completely replace your bank and do all of your financial business in-house, which if you ask me is a little frightening since it’s still pretty much a new company.

On their smartphones, customers can use the electronic transfer feature to send money and pay bills, and if you want to cash a check, you simply have to take a picture of it with your smartphone, and the check will soon show up in your account.

However, Simple does provide some services like a physical bank, like giving you access to a team of customer service reps that assist you with questions or concerns.

The company also says cash can be pulled from its Allpoint ATM network that’s nationwide, and there are no fees for withdrawals. Each customer receives a Visa debit card that also comes with no fees, Simple says.

In order to be a customer of Simple you have to fill out its online invitation form and submit it electronically, then the company gets back to you with the necessary information to start your account.

Lots of interest

The online bank opened in 2010, and since then, there’s been almost an overload of interest, says Reich.

“The rate at which folks from our invitation list are becoming customers has exceeded all of our expectations,” he wrote on his blog.

As far as user feedback, there are currently no reviews about Simple in our ConsumerAffairs comments section, however overall Internet feedback has been pretty good, especially for a company that is still pretty new and is bound to have some kinks to work out.

However time will tell if Simple can maintain its fairly good standing with its growing crop of customers, while adding more useful features that go beyond what a traditional banks offers.

Or we'll see if the sudden large amount of consumer interest will eventually be too much for the start-up. 

Both time and future customer reviews will tell, but if Simple can do everything right, it will be a welcomed change to dealing with traditional banks and all of their nonsense.

You probably have not been counting the days until the Microsoft Surface goes on sale. After all, does the world really need another tablet? But just in case you have, you can stop counting -- the day is here.

The Surface officially went on sale this morning, but only for pre-order. It won't be in stores until Oct. 26. 

The tech world is sort of all abuzz about this and some tech writers have even said that Microsoft was re-inventing the tablet. That may be true but, after all, it's not the wheel we're talking about -- it's a flattened-out computer. Not exactly a time machine.

But maybe we're underestimating the degree of public frenzy. Just to be sure, we conducted a computerized sentiment analysis of more than 15 million consumer comments in social media over the last year. Did we find a crescendo of shock and awe as the Surface hovered into view? Well, not exactly. It turns out Microsoft has been steadily drifting along with positive sentiment in the high 40% neighborhood all year. 

Pricing not too revolutionary

Considering that the hypemasters are calling this an event of cataclysmic proportions and astonishing innovation, it's worth noting that one area in which the Surface is sort of business as usual is price. The 32 GB model will go for $499, or $599 with a Touch Cover, which is a fancy name for the black version of the cover-keyboard combo. A couple of other options are available but basically, it's pretty much what you'd expect.

If the pricing sounds familiar, that's because it's pretty much the same as the iPad, although the Surface models have a little more memory. That's probably good, since Microsoft is not exactly known for building lean, mean software.

The Surface is being touted as an amazing leap by Microsoft into manufacturing, everyone having seemingly forgotten that Microsoft also manufactured the Xbox, which was not exactly one of it more sterling moments.

It means business?

The biggest differentiating factor so far appears to be the Surface's claim to being more attuned to business applications, intimating that the iPad is sort of a pretty face that is sleek and entertaining but not great on the job. There is a trimmed-down version of Office on the Surface but whether it's enough to do more than, well, skim the surface, only time will tell.

Reading all the gushing stories, one would think the tablet world would soon be divided up more or less equally between Microsoft and Apple. You know, sort of like the desktop world?  That, of course, is about as far from reality as one can get. The world is pretty much awash in tablets at the moment, including models from Amazon, Google, Samsung, HP, Blackberry, ASUS and just about everybody else who ever pieced together a computer.

But maybe there's a bit of depth to the Surface that we're missing. Let the games begin. 

The latest wrinkle in the skin cream game is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears to be cracking down on the claims made by major cosmetic companies.

Last month, the agency warned L'Oreal about some of the claims it was making for its Lancome products, and now the FDA has put Avon on notice that it needs to smooth out some of its claims.

It's Avon's Anew skin care brand that has drawn the FDA's attention. On its website, Avon calls Anew the "anti-aging breakthrough of the decade" and claims that "deep wrinkles begin to fade in just 1 week."

In a warning letter to the company, the FDA said it had examined the claims for various Anew potions and said they "indicate that these products are intended to affect the structure or any function of the human body, rendering them drugs" under federal law.

Anew Clinical Advanced Wrinkle Corrector:

• “The at-home answer to wrinkle-filling injections. Start rebuilding collagen in just 48 hours.”
• “4D WRINKLE-REVERSE TECHNOLOGY IS DESIGNED TO:

Rebuild collagen to help plump out lines and wrinkles.

Stimulate elastin to help improve elasticity and resilience.

Regenerate hydroproteins to help visibly minimize creasing.”

• “Formulated to boost shock-absorbing proteins to help strengthen skin's support layers.”
• “Improve fine & deep wrinkles up to 50%. Immediately plumps out wrinkles and fine lines. Within 48 hours begins boosting collagen production.”

Anew Reversalist Night Renewal Cream & Anew Reversalist Renewal Serum

• “[W]rinkles are a result of micro-injuries to the skin, so AVON studied how skin heals. As part of the repair process, the body produces Activin . . . . [E]xhaustive research, testing & review have resulted in an unprecedented discovery by AVON scientists: how to activate this key repair molecule. . . . Designed to boost Activin, ANEW’s Activinol Technology helps reactivate skin’s repair process to recreate fresh skin & help dramatically reverse visible wrinkles.”

Anew Clinical Thermafirm Face Lifting Cream

• “Our effective lifting treatment is formulated to fortify damaged tissue with new collagen. In just 3 days, see tighter, firmer, more lifted skin.”
• “[H]elp tighten the connections between skin's layers.”

Solutions Liquid Bra Toning Gel

• “Formulated with pomegranate and fennel extracts to help boost production of collagen and elastin.”

The FDA said Avon needs to fix the violations immediately. 

Marriage can be both a wonderful and tricky undertaking, as theoretically --  two people morph into one and try to bring everything from their single lives over to their married lives in a seamless transition.

Whether it’s the combining of each other’s furniture or putting together each person’s collection of music, books and art, part of the excitement of starting a new life with someone is bringing parts of yourself from your unmarried life over to your new union.

But let’s face it, issues over sharing things like the book and art collection probably hasn’t broken too many couples up, but when it comes to having access to each other’s income, all kinds of conflicts can arise.

In fact, many relationship experts have said the big three when it comes to what couples argue about is sex, communication and of course the household finances.

Let’s face it — sometimes it can be hard trying to manage your own finances on a day-to-day basis, and when you throw another person’s income into the marital fray, it requires even a higher level of money management and more responsibility on each person’s part to make sure the household finances run smoothly.  

But should couples always combine their incomes into one account? Couldn’t the household finances still be managed if each person overseas their own money?

No need to choose

We spoke to financial expert Dr. Gizem Saka, who teaches economics at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, about how couples should handle their finances when first getting together. She says that couples shouldn’t really choose between having joint or separate accounts, as both should be used.

Most of the money should be in a joint account,” says Dr. Saka. “But individuals should keep separate accounts for personal expenditures that the partner wouldn’t need or understand. Research shows an interesting fact about couples: Everyone believes that they’re doing more than their share. When married couples are asked about what percent of the household chores that they complete, the wife and the husband’s answer consistently add up to more than 100 percent.”

“When explained to the participating couples that it is impossible for the total to exceed 100 percent (and that it’s possible for one party to undertake more of the burden, for example, the wife undertaking 75 percent and the husband undertaking 25 percent would work fine, but only if both parties gave the same answer), the answers don’t change,” she said.

“This suggests that individuals in relationships will always think they’re doing more of the work, and since saving can be considered work (it takes self-control), over time, everyone would see themselves as the one doing more of the saving, even when it’s not the case.”

Dr. Saka also explained the benefits of having separate accounts and says that many times each person in a relationship sees the finances and expenditures very differently, thus creating the strong possibility for arguments to begin over too much money being spent.

Demilitarized zones

And no matter how each person in the union tries their hardest to keep a level of peace in the home when it comes to finances, there will always be areas when it comes to money that many couples will never agree on.

“It’s a good idea to keep a separate account for personal expenditures,” says Dr. Saka. Research shows that we don’t have as much empathy for each other as we believe we do. We have several self-serving biases and one that would be relevant in this domain is the Actor-Observer bias in attribution. People are more likely to attribute their own behavior to environment or situation factors; but they view other people’s actions as products of their personality.”

“For instance, a man would think of his own expenditure in football tickets as a form of entertainment spending ("my friends were going and the situation demanded me to buy tickets"), he might think of his wife’s spending on ballet tickets differently ("she’s a spender"). At any relationship there will come a point where two people won’t see eye to eye; for those moments it’s good to have a personal account,” advises Dr. Saka.

One of the common complaints from at least one person in some marriages, is they miss the old days of financial freedom -- when they didn’t have to let their spouse know where every dollar is being spent.

What's personal?

Once you get married do you have to reveal all of your daily and monthly expenditures? I mean, is it wrong for a person in a marriage to keep some of their spending ways personal?

“Being personal doesn’t have to mean being secretive,” said Dr. Saka. “It’s a way to draw a border, but what’s behind the border could still be visible. If you’re putting 10 percent in a personal account every month and spending it, it doesn’t have to mean ‘I won’t show you what I bought,’ it only means, ‘I used my personal discretion to buy these golf clubs and I didn’t have to ask you.’

“This will work because we all engage in mental accounting,” she added. “For instance, we view $15 saved on a cheaper item as more valuable than $15 saved on a more expensive item, even though the dollars don’t know what item they were saved on. This compartmentalization, even though not perfectly rational, helps us make quicker decisions in our everyday lives without feeling guilty or responsible. Everyone needs to spend some money without having to account for it to someone else. What’s more important is to impose sensible limits to the spending behavior, whether personal or joint,” Dr. Saka explained.

And for couples who reside together but aren’t legally married, Dr. Saka says although there are no benefits from a tax perspective, there are still certain things non-married couples can do to manage the household finances properly.

No tax breaks

“There are no tax advantages if you’re not legally married, so the government wouldn’t financially help unmarried couples,” she says. “On the other hand, some companies do recognize partners in benefits programs. When it comes to the household finances, I don’t think anything should change: Couples should encourage each other to participate in IRAs, whether their companies match their contributions or not.”

As far as the best ways for couples to save money, Dr. Saka says Automatic Enrollment Plans are the way to go, as counting on yourself to extract the same amount of money from your paycheck each cycle for your savings, is a difficult undertaking, especially for those on a tight budget.

“Research shows that people like to stick with the status quo; they don’t like change, but most importantly they don’t like to be the initiators of change,” she said.

"Even with an important decision, such as whether to become an organ donor or not, the deciding factor is the question on the application sheet: If the default condition says you’re a donor, but you can opt out anytime you want, people wouldn’t opt out. If the default condition says you’re not a donor, but you can opt in, no one would opt in."

“Using this insight towards retirement savings, policy-makers have come up with the Automatic Enrollment Plans. I’d suggest that couples establish a default savings condition as soon as possible. A good benchmark is 10 percent of the gross income to be saved every month. If that’s established early on, you’d have to explain to your partner why you need it changed; but you won’t have to come up with the arguments as to why you should continue saving. You’ll automatically save as a couple,” said Dr. Saka.

The Great Recession was caused, in large part, when a large number of consumers couldn't handle their mortgages. It quickly escalated to defaults on other types of loans.

But the latest reading on consumer default rates suggests borrowers are back on track. Data compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian showed most loan types saw a decrease in default rates in September. The National Composite Default Rate fell for the ninth month in a row.

Four of the five loan types posted their lowest rate since the end of the 2007/2009 recession. Only the auto loan default rate increased, from 1.09 percent in August to 1.11 percent in September.

Better with credit card bills

Consumers did better with credit cards. The bank card default rate fell in September to 3.70 percent, from August's 3.77 percent, and the first mortgage default rate decreased from 1.40 percent in August to 1.36 percent in September, both hitting post-recession lows.

At 0.64 percent, the second mortgage default rate fell to the lowest in its eight-plus year history. The composite index fell to a post-recession low of 1.46 percent, down from August's 1.50 percent.

"We think it is very fair to say that 2012 has proven to be a period of financial repair for consumers," says David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee for S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Consumers' financial condition continues to improve as witnessed by these declining credit default rates."

Bad debt already written off

Part of the improvement undoubtedly can be traced to higher lending standards. And over the last four years credit card companies have written off much of their bad debt as uncollectable. The consumers who still have access to credit are doing a better job of handling their debt. The single exception is in the area of auto loans.

"Only the auto loan rate rose in September, up two basis points to 1.11 percent," Blitzer said. "This is still a decent number, as the historic low for such loans was 1.01 percent posted just two months ago in July."

Whether you are lining up to buy a new iPhone 5 or one of its many competitors, you then have the problem of what to do with your old cell phone. The last thing you should do is simply throw it away.

Not only are there toxic materials in these devices that should not go into a landfill, there is sensitive information that you should keep out of the hands of people who might misuse it.

Mining for gold

There are plenty of companies advertising online that will buy your old cell phone. In most cases they won't refurbish and resell them but tear them apart for the gold and other materials they contain.

Earthworks, an organization that collects and recycles old cell phones, says recovering the gold found in 50 million cell phones -- iPhone 5 sales are projected to reach 50 million by year's end -- could prevent the creation of 2 million tons of mining waste.

"Recycling helps protect communities and the environment in the U.S. and around the world by keeping hazardous chemicals out of landfills and reducing the demand for conflict mineral mining," said Earthworks' Recycle My Cell Phone Manager Hilary Lewis. She continued, "We hope the public will embrace this easy option for recycling with the guarantee that their devices are being handled responsibly."

Professionally sanitized

All cell phones collected through Earthworks' Recycle My Cell Phone campaign are sent to MPC, a certified IT Asset Lifecycle Management company, where the phones are securely handled in accordance with environmental and data security standards. All cell phones are either sanitized for reuse or physically destroyed and recycled in the United States.

Consumers, however, should not allow their old cell phone to be removed from their possession without first going through some "sanitizing" steps first. Even if you’re sending your phone to a company where the data is securely wiped or the phone is shredded, think about how your phone gets there. If you’re sending it in the mail you can’t be sure that it won’t be lost, or if you’re throwing it in a collection bin at a public drop off site, you never know who could get to your device before that company picks it up.

Steps to follow

So what’s a person to do when the time comes for an upgrade? One authorized method for sanitizing a phone is to delete all information, such as calls made and phone numbers, manually and then perform a full manufacturer’s reset to put the cell phone at its factory default settings. Removing the SIMcard of the phone, a commonplace for stored information, is also recommended.

The Federal Trade Commission says encrypting passwords and other sensitive data stored on your cell phone, and “locking” the keypad while your phone is not in use, can help prevent unauthorized access even after your cell phone is no longer in service. Still, certain data on your phone, including personal contacts, photos and Web search terms, may be recoverable with relatively simple and inexpensive software programs.

Permanent data deletion may require you to clear data from the phone’s contacts and other stored information. Your owner’s manual, your wireless provider’s Website, or the manufacturer will likely provide information on how to permanently delete information from your mobile device.

Lao Chareune Foods of Dallas is recalling approximately 8,200 pounds of various beef and pork products because they were produced without the benefit of federal inspection and misbranded.

The following products are being recalled:

• 3-oz. and 8-oz. packages containing "Pork Snack Stick"
• 3.20-oz. packages containing "Seasoned Fried Beef"
• 1.76-oz. packages containing "Fried Pork Skins"
• 1.20-oz. packages containing "Sliced Fried Pork Ears."

Each package bears the establishment number "EST. 13479" inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mark of inspection. There are no production or expiration dates on the products in commerce.

The pork snack stick is also misbranded in that it is raw and as such cannot be labeled as a snack stick. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has determined that the products were produced from May 22, 2012 to the present and distributed to retail establishments in Louisiana and Texas.

The problem was discovered by FSIS enforcement personnel who identified the products in commerce labeled with the USDA mark of inspection and determined that they were produced without the benefit of inspection.

There are no reports of illness due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.

Consumer questions regarding the recall can contact the company's owner, Charlie Souriyavong, at (214) 330-5995.

The New England Compounding Center (NECC), the source of a contaminated steroid drug that triggered a national meningitis outbreak, may have distributed other contaminated drugs, federal regulators say.

The outbreak, which has claimed 15 lives so far, is associated with the drug methylprednisolone acetate, which is injected near the spine. As a result of its continuing investigation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it has identified a meningitis patient who was injected with an additional NECC product, triamcinolone acetonide.

All products distributed by NECC have been recalled and activities at the facility have been suspended, pending an investigation.

Could be other explanations

In addition to the new meningitis patient, two transplant patients with Aspergillus fumigatus infection who were administered NECC cardioplegic solution during surgery have been reported. Investigation of these patients is continuing, the FDA says. The agency concedes there may be other explanations for the infection. Cardioplegic solution is used to induce cardiac muscle paralysis during open heart surgery to prevent injury to the heart.

"At this point in FDA’s investigation, the sterility of any injectable drugs, including ophthalmic drugs that are injectable or used in conjunction with eye surgery, and cardioplegic solutions produced by NECC are of significant concern, and out of an abundance of caution, patients who received these products should be alerted to the potential risk of infection," the agency said in a statement.

Possible risk from eye surgery

So far, no cases of infection have been reported in connection with any NECC-produced drug used in eye surgery. However, the FDA said it believes this class of products could present risks of infection.

Products from NECC can be identified by markings that indicate New England Compounding Center by name or by its acronym (NECC), and/or the company logo.

The FDA is now advising physicians that have administered any NECC drugs to patients that they should follow-up to ensure no infection is present.

"You should inform patients who received the NECC products noted above of the symptoms of possible infection and instruct them to contact you or another healthcare provider immediately if they experience any of these symptoms," the advisory said.

The signs and symptoms of meningitis include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, photophobia (sensitivity to light) and altered mental status. Symptoms for other possible infections may include fever; swelling, increasing pain, redness, warmth at injection site; visual changes, pain, redness or discharge from the eye; chest pain, or drainage from the surgical site.

Monthly Social Security benefit checks will be a little -- emphasis on “little” -- fatter next year.

The Social Security Administration has announced that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 62 million recipients will increase 1.7 percent in 2013.

The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 56 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2013. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2012.

Determining the COLA

The purpose of the COLA is to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is not eroded by inflation.

It's based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the third quarter of the last year a COLA was determined to the third quarter of the current year. If there is no increase, there can be no COLA.

The 1.7 percent COLA increase works out to about $20 per month.

Other changes

Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $113,700 from $110,100.

Of the estimated 163 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2013, nearly 10 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum.

Information about Medicare changes for 2013 -- when announced -- will be available on the Medicare Website. Some Social Security beneficiaries may see their COLA partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.

The Wii game console was different from its competitors when it was introduced six years ago. Users didn't just sit passively on the couch pushing buttons -- they got up and moved around.

Now that Nintendo is preparing to launch a new generation of the popular game system, it's cutting the price of the original to $129.99. Nintendo says the price cut goes into effect October 28 and the bundle will include copies of Wii Sport and Wii Sports Resort. The current bundle includes New Super Mario Bros.

The price cut comes just ahead of the November 18 planned launch of the new generation Wii game system - Nintendo Wii U., starting at $299.99.

Still a hit

"Almost six years after its release, people are still attracted to the pure, inclusive fun of the Wii console," said Scott Moffitt, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America. "A new suggested retail price and the inclusion of two excellent games make it an easy choice for families looking for a great value this holiday season."

Wii has attracted a different segment of the gaming market. While Xbox and PS3 are popular platforms for fantasy-oriented games, Wii is heavily sports oriented. Its controllers respond to movement and players must often move around, burning calories while they play.

How healthy?

A number of health experts have looked at the Wii console for its cardiovascular benefits. While most say there are limits to its effectiveness, most concede it's healthier than other types of games that don't require movement.

Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort games are examples that helped push the industry to move towards video games motion control. The games include a variety of sports that use singular controls.

Players can test their skills in games like bowling, tennis, baseball, archery, table tennis, and basketball, all while simulating real-life movements using the Wii Remote Plus. For the first time, both games are included on one game disc.

The Wii system was an instant hit when it debuted in 2006. Nintendo says it has sold 95 million units since then.