Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.
Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.
Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.
Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.
HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.
HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.
HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.
GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.
Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.
Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.
Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
web jones said 3:37PM on 4-17-2008
I am amazed at how uncreative folks are when it comes to screen names and passwords. Keep them gender neutral, use a term/word/whatever that has nothing to do with your personal life and change them often.
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nahul01 said 10:33AM on 5-14-2009
everyone I think you will like my password
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clion said 8:17PM on 5-01-2007
oh (*^%@&$(U&^%@^!!!!!!!!!!! i have used all those passwords before!!! no wonder i get so much computer, bank,credit card,ebay,social security, burglary problems......... jk
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deadlyfalcon89 said 8:40PM on 5-01-2007
i programmed my graphing calculator to generate random passwords of 8 characters, the form being 5 letters and 3 numbers. When you calculate it out, it comes to something around 11 billion possible combinations. and no, I've never had it cracked :-D
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BAL1021 said 11:17AM on 5-03-2007
WOW! it never occured to me to use such simple passwords. I'm an RN so I use medical terms..most medical personnel are too busy working
to try to hack anything.
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Subhash Gupta said 9:33PM on 5-01-2007
When I came to this great country 34 years ago from a most corrupt and dishonest country, at that
time I've never imagined one day United States Of
America will become the same ,as it was by back home, what a change. Now, here we have to protect
every tiny belongings, eg password etc.
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j countryman said 6:44AM on 5-03-2007
All of my money transactions are from one account, I transfer funds to it as needed to cover any purchases as I make them. I consider that account compromised. If they rob my account they get less than $20.
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keli said 7:02AM on 5-03-2007
once i had too call my internet provider too tell me my password over the phone because i had just changed it and forgot what i changed it too....After the usual security questions they told me what i hadchanged my password too....iwantmymommy.....As soon as i signed on line i changed it and i've never forgotten my password since.
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Ktoothetee said 7:08AM on 5-03-2007
ive used the same password for everyhting i do online for the past 10+ years, dont worry its safe
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Ktoothetee said 7:14AM on 5-03-2007
i would like to add that I have used aol since like back when it was 2.5. back in the golden years when you could do so much fun stuff like >'ing oh my gawd did we reak havoc(c) on early aol. i miss those days. Can you say solvent green(c) I miss those times , what you couldnt do with visiual basic.................................
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Lori said 11:32PM on 5-07-2007
The U.S. Department of Defense has a disc freely available to U.S. residents. It provides some valuable guidelines on how to secure your password. They even pay for shipping and handling if the address is in the U.S. For a complete description of all the IA training products available for free, please visit: http://iase.disa.mil/eta/ProductDes.pdf
The CD title you're looking for is titled "Information Assurance Awareness Shorts"
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Ktoothetee said 7:20AM on 5-03-2007
when ever we got mad at someone, we would just "punt" them offline, please take me back to 1994 but yea back to the topic, aol is pretty safe now. Im out of the country.
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Ktoothetee said 7:26AM on 5-03-2007
if you read this nonsence, I love you heidi!!!!
Your password is safe
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Crzydoglady said 7:34AM on 5-03-2007
I saw an article once that said to think of a simple sentence or rhyme and use the first letter of each word to create your password. You can even use numbers and symbols. For example, the cow jumped over the moon could be TCJ>TM ...trust me no one will be able to guess one like that!!!
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dcg122259 said 7:48AM on 5-03-2007
If you do not protect yourself (computer) from prying eyes it does not matter how complicated your password is. You must first be diligent in not opening email from unknowns and have top notch protection.
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Jo Jo said 8:15AM on 5-03-2007
I have the same paswords for aslmost all my online accounts. I only have a different password for one yahoo account. I've had problems with my account being broke into per se before. But between my fiance and me we have close to 30 online screenanmes for aol yahoo ebay amazon etc and maybe have a total of five passwrods between us
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Jethro said 8:17AM on 5-03-2007
My password is always johnny123; so I never forget it. I keep it a secret from people i know.
KEEP IT SIMPLE PEOPLE!
I write it down on my tower so it is readily accesible.
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Norman said 8:37AM on 5-03-2007
The best type of password is the letters to a series of words. Just using random letters and numbers makes a password more difficult to remember. That is when people write them down and they are found. Do something like this:
"I Love My New 2007 Honda Civic." The password would be: ILMN2HC
Remembering the phrase is much easier. You will find yourself saying it as you type it in. Just remember to keep your voice down. :^)
Norman
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lexi said 8:42AM on 5-03-2007
how can ppl b so stupid to use the most obvious passwords that ppl can figure out so quickly not saying ive done it but come on u r stupid for that
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Johnny said 9:13AM on 5-03-2007
passwords are like ***-holes everyone is one.
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