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.
Psion Organizer
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Boz said 1:24PM on 8-13-2008
I actually wish my Blackberry used an ABC keyboard instead of QWERTY. The latter was designed to make typing more efficient. You can't really type on a Blackberry...the keys are too small. If it was an ABC layout I could feel my way across the keyboard with one finger in the dark. With Qwerty, I have to stare at the keyboard and hope the backlighting is bright enough for me to tell the difference between an E and an F for example. The screen outshines the keyboard when it is dark and makes key recognition difficult. I usually have to use both hands too.
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Irregular Shed said 11:35AM on 8-18-2008
Regarding the Psion:
"The units looked less like PDAs and more like something a police officer might clock your blood alcohol level with."
That's actually not that a million miles from reality - from what I recall these were designed more for data gathering than as a PDA. We were using when I was working in the hospital in the late 90s for stock control - they had barcode readers and were as rugged as the brick they were styled upon, meaning they could be used in warehouses and operated by the least technically literate staff you could possibly put on inventory duty (hence the non-QWERTY keypad). When I left the hospital for more interesting employment they were 12 years old and still going strong.
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MP649 said 9:22PM on 8-22-2008
looks more like a calculator than a PDA
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hsu912174 said 6:06PM on 6-27-2009
This actually looks like those TI-83s that high school kids haul around.
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lilmissthing0027 said 12:19AM on 5-25-2007
You all need to calm down. Why does everyone think that their negative opinions will really want to be read over and over? It was really fun looking at some of these old gadgets! Some were really ridiculous huh? Spending their days writing these articles is their job. So give it a rest. Maybe no one wants to read a positive response either - but hey just trying to change things up.
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Payday said 12:59AM on 5-25-2007
Back in the 80's the closest thing I had to a computer was a calculator and it looked just like that.
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Bond, James said 6:24AM on 5-25-2007
Everything in the 80s looked ugly, even people.
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