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.
Sony's chosen next-gen disc format, Blu-ray, is locked in a mortal struggle against Toshiba and Microsoft's chosen one, HD-DVD. Sony is not pulling out the stops, securing an exclusive deal with Blockbuster Video, already claiming itself the victor in the format wars, and now going so far as to give away five movies with the purchase of any "qualifying" Blu-ray player. For those on the fence about the PS3, it does qualify, providing some bit of incentive to finally swallow the astronomical price tag.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michyle Glen said 10:46AM on 7-06-2007
Blue Ray or HD, still up in the air. but blue ray copy costs at least $10.00 more per DVD. Thing that makes me laugh is that the Higher Definition needs a Plasma TV for real effectiveness. How many People can afford one of those??
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Dejan Jancevski said 5:57PM on 7-16-2007
Hmmm...I have no idea where you go to buy your HD DVDs or Blu-Ray DVDs, but at my local Best Buy store, the HD and BR DVDs are equal in price (both start at $19.99 and go up from there).
Yes, both are more expensive than standard DVDs, but that's because of the improved clarity.
Sure, you could have argued that most can't see the best 1080i or 1080p (HD vs BR, respectively) unless they have a 1080p HD TV, but considering the prices of many of them have come down drastically, price is no longer prohibitory.
Furthermore, neither is the player. After all, you go and buy yourself a PS3 (which has recently gotten a price drop of $100) for $499, hook it up to a HD TV (which will set you back about $1k for a good one), and you get to see some decent (and some bad) BR DVDs once you turn in the form properly filled out.
So, I fail to see where your price logic comes into play. Perhaps you are simply not in the majority of people who want to experience the best TV has to offer (though, the true BEST will be starting out at the end of this year when HD Laser TVs go on sale), but that's another post for another time.
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