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.
With the launch of the iPhone officially out of the way, Tech Digest has gotten down to business talking about things other than the iPhone. The first order of business: taking note of the fact that other anticipated cell phones do exist.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
mike said 11:02AM on 1-31-2008
It's better then the iphone that's for sure but the iphone is such a brand able product they dropped the price so you don't need a small business loan http://www.onlinecheck.com to afford they have a huge following, first the ipod craze, how many people do you know own them and have many have you seen with them. Now of the mp3 players which can you recognize from looks alone just the ipod same with the iphone, even if the sony works better and has better functions the iphone still has it's brand and the name. Case in point hybrid cars save gas function better last longer i suppose but a lot of people still love their SUV's!
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noname said 2:12PM on 7-10-2007
What about the neo1973 that is the coolest phone to come out and will and can compete with the iphone. http://www.openmoko.com/products-neo-base-00-stdkit.html
Plus with this phone your are not bound to one cell phone company.
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James Peters said 2:12PM on 7-10-2007
ALL CELL COMPANIES ARE GULTENOUS "PIGS"!!!
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camjam0218 said 2:50PM on 7-10-2007
dat's a really nice phone but d i phone is way diff
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mee said 3:00PM on 7-10-2007
they are all just phones, who cares what phone has what .. a phone is meant to make calls, not listen to music & take pictures, thats what mp3 players & cameras are for .. yet alone are cheaper than these new stupid phones.
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Candie said 3:43PM on 7-10-2007
When consumers try to keep up with technology it's only increasing their revenue. Learn to keep what you have and save the rest. When purchasing new gadets, they are obsolete before the next month and here comes something new again. I encourage everyone to save your money and quit trying to keep up with the Jones!
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Donabed C. Kopoian said 3:17PM on 7-10-2007
Sony Ericsson by far has to be the best cell phone company out there. I bought an S710a two years back, not only was it cheaper than the RAZR, but it had a better camera, expandable memory (up to 128 megs), 5 band equilizer, Full Bluetooth and Infared (I could send pictures and music to my friends RAZR using bluetooth, and it could pull files from his phone onto mine).
The S700i was even better since it used Memory Stick Duo PRO and could store up to 1 gig of memory and came with an FM radio. The phone was way ahead of it's time, and if Sony Ericsson advertised their phones like LG, Apple, and Motorola, they would be a bigger contender in the cell phone market.
The Sony Ericsson W960 is far ahead of the iPhone (first off because it plays MP3's and you don't have to import your MP3 files to iTunes to use the iPhone's player). You can even make your own ringtones with a WavePad editor (I made all my ringtones for the S710a). It has a better camera, and you can replace the battery when it dies. The iPhone's battery is soldered in, if it goes dead, you'll need a whole new phone.
If Sony marketed this phone like Apple did with their iPhone, it would wipe the floor with it.
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Donabed C. Kopoian said 3:19PM on 7-10-2007
Also, the Sony Ericsson phone's have a built in picture editor, and they have the same options as a Sony CyberShot, can't beat that.
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Paul said 3:49PM on 7-10-2007
Buy a basic phone that makes calls, and leave the jewlery to your Rolex
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kims son said 3:23PM on 7-10-2007
cell phones are cell phones. music or no music. pictures or no picturs. all u need is the call-making part.
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Bob Glasser said 3:57PM on 7-10-2007
It is just like the difference between buying a console stereo and components. When something goes wrong with the console it costs a fortune to fix because everything is inter-related. Hey,
why not add a voice-analyzer to the i-phone? Then you could check if the person calling is telling the truth.
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cozgy said 4:01PM on 7-10-2007
This is the future of cellphones. iPods and other MP3 players will soon be phased out. That's the way it's done everywhere else in the world. The phone does it all.
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Lefty said 4:11PM on 7-10-2007
The cell phones are impressive but the problem with the article is that these are mostly phones that are going to be released in other parts of the world and not in the US. What are the phones that are going to be released this year in the US that are going to compete with the I-Phone.
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Larry said 4:35PM on 7-10-2007
when are they going to start putting wheels on these phone gadgets and start charging mileage???
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J master J said 4:37PM on 7-10-2007
Hello. Goodbye. And what's in between orally. That's a phone baby. Why don't these geeks come up with a transporter so we don't need to rely on oil to get around. Beam me up Scotty.
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Tom said 4:42PM on 7-10-2007
Rolex? Why do I need a clock on my wrist. I got my cell phone!!!!
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mike hall said 4:56PM on 7-10-2007
FIRST IT WAS TENNIS SHOES, FOLLOWED BY THE INFAMOUS BEEPER,THEN CAME THE CELL PHONE,AND 4000.00 RIMS FOR 1000.00 CARS ,HAVE YOU PEOPLE GOT NOTHING BETTER TO DO WITH YOUR MONEY THAT THIS ENDLESS STUPIDITY?CELL PHONES ARE SAME AS A GUN ,WHEN STUCK TO THE EAR WHILE RECLINING IN THE CAR SEAT ,AND HOW MUCH FURTHER DO WE DIVE INTO STUPIDITY UNTIL WE WAKE UP AND SEE IT AINT ABOUT BLING
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bigmo said 5:00PM on 7-10-2007
Anyone who would pay those prices for a freaking phone is nuts---really is this world better off with them or without? I admit I can't be w/o my phone but there is a limit to my gadget needs and to have a phone /vcr/mp3/bluetooth/camera/ can opener/Swiss Army knife/GPS/Fish locator/radar Detector-jammer/PS2 and most of all a replica of the Buck Rodgers Ray Gun and Bat Man communicator all is one--is just plan freakin CRAZY!!! Some people just don't have lifes--Huh!!!!
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