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 1)
zackery Shoemaker said 1:57AM on 7-29-2007
Right. It looks like another failed attempt at the real goal of a hybrid. nice try...kind of
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Paul Taylor said 6:07AM on 8-10-2007
My wife is American, I am English and we both live in England. Petrol (Gasoline) or Diesel costs the equivalent of $8.50/gallon here (America should brace itself for rates at this price in due course ... it will happen!) so any vehicle needs to be yielding the best mpg figures which can be achieved! The Cayenne Hybrid is a nice try to woo consumers into thinking 24mpg is good. It's not! Diesel Peugeot Estates (Stationwagons) regularly return 45mpg and British road-speeds are higher than in the States. Diesel Range-Rovers which are probably closest to the Porsche image, will achieve at least 25mpg. Diesel cars emit lower CO2 than the equivalent Petrol/Gasoline models and produce greater mpg. If you want to save money on fuel & be kinder to the environment, America needs to look to the British way & European models like Honda, Peugeot, Renault, VW, Skoda etc and move over to Diesel power in the first instance; drive manual (shift-stick) rather than automatics; be less heavy-footed on the pedal; reduce unecessary weight carried within the vehicle; seek models of 1900cc (less than 2ltr engine size) and move away from the big, SUV-type vehicles. Don't think that Biofuels will be the next big thing. The world has insufficient land mass and freshwater to produce enough biocrops for fuel AND crops for foods. America defintely needs to 'wake up & smell reality'!
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Rick said 5:38PM on 9-22-2007
Oil is the world currency. We do NOT need it as a fuel. Don't believe the bull that we can't produce enough biofuel. We can. What we cannot do is create a wworld economy that will please the owners of the current world economy which is based on their ownership of petroleum. They have decided that if it's between giving up power and killing the planet, it's good-bye planet. Too bad. They're stupid and they lack the vision of men like John D. Rockefeller I, who created their wealth. It's possible to save the world and avoid economic chaos, but it will take smarter minds than they have. A mind like mine, for example.
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