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)
jan bennett-collier said 2:14PM on 7-27-2007
Is this a big deal just because it's Singer? There've been other brands of sewing machines with these capabilities, and more, around for years. Singer may have once been 'first' or 'best', but no longer so among serious sewers, that's for sure.
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Judy said 2:24PM on 7-27-2007
I have not seen a sewing machine that can duplicate PICTURES from the net! This should be really popular. I am a professional seamstress an although Singer is not a precision made machine, I think it sure sounds great!
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Charbar said 2:31PM on 7-27-2007
It would be far worth saving a few more months and getting a Janome or Bernina then wasting money on a Singer. The name is still there, but the quality has become so far inferior due to being sold to so many different factories over time. Do your research on ALL brands, then make your decision. But ask your sales person exactly who Manufactures the machine you are buying and where. For instance, Janome manufactures all their own machines, but they also manufacture for Elna and Sears. Good luck ... and remember, names aren't always what they crack up to be!
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sewwhowantstoknow said 11:28PM on 7-28-2007
Singer is a 150 years old name, but not a 150 years old company. (Ask anyone who owned Singer stock in the '80s.) Believe me, this is not the quality of your Grandmother's 15-91. Check and compare; do not depend solely on a washed-up brand name.
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Dirce said 9:24AM on 8-04-2007
To technology Live people:
Singer and any other machine CAN NOT reproduce PICTURES or clipart as embroidery. I'm an embroidery digitizer and I know what I'm saying. Please, make a research and get knowledge before making your statements and before displaying SILLINESS to incentive people to buy cats as hares. The USB interface just means a way to input existing digitized designs - which actually is a Program on the format that the machine will read - to the machine, that whay it can THEN embroider. No one can take a picture or clipart or any kind of image file format and make ANY machine embroider directly, even the industrial ones need a pre-digitized embroidery design to embroider. And the software needed to digitize an embroidery usually costs a big amount of money, and even the expensive or professional ones requires good knowledge on the digitizing technique in order to make an embroidery design that will embroider with quality - both visual and technical.
Dirce
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