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.
When it comes to economical printing and crisp text, it's hard to beat a laser printer. They'll spit out thousands of sharply defined pages on a single toner cartridge before needing replacement, all while hardly making a sound (and only dimming the lights a little). However, those benefits apparently come at a cost: your health. A new study from Queensland University of Technology indicates that laser printers emit clouds of fine particles when they're in use, particles that are similar to "cigarette smoke and motor vehicle emissions."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)
jane said 8:22PM on 6-11-2008
A lot of computer users today (including myself) have a laser printer. Laser printers offer good quality and are very fast printers. So, it is a good technology. That said, might it be that it is a technology that has side effects on our health? Laser printers spew out large amounts of particulate matter into the air which can be harmful when breathed in. Like cigarettes' smoke are harmful too to our health. So we must avoid in getting close to printers especially while printing or else we are getting close to our death...
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jane
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Jana said 3:57PM on 8-06-2007
Well then, I propose laser printers be moved 20 feet from the entrance to offices and taxed to the max. Why should they be allowed where smokers aren't? But then, nothing is fair to smokers these days.
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dave said 5:10PM on 8-06-2007
Crap. I have been smoking while sitting on the laser printer.
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Linda said 8:12PM on 8-09-2007
Jana, I'm with you 100%
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Jerrry said 8:34PM on 8-09-2007
Jana keep the good work up
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diadem said 8:30PM on 8-09-2007
Of course nothing is fair for the smokers and rightly so. Non-smokers shouldn't have to put up with a nasty habit that affects our health just because someone else chooses to smoke. I can't wait for the day that smoking is banned from all public places!
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Kathryn said 8:30PM on 8-09-2007
Jana, Dave, Linda, maybe we should organize for the same rights as a lazer printer. And don't you think that you do your best creative work WHILE perched on a lazer printer with a smoke in one hand and a cup o' java in the other??? I know I do.
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Theresa said 8:36PM on 8-09-2007
Where do people come up with these studies?? Did some scientist just decide to see if laser printers were harmful too our health? I just dont get it.
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suzie said 2:35PM on 8-10-2007
fat.
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tugawugah said 10:02AM on 8-10-2007
diadem-wake up, the issue REALLY ISN'T about smokers!!
dave/kathryn- you should be on LAST COMIC STANDING!! LOL!
anyone know exactly HOW MUCH printing you have to do before you are affected??
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Yvonna said 8:45PM on 8-09-2007
I think that laser printers should be outlawed.I have spent my whole life trying to stay away from smoke and cigarettes, so I won't get lung cancer. Now you are telling me that my office in endangering my health more than smoking a cigarette!?!Health consious people like myself will agree with me. Come on science, at least make a safe laser printer!
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Joe said 8:46PM on 8-09-2007
I want to have unprotected sex while smoking, drinking, eating some fried chicken, and printing pictures of people doing drugs.
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Chris said 8:50PM on 8-09-2007
doesn't it seem like everything is bad for you lately? I figure everything in moderation...hell, we're all going to die anyway, so live it up while you can...you never know when your time is UP
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gina said 8:54PM on 8-09-2007
I agree with Jana.
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Andy said 8:53PM on 8-09-2007
Jana, we sure don't want to be "unfair" to smokers. What exactly are they owed for spewing their fumes into the air around the rest of us and throwing their trash all over the ground? You would think common sense and courtesy would make bans and regulations unnecessary, but the vast majority of smokers don't exhibit those qualities when smoking. As with any special interest group, if you don't police your own, the whole group suffers the consequences.
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Col Bill said 8:55PM on 8-09-2007
You gotta die sometime. Caesar (Shakespeare) said, "A coward dies a thousand times. A brave man dies but once." Fear is merely pain in the future and should be ignored.
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carmen said 9:05PM on 8-09-2007
I am a smoker , but I am always considerate of those who are not.What gets me is the NON-smoking health conscience people who DIS my smoke, yet have no qualms about sitting in a restuarant WITH or beside someone who's had 3- 4 drinks,then leave and be on the same road as these DRUNKS lol
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Denise said 9:00PM on 8-09-2007
LMAO Dave!!!!!
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Shirley said 9:01PM on 8-09-2007
I agree with Jana and Chris. Before long they will be telling people not ot have sex, as they might die??? What next??
It seems funny to me, I've seen people sit in bars breating in everyone elses smoke, smoky everywhere, yet most are the ones complaining about smoke in our other environments??
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carmen said 9:06PM on 8-09-2007
To Andy.....i am a smoker, non drinker, who always considers those who don't smoke........even I don't like cig smoke in my FACE.......what irks me is the NON-smokers who do not think twice about sitting in a restuarant with people having numerous DRINKS, then leaving at or about the same time the "drunks" are on the same road!How dangerous is THAT to your health???
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