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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Edwards said 8:15PM on 8-02-2007
It seems "white people" in general are still upset over Eminem's, declaration of them as cocky caucasians. Therefore they try and screw him over and deprive him at every turn. All Eminem has to do is make another album and I'll buy it in support of him.
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garjaya said 10:28PM on 8-02-2007
Hey Slim your fifteen are gone just go away and take Spears,and Lohan with you
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Keith Hollingsworth said 1:04AM on 8-03-2007
Wow Slim makes More mula then anY of you He doesnt care about what you think lmfao
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joey said 1:57AM on 8-03-2007
emi-WHO?
i don't care if this tired old skank makes one hundred BILLION more than i do, that doesn't make him any more important than me.
bottom line - he came from white trash, he had his 15 minutes, and now he's gone back to being white trash.
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Kristyn said 7:02AM on 8-03-2007
oh got get a life marshall mathers!!!
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lee scott said 8:11AM on 8-03-2007
One more example of headlines for someone that nobody could care less about.
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cheryl said 3:09PM on 9-01-2007
Eminem Rules Fool,s!!!!
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chuck said 9:51AM on 8-03-2007
people..if u had a product and another company took that product and was making money from it...without your permission and u don't make a dime from it...what would u do.........fools
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Nicole Watterson said 11:55AM on 8-03-2007
lee scott ---- speak 4 urself -- if u could care less about him, then y r u reading about him? if u could care less, u wouldnt have even replied ---
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BEBE said 10:46AM on 8-03-2007
We dont need to comment on the people involved in this case, rather the matter of this case. Whether or not you like Eminem is not important in this situation. Yes, I agree with him and he has every right to sue. He feels that he was wronged and quite frankly he was. From a young perspective I think we will just have to wait and see how this plays out in court. (XOXOXOEMINEM)
~BEBE~
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Dawn said 8:22AM on 8-04-2007
While I have to agree that Eminem's 15 minutes of fame are indeed over, I also have to give him kudos for filing against Apple. If in fact they are selling and/or using his music/image without properly compensating him, then yes, he should be compensated. Apple is making money off of him, ergo, he should be paid for HIS work.
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david said 6:41PM on 8-06-2007
To pretend what m&m hollers is music is to say that a steaming dile of dog poop is a New York strip.
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Merge said 10:02PM on 8-16-2007
Doesn't it look kinda like he is crying in his picture. Just like when he lost all those tennis matches 4 years ago. or do I have him confused with another skinny, pale, preppy jerk?
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irmikeee said 6:18PM on 8-16-2007
Universal has distributing rights. Universal let iTunes sell the music. "EMINEM" is still getting a small cut. If he has a problem, he should have taken it up with Universal and bargained with them to disclude EMINEMs music from iTunes stores.
make sense?
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Michelle said 3:33AM on 8-17-2007
Regardless of your feelings toward him and/or his music, he has, in my opinion, not only a right but an obligation to sue. If Eminem sits idly by and allows the record label to determine whom to release use of his music to, then he is, essentially, granting the label permission to profit from his work without compensating him. Any artist in his situation should, quite literally, follow suit. For instance, consider what happened with Napster. The people who couldn't access free, albeit stolen, music anymore were angered by its demise, but it was shut down precisely because the artists had the right to profit from the use of their music then just as they do in a situation like Eminem's.
As an aside, I'd like to recommend to others making comments that you copy and paste them into a word document (or something similar) in order to make use of the spelling and grammar checks. While some of you have had legitimate points overall, the amount of errors in your text takes away from the value and, therefore, the effectiveness of them. Finally, those of you who are making the raving and ridiculous remarks, complete with multiple spelling and grammatical errors, are merely succeeding in confirming your incompetence!
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D.Sketer said 3:17PM on 9-14-2007
Anyone who is a fan of rap knows that Eminem's career is not dead, he is just inactive. His situation is a good one, 50 Cent is synonymous with Eminem so as long as 50 is in the headlines, Eminem name sort echoes slightly in the background. Not only this but with the talent of Eminem he's put himself in a position where he can just chill out and always be famous.
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shawn said 6:38PM on 11-07-2007
that's garbage...if he wasn't getting compensated for use of his music why wouldn't others follow suit and sue as well. i like em, i think he is very talented, but a lot of artists these days are getting into living their fame through bizarre means. i don't necessarly agree that his 15 minutes are up, because the music industry is too fickle and what's hot today won't be tomorrow, but will be reborn next week in some other form.
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shaun said 10:49PM on 11-07-2007
Love or hate, that is the question. The frantic race of the north, are caught in a web of emotional chaos when dealing with Mr. White/Brotha-man Eminem. Do they secretly love him because he has somehow scaled the sacred wall of human dullness to color, rythm and creativity of the Ta-Marry side? Or do they hate him because he has forsaken the global poison of Caucasian racism and the fear of living in peace. Either way he's in and will always be counted as one of the brothas of the all mighty creator of the Universe. NEXT!!!
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diane said 4:12AM on 11-08-2007
apple is not giving the tunes away for free so why should apple make money from his work without his permission?
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Lynn said 10:56AM on 11-11-2007
I am confused as to why everyone keeps talking about Eminem's 15 minutes being up. He broke onto the scene about 8 years ago. That's 15 minutes of fame?? Weird. I always thought when you said someone's 15 minutes is up it would be after they had just one single, or even just one album.
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