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)
john guidon said 3:02PM on 8-04-2007
Aircell's limited test with American is not trans-Atlantic, as you state. While details are very vague, it will be constrained to the contiguous 48 states of the US, and perhaps not all of that. They cannot use their system over the oceans, because Aircell requires an extensive array of land based towers to reach each plane... By the way these towers do not yet exist, so I wouldn't get my hopes up for anything real soon. There are also questions regarding operation within 500 miles of the Canadian and Mexican borders.
Row 44 aims to beat Aircell into service. Our plans will be made public very shortly. We make use of the world's largest satellite ISP delivery service, to deliver true broadband to aircraft anywhere.
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Myron Bement said 5:29PM on 8-06-2007
Any one and I mean any one that has to use a cell phone or an e-mail unit while driving or in the bathroom is not able to do the job they were hired for! THAT'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF YOU !!!!
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Anna Linden said 6:42PM on 8-06-2007
If the practice is permitted there should be a section for those using the electronic equiptment, not in the middle seat or next to a regular sane passenger.
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Huber Hanes said 1:50AM on 9-12-2007
Its a pity that the world's airlines still can't get it 'right'for passengers real needs..
Passengers want: a. comfortable accomodations
b. Good hot meals
c. service and refreshments.
d. Be: On Time
e. Collect all your bags and
exit the airport!
Haveing to worry about the Internet Access w/bells and whistles is a low priority. In the end -- passengers would have to pay for the Privilidge of haveing this system on board even if they didn't use it.
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mike larson said 10:54AM on 9-12-2007
Huber, The airlines used to provide much of what you mentioned. Unfortunately it's a distant memory at this point. As a 40 year veteran of the airline industry I can tell you that the airlines would love to provide those things. The problem is that passengers dont want to pay for them. After deregulation passengers voted decisevly with their pocket books. They overwhelmingly took the cheapest seat available and the end result is the airlines provide exactly what the passengers pay for.
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MJZimmer88 said 12:54PM on 9-12-2007
Wow. You guys are all such downers. I'm excited. I'm absolutely sane, and I fully enjoy using the internet. It provides hours of entertainment, and since modern passengers tend to be growing in use of laptops (ie, all businessmen and anyone under the age of 30) there's no reason NOT to have internet access.
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Felix said 7:36PM on 9-15-2007
Can I book a flight with no internet or phone connection for privacy and confort during my fligth, or the plane will have a section on the plane with out anoyance.
Also can I pay extra to asure my suitcase will make it to my destination?
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Edwart Thain said 12:48PM on 9-29-2007
The many people that I have worked with over the years in pharmaceutical industry that are required to travel extensivly are truely addected to ipods, cell phones,lap tops and other technology that they really can't get away from for a couple of hours while flying. It's not their fault entirely, they work for people who reward them for their insanity. When I go to an airport and see many of these people hacking away at sone site report I feel sorry for them. Boy howdy if this crowd gets to hack and talk in the air whil bumping along at 30,000 feet we, the ones who have to listen to their nonsense will have to take alternatine transportation, like train's and buses. That is until these people jump omn the band wagon.Technology is like an insidious cancer.Be afraid, be very afraid.
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