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)
Gayle said 7:54PM on 8-07-2007
What an odd spin to put on looking up med info. We took care of a dying friend for several months - and believe me, we looked up tons of info! We are so grateful to HAVE the internet!
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michele said 5:07AM on 8-08-2007
Now-a-days physicians either suggest their patients research their diagnosis on the internet, or will give them print outs of the same. And in this day and age of HMOs, and as a health care giver, I am adamant EVERYONE should be their own health advocate and educate themselves rather than putting blind trust into our failing health system here in the US. The person responsible for writing this article needs to educate themselves before they regret it.
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Scott said 8:19AM on 8-08-2007
hmmm.. 160 million people are Cybercondriacs?
or is it really 160 people, looking up information,... a million times?
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Heather said 3:27AM on 9-23-2007
I highly doubt that 160 million people are cyberchondriacs. It makes more sense to think that, most if not all of those people are smart responsible people who are trying to educate themselves about something in relation to them, their family or friends. Believe it or not most everyone in this world propably has some illness that they haven't a clue about. So, if while educating themselves about something for a completely different reason, they find out that they themselves have an illness they came across while studying is not that hard to believe. More & more scientists & doctors are finding out that many people have depression but don't know it & now they finding out that most people who have depression are also bi-polar. So searching for or just running across we can't state for certain. I see nothing wrong with people educating themselves & I don't think you have the right to start calling these people cyberchondriacs for it.
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