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 3 of 10)
JoAnn said 11:06AM on 12-16-2008
I washed my son's ipod, made sure not to turn it on for a week until it was completely dry, and it worked! (Until it got stolen!)
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Ravin said 11:12AM on 12-16-2008
You can also take a wet phone or electronics and put them on your TV vents where the heat comes out. Leave them there for 24 hours and they will work fine. I Have a 2 years old I Know this to be true...lol
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Michelle said 12:40PM on 12-16-2008
A wet cell phone can cause a lot of stress, no doubt! My 10 year old son left his new cell phone in his Jeans and I did not check his pockets before doing the laundry. Just as soon as the load of jeans was finished, my son comes looking frantically for his phone. Well, yeah it just went through the entire wash cycle. Whoops! I immediately took off the battery then "shook" the excess water from the phone and preceded to use my hair dryer to dry it out, I did this for maybe 45 minutes. The phone was back up and fully functioning in about 4 hours. Wheew, what a relief!!!
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Tim said 11:25AM on 12-16-2008
My first week into starting my own business, it was time to buy a cell phone.....something I really needed not just for the business but for those friendly phone calls while out on the job.....we all know how that goes......anyways, I purchased my new cell phone with all the gizmo's available....anything to make it easier.....upon going to my first job the next day, I opened a 5 gallon can of paint to mix before starting the walls badly in need of a fresh coat.......while mixing it,,,,,the phone rang.....Godfather theme I might add,,,,I took the phone out of my cell phone holder and dropped the phone into the white paint.....did I save the phone.......bet your boodie I did.....it's framed, hanging in my computer room as a reminder.....no excuse for being clumbsy......and an expensive paint job as well for both my customer and me as well............lol.......Happy Holidays
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Jeanie said 11:33AM on 12-16-2008
Cat litter works just like the rice. Twice have dropped phones out of my pocket into toilets. First time, it died. Second time, I remembered the folks at the phone store telling me if it ever happened again to immediately switch the phone off and remove the battery. I did this the second go round, could only get half function after it dried, went to a different phone store and the techy told me to try putting it in fresh cat litter in a plastic covered container overnight before replacing it. Twelve hours later, phone works just like it did before, nothing lost. Forget the hair dryer, my husband melted the circuit board on his once doing that.
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ShaDrouet said 11:36AM on 12-16-2008
its true you can save the phone
I by mistake put my eye phone in the bra of my bathing suit then proceeded to go into the hot tub for half an hour while it was on.. It was fully submerged in the hot waters.. Only noticing that when I got out what I had done. I ran and got some rice from the hotel resteraunt thinking holy crap my new Iphone of two weeks is gone. I put it in fully covered in a sealed plastic bag. where it sat for a day. I tried it again nothing. I left it for two weeks this way thinking I would just have to spend 400 and get another one. as a last resort after two weeks I put it in a sealed bag with only two packets of silica gel for 24 hours.. Turned it on and it worked as new nothing is wrong with it fully funtional bright colors etc etc. Im am truly astonished it came back but am forever greatful for the link to the site that told me what to do . it worked like a charm
Sign me Happy Iphone user
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gabby said 11:41AM on 12-16-2008
i have gotten several LG phones wet and all i have done is let them dry out. however on the voyager the screen kept appearing to have water in it so i finally pushed down on the screen - somewhat hard. the phone powered down. when i powered it up again, full screen. no problems.
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Mont said 11:41AM on 12-16-2008
I use rubbing alcohol to purge the water, then let it evaporate overnight. Works just as well as the rice trick.
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Jim said 4:59PM on 12-16-2008
Shop Vac!!! Works everytime. Take it apart and put the hose on the back and suck away, after 30 mins. move it to other side, and other areas, and it will be working in hours. I've done this on several occasions and have had great success.
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Brian said 12:37PM on 12-16-2008
What about mineral oil? I built one of those mineral oil cooled computers and every component is submerged in liquid (check it out on youtube). Mineral oil doesn't conduct electricity, so theoretically, you should be able to submerse your phone in mineral oil to dilute or flush out the water to save your info, then just wait for the mineral oil to dry up.
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Chuck said 12:57PM on 12-16-2008
I wrapped a phone and battery in a towel and tied it closed on both end so the phone wouldn't fall out and put it in the clothes dryer for 1 hour, came out working fine and smelled spring fresh as well.
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karen said 1:11PM on 12-16-2008
Sugar works great as well too. just wrap up the phone in a thin napkin and tape it up. works every time.
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Coveyhntr said 1:03PM on 12-16-2008
This absolutely works! My son's brand new LG Shine went through the washer (full cycle). When we discovered it, I immediately took the battery and sim card out, found the rice rememdy and tried it. I put the phone, battery and sim card in the container, covered it with rice (actually the rice was the boil in the bag variety, all we had) and sealed the container. Twenty-four hours later, we gave it a try and its working just fine!
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twobunnies said 1:06PM on 12-16-2008
I dropped mine in the toilet once; pulled it out, took out the battery and the used my hair drier on both, it still works a year later. Just make sure it`s low heat and air.
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Wayne said 1:40PM on 12-16-2008
I suppose this might work, but believe it or not I dropped my phone (LG8300) three times in my dogs water dish. Yes, you would think once would be a lesson, long story. Like all electronics, never try to see if they work right away. I removed the battery instantly, took an air hose that was mounted in the cab of my truck and gave it a good light drying. You can do this with a pc air cleaner also, or simply just shake the access water from the phone. I placed it on my dashboard along with the battery for about 4 hours in the sunlight. Worked everytime and I never lost anything. About a year later I had connection problems with the phone and took it to Verizon for free replacement. She said it had a little corrosion in the battery contacts. I just smiled...
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Barbara said 2:45PM on 12-16-2008
When I dropped my cell phone in the foot bath at the salon, the girl next to me told me to take it apart and put the battery and phone in a 170-degree oven for 1 hour. It's worked both times I've needed it (the other time, I decided to "water" my phone while I was watering the garden). Good luck, and try to stay dry.
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Audrey said 2:07PM on 12-16-2008
My son's GameBoy was in his coat pocket when I not only washed it, but dried it as well. I was shocked to see that it survived the washing machine and dryer! It worked perfectly and is still going. Maybe throwing cell phones in the dryer with a batch of laundry will work too.
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hannah said 2:07PM on 12-16-2008
I was in the bathroom at school on a friday and i had my hoodie with my iphone in the pocket. I flushed the toilet and turned around and I see me iphone sitting straight up in the bottom of the toilet. I was horrified and this was at school! I tried to blow dry it and it just totally shut down and was doing weird things. Also if u have a iphone..you cant take the back off so i couldn't get any of the water out! My screen was damaged for the weekend and I couldn't make any calls but on Sunday i turned it on and my screen was fine. It was still a little slow and my middle button was working on and off but hey at least it worked!
now I still have some probs but its okay:)
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Diana said 11:22PM on 12-16-2008
I would be interested in reading research on Rice vs. the Refrigerator for removing water from electronics. I know if my laptop got wet it would be easier to clear a shelf for it in the fridge!
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Jenny said 7:31PM on 12-16-2008
I dropped my phone in the toilet.. I quickly took it out and took out the battery. I then tried blow-drying it... it worked, but it was a little shaky.
It then worked fabulously, until it stopped charging, I do not know if it was the phone or the charger, but it started getting all screwy. I then got a new phone. My friend also had my new phone I got. She said that she dropped hers into the toilet like a month after I did. She said she put her phone into un-cooked rice and it worked great!
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