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)
G.L. said 8:06PM on 2-04-2008
When you look at the black and white films of the Wright brothers making their first attempts at flight,it is absolutely stunning that humans have evolved this far.
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Philip Richards said 10:02PM on 2-04-2008
The way the US airlines are operated, the poor customers have no recourse whatsoever. If you make a stink at ther ticket counter with a legitimate complaint, you will very quickly find yourself being arrested, or escorted out of the terminal. This is wrong, the customer should be entitled to more courteous consideration.
AND, none of the airlines seem to know how to stay in the 'black' instead of the 'red'!
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carriebnarry said 11:27AM on 2-05-2008
It appears to be dripping in feminity with pastel colors. People under 5'6" will find it comfortable .
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David T. Condra said 4:39PM on 3-27-2008
Now if Korean Air can just stop crashing jets. Over a period of almost a decade spanning the 1990s they had one major aircraft loss per year resulting in hundreds of death. Yes, American airlines are the most comfortable (even Continental has a ways to go) but at least they don't crash into mountain sides in Guam or run off the runways in Soeul - be careful what you wish for...
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Bernard I. Turnoy said 11:39PM on 10-06-2007
Those are interesting photographs of the Korean Air configuration of the A380 that have been posted; of course, looking at the 1st class and business class seating, I couldn't help but think of the aging MD80's and 757's of American Airlines that I've recently flown in. In the past year I've flown from Chicago to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; from Chicago to New York's LaGuardia, from Chicago to San Juan, et al. Even seated in the 'best' class of service of those aircraft, they are - quite simply, thoroughly antiquated. The quality of the 'complimentary' ear phones on those flights was such that they actually hurt one's ears. There were no seatback video displays, no wifi and the lavatory facilities up front were being used by those seated aft.
While it's one thing to have to take an aged MD80 for a couple of hours to New York, it's quite another for flights in excess of four hours. On longer routes - where competition abounds, such as the trans-Atlantic and/or trans-Pacific routes, the offerings are many and the ammenities correspondingly provided. Nevertheless, it appears that air-travel is quickly going the way of most services, such being a two tier approach. They'll pack the average flying public into steerage, charge fees for all services formerly provided as a courtesy and those who can/choose to anti-up can either fly business/1st class only flights, or continue to pay absurdly high ticket prices for the front rows on legacy carriers. What I don't comprehend is why American taxpayers are paying for the expansion of our airports and infrastructure to accommodate the A380? After all, those footing those bills aren't likely to ever see any direct benefit from facilitating the European's venture into North America - a venture that competes directly with our home grown Boeing.
It's my understanding that United Airlines hasn't ordered any new aircraft {with their fleet aging faster than any of the other legacy carriers} and, even if they were to do so now, the backlogs at Boeing for their 787's would put United well into the 2015 time frame before they could begin to take delivery. Despite living in realtively close proximity to Chicago's O'Hare Airport, the lock that American and/or United have on this key North American hub is in the area of 80%. This hardly makes for competition in one of the world's major aviation markets.
Perhaps when the business class only start-ups expand into Chicago {whether it be at Midway, Milwaukee's Mitchell Field, Palwuakee in Wheeling, or elsewhere, the legacy carriers will have to produce a product corresponding with their price points. In the meantime, those of us in Chicago not flying on private aircraft will have to continue to pay for the expansion of O'Hare, to deal with the regional traffic issues, to pay the price for the lack of competition and to have to endure travel on antiquated aircraft.
Frankly, I think it's high time we expended our tax dollars into a naitonal grid of high speed rail service. Now, there's something to think about.
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