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.
You're looking at the face of online music piracy. Jammie Thomas, a 32-year-old single mother of two accused by the RIAA of sharing 24 songs on peer-to-peer service Kazaa, has lost her protracted legal battle. Yesterday she was ordered to pay a whopping $222,000 in damages, which amounts to $9,250 for every song shared -- this despite the fact that the RIAA was never able to prove Thomas even had Kazaa installed on her machine. Thomas maintains her innocence. 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jim said 12:08PM on 10-05-2007
Stealing is stealing. Musicians are getting tired of not getting paid for their work. Buy the music if you want it.
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bronx said 1:17PM on 10-05-2007
@Jim.. You know what we are.. tired of the music industry stealing from us.. over prized cd's... WTF you must be working for the basterds.. They just do not get it..... and so do you.
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missy said 1:29PM on 10-05-2007
my one concern is that they cannot prove that she had Kazaa on her computer. Deleted information is still retrievable so...why no proof?
Regardless of the cost of CD'S, entertainers have the right to price their product however they choose...stealing IS stealing but, where is the proof?
I'd caution anyone supporting a conviction without proof.
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Ben said 1:40PM on 10-05-2007
Screw jim and the rest of the RIAA. I'm sick of their extortion methods. They burst into cafe's and bars and demand money for songs not even played there that they have no copyright for. Good for this lady fighting them. Hope she can avoid paying.
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Jim said 1:49PM on 10-05-2007
Bronx, I suggest you spend a little more time on spelling and grammar. A product is only worth what someone will pay for it. If you think it's overpriced, don't buy it. If enough people agree with you, the price will come down. You still don't have the right to steal it.
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bronx said 1:53PM on 10-05-2007
The artist do not set te prize of the cd the industry does. The artist sees very very little of that mony.. I hope there will be a change like but the cd directly for the artist and just pay him like 7 dollars. that like dubbel the amount of what there getting now....
Trent reznor gets it....
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/17/1948238&from=rss
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sir jay harris said 2:17PM on 10-05-2007
Pirates in the olden days were hung.
current pirates need to be fined & fined heavily.There internet privileges should be terminated as well.
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Ben said 3:10PM on 10-05-2007
Actually Sir jay, pirates in the old day were supported by governments to raid commerce and gold from the "new world."
Yeah its illegal, but a quarter million dollar fine for this is absurd.
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j said 5:54PM on 10-09-2007
Greedy filth! They have no evidence that she installed the illegal file-sharing software on her computer. That's called "LACK OF EVIDENCE"!!!
And any alleged damages aren't nearly worth $220K! This completely unjust "penalty" just another act of the rampant corporate greed that is destroying the world!
Keep fighting Jammie! Don't let them do this to you and your family!
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eA said 12:50PM on 10-18-2007
The way I look at it, I support the selective download at a price. One thing that mp3 downloads have forced artists to do is actually provide quality music. 15 years ago, before napster really got around to getting started, you purchased an entire album just to get 2, maybe 3 songs. Now, instead of purchasing an entire album, you can selectively download those songs you want. If a musician wants to get the full price for a CD, that musician will have to create quality music. I'm in favor of the musician setting up a website where a fan can selectively download music and pay a nominal fee per song, but unfortuneatly, the record company, the producer, etc. would all still get a cut. That's just how the business is.
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