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.
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rhyno101st/lrsd said 10:54AM on 10-10-2007
the Catholic church indocrinated me when i was a young boy. i had no choice. my younger brother was the object of one priest/predator desires. thank God he was caught and transferred away. the Church is wealthy. since they now are losing money, they turn to a gimmick like this. if the REAL truth came out about Jesus, the Grail, and other secrets the church hides, it would COLLAPSE. i been indocrinated again, this time by choice. iam a 3 time volunteer, and my God ain't SHORT OF CASH, MISTER...
Reply
NonyoBizness said 12:16PM on 10-10-2007
I beat it on legendary =)
Reply
Michele said 12:44PM on 10-10-2007
The New York Times article stated that Protestant churches were luring teens to play Halo. Not the Catholic Church. Read the article before you spew your hate!
Reply
Paulos said 12:33PM on 10-12-2007
Churches have to put this on display to get more people to be interested in religion? Pretty pitiful.
Reply
ruslan said 3:00PM on 10-12-2007
this is stupid at they are doing since ul be playign halo and not listineing to wat hte bible says about it and this is disrespecting the religion for wht this country was build on
Reply
Julie said 6:51PM on 10-10-2007
Rhyno101, your lies are obvious. Shut up and go away.
Reply
mindchamber said 11:54PM on 10-10-2007
Michele, relax a church is a church is a church. something for the clueless and scared to believe in.
Reply
Michele said 3:03PM on 10-11-2007
Mindchamber, ony the clueless speak of things they know nothing about. Christians share the same basic beleifs. Differnt denominations worship diffently. People don't "beleive" in a church. People attend church to praise God, not out of fear but because of thier faith.
Reply
Robert said 8:59PM on 10-11-2007
I don't know why any true Christian would attend these so called churches that sell lattes in the lobby, make money off of gambling (bingo, raffles, etc...), charge kids hundreds of dollars to go to their camps, and play violent video games or show extremely graphic videos to attract members.
Seems to me there was something in the scriptures about the Savior turning over the tables of the money changers in the temples and/or places of worship. In fact when I talk to people about these features they are usually ashamed and from what I've seen is it has lead to less activity in the church membership.
Reply
sldavis said 10:06PM on 10-11-2007
My advice to churches is to show love like Jesus did to sinners; let your light shine and it will draw them.
Romans 12:2(New King James Version) states:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Reply
Aleks Kravchuk said 3:29PM on 11-01-2007
As the man sees history, over the years it has always declined. Second Law of Thermodynamics states that everything is going towards disorder. As we see Halo in churches more and more now we will also see different things coming into play. This is just the beginning. We know devil does not have much time remaining for him so he is more and more mad every day. His goal is to destroy as stated in John chapter 10. Those pastors have been decieved and they need prayers for them so they would turn. Light and Darkness has nothing in common with each other. In Genesis we read that (God) seperated light from darkness and God loved the light. He saw it and said it was good. Devil is here to destroy the fine lines of mans morals that God has set up for man. "Thou Shalt Not Kill" was a commandment to man. If he and everyone were to follow it, i would say it would be closer to utopia. Think of all the wars that have happened and that are happening. What devil has said now is that playing Halo is not bad in church since it is all pixels. You are not ((really)) killing anyone. So where is the love? Jesus did not attract people to Himself by means of violence. The word of God stated that light came into the world. That light is Jesus. That light is true love. Love your enemies the Word of God has taught. They say.. well kill those aliens... They are not human. This will go into you in your heart. Subconsciencly it will affect you and you will never know it. I have been a computer addict for 4 years, a bit more than that. I have seen all these video games. I played them, and you will not be closer with God. God is holy meaning He is seperate. Seperate from Darkness. Seperate from the world. What we see here today folks is the new low of the Church of God that it has fallen to. The lost faith that people left, the lost love that people decided to replace with Halo to attract people. Holy Spirit brings people. The Apostoles did not bring the world into the church. They stayed seperate. Holy Spirit brought people from the world into church. What the church is doing now is going into the world. Day by day we see that. Will no one raise voice and say and see what is going on. How would Jesus look at what the pastors are doing? How once the Christian nation has gone the path towards wickedness. Has now forgotten it's Creator and went by the way it wants to go.
Reply
Tr0as said 5:23PM on 11-16-2007
Well if people go to church for these games networking things and they get saved from it, doesn't that make it worth it? 1 less sole into the internal fire. it may not save them directly but it may be a step in the journey
Reply