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)
E said 2:13PM on 11-15-2007
Is that Mrs. Ronald MacDonald voting?
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J. Mariano said 2:36PM on 11-15-2007
So...This is the "future" of America...The kids who will become the adults who will be in charge...
Bunch of self-centered, misguided, and half brain-dead dolts who see more value in a piece of questionably-useful technology...one that generations did without and, somehow-or-other, managed to live and thrive and prosper...
These kids are so wrapped-up in themselves and their "cool" hi-tech toys that they don't know how to live without them...
Imagine...A generation of children who don't understand the intricacies and finesse of Social Interaction because they have been interacting with and through their I-Pods and Instant-messaging and e-mails and text-messaging cell phones and their computers/on-line games...Many of them can barely construct a cohesieve sentence when writing or speaking and have no clue as to what is happening in the Real World unless they've seen/heard it on some computer-show format or on something like MTV...
Truly sad...
They may possess a greater degree of computer and computer-related skills than my generation...but they are loosing their connection to Humanity...
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james parrott said 3:11PM on 11-15-2007
*deleted* -- we don't tolerate racism here.
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Forrest Gump said 3:46PM on 11-15-2007
I wouldn't give up MY voting rights for half the money in the United States!
Yes I know how the electoral college system works but I still will NOT give up my right to vote.
Our rights are being slowly chipped away, trampled on freely....so far the one thing they have NOT been able to take out of the citizens hands is the RIGHT to VOTE.
I hope the students that would chose the IPOD can turn the music up LOUD enough so they don't hear AMERICA crumbling all around them.
Will they wake up from their college drinking all hung over, look out the window and ask "What happened last night?"
Our Soldiers fought and died for our freedoms. We have very few left. Not voting is like spitting in a Soldiers face or not appreciating the blood that has spilled for our RIGHTS.
If all we have to look forward to is these students to run this country in 30 years we're in some deep SH*T.
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NO WAY said 4:06PM on 11-15-2007
Can you run for political office if you aren't a registered voter (or eligible to vote)???
I'm wondering who will run this country in 30 years if all these college students give up their right to vote for an IPOD.
That IPOD won't be working in 30 years I can guarantee you that!
The students that would choose the $ for voting rights.....well you messed up. If you want to KEEP THAT $$$ you better be able to VOTE out new taxes ect.
We also know that $$$ in the hands of the young, won't last long either.
Then where will you be? You will be at the mercy of the few that can vote. You'll just be a mindless little Stepford citizen.
Something to look forward to I guess.
I'm personally hoping I'm alive in 30 years to laugh at their stupidity.
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LarryE said 5:07PM on 11-15-2007
The poll results appear bad although I truly wonder how seriously the respondents took such a silly question. However, their thinking is no sloppier than your lead, in which you declare "most kids are willing to sacrifice their right to vote for an iPod, among other things" on the basis of a single survey at a single campus (which can't be considered representative of "most kids") which referred mostly to voting in a particular election (not the "right to vote") and in which only 20% (definitely not "most") would do that for an iPod.
They may flunk civics, but you flunk Journalism 101.
And by the way, if exchanging voting in the 2008 presidential election for an iPod is so bad, why do you have two links to stuff about iPods but none to the actual survey?
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JackTorrance said 5:39PM on 11-15-2007
They may not have taken our right to vote, but they've gone a step further and made sure that voting doesn't mean much anymore. We can all just play with our shiny TV machines while the Illuminati and the obscenely wealthy call the shots. Voting still exists just to keep us quiet while the powerful get more powerful at the expense of 99.99% of the rest of the world. But who cares? They're God's special people! Scoop!
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Casey said 2:09PM on 11-20-2007
Totally believable! It seems not many youngesters are into politics that much anyways. They are often too busy with school and work to stay up with it. iPod are really popular these day and are really cherished. Has anyone used a VibeVault to protect thier iPod? I hear they are good. I am looking for some feedback. They are at http://vibevault.com.
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@#$%&*+) said 3:06PM on 11-20-2007
Well, they may not be that dumb. The Patriot Act took away all your citizenship value anyway, and a year's use of a working iPod gives you that much utility at least. Better than a vote that can get "lost" or dumped by the Supremes whenever they feel like it. Face it, we just got swapped for a dictatorship; you'll get more clarity on that later as the Stalinism sets in. Wait and see, suckers, It happened here and you missed it.
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