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 4)
erbritt said 11:51AM on 2-07-2008
Sounds like a GOD send since a lot of the out sourced jobs to India will not be able to communicate with the greedy American companies that out sourced the jobs over there.
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Dan said 3:53PM on 2-07-2008
Im with erbritt, now maybe US companies will be forced to work with other US companies at least temporarily and they will see that the quality of the work they were getting over there is subpar to what you can get in the United States or Canada, etc.. That would be a nice change of pace. I for one, compete with these Pakistani "businesses" on a daily basis for work and they are always the first to throw a proposal out for around $50 for what a US company would charge around $500 for. But the problem is that 95% of the time, those same clients request a new proposal several months later after the communication breaks down or the Pakastani "company" couldnt provide what they promised in their proposal but ended up charging the client $300 for anyway. Then the client usually hires a US firm to complete the job for another $500 costing them $800 for what they could have simply done for $500 if they just hired the better company in the first place rather than the cheapest.
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Paul B. said 5:48PM on 2-07-2008
Thank God for that !!! Maybe Al Qaieda is good for something after all.....That would be awesome if we could have all of our outsourced jobs back from India ! I say cut away !
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richard said 11:36PM on 2-07-2008
this was posted on engadget lots of references very read worthy article
http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/ConnectingTheDots.h ...
Basically it confirms a lot of previous articles that have made it to the front page
also this might be unrelated but it relates to the cables towards the end of the article
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/irans-oil-bo ...
Make sure to read the part about the petrodollar that itself might be the motive
also this article was thorough researched and also points to the iran oil bourse as the cause of the cable cuts
http://www.ilovebonnie.net/2008/02/06/submarine-ca ...
defintely read the last one easily explained in laymans terms
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Daniel Gaunt said 4:08AM on 2-08-2008
Communication break down is never a good thing, ok I disagree with firms using over-seas employees because they can get away with paying them a fraction of whatthey'd have to pay employees at home (it's be ok if they paid them the same)but this leads to restiction of information and lets local groups control people more easily and influance their views. it also makes it harder for us to know what is going on in the places affected
http://freeextras.blogspot.com/
http://lifeorsomethingnotquitelikeit.blogspot.com/
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shocked said 6:08AM on 2-08-2008
He that controls the oil controls the world?
HA......he that cuts off the internet has the advantage of ruling the world.
No communication and an entire country could fail miserably...including the USofA.
Keep that in mind.
Its nice to know that the power of communication can be cut off to a crucial part of the middle east.
It could have its advantages in the future.
I'm sure it wasn't an 'accident'.
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justin said 6:23AM on 2-08-2008
I'm with erbitt too!!!
We (the Americans) should have done this ourselves
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Sher said 7:06AM on 2-08-2008
How insane is this? We are now to believe, I guess, that "terrorists" ( you know, a band of nuts holding up in a cave in Afghanistan with a lap top or two) cut the cables. Uh-huh. Are you nuts? READ, study. this is propaganda bullcrap. Think about who REALLY stands to gain and has the technical ability to cut those cables, folks.
Sher
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joni VA said 7:12AM on 2-08-2008
Sher......go ahead and keep denying that we are still under attack by these radical islamic terrorists...those who bury their head in the sand (like you)will never learn until a bomb explodes in your mall...
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steve said 7:21AM on 2-08-2008
i think we can cut the cables across the Atlantic and the Pacific; there isn't anybody over there we need to talk to anyway not even the russan mail order brides
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Ricky whitten said 8:14AM on 2-08-2008
BUSHLER!
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Lillian said 8:20AM on 2-08-2008
Perhaps this is a trial run for the "big snip" that could be in the planning????
We may never find out who did this, but I am sure some one or some group of people will be taking a good look at what this incident does and perhaps starts thinking, "let's do it global" and see just what happens!!!!
It's worth a look at to assume terrorists, after all, look at what a standstill that would put just about everything that transpires every second of every day.
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paul said 8:39AM on 2-08-2008
sure its terrorists ,and did the break really affect us, i dont think so.85 billion without internet and we are now just finding out about it
some people will write anything to get 15 seconds of glory IDIOTS
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bobby joe trouble said 8:54AM on 2-08-2008
Doesn't make since that terrorists would cut thier own comm lines. Wake up folks and quit believing everything you read. Any company with a IT Dept. would have a back up plan. Only low level usuers would be affected. I think it would be hard to isolate one country much less half a dozen. China has been trying for years to isolate itself.
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Gonzoman said 8:59AM on 2-08-2008
If you want to know what countries were affected by this, check the real-time reporting from internettrafficreport.com.
I don't think terrorists would cut the Internet for Iran, do you? Who has been threatening them lately?
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elinore said 9:09AM on 2-08-2008
Gee, maybe they can use carrier pigeon.
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Classic said 9:02AM on 2-08-2008
I don't see how terrorists would gain in cutting off there best means of communications to other terrorists to plan future attacks.Sounds like America would have more to gain here.Of course,..it could have just been a natural accident!lol.
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Gonzoman said 9:01AM on 2-08-2008
http://www.internettrafficreport.com/asia.htm
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duxsk8 said 9:10AM on 2-08-2008
Keeping manufactering jobs here in the US is a catch 22! Keep them here, and the price of the products goes way up!!! Try to keep them here and pay less won't happen!!
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Classic said 9:18AM on 2-08-2008
Wait a minute...what was I thinking? Bush risk his billionaire Ceo buddies losing money by cutting off access to their outsourced customer service?! Never! ha-ha.We all know the main goal of his presidency has been to make his buddies richer,not fight terrorism,...at the expense of the middle-class.See where that got us..near recession.Doesn't he understand it's the middle class that really supports and fuels the american economy?
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