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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Keith said 11:26AM on 3-11-2008
I am on my 4th XBOX, yes my 4th. The 16% can not be correct, it has to be higher
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rickstsx said 12:21PM on 2-27-2008
I got the red ring of death on my first xbox360. I had the extended warranty with Best Buy and they replaced it. I then bought another xbox360 with the gift card they sent me. Thankfully, no problems yet after two months... The problem is that you can't place burnt DVDs or fake DVDs in your xbox360. It will play them, but then break your system. Don't place these cheap things in your console. It's well worth paying the 15 - 20 dollars for real DVDs.
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micah said 12:25PM on 2-27-2008
My Xbox360 just failed on me after only 14 months since the purchase. Of course even before I was treated the ring of death, I would receive regular disc read errors and games freezing up on me.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy that it is being repaired for free, but many people experience this repeatedly and are having to mail 360s several times before its finally replaced completely (thats 4-6 weeks without the console each time you send it out.
I just wish they would take a page out of Nintendo's and Sony's playbook and make a durable system.
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lisa said 5:50PM on 2-27-2008
Purchased the Xbox for a Christmas gift-the system quit working after only three weeks. Tried to get Circuit City to replace with new one and got nothing but the run around. Sent system to Microsoft two weeks ago and still waiting for them to return it. You would think that when you spend that much money on something that it would last longer than three weeks! Greatly dissatisfie with the Microsoft company and the customer service at Circuit City.
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AT said 12:33PM on 2-27-2008
I am now on my 8th xbox360. I created an interactive story model for everyone to share in my experience. http://flypaper.net/viewModel.aspx?id=569
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KROW said 12:35PM on 2-27-2008
Well... I'm on my 6th XBOX 360! the big problem with the systems is cooling. Heat builds up in the 360 causing the heat tape or heat paint they place over the prossor to bubble up and cause a melt down on the prossor
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MessiahAmp said 12:48PM on 2-27-2008
I'm on my 4th or 5th Xbox360. Plus, I'm sure that these studies don't account for HDD failure which is pretty much the same as having the three red rings since your XBox is pretty much a pretty DVD Player without it.
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Kris said 12:53PM on 2-27-2008
I love my PS3
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hbshue96 said 12:57PM on 2-27-2008
My XBOX 360 hasn't failed once and i have had for over a year!!! Sucks For All Of You!!!!!!!
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Joseph Leslie said 12:58PM on 2-27-2008
Let me guess! Are thse fine products "CRAFTED WITH PRIDE IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA"?
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Kathy Masciotro said 1:06PM on 2-27-2008
I am in the process of returning XBOX 360. Is is only covered under new warranty for a short time. I feel it should be covered indefinitely since there was such a rush to get them out and there is and has always been a problem with it since purchase. I am still waiting for box to return for repair and I wont have it for a month. New ones should have been replaced instead of repair
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jim said 1:08PM on 2-27-2008
I feel that this is a tactic by Sony to discredit and confuse the public to the truth about the real failure rate. Sony fanboys have been know to vote upwards of 50 times in polls like this one, . . . anything to shed a negative light on the xbox, and a positive one on the PS3. . . . I have all 3 next gen consoles, and while my 360 sometimes gives me a dirty disk message, . . my PS3 on the other hand, freezes all the time and I have issues with the bluetooth controllers staying connected.. If you go to the PSU forums, you will see that this is not uncommon, and the Sony fanboys would rather go through brain surgery than admit that their console has issues.....The truth WILL come out, and all this nonsense that is being spewed will be forgotten.
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mattj2474 said 1:20PM on 2-27-2008
I am currently on my third 360. After the first two failed,I opted for the 360 elite and that one has failed. The one thing that I hate about this whole process is the fact that I bought a Best Buy Warranty and then Microsoft extended the warranty. I thought that sucked.
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Brian Fitz said 1:21PM on 2-27-2008
We had our xbox 360 a little over a year before it broke down. It cost $107 to get fixed by Microsoft. 16% is way too low. We know at least five different people who have had trouble with the 360.
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mattj2474 said 1:23PM on 2-27-2008
Sorry I mean to say that the elite has not failed. The first two did though.
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ellen said 1:32PM on 2-27-2008
we r waiting for our 3rd xbox to be repaired....
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Lizzychan said 1:26PM on 2-27-2008
Jim, I've owned a ps3 for just over a year now with no serious problems. I've had a few game freezes with it but I suspect that its more the game and not the system. I've never had problems with the controllers, they work like a dream. Plus the ps3 has been tested by being put in a sauna for 72 hours being played or running blue ray movies and not crashing, shutting down or producing errors, I'd like to see the XB 360 go through something like that. Check out the link below if you don't believe me.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/15/extreme-ps3-stress-test-garners-praise-from-sony/
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Gerry314 said 1:30PM on 2-27-2008
I have had two systems crash with the red ring of death. My first one crashed three months into owning it, the next one within eleven months. I had to buy a new one while the broken one spent three weeks in repair because my sons christmas gift was Rock Band and my second system crashed in November, so I bought a new system. Now I have two. Good idea if one dies I have another to rely on. I love the games and the system, but the breakdown is horrible.
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TR said 1:34PM on 2-27-2008
Its been well known for a while that they have a high failure rate.
My original 360 had broken and gotten the red ring of death, but like others have mentioned, probably because of cooling issues (mine occured after too many long nights in a row gamin with friends) but have had no problems since
Also, I dont see what he big issue is. At first I admit I was mad when it happened, but since I had gone through Best Buy I didn't even have to get a card or wait or anything, they simply switched my console with an in-stock one and sent me on my way.
This report also seems a lil misleading specifically the line "SquareTrade's study tracked 1,040 Xboxes over six to ten months after Microsoft's warranty expired. In that time, 171 claims were filed." The original warranty applied to the original systems, which had the most problems, and for the most part seem to be corrected. Microsoft also did the right thing to those whose had expired, giving them rebate checks and extended the warranty to 3 years from date of purchase. (neither of which is mentioned above)
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Alan said 1:44PM on 2-27-2008
I had owned a x box 360 for a month or so when it failed. I contacted best buy where I bought it from and a representative said they have had a few customers bring back failed x box's. So I went back to best buy and got credit back and used it to buy a playstation 3 console. I have had no diffilculties with PS3. The PS3 also has blu-ray and the graphics are much better than x box 360. I was wise to not get another x box 360.
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