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)
Shieldzee said 10:57AM on 3-28-2008
Um, let's see - 40,000 identified viruses for Windows, zero viruses on Macs, and a very smart security guy socially engineers someone to click on a malicious link to gain control of a machine? As a Mac user, I will continue to use Safari and I will remain smug.
Reply
Common Sense said 11:15AM on 3-28-2008
Let's see...the only security here is "obscurity". If you are going to hack, you will target the strongest. I'm a windows user out of common sense. More functions/apps/etc. Macs are for people that just want to be different for the sake of being different;. Get outside once in a while.
Reply
Jack said 11:24AM on 3-28-2008
Well my smug days are over.
I will never again allow hackers who have direct access to my computer to navigate to any sites that I am not familiar with.
Other than that I still feel pretty secure.
Jack
Reply
Tchalvak said 5:56PM on 3-29-2008
The normal actions of predators imply the you -do- attack the weakest of the herd, not the strongest, to get the most meat. By the implication of the distribution of viruses, that is Windows security.
Similar logic can be applied to Safari; Charlie Miller chose it for that weakness, as the other safari security flaw references imply, and webcode that can take advantage of that weakness can be spread around. If you think you're secure because you're not going to "navigate to sites I'm not familiar with" you've got a sadly naive view of internet security.
I think that it takes a loss of security to truly see the merit of using a rock-solidly secure OS and a rock-solidly secure browser. At very least avoid Windows and Internet Explorer, above all else.
Reply
Linda W said 2:04PM on 3-28-2008
The fact that you have to visit a outside link is all that it takes for most non-tech savvy windows users too.
This wasn't a test to see if hackers could break in, -- that was on day 1. Day 2 was seeing if a local user could easily break security with only the system's pre-installed tools. It was a test for what could happen to a "naive" user with standard, included software. The fact that Vista wasn't also a hacked may lie in its current market penetration and ease of use by a 'naive' user than in its security.
Reply
babycakes said 6:10AM on 3-30-2008
My son put Firefox on my Mac :) No Safari worries!!!
Reply
Armand B said 7:10PM on 3-31-2008
It is what it is. Macs are for the most part virus proof for now but who would want to hack only 10% of the market anyway. A Dell computer is still faster than a Mac even when it's bogged down with virus software. and don't even get me started on all of the tons of software you can use on a pc. Macintosh users work in such a small world. I have to wait 3 hours for the FAST G5s here at work to print a file that my bogged down pc will print in 3 min. do the math. Macs are for women and gay men anyway. (not that there's anything wrong with that)
Reply
Brandon B said 10:09PM on 3-31-2008
Anything can be hacked, and just because hackers haven't focused much on macs doesn't mean they're any more secure. I agree with Armand Macs are for girls and gay men (not that ther is anything wrong with that), most of the world runs on PCs and why would a hacker attack someone's little pictures or videos when they could attack a company and steal all their personel files.
Therefore, the security of Macs is based on entirely on their unpopularity.
Besides any gamer can tell you that PCs are faster, more customizable, and generally better. :P
Reply
Crl Williams said 2:25PM on 4-16-2008
I must be a girl or gay, or maybe even both, 'cos I use a MacBook. Nothing wrong with that.
I get around the Safari security issues with a combination of Firefox and Linux.
There are technically worse security holes, but browser vulnerabilities score a good hit rate for "hackers" 'cos everyone uses a browser and most are a bit careless. Some people even use Internet Explorer! Couple that with a great fondness among the immature male WinGaming market for porn sites and it must be like fish in a barrel.
Reply