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)
Kaylie said 6:22AM on 4-02-2008
AHAAAAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
-Kaylie
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John F.C. Taylor said 7:56AM on 4-02-2008
Not surprising at all. Especially after watching CSI. This is something that could easily be reverse engineered. Take known beautys and measure facial features, hair color, hair length, eye color, skin color and other factors. Teach the computer to recognize these factors and it could easily select who the real beautys are.
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John F.C. Taylor said 7:56AM on 4-02-2008
Not surprising at all. Especially after watching CSI. This is something that could easily be reverse engineered. Take known beautys and measure facial features, hair color, hair length, eye color, skin color and other factors. Teach the computer to recognize these factors and it could easily select who the real beautys are.
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Nathan said 8:36AM on 4-02-2008
I am a guy and I find this extremly stupid it can only tell you about outside apearance.
In my short life I have come to learn you can only find true beauty in the soul not on a face
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Lzy said 9:00AM on 4-02-2008
"who the real beauties are" is very subjective. What is beautiful to me, may not be beautiful to you. Hair length has NOTHING to do with beauty. If one is beautiful, short or long hair does not take away from that beauty. Some people like blondes, some brunettes, some redheads. How would this computer judge which is more attractive? It can't. It can only judge what the programmer thinks is more attractive. (and I have a feeling, that if she is a real living, breathing human female, the computer geek would be attracted)
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Rachael said 11:48AM on 4-03-2008
I would be considered gorgeous, then.
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audrea lambert said 1:31PM on 4-04-2008
Where can I find this gadgaet and use it,IM serious!wereisszzit!
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John said 7:18AM on 4-13-2008
Beauty is so subjective that this program seems useless to me. I find my wife to be the most beautiful woman in the world. No one can even hold a candle to her. She is Thai and drop-dead gorgeous. But while certain actresses don't come close to her, I think Drew Barrymore is the most beautiful actress there is. I also like Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock. But I think that Angelina Jolie is really, really ugly, which is not the opinion of most other men. Paris Hilton, ditto. Spoiled, useless and UGLY. So, again, this is very subjective. And, really, if a guy can't tell whether a woman is attractive or not, he doesn't need a computer program to tell him. He needs a psychiatrist to find out what is wrong with him. Keep the program, I'll take my taste and judgment any day.
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