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)
clwbchbabycakes said 9:35AM on 4-12-2008
Awwwww what a shame - NOT!!!! I'll keep my Mac (OS X) and never have to deal with Windows ever again!!!
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Cal said 9:53AM on 4-12-2008
Uh, isn't that what they're doing with 7 anyway? I thought they were completely rebuilding it from the ground up...
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Shadow08 said 1:49AM on 4-13-2008
I really hope they are doing this for Windows 7, but Microsoft is in a tough situation. If they pull a Mac OS 9 to OS X and cut off support for old programs, people will be outraged (specifically businesses which can't stop complaining about BC) and they will probably be sued in some way. Look at people complaining about Vista. Imagine having a completely reworked OS.
With that being said, I still hope they do it for Windows 7. And please Microsoft, get rid of the registry already.
Henry Khachatryan said 10:15AM on 4-12-2008
I'm more then happy with my Vista machine, never switching to OSX...evAr
viva microsoft, viva windows lolll
http://www.collegemogul.com
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MAretiree said 11:19AM on 4-12-2008
"Vista" is really annoying when udating it shuts down any program you happen to be in and of course closes out thecomputer. This is a rediculous way of operating. I said annoying...I mean really,really,damned annoying!
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HatkowPro said 12:39PM on 4-12-2008
I bought a Quad Core PC last Christmas with VISTA pre-installed. It works great for e-mail and simply tasks, no problems or freeze ups. HOWEVER, if you plan to use After Effects or do ANY video editing FORGET IT!! This OS is such a huge HOG I can't begin to explain! Good luck trying to render anything in AE. And good luck finding your files too!
I just ordered XP Pro so I can downgrade and get back to work! Windows really blew it on this one.
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Rollins said 7:03PM on 4-12-2008
If you have a quad-core PC that can't handle video editing in Vista, you're either doing something wrong or the computer's so ill-configured with junkware that it's slowing it down to a crawl. Even the slowest quad-core shouldn't break a sweat with Vista.
Striker said 10:23PM on 4-13-2008
What are you using? If it is an AMD, then that would explain it lol.
VenusAlexis00 said 2:48PM on 4-12-2008
I don't like any of the operating systems. Im not all that PC inclined anyway. I don't want to know how my PC works i just want it to work when i turn it on and continue to work without annoying interruptions or breakdowns along the way. But Im told it could be worse, we could be heading back to the DOS type of operating systems. God forbid!!!!
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Ian said 11:53AM on 4-13-2008
Last year, I got a brand new Dell laptop, dual-core, 2GB RAM etc. etc.. and Vista Business and Office 2007...
What a load of crap.
My four year old Toshiba laptop with XP outperforms Vista in everyday simple tasks like:-
Opening Outlook.
Opening Word.
Opening an email
Opening a new email and typing stuff in it..
How Microsoft have the cheek to push this bloatware as an advancement in operating system technology is beyond me.
Since it is still based on old, security-vulnerable technology it would appear they have spent so much time trying to make it secure that it is now virtually unusable.
It's a big fat pig of a program and shows what happens when you let young, inexperienced (read: cheap) developers - fresh out of university no doubt - let loose on your product.
Microsoft, hang your collective heads in shame.
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Love Vista said 9:59PM on 4-13-2008
First an OEM install of Vista is great! Second upgrade is great IF YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE DOING if you are one of those who has no clue how a program is installed out side of auto installs GET GEEK SQUAD to install it. You will have no issues then.
Third if you have as you say a quad core and it's slow then you got a cheap piece of junk. Oh by the way unless you have Vista 64 then your quad and dual core are a waste of cash.
The second core doesn't run unless you know how to tweak your system.
GET as much memeory as you can afford or your system can handle.
TURN OFF AERO it's a waste wow whoopie I can turn the screen desktop and access the mulit tasking programs I am running. Guess what 99% of you Don't multi task so your wasting your resources with Aero. I can switch back and forth faster with the task bar.
And last don't buy an Intel they are two generations behind AMD. AMD has had a quad core out for two years Intel just released thiers! Same with dual cores AMD has had them for almost 5 years now! You will also save about 200 bucks on an AMD. Why? Becasue AMD doesn't spend millions on glossy ads on TV or in tabloids. you pay for that with thier bloated prices.
AMD's also run FASTER actually speed not just the clock speed they have better through put on average.
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Dan said 2:18AM on 4-14-2008
I'm not going to even bother replying to this.
You're a complete idiot if you think Intel is 2 years behind AMD.
Have you not seen the Core 2 line? Or benchmarks where Intel mops the floor with AMD's best.
The only thing I'll give you (which is solely from what I remember reading) is that AMD may have a better price-to-performance ratio, which means jack shit to me.
ellicit said 11:48PM on 4-13-2008
Dumb people shouldn't use Windows/Linux, its just not for them, please stick to OSX, its pretty and pricey. As for the real users, stick to Windows and Linux, and continue to enjoy many open applications that helps user's day-to-day activities, where mac has to pay for everything little thing. Windows will never be #2 to OSX, maybe to Linux however, then again OSX is Unix? isn't Unix free? how come Apple makes its users pay $ for an open OS that has always been free? ((oh yeah)) for its "pretty' interface now I remember.
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Ted said 4:23PM on 4-14-2008
Corrections on your post-
Nobody should use Windows. Sure there is the legacy stuff out there, but otherwise Windows should be avoided.
Pay for every little app on a Mac? On my Mac here I have loads of applications that I have never paid for (and I'm not talking WAREZ).
Apple makes you pay for the next version of the OS, just like Micro$oft. OS X 10.5 is cheaper than all flavors of Vista, is a full install, sold in one flavor, and comes with a REASONS to pay for it (i.e. Spaces, Time Machine, New Librarys [runs faster], and the whole Mac Dev kit, etc.)
So, Mr. Windows Fanboy, your OS's days are limited.
Unless Windows 7 will work, but methinks M$ can't pull it off.
Apple has (2 processor changes, and 1 OS Change)
ddaub1111 said 10:13AM on 4-30-2008
It took me a while to get used to Windows XP, but once I did I thought it was an okay os. The problem with Windows anything is it's such a power hog. If they could get rid of all the background programs running, XP could have been a decent system. I had very few crashes, but that was my main complaint there. I have been using Vista for almost a year now and I'm trying to like it, but there's too many things they're trying to do but ends up in a knot causing you to shut down programs and get it running the way it's supposed to. It's supposed to be "Crash Proof", but no computer is crash proof and Vista seems to be the worst of all. XP was a much better os and they tried to improve it, but I think they just realized a new system with fancy bells and whistles but not as stable as they thought it was going to be. Not happy with Vista. I think they needed a new product and this was ready to hit the market yet but they let it anyway and that's where they went bad.
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Rcralph said 3:10PM on 4-30-2008
I never liked Windows, Why?, You never find were all the stuff is
located.
In MSDOS or CPM (remember that one) you could find exactly
all you programs and data and if desired could wipe it out without
hopping through all kinds of hoops.
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