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 1)
retro77 said 3:00PM on 4-30-2008
A good way to force people to buy is to stop producing DVD. But thats like biting the hand that feeds you. Most consumers don't see a need to get the Blu-Ray as DVD works just fine.
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C said 3:45AM on 5-01-2008
The article is 100% on the spot. Although HD DVD has been dead, it could have made the transition from DVD to HD media a lot smoother and speedier as the available hardware at the time was significantly cheaper with most of the technical bugs resolved. It failed because of poor support from Hollywood studios, the movie rental industry like BlockBusters, and other hardware manufacturers.
BluRay hardware, despite being supported by numerous manufacturers, are too pricy for the majority of consumers. As far as video and sound quality....? If the display video monitor is 32" or less, DVDs actually look pretty OK for most none critical eyes. Most consumers do not even know what lossless and lossy audio means... How many average consumers actually have HD TV sets 42" or larger as compared to medium sized TVs? And how many consumers actually even have a full surround sound system? And for those that do have the multiple speaker set up, how many are of high resolution quality to even appreciate the lossless multipchannel available on BluRay?
Yes, BluRay has gotten many things right to win the HD media battle with HD DVD: it has gotten the support from Holywood studios; it has gotten the OK from BlockBuster and NetFlix (but selection is still rather abysmal as compared to DVDs), and it has gotten the support from most of the major hardware manufacturers; it is also working the kinks out with the techological bugs. But at the end, it still all comes down to 3 other important variables:
1. Price of hardware and software.
2. Availability and selection of HD rental material.
3. TV sizes of the majority consumers.
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