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.
Online role-playing games are often seen to be detrimental for children -- at best a waste of time, and, at worst, an addictive scourge -- but a new study is showing that this may not necessarily be the case. The study calls one such world "powerful and engaging" for children aged six to 12.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jerry on a Journey said 7:14PM on 5-26-2008
I'd love to see my son experience a game like this rather than the shooting games that I have been allowing him to play. I guess I haven't been the best role model.
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Dru said 3:28AM on 5-27-2008
Don't beat yourself up about it. Any game is going to allow your kid to see the consequence of different choices, .. and if you raise him correctly, then he'll be able to judge these consequences of their own accord. Even in shooting games, the choices you make, good or bad, reflect on the game-play. If your kid is playing Call of Duty online, the best plan is to work as a team, develop a strategy, and problem solve, .. even if the conclusion is the enemy getting shot. Just because a game is violent, it doesn't necessarily show a "bad" image. This is just where parenting steps in, letting him know virtual violence is different than real violence. But just by playing those games, they'll increase their capacity to solve real life problems, intelligently.
kpilker said 10:14PM on 7-02-2008
I had been a video game salesman for three months before I quit. I was going to school at the time and studying computer programming and become a video game programmer. My result from working there was this:
1. I was more for nintendo games for younger people because they do not have the violence that the other game platforms have.
2. I heard children as young as 6 saying they liked the games where they got to kill and see body parts fly around the screen.
As a result, I changed my major from programming to networking because I would be forced to make games that encouraged all of that stuff. I do not like blood and guts in a video game. Yes I do own several games that some may deem as violent: doom, resident evil, etc. But the games I like the most are about problem solving. I agree that violent games are ok when a parent is there to explain to the child right from wronge. But when I hear little kids saying they like to kill (even in a video game) I question what the parents are doing to say that killing is wronge.
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