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.
Ask yourself this: Are you a statistic or a specific example? That's the question being raised in the aftermath of a study in which researchers secretly tracked the locations of 100,000 people to determine their movement patterns. 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
G.L. said 8:21PM on 6-08-2008
It doesn't matter whether you're on your home phone,cell phone,or your computer,electronic communication can be watched,listened to,monitered,or recorded any time you use it. Humans made it.Human can monitor it.
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Bill said 8:26PM on 6-08-2008
What a waste of money..Northwestern ought to fire that professor
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John said 8:40PM on 6-08-2008
I think that this is a brilliant study revealing how lacking in evidence much of the hype about a totally mobile and unrooted society has been. I also don't see the ethical problem claimed by some commentators. How is this study any different from others using information collected without formal consent of individuals (census information or IRS data, for example)? Thef act that the researchers were not interested in either the callers or the content of the calls is surely crucial here and makes the comparison with telephone taps far-fetched.
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Bond, JamesBond said 9:06PM on 6-08-2008
Its no secret that cell phones have tracking chips in them. Whether or not this is Big Brother wanting to keep tabs on us remains to be known. I think most people find this rather benign and harmless, but some think it to be an invasion of privacy. After all, isn't this supposed to be a "Free" country? It is also interesting that Big Brother has the technology to monitor phone conversations and emails, with specific words triggering a 'red flag'. After 9/11 the Patriot Act was enacted which sacrificed our privacy in the name of the so-called "war on terror". This was merely icing on the cake, however, as the eavesdropping capabilities were already in place before that happened. It seems that as times goes on this carefully orchestrated plan to monitor everyone is becoming more and more apparent.
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mike said 11:28PM on 6-08-2008
wow, conspiracy theory much. They used triangulation not "tracking chips" nor is there a need for such "chips". What happens is your cell/gps or whatever connects with 3 or more sattelites or radio towers. Using the fraction of a second differences between when a signal is sent and when it is recieved to each of these satellites or towers using very basic math you can find within a few feet of where that signal is coming from.
Just Me said 6:39AM on 6-09-2008
Is there any way to find out if you were one of the "TEST' subjects ? and if so can we go after these guys for invasion of our privacy ?
As I see it is I am paying for a service and then the company I paid gives out or sells my information in any way to another then It is a breach of contract as well as an invasion of my privacy. If I was a test subject then I want to be paid for my Partisapation. I also want to have all information that was collected on me and my movements distroyed.
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me said 9:25PM on 6-08-2008
what about people that leave their cell phones at home most of the time - of course they would look like they never go anywheres - I only take my phone when I will need it -
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Spys R Us said 9:33PM on 6-08-2008
BFD.... with all the camera phones....hackers...intrusive marketing telephone calls etc our privacy is an illusion.
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homebuddy said 9:36PM on 6-08-2008
For a mere $35K, I could have provided the "findings"...aven 20 years ago; and with no capital and no privacy invasion. What a huge saving they passed up!
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Terry said 10:10PM on 6-08-2008
Big deal...if you're not doing anything wrong, why would you be so upset?
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B. said 10:20PM on 6-08-2008
Seriously, who cares? If I get kidnapped, or my car goes off into a ditch and I'm lying there bleeding, I hope to G-d someone can track my phone, or my ON STAR, and save my life.
Wake up-- big brother is everywhere. Street cameras, the internet, phones, mail....
I agree with the above poster, if you're not doing anything wrong, why are you worried?
And even if you do a few things that may be considered shady, you're still not the person big brother is looking for.
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Ms.Monica said 10:24PM on 6-08-2008
Thats a good study. I am really curious how Americans would fare. This type of study would also help us economically. How patterns change with the rise of gas prices and food. What areas people tend to congregate or show up in the same place and how long they stay. As long as its not evasive, why not?
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Doug said 11:29PM on 6-08-2008
INVAIDE MY PRIVACY AND LET ME FIND OUT ABOUT IT, I WELL HAVE YOUR JOB AND ALL YOUR MONEY.
PS. 'DON`T DO IT"
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zonie78 said 12:17AM on 6-09-2008
Well, I think us Americans have been watched for years and years, and anything and everything that could be monitored has been monitored. Why not? If it's there for them to do it, then why not? I was offended when I first thought about it..but then I thought, well, I'm not doing anything wrong-but these kind of studies could potentially find someone who is doing something really wrong. I also don't think that conversations are "listened" to in full, it seems like they would run things through a machine or something that would catch key words or phrases...and then listen in on people if they thought something was going wrong. You just can't believe that there are enough people to sit there and listen to all of every one of us Americans cell phone conversations every day. Obviously, Big Brother isn't abusing the fact that they monitor our conversations, because you don't see people getting put away from drug charges and petty theft based on their phone conversations that were recorded, and I guarantee there are enough dumb people who talk about their petty illegal acts over the telephone.
As for people like Doug-if you don't want your government watching you and protecting you, your family, your loved ones and your country and that freedom that you obviously live for, may I suggest the Arctic?
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Alex0958 said 12:20AM on 6-09-2008
Duh! I know a few people who have never been more than 20 miles from where they were born! Practically everyone I know is socio-geographically habitual. This adacemic study reads like a commonsense statement about people. I guess if bees carried cell phones, the researchers would have made the stunning observation that most bees remain within a few miles of their hive and they tend to spend their days pollenating things and making honey. Genius! How much did this research cost, and whose money was it? (Sounds like typical, liberal Democratic Big Government at work!)
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lisa said 2:37PM on 6-09-2008
up until i was forced to change to a new cell phone, about a year ago, I had outrageous reception, could get a signal almost anywhere! the only reason I got a new phone was the bill was too high. i had an old plan no long distance or roaming in my state. For the past 4 years the bill would say roaming of towers 150 to 200 miles away. The phone co. said they had no way of telling where i was or accuse me of a lie. even when the bill said i was roaming in my own state.(that they could not argue with). So all those court cases that hinged on cell phone tracking befor these new phones(i have no info on them) I know for a fact that it is unreliable.
Experts have told me BS all my life, and often as not I have proof they are wrong
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Paul said 9:03AM on 6-09-2008
All of this technology had to be invented to make the coming of the Antichrist possible. Read the Book of the Revelation.
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bala said 2:56AM on 6-09-2008
Cesar Hidalgo
University of Notre Dame, CCNR, Dept. of Physics
Research Areas
Dynamics & Quantitative Studies of Human Behavior
Emergence, Organization & Dynamics of Living Systems
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bala said 2:43AM on 6-09-2008
Cesar Hidalgo
University of Notre Dame, CCNR, Dept. of Physics
Research Areas
Dynamics & Quantitative Studies of Human Behavior
Emergence, Organization & Dynamics of Living Systems
Focus Areas
Empirical network dynamics and the use of it as a novel way to analyze large data sets.
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Steve H said 10:42AM on 6-09-2008
I find this interesting. Hasn't any else seen the movie "Red Dawn"? As time marches on, more and more of our country is being sold to the highest bidder. I really think our government is trying to globalize our country. They, definitly, are trying to remove "guns" from our possesion, any way they can. I drive a semi-truck for a living. If I get in a wreck, no matter who's fault, I get whizz-quizzed. I hae seen it happen where the driver at fault does not get quizzed because he is driving his privately owned vehicle. Just to keep my job I get random quizzes. If it happens in one profession it should happen in all professions. This was done to support the war on drugs... Another "right" we gave up. We have become guppies swimming along in a herd. When the "NET" misses us we ignorantly continue on our way.
WAKE UP PEOPLE OUR GOVERNMENT IS NOT WHAT IT ONCE WAS.... LOOK AT THE ATIFICIALLY INFLATED FUEL PRICES...THIS AFFECTS ALL OF US.
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