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 2)
D said 9:16PM on 7-08-2008
This is why in sensible countries the drinking age is 16.
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mike said 12:20AM on 7-09-2008
So kids can simulate playing beer pong?
nana said 4:15AM on 7-09-2008
this would be Beirut, not beer pong. im amazed people still cant get it right >.>
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Seanross said 4:25AM on 7-09-2008
More shovelware
I bet too
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Nick said 6:19AM on 7-09-2008
This is why there are parents in the world to make sure CONTENT is suitable for their children and not to blindly go well the ESRB gave it a teen rating so it must be ok. Its called being aware of what youre children are buying now they have ruined what would have been a great game for the wii and turned into childrens fodder which they cant even market because it is a waste of time Thanks middle-class idiots. Maybe in those fancies colleges everyone raves about they should teach some F'N common sense and the sad reality that we are becoming stupider everyday might not come true
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Chug said 6:40AM on 7-09-2008
Who cares, we have bigger fish to fry. The economy is sinking into the pits of hell. If you don't want the game don't buy the dayum thing.
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brettbutler08 said 6:49AM on 7-09-2008
ugh this is so stupid. its a video game designed to have fun, parents need to teach their child whats right and wrong, not a video game. And if the child has something wrong with them, just dont give them any games. parents should make the choice wether its suitablef for their kids. im a 17 year old avid video game player (grand theft auto, need for speed, etc etc.) and i dont go shoot up places and drive fast and reckless. and my mom is 53 and she plays video game (zelda and mario party and things of that nature) so parents need to step in and up, but not against video games, but with them and their children.
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keyan2004 said 8:21AM on 7-09-2008
we played this game for fun actually,,on a real table in az. and if Jeff W. is ready to play another round bring the table,,,however we were of legal drinking age as EVERY-ONE should be !!! I'm not sure if this game either promotes or encourages drinking and should NOT be played by a teen-agern
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beezinz said 5:54PM on 7-09-2008
Not exactly a late development...since I played this game month's ago on my nephew's Wii and it was called Pong Toss then, so the name must have been changed some time ago. By the way, he has absolutely no idea that the game has anything to do with beer. If I remember correctly the disc that the game is on is just called "Party games" and includes darts and other games like that as well, so this just looks like another instance of the media blowing something way out of proportion to create a story.
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surfsunsand4me said 8:34AM on 7-09-2008
Here is an idea for a game they get to go to work, drive a car, and spend twice as much as the make in one day to put gas in the car to actually get to work. No never mind that is way to realistic and it might make kids do something stupid.
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serbdancer218 said 8:37AM on 7-09-2008
well thats ridiculous who cares if it was called beer pong??
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Rachel G said 8:55AM on 7-09-2008
im only ten and i already know every swear word in the book and every sex phrase and everything there is to know about sex. i even use swear words sometimes. if a ten year old is doing this stuff then what makes beer pong bad for 13 year olds? heck i even watch my dad play gto sometimes. (grand theft outto)
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pigeon said 9:12AM on 7-09-2008
clearly your dad hasnt taught you to spell.... its AUTO.. grand theft AUTO
Erin said 8:57AM on 7-09-2008
They arent pourig ice cold beer into solo cups and handing them out to 7 year olds.
when i was little we had duck hunt for nintendo. it came complete with the orange and grey gun with real trigger action for shooting ducks.
Was it ok for me to simulate playing with a gun? its not ok for litle suzy to pretend to toss a ping pong ball into a cup and pretend tod rink out of one? even if the beverage inside said fictional cup represents beer, they arent drinking any beer.
sheesh.
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Janet said 9:01AM on 7-09-2008
What this boils down to is if you allow your child to buy this game is your business. If you feel this is not for your child then don' buy it for them, but i can tell you that all you people out there that are againt this game i can bet your child has Grand Theft Auto and that game is the worst, thats my oppinion, that game is meant for adults and i know alot of kids that parents bought it for them, so fess up and you as the parent decide whats right and whats wrong.
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K3yblademast3r said 9:06AM on 7-09-2008
OK people need to leave video games alone and grow up!!! Whoever said that this game was made for kids, and a T rating is perfect for this game. It's just beer pong!! A lot of kids see their parents drink beer and other alcoholic drinks everyday!!! And the developers said that there are no scenes showing the consumtion of beer. Look, whoever wrote this article and whoever is getting mad at ratings board for during their job, GROW THE F**K UP!!!!! Its just a game!! There are worse things out there that you need to be worrying about than a beer pong game. You, the parents, are the influence on your children. Not a videogame!!! And there are worse things in movies, on the radio, on the internet, and even on TV that you need to make sure your child is not experiencing. So quit worrying about why a beer pong game didn't get higher than a T rating, so you can grow up and get a life!!!
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mike hall said 10:45AM on 7-09-2008
This is exactly why i wont be bringing a kid into this screwed up world we call, ours. we have taken everything in life to the very edge of the cliff, we stretch fun and excitement to the very limits. it wont surpirse me when 8 year olds are having sex on a regular basis. we evolved from apes and took this trip forward in time so that we could once again act like animals. sadly we have made no progress other than doing a full 360,back to caveman days.
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jen said 11:06AM on 7-09-2008
lol wow sounds fun but they're right not for kids!!!!=D
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Emily said 11:32AM on 7-09-2008
Who cares? Like kids don't know what beer is. And like playing this game is really going to make them go out and play real beer pong while they are like, ten?
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Sully said 12:36PM on 7-09-2008
Perfectly acceptable, Beer is a fact of life, its drank internationally with dinner as a normal beverage, get off your religious freak out, and let it be.
Alcohol abuse is rampant in this country due to the illegality of drinking under 21, if it was a socially accepted norm from birth, it would not create the problem we have today.
Less then 100 years ago, Alcoholic Apple Cider was safer then most of the drinking water in this country.
Lighten up People
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