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)
MadMike said 3:02PM on 8-11-2008
My Grandfather is 82 years old. He not only owns 2 computers (one laptop and one desktop). He upgrades PC's every year. He also has a cellphone a digital camera/camcorder and a Navigation system in his car.
Of course he used to teach Fortran at a college and worked at Bell Labs when they were developing Unix.
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Paula Redslob said 3:37PM on 8-11-2008
I am a 73 year old widow and I have a Desktop computer, and my own website which I built myself, and keep up to date myself. I also have a laptop computer. I also have a cellphone which I use exclusively (no land line at all).
Who did they ask ...... certainly not me!!!!
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Paula Redslob said 3:39PM on 8-11-2008
I am a 73 year old widow and I have a Desktop computer, and my own
website which I built myself, and keep up to date myself. I also
have a laptop computer. I also have a cellphone which I use
exclusively (no land line at all).
Who did they ask ...... certainly not me!!!!
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hall monitor said 6:42PM on 8-11-2008
Good! This will keep them out of trouble in Texas. Some schools are banning cell phones within a several mile radius of them, with up to a $500 fine! I found the story on http://detentionslip.org.
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geomcd said 8:33PM on 8-11-2008
I'm 74 1/2. I had my first computer in 1982 and have had a cell phone for 12 years. Most of my friends my age also have these. I agree with the person who wonders what people are asked about these. Maybe they go to nursing homes????????????
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Berkeley Babe said 1:49AM on 8-12-2008
I am 62 and I have 2 computers, two cell phones, one for business use and one for personal use, a digital camera, 4 landline phones, 3 TVS one in the rec room, one in my home office, one in my bedroom, high speed internet.
I don't know who they interviewed either.
One thing I do wish, is that now that I am using all this, I don't take enough time to ACTUALLY talk to people anymore.
I am always answering emails, IMS, text messages, doing all this with CNN on in the background or CSpan.
Miss TALKING to people.
The other point is maybe many senior citizens cannot afford all this. Many are on a fixed income, and a computer takes some type of connection fee monthly, and so does a cell phone.
Don't underestimate how much of a fixed income, pension, people live on, and costs for everything have jumped.
A lot of us like our independence, but I do find that I have gained weight, now that I am on the computer so much for work and personal.
Who does these studies anyway. They must be including much older people who are not of the same generation as baby boomers.
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maureen hallett said 6:25AM on 8-12-2008
my mom is 85 she has both a cell phone and a computer but rarely uses either one of them....first of all my family keeps buying her used computers that break down on her so that doesn;t help and second of all I think she could use one of those cell phones called the "
jitterbug" then she might use it more since they are simpler,but the research is plain and simple whether you are a senior and use these tools or not matters not...the majority still are not
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Robert Alexander said 7:05AM on 8-12-2008
If you have visited a nursing home recently, you know why one group of seniors do not have cell phones and computers. Assisted living facilities are only slightly better served. What percentage of seniors are accounted for in this way? Then there are those resistant to change of any kind. That group just wants to go back to the good old days. They are content to live the same way they always did without realizing just how impossible that is today. I am a senior citizen and have two computers. Since 1980 I have been active in the PC world and before that I prepared numbers for the Univac back in 1957. Some seniors would be lost without their computers.
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