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)
Tony Douglas said 8:10AM on 8-13-2008
With all due respect ... tosh. As a daily user of the Newton to this day, it's still the best of all the handheld devices for taking to meetings and taking notes. It's probably the last device to really challenge what we do with computers and why we do them the way we do - which is probably why people *still* don't get it.
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Tom said 8:52AM on 8-13-2008
I totally agree with the previous post, you have this all wrong, the Newton was LOVED by apple customers. We thought this was an amazing piece of equipment and "some" of the features it has are far superior to current PDAs.
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Unknown said 5:00AM on 8-31-2008
i agree with you, the most important feature is that it have an apple logo
Wm said 12:25PM on 8-13-2008
I was a fantastic device, well ahead of its time when Microsoft machines were still giant tan boxes with green screens. Even the X-file FBI agents used Newtons!
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Alvaro Covarrubias said 7:40AM on 9-02-2008
The above responses show why Apple products are either loved or hated; no in-between. I have never been able to comprehend Apple's rationale behind their navigation and applications. Computers, Newton, iPod and now the iPhone ..... it seems I have to pay highly for design yet I can never learn how to use them properly. So I stay clear of them.
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G. Silvestri said 9:56AM on 9-02-2008
I loved my newton. I used it for my business every day. I took notes at meetings, I faxed from my cell. I wrote out contracts and invoices etc. It was great for a person who was always out of town.... smaller than a lap top!
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Jeff Knight said 1:03PM on 9-02-2008
Sorry Evan...but you have no clue what you are talking about. Apple dropping the Newton is the 2nd biggest mistake they ever made. (Not licensing their OS was No. 1). All the handhelds would all be Apples right now and it was way ahead of it's time. Unless you actually used one and used it for personal use and business..then you have no clue what you are talking about. As the first poster said...even today it is the best PDA out there...and trying to wrote "the" is about as simplistic as it gets..you could actually wtire on it "schedule a meeting with Joe at noon tomorrow" and it would insert a meeting into your schedule for tomorrows date and put in all the information about Joe from your rolodex into the meeting alos...and it all ran on 2 AA batteries.
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