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)
Benjamin Wright said 11:04AM on 9-04-2008
A hacker who propogates zombies is persuing a dangerous line of work. Yes, it is possible to infect many machines. But in this Age of Information, technology makes infinite records about the hacker, his identity and his location. Those records can trace back like footprints to the criminal. Law enforcement is not powerless here. --Ben http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2007/12/people-in-authority-sometimes-abuse.html
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keith said 1:03AM on 9-14-2008
As far as spyware and virus attacks go. Lets just say all of these attacks are illusions made by certain people out to hustle money and take advantage from certain companies. Now the person is not the average person however.
How a virus works...
Lets say its all about the person who wishes to make 100,000 a year. phycology is a main factor why they believe they earned the right to do this. This is what the tech and marketer in America wishes to make. So how would they make it after the crash that happened after 2000.
MMM
FIRST YOU GO TO A BIG COMPANY LETS SAY E harmony. You offer to advertise the company on google or similar for 10,000
The company gives that person 10,000 for the advertisement but little to they know the true strategy's to advertise.
8 out of 10 people today are the average every day worker who does not know a damn about being a geek in computer repair. ,
8 out of 10 people today download music from limewire, myspace, Aim and actually think its ok.
So what does the crooked marketer or tech do. Install a virus and integrate the advertisers website add along with porn in the virus or trojan.
Then the crooked
marketer puts the virus or trojan on limewire or any psp and renames it something adult or illegal music.
Now here is where the fun begins. The average every day person who downloads these files indirectly receives the trogan and sees the advertiser along with the porn. Now that person thinks the trojan came from porn when actually it was from the marketers add . Most viruses come from America also.
The truth is , the marketer or Tech have designed a way to take advantage of a big company and make an illusion that the hits on their web site is from legitimate advertisements.
They are not.
This is a hint why this is too big to stop the crooks who are the ones who run the Internet.
Most trogans come from status A Ips who are only owned from Government, Colleges and people who birthed the world wide web before or near 2000.
TaKE CARE
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