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)
Bill said 9:09PM on 10-10-2008
Luckily for those of us flying high-performance general aviation airplanes, the ability to fly point-to-point is already here. Much of the time when away from the major hubs, ATC allows us to "go direct." Many of the air carriers have the capability also, but the terminal airspace structure at the hubs limits the use.
And the use of WAAS capable GPS systems now allows much lower approach minimums at many smaller general aviation airports.
Avionics has been the big improvement in aviation in recent years.
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Brian said 10:24PM on 10-10-2008
Why will it take over a decade and why in the heck does it cost 200k per plane?
I assume most of that must be the price to license software... from what I understand, most aircraft have some pretty darn accurate GPS system.
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Moongrim said 9:40AM on 10-11-2008
Horsefeathers!
You read all the time about GPS followers making wrong turns. The FAA doesn't know squat about the limitations of GPS. Six feet worth of difference can make the difference between a successful landing and a disaster.
The FAA is just determined to do to N.A.S. what Quisling did to Sweden.
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reirobt said 12:03AM on 10-14-2008
Moongrim -- Your statement is very incorrect. I have 6 years of direct command and control & User segment GPS experience. The FAA is very informed on the positional accuracy limitations & capabilities of GPS.
warner said 5:30AM on 10-12-2008
When do gps fliers make "wrong turns"?
Angiebaby said 10:18AM on 10-11-2008
If they could develop a system to save $$ on ticket fares and reduce flight delays they would catch my interest....
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PlasticPilot said 3:07PM on 10-13-2008
Despite the new system will bring some advantages (mostly for runway incursions... on ground), it will not solve the present causes of delays, which are mostly:
1) Lack of runway capacity
2) Weather
3) Lack of air traffic controllers.
Read a more detailled review of these reasons on http://www.plasticpilot.net/blog/2008/10/13/why-nextgen-will-not-triple-the-atc-capacity/
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