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)
aerospacemajor said 3:12PM on 10-28-2008
Terrence O'Brien (the article writer) should keep his biased opinions to himself and simply talk about the new product's features. I am so weary of smart-alecks on the web injecting their own opinions into every nook and cranny that they can. In other words, let US to decide for OURSELVES whether the product is snooping or not; we don't need Mr. O'Brien's slanted words. Thank you.
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gertie said 3:57PM on 10-28-2008
areo you are IGNORANT!!! programs such as Techgard take choice away fom the victims of snoopers like YOU are YOU planning on spying on your wife and kids? I feel sorry for them
Jeff said 4:11PM on 10-28-2008
What else would an application like this be used for? The author of this article is allowed to voice his opinion about the product/service/subject he writes about. It's part of that pesky Freedom of Speech thing. We, as the literate public, are supposed to use our own judgement when reading articles to determine, with the information provided, our own views on the material at hand. I'm sure if you visit the products website, you'd find the developers own biased view and rationalization for the use of the product. Seems the only thing actually slanted here is your view of the rights of other people.
Cyn said 5:31PM on 10-28-2008
Hear, hear! I agree.
melissa said 5:41PM on 10-28-2008
i agree with aero... and if you have children especially teens, yyou have to be ignorant not to agree.
shell said 6:54PM on 10-28-2008
Funny thing is aerospacemajor never said if they were for the product or not just that the writer put comments in that were not necessary ..
Personally I think it would be a waste of money I don't wanna know what my kids are writting in their texts to each other kids are full of talk and I know from being a kid thats usually all it is so I'm not gonna get worked up over whats being said back and forth..I do like to know how often and to whom they are communicating with and that I can learn for FREE from my phone bills records without knowing the content of the call...as far as the spouse part goes the phone bill works the same and I'd only worry if they didn't want me to see that othewise I don't wanna know what they talk about thats their B.S. time with their firends too..
K.S. said 3:54PM on 10-28-2008
If I had a teenager I would get it. Say what you want about me.
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Bill said 4:46PM on 10-28-2008
I agree that this would be snooping, but why is that necessarily a bad thing. Installing the software without the knowledge of the owner would obviously be at least questionable. However, as a parent, I can see this being a valuable tool to help protect my child from predators on the internet or to help enforce such things as groundings from phone priveledges, but still allow the security of my child using the device for emergency purposes or to contact family. If used properly, this can be an invaluable parenting tool.
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Bob said 5:12PM on 10-28-2008
There is no substitute for open dialogue and good parenting.. good parenting doesn't include 'snooping'.. if you don't know your kids any better than that, seek some help for yourself. If you would snoop on your loved-ones, i hesitate to consider what you would do to others.. The privacy to make mistakes is part of the growing-up process, you will only drive your kids to greater lengths to avoid snoopy parents, and finally drive them away.. much the pity for a society that uses such measures, and rationalizes their choices to do so.
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Judy said 5:33PM on 10-28-2008
And how would you like someone snooping on every text, call, etc that you make??? That is horrible. I have daughters and never would I have EVER considered snooping on them like that. You have to have trust and good communication with sons and daughters, wives and husbands otherwise you have no relationship at all. This should be illegal as far as I'm concerned. And when you find out something from your snooping do you go to your kid and confront them?? If you think you will have a good relationship with them afterwards think again!! They will never trust you or turn to you or even want to confide in you about anything. Good luck with that!!!
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Bill said 5:53PM on 10-28-2008
Absolutely I would confront them. But then, since I would up front with my child when they get the device in the first place about having the ability and the right to monitor what they do, they should not be suprised when I find something.
It used to be the case that all you needed to be a good parent was to know who your childs friends were, and maybe where they went after school. It was also relatively safe to alow then to experiment as part of the growing up process. With the internet and other easily accessable communication devices, however, it is not as easy for parents (or children for that matter) to determine who is and who is not safe to be in touch with. I am not saying that I would constantly look over what they do. However, if I saw any warning signs of something I believed to be dangerous, and they were less than upfront about my concerns, you better believe I would snoop.
ctjasso said 5:42PM on 10-28-2008
If your a parent just keeping an eye on a child its one thing, but otherwise its pretty nosy and rude. Invasion of privacy.
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cman123 said 5:43PM on 10-28-2008
I can see how this would be good for a parent to use in some situations but otherwise its just nosy. Thats just my opinion though
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ctjasso said 8:47PM on 10-28-2008
i have to agree with bill he makes sense. aerospacecadet you seem like the type of person who loves to know everything no matter how they find out. Don't hold it to me though.
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Mindy said 6:45PM on 10-28-2008
I think this could be a very useful parenting tool and, like Bill, I would be up front with my children from the very beginning. They would absolutely know that I had installed the program and could review their cell phone activity at any time. It isn't any different than the internet reports most ISP's offer with their child safety feature.
Neither is it any different than parents of days past asking where their child was going to be, who they were going to be with - asking for phone numbers or if parents would be supervising parties, etc. If I asked to spend the night at a friend's house when I was growing up, my mother always spoke to that friend's parent before giving me permission.
And you know what? I never once thought felt that my privacy was being invaded or that I was being stifled. I really didn't even mind when she would occasionally "call to say good-night". I always felt protected & loved becaus honesty and communication were valued qualities in our home.
As for spouses using it - I would certainly hope mine trusted me enough not to waste his time installing something like this. But should he decide to do so, I have nothing to hide. That whole "trust" thing goes both ways - why would I care if he knew who I called? or texted? I'd probably end up telling him about it during dinner anyway - that's the "communication" part.
To determine whether or not this program is a good thing or a sneaky, evil tool, one would have to examine the user and in that case, an evil, sneaky person certainly doesn't need this particular tool to commit sneaky, evil deeds.
I guess if you've got something to hide, a tool like this could prove to be pretty scary.
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Jim in AR said 6:47PM on 10-28-2008
If I put this software on my wife's phone, I must not trust her very much. A marriage is already over once the trust is gone. If I put it on my teenager's phone, I am probably doing it to protect my son or daughter. But, in a few years, I may have to explain to them -- adult to adult -- why I chose to invade his privacy without his knownledge. Mine are 27 and 24 now; I am glad I did not do something like this when they were younger. I do not know that we would have the same quality of father-son relationship today if I did.
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Iam Davinci said 7:45PM on 10-28-2008
Technology sucks! Simply put.
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Bob Depot said 7:46PM on 10-28-2008
It's not Techguard, it's Textguard.
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Randall said 7:50PM on 10-28-2008
Who cares anyway? the federal government has been doing it for many, many years aka illegal wiretapping.
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ctjasso said 8:19PM on 10-29-2008
aerospacecadet obviously you are just stuck in your ways but you might want to try actualy tinking what you say through. I would not use this on anybody because it is nosy and i wouldn't want it used on me.
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