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)
Byron said 6:41PM on 12-17-2008
How can you say that DLP technology is going "the way of the do do"? Many cinemas are beginning to ditch LCD displays, for more up-to-date DLP technology. If anything it is LCD that is slowly becoming more and more obsolete.
In addition, for anyone interested in purchasing a large screen TV (46" and higher), it's recommended that they go DLP. DLPs are cheaper and significantly more light weight than their LCD counterparts (of equivalent screen size). Not to mention that the picture quality of LCD displays degrade as screen size is increased, while the picture quality of DLPs are near perfect, regardless of screen size.
Just to note, I'm not advertising for DLP, since I owned an LCD television. But, do everyone a favor and get your facts right, you n00b, and don't spread misinformation.
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Mel S. said 9:13PM on 12-18-2008
This is a very amateurish article. You seem to focus on features that are unimportant, and show a lack of understanding of the technology. The 120Hz feature that you were disappointed to not find in some of these panels, firstly does not do anything to reduce "pixellation", that's up to the resolution of the source content and the quality of upscaling. The 120Hz feature simply interpolates an extra "estimated" frame in between the 2 frames that are actually provided by the input in order to create the illusion of more fluid motion. Keep in mind that 120Hz is not a "refresh rate", as LCD and plasma screens do not have a refresh rate. 120Hz is simply the name that has been given to this particular feature.
Most importantly, this feature does nothing to improve the image, and MIGHT improve fluidity in sports, but it invariably looks bizarre, and that's what you would expect really, considering the TV calculates a whole frame and interpolates it. Just watch a movie or anything that isn't sports with the 120Hz feature turned on to see how ridiculous it looks. It even looks weird in sports for me. If you want nice motion then buy a good panel, don't rely on silly features made to impress people who don't know what they're doing.
I always find it amazing that showrooms turn this feature on on all their panels even if they aren't showing sports, and they actually boast about it and will show it off to you if you show interest. Next time you see this, just ask to borrow the remote for a second, go find the 120Hz feature and turn it off, and you'll see how much better the image looks without it, with no strange motion artifacts or unnatural motion.
Also - I could never take an article that recommends an LG panel seriously. Come on.
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