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)
wako said 3:18PM on 1-21-2009
in other news, epic fail in parenting on the rise in america
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ItsInTheWater said 3:37PM on 1-21-2009
Of course... OF COURSE... OF F'N COURSE it's gotta be in Orlando.
With the extreme retardation that goes on around here, is it any wonder we're the state that unleashed Jack Thompson on the world?
I'm also going to go out on a limb and assume that "dinner" in this sense meant opening the bag from Taco Bell.
"Ohhh lawdy son... that was a VOLCANO TACO!! MY EYES! THEYS BURNING!!"
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Bill said 4:13PM on 1-21-2009
I would say put him on the street but then i would have to deal with him. Better idea DRAFT him and see how he slaps somebody else in the middle of no where
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Bill said 4:12PM on 1-21-2009
Seems like we have a big pool of cannon fodder building up in this country
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wray said 4:54PM on 1-21-2009
I wish someone would hit me with a taco right about now...i'm hungry.
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Captain Spalding said 5:11PM on 1-21-2009
And, where is this brat's father, in all this ?? My old man would have knocked me into next week. These spoiled brats have no idea what they've missed, until it's too late.
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lola trade said 5:24PM on 1-21-2009
your kidding right!!!!! like this is shocker whats wrong no real news!
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misskarmel said 5:34PM on 1-21-2009
That what he deserves. Lazy bum, I would kick him out the house and tell him to grow up you're over 18, I have no legal obligation to care for you.
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SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) said 6:16PM on 1-21-2009
people suck at parenting now days. and it's crazy cause i say that and i'm 21. my mom and dad would have whooped my ass if i tried something like that....hell, something like that would never have crossed my mind. it just baffles me how spoiled people are these days. almost makes me not want to have kids, it's too big of a friggin' risk.
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Ranee said 11:13PM on 1-21-2009
My mom would have picked up the closest belt/broom/mop/stick/lamp, etc., etc. and knocked the H out of me for even thinking of slapping her. That's what's wrong with kids today...no respect for parents, teachers, or anyone else with authority. And who's to blame? Parents, teachers and people of authority. We need to forget this time out b.s. and spank their butts like our parents used to do to us. Worked on us, it'll work on them.
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Ashram said 12:30AM on 1-22-2009
OLD NEWS. I heard this on YouTube a couple of months ago (I even got the audio and recorded it to CD for my own enjoyment).
And if that kid were mine, he'd be grounded from the XBox until he can learn some manners.
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Ashram said 12:39AM on 1-22-2009
Ah! This is a different story.
Well, if this kid were mine and were to hit her mother (who would obviously be my wife), I might be enticed to smack him across the face or, failing that, send him off to a reputable military school.
The "YouTube" thing was about another instance of a kid on XBox Live who was complaining and cussing out his own mother, just because they weren't going to take him to Taco Bell to get a chalupa.
He unintentionally (or so it seems) broadcast this exchange over XBox Live, where others could hear it and one recorded the feed (about 27 minutes) and put it up as a multi-part video on YouTube.
Here are links:
PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJVEpPc89NQ
PART 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUzzCpHKYb8
PART 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU5-7RuBxcY
ashram said 12:40AM on 1-22-2009
And we learn he's 19.
What a loser.
Bamafan said 8:38AM on 1-22-2009
Well if she would have spanked that kid when he was younger then maybe she would not have this problem now. I would bet he came from the thought that if he got spanked it may hurt his feelings and break his spirit. Well I bet now she wished she had broken a little bit of that spirit you gotta start young you cannot wait until they are older and expect them to suddenly act like they should it just does not work that way.
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lex said 9:00AM on 1-22-2009
He's 19 and NOW she wants to do something about it? Unbelievable, this kind of behavior should have been taken care of WHEN IT FIRST STARTED. Parents let their kids get away with this kind of behavior and then get confused when they keep acting this way? At least she called the police, I guess.
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RAS said 9:25AM on 1-22-2009
Dena had you been doing your job while he was growing up he would not have turned out to be a lazy slacker. You should have tossed his butt out once he turned 18 if he wanted to stay home and play video games all day. When you let your kids run the house at an early age you are asking for big trouble. You set the boundaries early...it is too late at 19.
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blqstarr said 2:34PM on 1-22-2009
My philosophy in life....
Beat a Child, Save a Life.
Seriously, the life you save could be your own. You spank a child to teach them what's wrong, what's not acceptable, and respect for authority figures. Spanking children was a way to save your child from 1. messing with someone much bigger who could potentially hurt them and 2. not realizing or appreciating consequences of their actions and decisions. Finally, spanking your child instills a sense of fear in you as the parent - not fear as in Jason, Friday the 13th or a DANGER, but fear as in a healthy respect, like one should love but also fear God. This "fear" can ultimately save your life, as your child wouldn't dare try to kill you.
There you go - Beat a child Save a life - The child's, another person's, or even your own.
Signed - A proud Teen who's parents taught her all about life, respect. and consequences through the use of corporal punishment.
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DarkLight said 10:22PM on 1-28-2009
Sorry, you're all parenting fails.
Corporal punishment will only make internal the hate/disrespect that in cases like this is external, and while that's less worse in a moral sense, it's also less healthy for your son's mind (and you wonder why there are so much psychological problems in the U.S.)
You're just doing it wrong all around... I'm a very young teenager, none of my parents ever used corporal punishment, and while I hate to be "proud", judging by most people's actions, I consider myself fairly better educated than most people I've dealt with.
Don't let your kids watch TV or play videogames until they have a fairly good criteria/criterium (I don't know the exact term, english is not my native language), don't let them play with other kids if you see the other kids are not a good influence, always teach them the good and the bad without yelling and explain why... That's what my parents did, and most parents don't do. I work well, other teenagers clearly don't. (Or just do it superficially)
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