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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gary H said 2:52AM on 1-24-2009
Microsoft wonders why many of its original customers have gone running to other systems. It is because what you produce is flawed in major ways and what isn't flawed you discontinue. If you put quality products out for consumption then the people will buy them. One way of starting out on the right foot in 2009 is to make an operating system that works and doesn't have so many security flaws. Microsoft may be a great company to work for, but it isn't a great company to buy software from!
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KilgoreTrout said 8:15PM on 1-24-2009
NOOOO don't kill it!!
Please don't.
I like it , every flight school student likes, and instructurs racomand it, since the simulators made by plane companies are affordable only by airlines.
Win7 is gonna be a great hit , you don't need to kill off the one program where MS is still unrivalled.
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DRY said 1:11AM on 1-25-2009
I have been enjoying MS Flight Simulator since the 98 version was introduced. I now have 2002 and finally Combat Flight Simulator 3. Every person that has tried it out on my system has gone on to purchase the software and various joy sticks, graphics cards, etc. for their own systems. Why would you (Microsoft) want to discard something that has been so successful, and an obvious money maker, since its inception? Ten or 15 years of success has to be worth something?
Every time I go to Frys Electronics (about once every couple of weeks or so); I check out the flight simulator games for PC’s. It seems that they are always out of the latest versions of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator games or only have one or two copies available of older versions. After I heard that MS Combat Flight Simulator 3 was out, every time I went there I checked for the game. Finally was able to buy the game on the third trip.
To me, that sound like a money making series of games. Frys is no small company. If they are always out of Microsoft Flight Simulator games because they sell so good, then MS ought to wake up! There’s something making this section of the company successful. There making money not loosing it. What ever it is, it needs to be applied to the rest of the company.
For example: They could take all the money being spent on that piece of junk Vista and use it to fund the cost of applying the same ideas, people, or whatever it is that has been working to make ACES and the MS Flight Simulator series so successful, to improving/upgrading the Windows XP operating system. XP has been their most successful system. Again, why discard something that has been so successful?
Maybe if they changed their thinking towards what appears to be a money making idea, they wouldn’t have to lay people off?
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Lando Calrissian said 12:30AM on 1-26-2009
You do realize that CFS3 came out in 2002, right?
DRY said 1:46AM on 1-26-2009
Well at least you read my comments. I thank you for that. No I didn’t know that. Since my version is listed as 2003, I figured that was when it came out. However, I didn’t find out about the game until late 2005 and purchased it in early 2006. That may sound strange, but every time I went to the Frys Electronics store near where I live (it opened in 2004 or 2005) I never saw the game on the shelf and I always checked out the section with the flight simulator games for PC’s. I’m a retired NASA/Aerospace Engineer and I don’t follow the gaming thing. I also don’t shop at Best Buy. The way I found out about the game was from my oldest son. He is a multi-engine certified pilot and was up on the latest flying games. As soon as he told me about the game, I asked a Frys employee why I couldn’t ever find the game. They were always sold out within days of receiving each shipment. Like I said, why get rid of a money making item? They should be capitalizing on this instead of getting rid of it, especially with the economy in such bad shape.
Steve H (Alsip,IL) said 11:25AM on 1-25-2009
I too have every flt sim since flt sim 98 thru flt sim X. deluxe. But this Deluxe edition is the BIGGEST piece of CRAP I have ever purchased. It has somekind of operating bug in it and no matter what Microsofts upgrades are installed it still is a piece of CRAP and will no perform as it should. Would not recommend flt sim x. I have Windows XP.
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Randy Mancini said 11:05PM on 1-25-2009
that wa s good pic with biden long hair
dating
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dating said 11:06PM on 1-25-2009
i like bidens pony tail..
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DaKrisht said 2:28AM on 1-26-2009
I've been playing this game for years and years and it is truly one of the greatest simulation products out there. Sure, there's X-Plane and other pro stuff like The 747-400 Precision Simulator but Flight Simulator has always been a classic since the days of polygon Meigs Field!
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Thomas Nicosia said 9:50AM on 2-24-2009
Microsoft like any other company that makes games that interact over the internet are suseptable to the gangs of cheats on the internet who think its fun to send out Viruses. Those of you who think you should blame Microsoft for these criminal acts are seriously in a mental deficit.
Every technology smart country in this world has laws covering these virus incidents. The reason they have these laws is because even non Microsoft systems are vulnerable to these viruses. So place the security faults where they belong, with the criminals who perpetrate the crimes.
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