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 3)
AV said 3:01PM on 2-24-2009
I highly recommend the Linux Windows update. Your back up your data files, format the hard drive and install LINUX. Problem solved!
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DarkLight said 3:24PM on 2-24-2009
Amen.
I'm a long time Linux user, and whenever I see virus news I can't help but laugh at the situation
Linux is not hard, just different. If you know how to use computers you will have no trouble at all (note that there is a difference between knowing "computers" and knowing "windows", sadly most people only know windows and never really got into using computers)
veronica said 2:34PM on 2-24-2009
Im sick and tired of all these bloody virus`s. Enough already!
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Kenneth said 7:18PM on 2-24-2009
I'm not sick of viruses..Lol I have a MAC...To bad windows users..lol I'm still waiting on my first virus while you're waiting on your 1.000th
veronica said 12:01AM on 2-25-2009
My next computer will be a Mac!!
robert bock said 2:36PM on 2-24-2009
how do we know if we got the virus
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Dan said 8:03AM on 2-25-2009
This first clue to an infected machine is a drastic change in performance. Computers dont age 5 years over night. Having an up to date anti-virus program from KNOWN companies are one of the bests ways of finding if you're computer is infected.
Kenneth said 7:22PM on 2-24-2009
about the only way you're going to know is you're going to have to run a scan on ALL your files
Ken said 2:51PM on 2-24-2009
I have Norton and Spy Bot installed on my PC. I still have viruses sneaking past both, Mostly spyware junk that I can get rid of easily. But everytime I run a scan I find that my Mircosoft anti virus program has been shut down. Anyone know why? Does Norton or Spy Bot do it automatically or is there something else I should look for?
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Jeff said 3:33PM on 2-24-2009
Norton's security suite will disable Windows securty. When you run Spybot S/D you will see this in 'results' of scan. Conflict problems will arise if both are operational. There should be no adware, or any malware for that matter on a system with recently updated Symantec security suite software and current M/S updated O/S software.
Chris said 3:59PM on 2-24-2009
Use NOD32 by ESET. Much faster than Norton bloatware, and gets keyloggers and trojans that slip by Norton.
Matt said 4:43PM on 2-24-2009
I work at a local computer store and we often deter people from Norton because it takes up far too much CPU as it runs in the background. We use AVGfree to scan and clean customer's computers. It's very lightweight and effective. The only difference between the free and paid version of AVG is no text support for free.
Try it out.
Hezakiah said 2:52PM on 2-24-2009
Adware,Malware and viruses are a major pain.Recently I just had to format the hard drive just to get rid of all the junk files from getting rid of all the garbage.I switched to Malwarebytes.Ad-Aaware, and AVG Anti-Virus 8.0 and haven't had any probs.You still want to avoid most Warrez sites unless you have both eyes open.You can download the anti-virus and other programs at Filehippo.com and they are all free.
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Larry said 3:06PM on 2-24-2009
I hear nothing but bitching about McAfee, but I have used it for 6 years and have never once had anything get by it.
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Kris said 5:15PM on 2-24-2009
I am a big fan of trendmicro, if it is good enough for the geek squad, then it is good enough for me!
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Greg said 10:30PM on 2-24-2009
Say Kris...... Last Time I checked... The GEEK SQUADS were out of a job, and look'n for work. A geek is only as good as, his or her knowledge about computers. There are geeks and then, THERE R GEEKS... that are half machine or somehow connected to ' The Borg'... U know the types.. with umpteen pens and pencils in their shirt pockets...with tape holding their glasses together on the bridge of their long pubises, and of course...their dis-sheveled shirts that don't match their pants & wear white socks. I believe Bill Gates was like that, or still is.....??
Heck ! With his dough, I'd dress like that too. Good Luck.
Carm said 4:34PM on 2-24-2009
Hey FREDDIE BASS,
DID YOU ASK OBAMA?
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Robbie said 6:21AM on 2-25-2009
Carm: I'm afraid that we've ALL got the Obamavirus. Nothing seems to be able to stop it but awareness and common sense (apparently not readily available in the U.S.A.) or the "BirthCertificateAntivirus," of which, it seems, there are no copies available anywhere in the Free World.
Charity said 4:47PM on 2-24-2009
I am with everyone else tired of the viruses and issues with all security
problems. So far i have advast and no problems. Any one else have advast and any problems with it.
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Jayson said 5:16PM on 2-24-2009
Answer to all your problems: get a MAC or use Linux. Problem solved. Windows is a joke. When are you people going to wake up? I've had both, a PC and a MAC. I will never own a PC running Windows ever ( though I am running Windows XP on my MAC. ) But guess what I am still impervious to viruses.
Some say MAC's are expensive, well think about the operating system you get, = no viruses and no anti-virus software. Why? Because they can't run on MAC's or Linux.
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