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)
Daniel Watkins said 8:14PM on 3-03-2009
Well hey, Bill Gates is on track; The G-phone uses an open source Operating System, I'm sure he wouldn't mind Melinda and the kids get that so they can (with Bill's assistance) develop apps for their phone (computer) and he can teach them more about compute technology. A father always wants to pass on his knowledge to his siblings.
Who needs an Ipod? The g-phone will do it, or a laptop by your side too.
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Ace said 8:39PM on 3-03-2009
You work for Microsoft don't you? Are you Bill Gates? I found your comment entertaining.
Max Spencer said 9:34PM on 3-03-2009
I do not believe Bill Gates, as an only child, has siblings.
Yaelle said 8:40PM on 3-03-2009
Blackberry is to iPhone as abacus is to super computer.
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RICKY said 3:14PM on 3-04-2009
Its was Bill Gates which was purchased and maintain even now with Microsoft technology. So Mr Gates is well in rights to keep things MSN.
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JerryC said 9:17PM on 3-03-2009
Drat! I was almost certain that the banned item was going to be toilet paper! :ox
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sirenlis said 11:05PM on 3-03-2009
I thought it was going to be the PC... don't bring work home with you. :)
BOB said 9:19PM on 3-03-2009
The reason uncle Bill is not wanting an I phone in his house is they work better than any wiodows ever made. and I have them all. 3.0 3.1 95 98 ME XP and Vista also tried the windows 7 but no drivers where available for it and no cd rom for me. So I dumped windows 7. If I could I would load the Apple software on this ibm. Apple costs to much. Not worth it. but Uncle Bill you owe Apple something for the soft ware you stole. Oh I get it they let you have it because it was so flawed and kept the good stuff for them self. LOLOL
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tracy said 9:55PM on 3-03-2009
I think it is funny that she wants an iphone. They aren't worth the money. Human fingers are too large for the tiny icons and you wind up in screens that weren't your intention. They need to come with a stylis stick to operate properly.
Secondly, fathers do not want to share their knowledge with their siblings - they want to share their knowledge with their offspring. A sibling is a brother or sister - offspring is a son or daughter.
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Mike said 10:19PM on 3-03-2009
Bill, got an iMac battery I can borrow? lol
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Yon said 10:48PM on 3-04-2009
And you cannot import nor eat apples, not pineapples in his house! So there!
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Sirenlis said 11:03PM on 3-03-2009
The HTC Touch Pro by Sprint puts the iPhone to shame and has a microsoft based OS.
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CTabb said 11:14PM on 3-03-2009
Too bad Bill Gates is so insecure ... perhaps Apple products are just better? Goes to show money can't buy everything.
PS - siblings your are brothers and sisters, not your children.
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rhonda said 11:30PM on 3-03-2009
I feel realllllly bad that Melinda can't have something she wants.
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Rix said 11:39PM on 3-03-2009
oops. Comments on the history of Microsoft's OS are inaccurate. PC DOS was purchased from a Seattle firm and shipped out with some of the first IBM PCs with the original software company's name lables on the diskettes.
Reason for that is the new lables would not arrive on time to support the first shipment so Bill sent the original diskettes out. There was not enough time and the company had to comply with the timeline or face disaster.
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Rix said 11:48PM on 3-03-2009
I think you mean the BIOS (bit input output system) and not the OS. That is a cat of a different stripe! Bill's people "wrote" the BIOS for the only chip IBM manufactured for their pc.
But this whole topic is or was the subject of many sleepless nights in Seattle and tons of money spent on legal fees.
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Dan said 12:26AM on 3-04-2009
Bill should give me a million dollars now. He lost the bet.
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Rix said 11:52PM on 3-03-2009
Mrs. Gates knows full well how much "Apple" people cost them (the dollar amount is still a staggering number)
I tend to very seriously doubt the author who says she wishes she had anything made in or by Apple, Cupertino.
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lewis said 12:40AM on 3-04-2009
My i phone was the worst phone I've ever had--the buttons were often unresponsive, the internet would freeze up and I'd have to constantly turn off the phone and reboot. Not to mention missing texts and dropped calls on a daily basis. Apple should stick to making computers and stay out of the phone business. They make phones fit for the average 12 year old. I finally got rid of mine 2 months ago and am glad I did !
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lewis said 12:44AM on 3-04-2009
BTW, does anyone know of a good phone with touch screen display buttons that actually function properly ? Someone told me about a G1 phone, but don't know if it's ATT or another carrier. I do want to stick with ATT
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