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)
shaun said 1:05PM on 5-21-2009
This has totally happened to me. Walking down the street and get the occasional Zap in the ear.
freakin' annoying!
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hacker said 1:07PM on 5-21-2009
you understand that the ipod touch and iphone do have bluetooth just not fully unlocked. also im almost definitely sure that they mean in like extreme conditions. seriously. almost everyone in the country has an ipod or music player with corded headphones. lets see how many people complain. i think this site is just losing stories to talk about so they are going over documents just searching for even a crumb of a story. which is just what this is. jerks
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logger_k said 8:50PM on 5-21-2009
My kid was sitting in the living room, listening to the 2nd gen nano, reached to ffwd to next song (nano was on the arm of the chair,) a zap went thru the left earbud to her ear. Now the earbud works only on the right side.
NoAndThen said 1:44PM on 5-21-2009
Where the hell are you from that these things deliver pleasant sound waves?
For the one week I used these when I bought my first ipod (60gb video) I actually received a shock. They're cheap as hell, and they sound worse than most cell phone speakers I've heard.
Please do yourself a favor and buy ANYTHING besides these POS.
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Tolaura said 1:31AM on 5-22-2009
Ipods aren't the only ones i have a Zune and it's headphones do that too, so far I have found the jelly headphones you buy separate are the least likely to shock you here in the Midwest
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Shawn said 7:50PM on 5-22-2009
wow that shock from the earbuds has totally happened to me before! several times in fact! i live in the midwest and during the winter it is extremely dry here. static shock is a huge problem with everything.
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