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)
Guy said 2:47PM on 5-27-2009
sorry but thats how it works. you vote for who you want to win. its not rigged and its not at&t's fault. people voted for who they wanted to win, and thats who won.
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Shadowguitar said 11:39PM on 5-27-2009
Ravensfan, anyone as bigoted as you deserves to be arrested. By the way, the Skins are going to walk all over the ravens this year.
Girl said 6:33PM on 5-27-2009
No Guy - American did not vote for the winner, AT&T did by hosting phone parties for one contestant. Adam is now doing the talk show route and has bodyguards because people are in a frenzy over him. Kris is a nice guy, but clearly not even in Adam's league. No one who has ever been on Idol can sing, perform and entertain like Adam. Get over the gay stuff. Non-gays don't go down the street shouting "I'm heterosexual" and Adam doesn't need to declare his private bedroom business either. He's delightful, well mannered, well spoken, innovative and everything Idol tells their contestants to be. Adam is too much of a gentleman to even address this. He'll be the winner in the long run and Kris will fade into oblivion because there are already too many mediocre's just like him. 38 million votes just from AR? The only way that happened is by cheating.
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ravensfan55 said 6:53PM on 5-27-2009
It's not cheating It's a promotional event.
And any man that dresses like a woman and is a flaming homo deserves to lose.
Sam Whitman said 7:43AM on 5-28-2009
Why is it so hard for some people to believe that Kris won fairly??? It's true, he is not the same type of "entertainer" that Adam is, BUT...he is a very gifted and talented musician AND singer!!! Adam is a very talented, showy, even seeming to have an expectant/
entitled star-type personality, and Kris Allen is a very humble and mellow "regular guy" type of person.
Whether some people want to believe it or not, the majority of us "regular" people may
like to watch all that flashy stuff sometimes, but when it comes down to who we'd like to see in the spotlight for our children to "idolize" and follow as examples, humble, talented and wholesome musicality still wins over black nail polish, screaming, tongue hanging
out and pictures of a man kissing another man!!!!
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