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.
RIM's BlackBerry is the standard when it comes to smart phones for the corporate workplace. RIM has built its reputation on building serious adult phones for serious adults. So it really caught RIM CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis off guard when, at a recent shareholders' meeting, a child asked them when they were going to make a cell phone for kids.
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gipionocheiyort said 3:50PM on 7-15-2009
Maybe a plant to ask a question to get people talking about an upcoming product?
Not sure...but that's the only reason I can think of for a kid to be in a shareholder's meeting.
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Dr. Evil Genius said 4:17PM on 7-15-2009
If I were this kid, I would be asking my work-a-holic parent(s) and dumb-ass Pop Culture for my childhood back.
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mikemaj82 said 5:53PM on 7-15-2009
Why do kids need a cell phone? Kids today are so pampered, they think they know life but they don't. When I was a kid I wasn't talking on a cellphone while riding my bike, or sitting inside playing multiplayer games with people across the world. I was outside playing in the dirt and mud, getting scraped up, fractured arms, eating junk food...all that good stuff.
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J M Grey said 10:18AM on 7-16-2009
You then walked uphill both ways to school and McDonald's in the freezing snow barefoot, or on your fractured arms when those got too numb. When you got to school, you were lucky to a book to even share with two other kids!
Shoes in children sizes was a ludicrous idea, as who would market shoes to such a niche market with no primary source of income? And living in a cardboard box, like everyone else did at the time, just forced you to use your imagination to fool yourself it wasn't as damp and miserable as it seemed.
Also, whatever happened to good old fashioned, reliable tin cans and a string? As long as the string was long enough, you could talk to anybody! "Cell phones" is just another term for social sorcery, and texting is just a lamer way of writing a note on a piece of paper, folding it into an airplane, and throwing it towards its destination.
And who could forget how the closest thing you had to video games involved a rock, a stick, and more bleeding than any video game today has!
Oh, and you liked it that way just fine!
unityexxon said 9:09PM on 7-15-2009
A kid having a cell phone is common now in days.Its not that you are pampering your kids.Now in days it is a safety thing.I love beening able to locate where my kid is and to be able to reach them when I want to
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mhalp said 11:27AM on 7-16-2009
@ J M Grey
(shakes angry fist at the younger crowd...)
Damn whipper-snappers!!!!
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griffithsbusiness said 6:16PM on 7-16-2009
Great article! but a blackberry for youths? what are they gonna call it? baby blackberry???
-Steve, berryfeed.com
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