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)
unsuitened said 3:16PM on 7-27-2009
he didnt quit, he just changed his name
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Superman said 12:01PM on 7-28-2009
Oh! yeah, he's got all these friends, sure, believe EVERYTHING you read! They were more like HATERS!!! He's trying to "SAVE Face" for "ALL the evil business he does and did"!! That's why he's giving what's "pennies" to him to a few charities all of the sudden, NOT to Forget "Windows 7" is coming out as GOOGLE is putting the PRESSURE on him!! ...And he's helping Third-World countries out cheaply, since money value is so low compared to OURS!!! And YES! there's ALWAYS a string or several million attached when he does his so-called philanthropy...He wants to and gets to control those countries!!!
He DON'T fight crime, "he puts innocents behind bars that have no money to pay the BIG fines he makes others pay" for what "he feels is a crime"!!! He's been bribing Judges, governments, you name it for at least 30 some years!!! That's why Justice is sooo "UNFAIR", today!!! Like for the mininum wage working woman in June this year downloading UNQUALITY, measly 24 songs and Gates brought the FINE by bribing the court system and RIAA from 80k to 1.9 million for a woman that did NOTHING wrong in most others' "eyes"!!! The RIAA said they won't fine people much anymore, six months ago...
Then along comes "Slick as ICE Willie" Gates, the antichrist!!!! Ironically, he's the biggest Crook and "eviliest business man" that ever will and did walk the face of the earth!!! Funny Yahoo is HELPING him and 'this' AOL writer and other writers...when the tables have turned on him!!!! NOW all the sudden he's being made into a saint... Hmm...how much is he paying off you people trying to make him an angel in white light all of the sudden???
Peter E. Ryba said 8:28AM on 7-28-2009
The price of being famous is being stalked on twitter and too many friends on facebook. The problem with being Bill Gates is that it is socially expected that the ultimate geek embrace social networking. There is no social expectation that Warren Buffett embrace Social Networking. As for the usual tv/movie industry celeberity (including folks like Paris Hilton who are simply famous for having a rich father) Social Networking now provides the means of responding to the tabloids, gossip magazines, and gossip websites in real time without using members of the legitimate or members of the celebrity press and without being used by them.
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Darla said 1:35PM on 7-28-2009
Excellent points Peter. Facebook and Twitter can be overwhelming to anyone, not just the famous. I believe some people are addicted to the social networks, and that in itself is scary.
Deborah McGee said 9:41AM on 7-28-2009
You're my hero.
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Sandy said 8:43AM on 7-28-2009
Through Facebook, I have been reunited with a brother I hadn't seen in over 20 years, a niece I had not seen since she was 12 ( she is 37 now) and have met a nephew I didn't know I even had! I think it is a great venue and I love that Farmtown! Poor Gates he had too many friends and I am hoping to have too many relatives! :)
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ernest said 9:12AM on 7-28-2009
I agree, I met a few relatives that I never met thanks to facebook. I was 2 when my mom divorced my dad and I never met his family, but with facebook, I have. Funny thing is I moved to florida 5 years ago, and one of my aunts lives just 45 minutes from me.
PAT said 10:52AM on 7-28-2009
I ALSO FOUND A BROTHER AFTER 40 YEARS ON FACEBOOK. TOOK ME 10 DAYS AFTER OPENING THE ACCOUNT. NOW I HAVE RELATIVES COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK. GOD BLESS FACEBOOK AND ALL THE SPLIT FAMILIES IT IS HEALING!
PAT BOYLE
spedack said 8:52AM on 7-28-2009
get them once for all of us hillsamurai
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Joanna said 8:57AM on 7-28-2009
Attention AOL....
Why do you allow advertising on these boards? This board has five in a row....
These are the same ads that are on a dozen other boards and have been for some time.
THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED. by a good number of people and you do nothing about it. Why???
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jim said 11:25AM on 7-28-2009
Joanna, just so you know, AOL doesn't do ANYTHING except censor. In all probability, the people that post those stupid ads are probably posting for a company that pays them per post and that pays AOL to allow that posting. Did you know, for example, that, even though one of the primary functions of AOL is communication through E-Mail, if you have a complaint, there is no way to send AOL an e-mail? You have to send a snail mail.
pink0floyd said 9:39AM on 7-28-2009
He probably quit so Facebook couldn't use his pictures in advertisements against his will.
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Superman said 12:10PM on 7-28-2009
Actually, this and ALL the articles all around the World are "PAID Advertisments" to say how GREAT the (evil and sinister) Bill Gates is...
redtailhawk1 said 10:39AM on 7-28-2009
You have my respect Bill, I too quit facebook, and they made it difficult to do. They are way too intrusive,They got into my address book and asked them all to join., what an embarassment for me. when people I hardly knew started questioning me about it. There needs to be better boundaries.
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MrsGramma said 4:10PM on 7-30-2009
I quit it for a while too, for the same reason. I later found out that you can filter (disallow) all of that stuff in your "settings" area. Every time you decide to play a game, take a quiz, or "smile back" to someone, that application informs you that you have to also allow it to access ALL of your friends, as well as THEIR information. As soon as I saw that you had to do that in order to participate in anything, I said NO to ALL of that stuff!!
That is also why I don't "tag" people in pictures. My pictures are for MY friends only, and not just anybody that wants to take a peek. My real friends know when I post pictures, they take a look, and that's it. Hope this info helps someone. Take care.
isabel said 10:42AM on 7-28-2009
I am not famous, but I too, quit Facebook this week. I joined to connect with my best friend, and my son who is joining the Military; and what I got was her husband, sons, and all their friends who I neither know nor wish to know, and all my son's friends who are putting way more information out there than any parent wants to know.
Every day my wall was filled with junk about Mafia Wars and silly, inane exchanges between people I don't know, along with people sending me love, drinks, flowers, invites to sign this and that & etc. Enough!!!!
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Tyler said 11:14AM on 7-28-2009
Oh boo hoo. Facebook, myspace, twitter are all lame and you need a life or something else to fulfill your day.
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Arvig said 11:22AM on 7-28-2009
Tyler, poster #13 posted this: "Oh boo hoo. Facebook, myspace, twitter are all lame and you need a life or something else to fulfill your day. "
My reply: Uh-huh. Okay, I don't use Facebook or any other social networking site, but I don't think someone posting "get a life" on an internet blog is the example of someone with a meaningful existance. :P Might I suggest YOU get something else to fulfill your day other then posting lame expressions like "get a life"? Then again, if "Tyler" had a "life", he'd not worry about the lives of others enough to post such tripe like "get a life". So "oh boo hoo" Tyler.
To all the spammers on this site: All you do is tell me what URL's to avoid. YOURS. Believe me, I now know what URL's to NEVER go to. If your product or service had any merit, you'd not need to spam it on some blog site.
marshall said 11:14AM on 7-28-2009
Facebook is a great place to get reunited with people you haven't heard from in years and no longer have anything in common with.
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Arvig said 11:27AM on 7-28-2009
Sorry for two posts in a row. Well, the guy I quoted moved from post 13 to post 12. But, that's good since a spammer's post was removed and thus caused that. SO..that's why I refer to Tyler as post #13 when his is #12 now.
To be on topic with at least one of my posts here, I'm not a fan of Facebook or other social networking sites anyway. But even if I were, I can see why Bill Gates would pull himself from Facebook. Like someone else suggested, it could be so that Facebook couldn't use an image of him without his permission. And I'm sure he's being sincere when he says it was just too annoying to be "friended" by so many, especially when so many are just people spamming friend requests.
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