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)
vidarbrekke said 1:47PM on 9-02-2009
NFL's rules here are antiquated. The players and their connection to their fans are the most valuable resource and they stand to alienate fans of the players by getting in between the two.
It's clear that this is about saving juicy post-game comments for the press that has paid the NFL-tax, but this is not going to work in the long term. Social media and celebrity-to-fan direct communications goes beyond just sports and is here to stay.
I'll be checking which NFL players are tweeting both before and after the game on my new favorite iPhone app: "Realtime Pro Football '09"
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IsellTelecom said 3:05PM on 9-02-2009
It's Great only the NFL has always tried to make sure that all of the information and distribution of any details result in them making money first. You want to talk about building a monopoly. The NFL is as close as it gets.
Thats from pushing cable companies to pay higher prices to carry thier NFL Channel < that is good, but not really all that great. To now not letting people update the players fans real time. Soon you wont be able to take a phone into the game at all. That would give them complete control.
patsyterrell said 4:30PM on 9-02-2009
This just tells me the NFL is out of touch. Duh.
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bigrob77 said 4:36AM on 9-05-2009
I actually kind of agree with this policy...I want my coaches and players to be focused on the game rather than focused on updating their twitter for facebook.
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paloe said 7:51AM on 9-07-2009
I understand not permitting players and coaches to tweet while a game is in progress, but I think the restriction on the media is anti-free speech and should not be tolerated. Coaches and players work for the NFL, they are not there to cover the game. Media is there to cover the game. I wonder how we would all feel if the NFL passed a rule that said that the media can't say anything unkind about football.
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