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)
fastharryDOTcom said 6:07PM on 10-21-2009
Paul is Dead....
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gtmustangdave said 6:17PM on 10-21-2009
The only reason I haven't gotten the 'Beatles Rock Band' is because they refuse to release it for PS2 and for the time being (until they get the bugs worked out and the prices down) I refuse to buy the PS3.
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mikemaj82 said 6:57PM on 10-21-2009
that's because they don't appeal to the kids today and the crap music they listen to.
@gtmustangdave: what bugs? And how much more do you want them to drop the price?
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Millerson said 3:16AM on 10-22-2009
What's next? A Frank Sinatra edition of Guitar Hero? I'm amazed that it sold this many copies.
SailorKnightWing said 8:47PM on 10-21-2009
My dad bought this game for my mom for her PS3. She LOVES it, he likes it too. So do I, and I'm 22. I think the idea was to make a game that would appeal to the parents of teenagers/young adults who have the PS3s. But as far as I can tell, I'm in an extreme minority of kids who like to play video games with their parents. As much fun of a game as it is, I'm afraid they were planning for what they wanted, not what their customers wanted.
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sue said 8:52PM on 10-21-2009
Both my kids ,(in their 20s) ,are Beatles fans and we are definately getting this game to share at Christmas...of course the Beatles is pretty much all I play so I guess it kinda grew on them, though my former daughter-in-law who is from Liverpool originally , hates the Beatles and would rather listen to Eminem, probably one of the reasons she isnt my daughter-in-law any longer...LOL
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Pat said 11:54AM on 10-22-2009
#4 - Why are you surprised it's sold so well? The Beatles are the top selling act of the 21st century. You may not like them and think they are "old", but the fact is, they have sold more albums THIS century than anybody that you like, let alone last century. And this is 40 years after they broke up. It should be no surprise to anybody that this title is selling so well if they are aware of their popularity.
And this article is a very misleading title. The Beatles Rock Band is the number 2 selling game for the month of September. The only people who were "disappointed" were the analysts, who are always notoriously wrong. The number of sales are right in line with what company expectations were. The author of this article should have done research about company predictions and expectations, not some arbitrary prediction from an analyst.
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zoot said 5:55PM on 10-23-2009
The whole music game industry is down compared to last year. Guitar Hero is not doing well either. In fact, Beatles Rockband beat GH5 handily in September (in both dollar terms and sales.)
Secondly, lots of other Beatles stuff came out in September. Some people, like myself, had to choose between the Box Set(s) and the game. I ended up getting the limited Mono Box Set instead of the limited TB:RB set, and opted for just the software only.
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