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.
Comments
58
Subscribe to commentsBleuFeb 6th 2010 12:50AM
They keep fixing the things that aren't broken and they leave the stuff that needs to be fixed in a non-fiunctioning state. They should go back to the way it was a year ago.
annieFeb 6th 2010 12:54AM
facebook needs to go back to the way it was...the new design is confusing and not all people are going tobe able to figure it out!!!!
snooksFeb 6th 2010 1:04AM
I DO NOT...DO NOT LIKE THE NEW LOOK ...I CAN'T FIND ANTTHING
HeatherFeb 12th 2010 5:03PM
I definitely miss my bookmarks and notifications at the bottom AND the logoff button. I now have to go through account settings to log off AND to get to MOST of my apps (only 3 show on the main page)........I am DEFINITELY NOT liking it. Of course I, as well as many others, will just have to get use to it, but it very much sucks right now.
lynd1957Feb 6th 2010 1:18AM
I don't like the changes, but I can get used to them. The biggest complaint I have is that I now can only access my bookmarks from the home page instead of from any page I'm on, like it was before. Can't even access them from my own profile page. Seems a little lame...
grlgrnFeb 6th 2010 1:52AM
I do NOT like this new format one bit. VERY difficult to find what you need here and interact with friends. I think My Space is calling me back....WHAT were they thinking...It is taking SO long to figure any of this out...I will REFUSE to EVER click on ANY ad again. SO NO REVENUE FROM ME. Facebook will be fazing inself out and I am sure another NEW program will take its place. If its NOT broken do NOT try to mess with it. BRING BACK THE OLD FORMAT. BETTER Listen to your people who are using this site or you will be OUT OF BUSINESS
hickster73Feb 6th 2010 2:33AM
i dont like the new FB .. i liked the Home Page having Status Updates instead of News Feed ..Is there a way to change that?
rag51Feb 6th 2010 3:48AM
I HATE IT !!! PUT IT BACK FACEBOOK AND KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF ! WHY DO YOU KEEP MESSING WITH A GOOD THING?? GEEZ...
StarColorsFeb 6th 2010 3:14AM
I flippin hate the new page. It is the most ignorant looking site I have seen. At least before you could see who said what to you when you signed on. GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS.
jlkettunenFeb 6th 2010 3:29AM
As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Facebook has to keep messing things up - listen to your users - leave it alone!!
ChucklesFeb 6th 2010 3:51AM
Even with the change, it's still a lot of people saying nothing and saying it poorly.
KirakasaFeb 6th 2010 5:30AM
It sucks!
scladee210Feb 6th 2010 5:32AM
I absolutely HATE it. All they did was move one button from the left to the right and another from the right to the left. They HID the logoff button and I searched for 30 minutes for it. This accomplished nothing. And the page showing you the changes.....it looked like a child typed it....so totally unprofessional!! What in the world is going on here?? I thought it was a hacker at first, it was so ridiculous!!
dmsb.29Feb 6th 2010 5:56AM
Up to this point I like the new redesign...To me it gives a clean and fresh appearance. One thing it did was to take the notification button from the bottom right and put it to the top near the FB logo on the left. By doing so we no longer have the chat people and notifications bumping into one another...
The only thing I do not like is that when playing a game I must go back to home to change to another game. Whereas, in the past one could just click on the icon of the other game at the bottom of the page and be instantly taken to the other game. The icons are no longer there... and if someone can tell me how to do this differently I will appreciate it..
tempestrogueFeb 8th 2010 8:30AM
The worst part so far about it is that in order to reach your "bookmarked" items, you have to go back to the home page to reach them. If you comment on someones profile anything that takes you off the main page, you cant access your bookmarks....this design is crappy and not well thought out...not that facebook evidently pays attention to what its users want....keep it up facebook and you will join the ranks of myspace.
tigerbudFeb 9th 2010 8:51PM
I dont like this new set up. When i became friends with these people meant that i wanted to see all their info on my home page. What makes facebook the person to give only info they think I might want. I went into srr and found out that if i pay for faster updates then i would get my updates in a short time. i should not have to pay.
byrdtones2Feb 14th 2010 2:39PM
I just tryed to get on face book. For the first time and I got nothing but. Trouble. a lot of my friends I haven't seen in years they wanted to show me some old school pictures from back in the day. can't
confirm buddies on face book tried for ever now that's sucks thanks Facebook
angiehouniaFeb 13th 2010 12:02AM
I still cant chat with friends on Face book this is a waste of time, I thought I would use this to communicate with my Son in Brisbane but I cant even do that..maybe I need to change as well