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.
You we can't help it so here we go -- we're off to see the 'Wizard' on Blu-ray this week as one of the all time classics is released in HD, but other than that there isn't much to get excited about. Sure if you like TV shows you might be interested in the latest seasons of 'The Unit' or 'How I Met Your Mother' and like usual there are plenty of other catalogs to help complete your collection, but most can keep waiting for the Summer blockbusters to open their wallets. 
There's only one thing to call this week and that's Star Trek week. Sadly, of the six 'Star Trek' Blu-ray Discs being released this week, the one we are really waiting for isn't included -- that's okay though as it'll probably take you that long to watch all of these. Universal evidently isn't out of catch up titles yet as it releases two more worth watching with 'Hot Fuzz' and 'Shaun Of The Dead.' The SciFi week is rounded out with the 'Terminator' TV Show which we still can't believe made it an entire season.
This post gets harder and header to write each week. We mean what is there really to say about a few old catalogs and a few TV shows. It's not that we don't think anyone is going to get excited about the latest season of 'Smallville' on Blu-ray, it's just that we don't get excited about it. That's okay though as there is plenty left to watch in our queue as we wait for the fall, which not only brings with it lots of great new movies on Blu-ray, but new HDTV shows and football as well.
Another week closer to Fall and another week of so, so releases on Blu. Again this week we're excited about at least one catalog title, and the one this week is extra special. In fact we can't imagine growing up without seeing 'The Last Starfighter' and can't wait to see it in HD for the first time ever. Other than that though, we probably going to pass on everything else this week, but maybe we'll rent 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' for the wife -- on second though, she'd probably make us what it with her, so scratch that.
Up this week is a big ol' slew of TV shows and catalogs, but that's ok because we're very excited to see the first season of our favorite shows on Blu-ray: 'Lost.' But as much as we love it, we're still waiting on the super all inclusive complete season box set, and since it'll probably cost a small fortune, we'll be saving up in the meantime. That isn't the only great show coming to Blu-ray this week either, as 'Burn Notice' Season Two also comes out, and if you haven't checked out the best action show on TV since the 'A-Team,' you need to go ahead and at least add the first disc to your queue. The last one we'll mention because we loved it so much was 'John Adams,' and we'll just say that we wish our teachers in school made history this interesting.
What an easy week to decide which new releases is the most anticipated as 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' finally goes Blu. Although that is the biggest title, Paramount didn't stop there as it released the second season of the hot TV show 'Dexter' as well as some all time classics like 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' and 'Grease.' Sony has a few catalogs this week as well, but nothing we're really excited about. There is plenty to get excited about next week though, between all the 'Star Trek' movies and classics like 'Fargo' and -- our personal favorite -- 'The Good, the Bad And the Ugly,' there really is something for everyone. 
There's little doubt that the best title this week is 'Slumdog Miliionaire,' after all it did winner Best Picture. But this is also a week of classics -- and we aren't using that word loosely here either -- as Fox has 'South Pacific' (1958) and Warner has 'Gigi' (1958) and 'An American in Paris' (1951). Also of note is the 10th anniversary edition of 'The Matrix', which more importantly is the first time the title has been offered outside of the pricey box set. The other title really worth looking out for is 'Seven Pounds' from Sony, but we'll warn you, this isn't the normal Will Smith action movie.
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
