Let's face it: this year's recession-busting Black Friday sucked, featuring a few good deals but no single blockbuster worth getting up at 2:00 am to stand in the cold. Over the weekend we still maintained a bit of hope that Cyber Monday would bring something worth getting excited about, and while right now it looks like we're set for another disappointingly bargain-free day full of nothing but work and turkey sandwiches, one deal did catch our eye. Amazon has a Nintendo DS up for just $99; that's $30 less than you'll find it elsewhere -- if you can find it elsewhere.

The catch is it's the "Limited Edition Pink Ribbon" version, and pink and white is not exactly the perfect color scheme for those about to rock. However, a deftly-placed 'AC/DC' sticker might let you feel the joy of supporting a good cause this holiday season ($5 goes to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation) while also avoiding any embarrassing taunting from thoughtless friends. [Via I4U]

Whether you or not you want to spend money this year on gifts, you can't escape the fact that the official holiday shopping season kicks off today, "Black Friday," as the day after Thanksgiving is dubbed. Retailers in every category offer significant deals on this day, and the consumer electronics industry is no exception. If you're planning on buying either yourself or someone else a computer, television, MP3 player, or other gadget, you should take a look at the various sites that highlight the latest holiday sales, as well as any newspaper circulars.

Whereas in the past, Black Friday deals were mostly reserved for the Friday after Thanksgiving itself, this year the economic downturn means that the sales are likely to last well up to Christmas and beyond.

Though some deals have already been leaked or announced, many Black Friday markdowns don't get announced until today, so here are a few online places to find out about the latest sales:

Free Stuff: Not only is Engadget offering updates on the latest Black Friday Gadget deals, but will also be giving away actual merchandise, which means you may not even have to schlep to the mall this year!

Apple Deals: The Unofficial Apple Weblog will keep you up to date on any Apple-related deals, in case you're in the market for Apple software or a new MacBook, iPod, or iPhone.

What the Biggest Retailers Are Offering: Looking for the rare sub-$1,000 50-inch plasma HDTV? Hint: You can get it at Wal-Mart, but make sure to check out Walletpop's roundup of sales at all the other big stores, from Target and Circuit City to Toys R Us and Amazon.

The Best Bargains: CNET has a good roundup of which gadgets have the best markdowns, from PlayStation 3 packages to memory cards.

All Bargains All the Time: For everything else, check out DealNews.com, which offers up-to-the-minute listings of every single online and brick-and-mortar deal on pretty much everything, including, of course, consumer electronics.

According to a report from NPD, sales of cellphones have shifted in a manner which should shock and stun even a casual observer. Apparently for the first time in years, Motorola's ubiquitous RAZR has been overtaken in consumer sales... by the iPhone 3G. This is a watershed moment for handset sales in the US, marking not only a shift away from the dominant market leader, but a turn towards more complex, full-featured devices.

The news comes hot on the heels of NPD's previous findings, which still placed the RAZR in the top spot -- though with ever-decreasing numbers. In that same report, the iPhone found itself in second place, but it appears that flagging interest in the inescapable dumbphone coupled with the recent iPhone PR blitz have put Apple's moneymaker into the top position. The news is also buoyed by recent reports that Apple has overtaken RIM as the number two smartphone vendor, and a J.D. Power study which found affection for the device waxing in the extreme.

Overall, however, handset sales fell 15 percent year-over-year, and LG managed to snag the top brand position, with two models in the top five. Still, if there already wasn't a clear indication of the market moving towards both smartphones and touchscreen devices, this should give everyone a clearer picture of both the public's wants, and the power of Cupertino's ad-men. Full PR after the break.

The times, they are a-changin'. Back in February, we found that LCD TV shipments had surpassed CRTs for the first time in history. Now, an iSuppli report on HDTV growth has shown that HDTVs overtook standard-definition televisions "as the leading TV shipped globally" in 2008. Sure, the current economic environment may put a damper on HDTV sales for the moment, but the previously mentioned research sees no sign of growth slowing in the long-term. In fact, it forecasts that HDTV unit shipments will surge to 241.2 million by 2012, up from 97.1 million units in 2007; in comparison, it reckons that just 23.1 million SDTVs will ship out in 2012. Oh, and if you're eager for even more smile-worthy news, the report also suggests that HD set-top-boxes will represent 50-percent of the overall STB market in under four years. Time will tell.

[Via InformationWeek, image courtesy of ThePoolSide]

Unafraid to incite elitist gamer geek unrest, respected video game industry analyst Michael Pachter has supported a prediction by GigaOM that Wii Fit will outsell 'Grand Theft Auto IV' this year. Yeah, you read right: the latest entry into what is arguably the biggest hardcore video game franchise around is gonna get whooped by an exercise tool -- we're not shocked, we're just laughing.

'GTA4' was dominating at first, but with time, interest has waned,while Wii Fit and its included Balance Board peripheral have stayed hot despite supply shortages. Nintendo's hardware-focused strategy seems to be working; the Balance Board install base is approaching 12 million, or roughly 30% of all Wii owners.

You can bet it'll be put to good use in future games and other, less mainstream applications even after folks have given up on losing weight and resigned themselves once more to lifelong loneliness.

Tech industry research firm Gartner has has just released its latest figures tracking the computer market, and, refreshingly, the news is good! While the rest of the economy is struggling just to avoid drowning in a sea of stagnant credit, the PC industry is soaring. According to the findings, global PC sales grew 15% since the 3rd quarter of last year.

There are a number of other interesting statistics:

• Despite a significant increase in sales, Dell's market share still shrank.
• Asus and Acer, companies that jumped on the netbook trend, saw huge growth.
• HP maintained its spot as the number one computer manufacturer worldwide.
• U.S. PC shipments grew only 4.6%.
• Netbooks accounted for 5% of PC sales

Why exactly the PC industry seems immune to the current economic downturn is not known -- maybe everyone's staying home to watch their free music and free TV shows? -- but we're sure Apple and Dell aren't complaining. [From: Gartner.com]

For the first time since it started monitoring mobile phone sales, analyst firm NPD notes a decrease in the number of handsets sold in the United States for the first quarter this year by a significant 22 percent.

The cause has less to do with a mature market than with a squeeze on the economy and consumers' buying power, the firm says. NPD estimates sales of about $2.7 billion during the first quarter of 2008, down from $2.9 billion during the same period last year.

"Cellular phone service has become a practical necessity in modern life; however, with looming economic concerns on the horizon, many consumers may be holding back on new handset purchases, especially those tied to new pre-paid plans," Rubin said.

Market share among the handset makers stayed mostly the same, with Motorola still on top with 27 percent of all units sold, although that's down from 35 percent a year ago. Rounding out the top five are Samsung at 18 percent, LG at 8 percent, Nokia at 8 percent and BlackBerry with 5 percent. Dropping out of the top five was Sanyo.

Smart phones, like BlackBerrys and Palm Treos, continue to make up more of the market, comprising 17 percent of all phone sales, but these higher priced items are often used for business, so the cost is absorbed by a company and not an individual consumer. It's these individual consumers who are causing the dip in sales overall.

Bernstein Research says the U.S. wireless industry added 23% fewer subscribers in the first quarter, compared with the year-earlier period. The slowdown started six months ago, with fewer plans being purchased for kids and by people hit hard by the fallout from the subprime meltdown.

So, does this mean we've reached the peak of cell phone adoption, and with only 1 in 6 US households having eschewed landline service altogether in favor of their wireless handsets? In our opinion, it's not likely. Between the rise of the iPhone/smart phones and the pure convenience and savings that cell phones offer, it looks like this latest sales drop is just a temporary blip on the way to the wireless future.[Source: USA Today]

No that photo is not doctored. The Toshiba HD-A2 that we reported just a few short days ago had dropped to $200 is being marked down even further at select Wal-Mart stores. Check here to see if the sale is coming to a store near you. The sale is this Friday (tomorrow) only.

Price-wise, Blu-ray's back is against the wall at this point. The fight for HD supremacy is far from over, but with the cheapest Blu-ray players coming in at almost $400, HD-DVD has scored a clear victory just in time for the holidays.

From Engadget

Related Links:

• HD-DVD Players Drop to Sub $200 Price Tag
• Headaches for Blu-ray Owners
• Xbox 360 With Built-In HD-DVD Capabilities On the Way?

Finally some good news for Sony: U.S. sales of the PlayStation 3 console rose by 21% in June and Sony itself has reported that the recent $100 price cut on the 60 GB model has resulted in a 135% sales increase over the past two weeks.

Of course, while more sales are (almost) always a good thing, it should also be noted that Sony is still trailing both of its rivals by a significant margin: Even with 98,500 PS3s sold in June, Microsoft sold more than double the number of Xbox 360s (198,400, up 28%), while Nintendo put nearly four times as many Wiis (381,800, up 13%) into consumers' hands.

From The BBC

Related Links:

• Microsoft Cuts Price of HD-DVD Drive
• Upcoming Videogames You Can't Miss

With CD sales continuing to barrel roll into oblivion, record companies are scrambling to come up with new sources of revenue. Warner Music Group is certainly one of those most affected, today announcing a $27 million second-quarter loss and 400 job cuts. In hopes of stopping the cash hemorrhage, Warner has launched a new online video unit, Den of Thieves. Lead by Jesse Ignjatovic from MTV and Warner's Evan Prager, the Los Angeles-based division will focus on creating video programming to promote Warner's artists, shows and videos on sites such as YouTube and MySpace, as well as on traditional TV.

Den of Thieves represents the latest old-guard leap onto the online video bandwagon. The NBA and MLB both offer video content for download on YouTube, iTunes or their own sites. VH1's 'Acceptable TV' is both a show and a Web site that allow users to produce their own sketches in the hopes of getting them on TV. In February, Anheuser-Busch launched Bud.TV, a sketch comedy site helmed by former SNL writers. And so on, and so on.

Whether Warner's move into online video will translate into CD sales is questionable. After all, it's likely the same tech-savvy youngsters the company is targeting are the very same people that have no qualms downloading Warner's music illegally.

From 'USA Today'

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