Black Friday every year stands for anxious customers looking for great deals and lots of secrecy from the retailers. With the current economic crisis, you would expect all of you customers out there to more than ever postpone your purchases, awaiting great deals. This year, especially digital cameras are being discounted, with the point and shoot cameras of course still being a great present. Next to the digicams, the flat screen televisions are showing really low prices.
Memory
In the memory corner, we find a really interesting priced flash drive from Sandisk. Flash drives are great for portable use, and this 8GB version allows you to carry almost 2 DVDs on a single drive. This capacity comes in handy if you want to make a backup of all your most important documents (including some photos and videos) – just make sure to store it in a safe place afterwards. The extra storage capacity also comes in handy when your notebook/netbook’s main drive is in need of some extra space – nothing unheard of these days. Priced at S14.99 during Black Friday.
However, if you really want some serious capacity added – whether this is for your desktop, your laptop or your netbook – you should look for an external hard disk drive. Depending on your hunger for Gigabytes, you might want to check out the 1TB models – providing you excellent storage per dollar. At this moment, most 1TB external hard disk drives are around or just dropping below the 100 dollar, but expect further price decreases during Black Friday. This Hitachi 1TB HDD will be priced $84,99 for example.
Blu-Ray writers & players
More and more LCD monitors are widescreen now, with many already having full HD display capability. However, that source is usually unavailable still at many PCs – most modern day PCs are still equipped with regular DVD readers/writers. Add to this that more and more people use their PC to connect to an LCD / Plasma HDTV, and it’s obvious that a blu-ray drive really is not misplaced. However, with prices of empty blu-ray media still high, many users will find a blu-ray drive that reads only sufficient for their needs. If you want to upgrade to blu-ray in your PC, have a look at this LG CH08LS10, priced at 80 bucks incl. shipping during Black Friday (save $50 compared to Newegg).
If you want to enjoy blu-ray from your sofa, blu-ray players for next to your flat screen TV are becoming more and more affordable too. Although priced not as low as many DVD players available out there, this Sony Blu-ray player is the perfect excuse for not going on expensive family trips: enjoy movies in your own cinema, with popcorn and coke still affordable for the whole family. Black Friday Price: $129.99 including Free Shipping.
Flat screen High Definition Televisions
Flat screens have seen continuous price drops throughout the years. As Randomus wrote in this news article, 32-inch LCD TVs are expected to become available for less than $400. This prediction seems to come true: we found a Sony Bravia 32” LCD TV priced at $379.99. Altough 32 inch might not be enough for many people to watch TV in their living room, price differences with larger models are substantial. If your old TV breaks down and you don’t have a lot of money to spend, 32” would be sufficient for many. And don’t forget teenagers and students who want to have their own home cinema set-up in their bedroom. People looking for a bedroom TV also might want to have a look at this 32” model of Sony.
If you’re looking for 32” but want to go full HD – for those who own a blu-ray drive or are considering switching to blu-ray – prices are more towards the $700 range. We found a 32” model of Samsung priced a bit lower. As you see more and more, this deal includes free shipping and a free wall mount. With price information becoming more and more transparent, retailers need to differentiate themselves by other means. So expect more free shipping and bonus accessories if you’re looking for the right things, and don’t be shy to ask for them.
Rumor has it that Dell will feature a 42” Sharp TV for 600 bucks during their Black Friday Deals. Specifications however, still remain sketchy at best.
Even bigger: 46” full HD LCD TVs are dropping below the $1000. So if you really want to enjoy blu-ray and you prefer LCD over plasma, this Sony Bravia KDL46S504 might be what you are looking for, expected Black Friday price $854.99.
Computers
With netbooks priced as low as they are, don’t expect to get real big discounts in money on these products during holidays. However, should you be in the market for some accessories for a netbook too, then this is something you can save some money on. Just don’t forget to be bold and ask around for the possibilities.
As for the deals: again a little something (whether that be a bird or some sort of rodent, who knows?) told us that Dell will have their new Inspiron Zino HD desktops available from $199, which is still 30 bucks less than current prices. Also, netbooks are expected to start from $249 during Black Friday, although you should expect the absolute minimal configuration for that price. Still, if money holds you back now it might be worth having a look over there on Friday.
Cameras
Really many great deals on cameras during this year’s Black Friday. We kick off with digital photo cameras. Many digital cameras that are perfect for average users are currently priced somewhere between $100 and $150. Black Friday pulls down those prices with some deals: for example, this Samsung SL30 is now available from 60 bucks incl. shipping, which is a perfect gift price.
A bit higher in the price range, we find many popular models that have Black Friday prices just below the $100 border: Sony’s DSC-W180; OLYMPUS’ FE-4000 and Nikon’s Coolpix L20.
However, should you not be in the market for the simple point and shoot cameras – have a look at this Z1485 from Kodak. Now still 200 bucks, at Black Friday it will be $ 139.98. Independent of which kind of digital camera you are shopping for, this guide by Seán is really something you must read.
Continuing to camcorders, we find a new breed of camcorders becoming more and more popular every year. Although having to compete with ever increasing camera quality of other mobile devices such as mobile phones and MP3 players, pocket-sized camcorders are really hot this year. Most popular, or at least most heard of, in this genre is the Flip Camcorder series. This year at Black Friday the Flip Mino and the Flip UltraHD come with a free accessory at the Official Flip Store. Just make sure to use the couponcode FREEACC. Kodak has a great deal too: their Zi6 or Zx1 are available for $99.95, but only on ‘Cyber Monday’ (11/30). Both capture video in HD, although there are some differences in specifications, and in looks of course.
Oh well, that’s possible of course. Nobody forces you to buy anything. Maybe you’re only just looking around. That is great too, nothing is as important as getting good info. Always remember that you not only vote during elections, but you vote every day with your wallet. Make sure to reward the best shops who have the best deals in terms of value for you. Always be critical, whether the retailer is online by sending email or calling – or whether it’s offline in your favorite electronics store. Ask around and find out what the possibilities are. Oh, and if you’re shopping for your mom and you don’t know what to get her, why not give her a photo frame – that’s always nice isn’t it? Black Friday Price: $99.95
You always look bad on photos? Your mom doesn’t like electronics? What holiday shopping are you going to do? Is Black Friday really time to start the shopping? Have you found better deals? You can share all this below in the discussion.
