Black Friday deals 2011

November 24, 2011 By Nick Mokey

We’ve rounded up the best Black Friday deals of 2011, from TVs to laptops and tablets, with our comprehensive guide to Black Friday.

While skiers flock to Aspen in January, and fly fisherman can’t wait to plant their waders in icy Montana rivers come April, it’s November and December that holds special significance for that special breed known as bargain hunters. Between manufacturers eager to bolster their numbers with strong holiday sales and retailers competing for your hard-earned dollars, the deals don’t get much better. And Black Friday represents the first day of open season and offers the best deals of the year.

Of course, if you don’t have spreadsheets plotting TV prices, bookmarked deal sites, or the patience to sort through a stack of circular ads thicker than the paper it comes rolled in, Black Friday can also represent one of the most intimidating shopping opportunities. But not one you have to miss out on. We’ve done the hard work for you and cherry picked some of the best Black Friday discounts on some of the best electronics out there. From mammoth TVs to tablets and game consoles, here are some of the hottest items to grab this year, and where to get them.

Sharp 42-inch 1080p TV (LC-42SV49U)
$199.99 at Best Buy

TV deals get more and more absurd every year, but this year’s trophy prize took even us by surprise. Besides the fact that a TV with similar specs would have been a bargain at twice the price last year, this one’s actually from a reputable brand name: Sharp. Yes, it may be the cheapest 42-inch TV Sharp offers, but you can at least count on full 1080p resolution, four HDMI inputs, and a reasonably slim cabinet about 3.5 inches deep. Confession: We bought two of Sharp’s bargain basement TVs on deep discount three years ago and we’re still watching them every day.

Asus Transformer (TF101)
$249.99 at Best Buy

The $200 Kindle Fire seems to have poked the air right out off a lot of competing tablets, but the Asus Transformer still holds its own at this price, which sinks $150 below retail for Black Friday. Yes, it’s still $50 more than the Fire, but the screen is 10 inches instead of 7, you get 16GB of storage instead of 8GB, and it still runs a fast dual-core processor. That’s not to even mention the Transformer’s unique keyboard accessory that plugs in and effectively turns it into a laptop (you can grab it for $99.99 the same day at Best Buy).

Xbox 360 4GB Game System
$139.99 at Target

Last chance: If you don’t own an Xbox 360 yet, it’s not going to get much cheaper than this. Although the game system may be showing some age (rumors claim we’ll have our first glimpse of the “Xbox 720” just weeks after Christmas) it’s still immensely popular with gamers and even works as a great set-top box to watch Netflix, Hulu Plus, and downloaded files from your computer on your TV. Other retailers are offering the Xbox 360 for $150 or $200 with a free game, making Target the best place to snag one this year, but if you find yourself somewhere else, it’s probably not worth the $10 savings to run across town.

Lenovo dual-core AMD laptop (G575-438343U)
$179.99 at Best Buy

We really prefer a notebook with an Intel Core Series processor for the sake of battery life, but for $179.99, this little guy is hard to beat for anyone on a budget. Less than two Benjamin’s buys you a 15.6-inch display, 2GB of RAM, and 250GB hard drive. Bare bones? Absolutely, but you would be looking at a lot less on a comparably priced netbook, which means this Lenovo is a no brainer unless portability is a concern.

Toshiba Core i3 Laptop (L755-S5366)
$399.99 at Office Depot

Looking to spend a little more on a laptop with some kick? Here’s your best bet. The Core i3 series processor from Intel has always been a little dynamo, and now that it’s in its second generation, battery life gets even better and the integrated graphics even hold their own in some older games. Don’t fall for the $389.99 HP model at OfficeMax – it’s last year’s Core i3. The L755-S5366 boasts a 15.6-inch display, 6GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Staples offers a 14-inch Core i3 laptop from HP for the same price with less RAM (4GB) and more hard drive space (640GB), which may be a worthwhile tradeoff if you’re looking for something more portable.

Samsung U55D6000 LED HDTV
$1,099.99 at Sears

It may not come with all the frills of the Samsung D8000 we reviewed back in October, but for this price, the 55-inch Samsung D6000 is one of the best deals out there on Black Friday. It offers a wafer-thin chassis just over an inch deep, LED backlighting, Clear Motion 240, and even Samsung’s full Smart TV suite, which means built-in access to YouTube, Netflix and more. Considering it normally retails for no lower than $1,500, the $400 savings might be one of the best reasons to brave the cold this year.

[Update: Best Buy and a number of other retailers have dropped their prices on this TV to the same price, seemingly in response to the Sears Black Friday Deal. No more need to wait in the cold! Check Google Shopping for a rundown. Thanks to DT reader Kurt for the heads up.]

PlayStation 3
$199.96 at Wal-Mart

Yes, it’s only $50 cheaper than usual, but at least you’ll walk home with an armload of freebies if you buy your PlayStation 3 on Black Friday. That includes a DualShock 3 wireless controller, LittleBigPlanet 2 Special Edition, Ratchet and Clank All 4 One, and a 30-day PlayStationPlus membership. If you don’t want to fight the crowds at Wal-Mart, a number of other retailers, including Sears and Target, offer the same package.

Apple iPod Touch with free $50 gift card
$199.99 at Toys R Us

You’re never going to find new Apple products on deep discount. Sorry. Just be happy that you can snag a $50 Toys R Us gift card with a regularly priced iPod on Black Friday when you pick it up at Toys R Us. If you want to raise Junior in a dual-OS household, put it toward a 7-inch Android 2.2 tablet or netbook from Sylvania, which you can get for $74.99 at the same store. Looking for a gift card that’s a little easier to spend? Target has the iPod Touch for $195 with a smaller $40 gift card.

Toshiba Smart Blu-ray Disc Player
$39.99 at Best Buy

Whether you’ve been waiting in your bunker to see whether this newfangled Blu-ray technology takes off, or you just need another Blu-ray player for the bedroom, you really can’t beat $39.99 for a Blu-ray player. Toshiba’s BDX2150 plays Blu-ray plus CinemaNow, Netflix, and Pandora. Just be forewarned: Toshiba’s rather misleading marketing calls the player “Wi-Fi ready” without making it overly apparent that you’ll need to fork out $49.99 for a USB adapter to make it happen. If you need Wi-Fi, you might be better off spending more for one with it built in. [Thanks to DT reader John for the clarification]

Since new Black Friday deals always seem to pop out of the woodwork as the day draws closer, check back for updates as we keep our ears to the ground for new deals!

Showing 25 comments

Chris Hammer at 5:46pm 28th November 2011 Can somebody tell me where I can find an official ad for the 42 inch sharp tv so that I can bring it into sears for price matching?
90 people in Indonesia injured in line for BlackBerry Bold 9790 at 4:01pm 25th November 2011 [...] people passed out in the mob, and at least three people suffered broken bones.If you thought local Black Friday deals were good, you need to go to Indonesia. A crowd of over 1,000 people formed outside an [...]
The best Black Friday deals of 2011 « News Hub Today at 12:12pm 24th November 2011 [...] Via [...]
Tom Bab at 11:05am 24th November 2011 Online black friday sales are definitely the way to go this year. Avoid big lines and be rewarded by bigger discounts online. I have some friends in the online retail space that say to watch out for the last minute and early black friday sales. Hint, keep a watch for the midnight deals online. If you aren't a night owl, make sure you drink plenty of coffee!
1. Joe Hoyle at 12:11pm 24th November 2011 Yeah, was it last year where Amazon had some crazy deals on XBOXs and WIIs or something. I remember trying to get one online and they sold out in about 1 - 2 seconds. Probably just a publicity stunt with only about 5 up for grabs though. I can only think if it were a sale in a store - people would have killed to get their hands on one. Online is much safer!
2. Tom Bab at 12:15pm 24th November 2011 bit.ly/blkfrdy11
Rick Mouer at 9:20am 24th November 2011 If you are due an upgrade on your phone, Verizon is offering the IPOD for $50.00 on Black Friday.
mtahbaz at 2:19pm 22nd November 2011 I'm thinking of buying the Panasonic 46" Plasma TV from Best Buy's black friday deals. Its $399.99. What do you think? Is it better than the Sharp 42" one for $199.99? The model number is TC-P46X3.
1. Nick Mokey at 2:24pm 22nd November 2011 It's not really a bad deal, my main concern would be the 720p resolution. At that size, you're really better off with 1080p if at all possible. Depends on what you plan to use it for, though: If you just want to play Wii and watch DVDs, 720p is fine.
  1. mtahbaz at 2:29pm 22nd November 2011 Its for the bedroom and is just for watching TV, Verizon FIOS cable TV. Is this a better TV than the Sharp one?
    Nick Mokey at 2:41pm 22nd November 2011 Hard to say without seeing them side by side, but I would wager the Panasonic will deliver much bolder color and better brightness, even if the resolution is lower. The cheapest plasmas still seem to outdo the cheapest LCDs in that department, if you ask me.
jaymcee at 10:20pm 21st November 2011 I would say Best Buy has a much better deal for the 360 for $200, it comes with 2 great games(Fable 3 and Halo:Reach), a 250GB HDD compared to targets 4GB (don't know who that would last for and to get a bigger HDD would be another $40+ separately) and you get 3 months of Xbox Live Gold, which(unless it has changed and I didn't hear of) you need to watch Netflix and possibly Hulu Plus.
Kurt Metcalfe at 9:30pm 21st November 2011 Is my comment not posting about best buy and the 55" Samsung LED?
1. Kurt Metcalfe at 9:32pm 21st November 2011 Best Buy is selling the 55D6000 for $1100 right now. Now waiting in line needed. Why is it such a deal at sears?
  1. Kurt Metcalfe at 9:32pm 21st November 2011 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+55%22+Class/+LED+/+1080p+/+120Hz+/+HDTV/2127504.p?id=1218310363690&skuId=2127504
    Nick Mokey at 11:48am 22nd November 2011 Good catch, Kurt. Looks like Best Buy and a number of other retailers including Crutchfield and B&H Photo have dropped their prices on the D6000 in response to the Black Friday ads, the article has been updated!
angrybats at 6:32pm 21st November 2011 That's parents that don't work not the rating systems.
russianbear303 at 2:49pm 21st November 2011 I beg to differ on the battery life comment regarding the $179 Lenovo laptop. If you do just a little bit of research, you will find that the dual-core "APU" that is in the laptop not only gives you longer battery life than the competing Intel chip but you will get about 2x the graphics performance on top of that! The AMD E-series chip is along the lines of what a Pentium chip is from Intel...however, AMD Graphics are FAR superior to Intel's integrated graphics...don't believe me? Look it up!!!
gadde at 2:29pm 21st November 2011 According to manufacturer's and bestbuy's sites, the BDX2150 does not have built-in wi-fi. Just wi-fi ready, meaning you will need to buy an adapter which may cost $60 - $70.
SimmerE14 at 12:16pm 21st November 2011 You forgot about the "Super Mario 3D Land" and "Limited Edition The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D" Nintendo 3DS bundles :D
Jeff Hughes at 8:38pm 17th November 2011 You're right, I do need an Xbox already. Thanks
Mike Marra at 8:22pm 17th November 2011 Can you add the links to where the deals were found? Thx.
1. Nick Mokey at 8:32am 18th November 2011 Hey Mike,A number of sites host "leaked" ads before they hit the actual papers. A few of my personal favorites: http://bfads.net/ http://www.theblackfriday.com/ http://www.blackfriday.info/
  1. JasonB at 11:33am 22nd November 2011 I'm Jason not John...=). Unless a John beat me to it.
    Nick Mokey at 11:35am 22nd November 2011 Actually John did by only a couple minutes! Happy to have so many astute readers, though, thanks again for the correction.