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!
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