GPS: Deals and advice for last-minute holiday shoppers

If you're still shopping for a portable GPS navigation unit to give as a special holiday gift, there's some good news. Our colleagues who cover Cars for ConsumerReports have unearthed some great last-minute deals. But with Christmas less than 10 days away, you'll have to hurry—especially if you want to take advantage cheap (or even "free") shipping from online retailers such as Amazon.

For more details, check out, "Road map to the best last-minute GPS deals."

Some other resources to help you:

• A closer look at the Navigon 5100 GPS
• ConsumerReports' latest Ratings of GPS units
• GPS info on ConsumerReports' Cars blog
• GPS info on ConsumerReports' Electronics blog

For buying advice, check out "How to buy the right GPS navigation device for the holidays." Or if you have Macromedia Flash software installed, you can watch our free online video in the player below. Just click on the "play" (arrow) button to start. (If you don't see the player embedded in this post, click here to watch our video.)

—Paul Eng

Low-priced Sony Bravia LCD TVs at Wal-mart and Target

Is it a good buy?

Sony Bravia LCD TVs have earned a reputation for fine performance, and our tests of many of those models have borne that out. But the brand's high profile generally comes with a high price tag. Some of the Bravia sets—typically the most feature-rich—are among the priciest in their size. (ConsumerReports.org subscribers can verify that by just looking through our latest Ratings of LCD TVs.)

Given that reputation, you might not expect to find the Sony Bravia name showing up at Wal-Mart and Target. But there it is. Both chains are selling the Sony KDL-32ML130 at relatively low-prices for a 32-inch Bravia LCD TV. At Target (and via Amazon), the set is selling at Sony's list price of $797. But at Wal-mart's Web site, it's $767.

We decided to take a look at one of these sets to see if it lives up to its family heritage. We're still testing the LCD TV and hope to have more details available soon on ConsumerReports.org soon. But here's what we know so far:

It doesn’t have all the features you'd find on higher-priced Bravia sets, but it does offer fine picture quality, according to our preliminary tests. It did very well for black level, color, and fine detail. The viewing angle was decent—typical for most LCDs, meaning the picture changes slightly when you're off center, in this case losing some contrast.

We were less impressed with the sound, which seemed a bit muffled, but it should be fine for typical TV programming.

The menu is more basic than on many sets, but that actually makes it easier to get around. Among the features it lacks are RGB controls for fine-tuning color, but given the fine color accuracy, that's not a serious omission.

All in all, it's a good buy. If you want better audio quality, additional features, and a wider viewing angle as well as high-quality video performance, check out Panasonic's TC-32LX700 ($950).

More information about the Panasonic set, as well as full access to our latest LCD TV Ratings, is available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers only. But we'll have more information about the 32-inch Sony Bravia KDL-32ML130 LCD TV set up on our site soon.

GPS: The deals on Cyber Monday, and beyond

If you missed the Black Friday deals on portable GPS navigation systems, there's still some hope—online. If you're still shopping for one of the hottest gadgets for this holiday season, our automotive colleagues at Consumer Reports have uncovered the latest Black Friday-like bargains that can still be found on the Web. Check out their latest post, Cyber Monday deals on GPS navigation systems, on the Consumer Reports Cars blog.

And for more advice on GPS and portable navigations systems:

• How to choose portable GPS navigation systems
• Video: How to buy a portable GPS device
• Product close-up: Magellan Maestro 4050
• Latest GPS units unveiled
• Consumer Reports Ratings of GPS units (available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers)
• Beware of GPS thieves breaking into your car

—Paul Eng

HDTVs: Best Black Friday Specials

To help you get the best TV at the best price the day after Thanksgiving, we've scoured countless Black Friday circulars, websites, and online forums to find the best deals available.

You may want to begin your shopping before Friday if you have time. As we've noted, a number of retailers have already jump-started Black Friday with pre-holiday specials—like a $99 price for Toshiba’s HD-A2 HD DV, an offer that was immediately matched by Best Buy, and Sears' $770 price on a 42-inch Hitachi "1080" (1280x1080) plasma (model P42H401). Other such deals may crop up before the doors open on Friday; check retailers' websites.

Without further ado, here are our best Black Friday deals on HDTVs. We list only brands that have had one or more recommended models in our Ratings over the past year, though untested models, of course, may differ. In some cases, as noted, we've tested the model, and comment on its performance. (Note: Our test results and comments on those models are accessible only to ConsumerReports.org subscribers. Click here to subscribe and get instant access to that detailed information, as well as to our latest LCD TV Ratings, plasma TVs Ratings, rear-projection TV Ratings and Ratings for front projectors.)

LCD HDTVs

• Olevia 32-inch LCD (no model listed) for $420 at Kmart
• Vizio 32-inch LCD (VXLHDTV32) for $599 at Sears
• Olevia 37-inch LCD (537H) for $600 (a tested model, image above, that we recommend) at CompUSA
• Olevia 37-inch LCD (237T) for $549 at Target
• Vizio 37-inch LCD (unspecified model) for $600 at BJ's
• Sharp 42-inch 720p LCD (LC-42D43U, a larger sibling to a 37-inch Sharp that performed decently in our tests) for $800 at Circuit City
• Olevia 42-inch LCD (242T) for $700 at MicroCenter and BJ's (unspecified model)
• Sharp 46-inch 1080p LCD (LC-46D64U) for $1,300 at Circuit City
• Sony 46-inch Bravia LCD TV for $1,500 at Sears. LCD sets from Sony have consistently been among the best performers in our tests.
• Olevia 47-inch 1080p LCD for $1,000 at BJ's
• Westinghouse 47-inch 1080p LCD TV (TX-47F430S, a tested model with very good picture quality) for $1,300 at Best Buy
• LG 47-inch 1080p LCD TV (47LC7DF) for $1,500 at CompUSA
• Vizio 52-inch LCD TV (unnamed model) at Sam’s Club for $1,889
• Sharp 52-inch 1080p LCD (LC-52D64U) for $2,200 at Circuit City

Plasma HDTVs

We saw a lot of deals on Panasonic models. Though we have not tested all of the sets on special, models from this brand have consistently been among the best in our tests.

• Panasonic TH-42PE7U 42-inch 720p plasma for $900 at Best Buy
• Panasonic 42-inch TH-42PX75U 720p plasma (its 50-inch sibling was a CR Best Buy) for $1,000 at CircuitCity
• Panasonic 50-inch 720p plasma (unspecified model) for $1,200 at MicroCenter.
• Panasonic 720p 58-inch plasma (unspecified model) $500 off at Costco

Other good deals in plasmas:

• LG 42-inch 720p plasma (42PC5D, a CR recommended model) for $900 at Sears
• Philips 50-inch 720p plasma (unspecified model) for at Wal-Mart for $1,398
• Samsung 50-inch 720p plasma (HP-T5044) for $1,300 at CompUSA ($100 cheaper than Best Buy, Circuit City, or Sears)
• Vizio 50-inch 720p plasma (unnamed model) for $1,000 at Costco

Rear-projection HDTVs

• Mitsubishi 65-inch 1080p DLP rear-projection HDTV (WD-65733, a follow-up to a discontinued model) for $1,500 at Best Buy

It's likely that many retailers will follow Black Friday promotions with still more sales. If you don't get the deal you're looking for, keep checking our Electronics Blog, ConsumerReports.org site and others for new deals, additional promotional events, and online specials as we get closer to Christmas. And next year, it will likely pay to start checking for Black Friday bargains two weeks before the actual holiday.

—James K. Willcox

GPS: The best deals on Black Friday

Black Friday may hold many surprises for eager bargain-hunters this year. We've previously covered some of these anticipated "door busters"—the outrageous deals in consumer electronics that retailers hope will woo you to come and shop at ungodly hours on the day after Thanksgiving.

Still, if you're looking for a GPS unit one of the hottest items this holiday season), our colleagues who cover Cars for Consumer Reports have brought together all their latest information on GPS units and scoured circulars for the best sales prices on standout devices. Check out their post on Best GPS deals for Black Friday.

Of course, if you're looking for more Black Friday and other gift-buying-related info, check out:

• Hot HDTV deals
• The latest deals in Electronics
• Consumer Reports: 201 Best Gifts for the Holidays
• Consumer Reports' Shopping Blog

And our Electronics Blog will have the latest news, deals, and tips throughout the 2007 holiday season. So, check back often. Better yet, subscribe using our blog's free RSS feed and you never miss a thing! (For more information about RSS, see this link to Mozilla and Firefox or this Google search on "What is RSS?")

—Paul Eng

PCs: Best Black Friday Specials

The end of the year is the peak period for computer sales. Computer makers and dealers are jumpstarting this run by offering Black Friday and holiday discounts of hundreds of dollars each on select brand-name laptop and desktop PCs. In some cases, they're sweetening offers by throwing in a printer or digital camera.

• Most offers we found online and in flyers were accompanied by fine print stating that supplies were limited.
  
• Some listed the minimum number of discounted computers available in each local store. Don't expect to find those machines unless you're at the store when it opens.
  
• Not all offers were easily found at the company's site; some were promoted primarily through flyers.

Here are some outlets and select Black Friday specials:

Best Buy

eMachines desktop (Celeron 420), 1GB RAM, 160GB HD, 17-inch LCD, with a Canon all-in-one color printer, $199.97. Though we’ve never tested this particular model, its specs fit our criteria for a budget desktop, save for a relatively slow CPU.

Toshiba Satellite A135-S7403 15.4-inch laptop (Celeron M processor 530), 512MB RAM, 80GB HD, with Canon Pixma MP210 all-in-one photo printer, $229 We've recommended the A135 in the past, though Toshiba has since downgraded some of its specs. If you buy this version, we'd recommend upgrading its RAM.

Related information:

• Consumer Reports' Shopping Blog
• Hot HDTV deals for the Holidays
• Best Holiday deals for consumer electronics
• ConsumerReports.org: How to buy a computer
• Latest Ratings of desktop PCs (available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers only)
• Latest Ratings of notebooks and laptops (available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers only)
  

Wal-Mart Black Friday Ads Lack Last Year’s Fireworks

After weeks of speculation, Wal-Mart unveiled its Black Friday ad early this morning, and while it isn’t short on great buys—including, for example, a sub-$800 42-inch 1080p LCD and a sub-$1,400 50-inch 720p plasma—it seemed to lack the punch of last year’s promotion, which triggered severe price drops on a highly rated Panasonic 42-inch plasma HDTV.

This year, TV promotions are centered largely on models from Polaroid, a secondary brand whose models haven’t done particularly well in CR’s HDTV Ratings. For example, as part of a Friday-only, 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. doorbuster sale, Wal-Mart is offering a 42-inch 1080p Polaroid LCD TV for $798, while a 32-inch 720p Polaroid LCD TV is priced at $448. Other TV deals good only during that time include a $448 26-inch Polaroid LCD TV/DVD combo, and a $198 Emerson LCD TV.

For those looking a set from a major brand, Wal-Mart has a 50-inch Philips 720p plasma for $1,397, a $1,196 46-inch 720p LCD model from RCA, a 37-inch Sanyo LCD TV for $847, and a 32-inch Samsung LCD set for $796. While we don’t know the specific models, Samsung has consistently been one of the top-rated LCD brands, and Philips’ plasma models have typically been very good. LCD models from RCA and Sanyo haven’t done quite as well, although both have been solid performers that are often good values.

Other electronics sale items include:

• a $198 Panasonic DVD camcorder
• a $145 Magnavox DVD recorder
• a $30 Magnavox upconverting DVD player
• a $50 8-inch portable DVD player from an unspecified brand
• a $129 Garmin StreetPilot c330 portable GPS
• a $199 8.1-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S51 digital camera
• a $149 Polaroid 8-megapixel camera and 6-inch digital photo frame bundle
• a $50 8-inch digital photo frame from Venturer
• a $119 HP digital camera (5megapixel) and printer bundle
• a $398 Compaq Presario desktop PC with 1GB of memory and a 17-inch monitor
• and a choice of either a 15.4-inch AMD Turion-powered notebook PC or an Athlon-powered desktop PC with a 19-inch widescreen monitor—both from Dell—for $598.

In addition to these advertised specials, Wal-Mart says it will have “secret” in-store specials for both Friday and Saturday, which will be revealed on the walmart.com website on Thanksgiving day. The chain’s Black Friday specials are good only while supplies last, and a disclaimer mentions that brands could vary by store.

—James K. Willcox

Black Friday HDTV Deals from CompUSA, Staples

Black Friday ads leaked for computer chains CompUSA and Staples show that both stores will have a select number of TV deals available during special limited-hour in-store sales events.

CompUSA is running a two-day pre-Thanksgiving sale this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 16 and 17), during which you can get a 50-inch Zenith plasma HDTV (Z50PX2D) for $1,000 and a 19-inch Envision LCD monitor for $140.

The store will open on Thanksgiving for just three hours, from 9:00 p.m. until midnight, then reopen at 5 a.m. on Friday morning. Specials include the 37-inch Olevia 537H LCD TV for $600; this model did very well in our tests. Other electronics deals include a $500 Athlon-based HP notebook PC with 2GB of RAM, a 22-inch Envision widescreen LCD PC monitor for $150, a $45 7-inch digital photo frame, a $60 7-inch portable DVD player, and a $148 Magellan Maestro 3100 GPS.

On Black Friday, TV deals from CompUSA include a 47-inch 1080p LCD TV from LG Electronics for $1,500 after a $500 instant savings. While we haven’t tested this model, the LG 47LC7DF, another 47-inch LG 1080p TV did very well. A 26-inch LG LCD TV will cost $600 after $150 instant savings, and Sharp’s 46-inch 1080p LC-46D64U LCD set will cost $1,700 after $800 instant savings. Samsung TV deals include the 50-inch HP-T5044 plasma for $1,300—$100 less than at Best Buy's or Circuit City's Black Friday sales. We haven’t tested this particular model, but Samsung plasma TVs have consistently done very well in our tests. Samsung’s 46-inch LN-T4661F, CR’s top-rated 1080p LCD TV, will be $2,000.

You’ll have to be an early bird to get a deal at Staples’ sale, which runs from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Friday. If supplies last, you could walk away with an unspecified 42-inch LCD TV for $800, while a 32-inch model is $450. Both sets appear to be Envision models.

Other Staples deals include a $350 Intel-powered Compaq notebook computer with 1GB of RAM and a 17-inch Acer LCD monitor for $90.

—James K. Willcox

Plasma TVs on Black Friday: How Low Can You Go?

A sneak preview of the Black Friday circulars from the largest electronics retailers shows that plasma TVs will once again be at the center of promotional activity this Thanksgiving weekend. And you won’t have to settle for a little-known off-brand to get a great deal: Leading the Black Friday charge are sub-$1,000 42-inch plasmas from Panasonic, consistently one of our top-rated brands.

Best Buy, for example, is offering Panasonic’s TH-42PE7U model at a doorbuster special price of only $900. We couldn’t find that model number within Panasonic’s model listings (apparently it’s a Black Friday special made especially for Best Buy), but Panasonic plasma TVs in our Ratings have been top-notch. If you venture to Circuit City for its six-hour special, you’ll see the TH-42PX75U—the smaller sibling of a CR Best Buy model—for $1,000.

If you want to buy either of these plasma sets, plan to be among the first in line when the stores open at 5:00 a.m. on Friday. Best Buy says it will have at least 15 sets per store, while Circuit only states that quantities are limited. Neither chain will offer rainchecks or substitutions on promotional items like these.

You won’t be disappointed if you’re looking for a bigger screen. At both Circuit City and Best Buy, the 50-inch Samsung HPT5044 plasma set will be $1,400, while a 50-inch Zenith (Z50P3) will be only $1,000. We haven’t tested this particular Samsung, but its plasma TVs have consistently done very well in our tests. We haven’t tested any Zenith plasmas.

LCD sets will be well-represented in the stores as well. Among the sale items you’ll find at Circuit City are the Sharp 46-inch LC-46D64U, a 720p set, for $1,300 and the 52-inch LC-52D64U with 1080p resolution for $2,200. (All TVs mentioned in this blog are 720p unless specified as 1080p.) Several LCD sets from Sharp, one of the biggest names in LCDs, have done very well in our recent Ratings, though others—especially older sets—have been middling.

[11.15.07 Update: As pointed out in the comments below, the Sharp LC-46D64U is a 1080p set.-Ed.]

Here are some additional HDTV deals at Circuit City for Black Friday:
• a 42-inch Sharp LCD (LC-42D43U, Sharp’s budget line) for $800
• a 32-inch Sharp LCD HDTV (LC-32SH12U) for $600
• a 40-inch Polaroid LCD (PLD 4011-TLXB) $700 (Polaroid has been a lower-rated brand in our tests)
• a 32-inch Element LCD TV, $400
• a 50-inch Samsung SlimDLP rear-projection HDTV (HL-T5075S), $800 (Samsung has been one of the better-rated rear-projection TV brands)
• a 65-inch Toshiba rear-projection DLP set for $1,500 (Toshiba has been a top-rated rear-projection brand in our tests)

In other deals, Circuit City will be offering a Samsung Blu-ray player (BDP-1400) for $378, a $180 JVC MiniDV camcorder, a $100 Mio portable GPS, and $300 Compaq Pentium notebook PC with 1GB of RAM and a free printer and router, and $230 Acer Pentium D desktop PC with a 17-inch LCD.

Here are some additional Black Friday HDTV deals being offered at Best Buy:

• a 47-inch Westinghouse 1080p LCD (TX-47F430S) for $1,300 (a CR-tested model, this one has very good overall picture quality)
• a 42-inch HP 1080p LCD (LC4276N) for $997 (a low-rated CR model)
• a 37-inch Dynex LCD for $630
• a 32-inch Philips LCD (32PFL5332D) for $600
• a 26-inch Magnavox LCD TV/DVD combo $480
• a 65-inch Mitsubishi 1080p DLP rear-projection HDTV (WD-65733) for $1,500 (we recently tested a step-up model, the WD-65734, which did very well).

Other electronics deals include:
• a $200 Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD player (with 7 free movies)
• a $400 Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-ray player (with 7 free movies)
• a $150 Panasonic MiniDV camcorder (PV-GS80)
• a $400 Sony notebook computer with a 15.3-inch screen, 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive
• a $200 eMachines Celeron desktop PC with a 17-inch monitor, 1GB of RAM and a free a Canon all-in-one color printer
• a $400 Compaq Pentium desktop computer with a 17-inch widescreen monitor and Canon all-in-one color printer
• a $120 TomTom One LE GPS
• a $75 Samsung 1080p upconverting DVD player
• a $99 500-watt 5.1-channel Sony receiver
• a $200 300-watt Harmon Kardon 5.1-channel 1080p receiver

As always, we’ll continue looking out for the best deals on our best-rated HDTVs.

—James K. Willcox

Digital photo frames, portable GPS join TVs as Black Friday doorbusters

TV deals on Black Friday generally garner the most attention, but the latest Black Friday ads on sites such as www.gottadeal.com and www.theblackfriday.com show that digital photo frames and handheld GPS devices are also being singled out for star treatment.

The best deals we’ve seen—so-called “doorbuster specials”—generally occur in the early-morning hours (typically starting at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m.) and last for several hours. The sale items are generally offered in limited quantities, which could be as few as 10 per store. Make sure you read the fine print in the ads to see if there’s a chance you can actually get one of these deals, especially if you’re not one of the apparently large number of people willing to camp out overnight to ensure a good place in line.

That said, here are some of the latest Black Friday leaks we’ve seen. It’s quite possible that these and other stores will add more late-breaking deals and web-only specials as we get closer to the Black Friday period.

Target
Target is closed on Thanksgiving, but it’s holding a two-day sale starting bright and early Friday morning and continuing on Saturday. Among the deals being offered: a 37-inch Olevia LCD TV (237T) for $549, a 22-inch Westinghouse flat-panel LCD computer monitor (LCM22W3) for $167, and a 19-inch TruTech widescreen LCD TV (PLV31199S1) with a built-in DVD player and PC inputs for $199.

Other deals include an Audiovox kitchen LCD TV with integrated DVD player for $199, an Audiovox portable DVD player with a 10-inch flip-down screen for $84, Magellan’s Maestro 3100 auto GPS system for $149, and a Magnavox 5-disc DVD home theater system with USB for $79. Also on sale is a TruTech 7-inch digital photo frame for $49, a Polaroid video camcorder for $69, and Kodak’s 8-megapixel MD853 digital camera for $89.

The store opens at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Kmart
Kmart’s Black Friday deals actually kick off on Thanksgiving Day. The store will be offering a 32-inch Olevia LCD TV (no model number specified) for $420, a 20-inch Sylvania LCD TV for $135, and a 20-inch Sylvania combination LCD TV/DVD/VCR for $250. Kmart is also advertising a 27-inch RCA TV model for $230, which appears to be a standard-def CRT model. Another blast from the past is a JVC VHS-C camcorder for $120.

Other items of note: Magellan’s Maestro 3100 GPS for $130 ($19 less than at Target), a $40 Nextar digital photo frame, an 8-megapixel Polaroid digital camera (A801) for $80, and Microsoft’s Zune MP3 players for $150 (4GB model and $200 (8GB model). The Zune players come with a $20 Kmart gift card.

The store’s hours on Thanksgiving are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Some specials are available only on Thursday.

H.H. Gregg
Befitting its status as a consumer electronics dealer, H.H. Gregg’s Black Friday circular is chock-full of CE specials. We counted 14 TV deals, including some on major brands such as Hitachi, JVC, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba. Most ads don’t specify model numbers. Among the Friday-only specials: a Hitachi 50-inch plasma for $1,000 and a $600 37-inch 720p LCD set from an unspecified brand. There will be a total of 500 company-wide of each sale item, and prices are good only while supplies last (no rain checks).

The chain is closed on Thanksgiving but kicks off Friday morning with a 5:00 a.m. opening. Advertised doorbuster specials include a 19-inch LCD TV for $189, a $45 7-inch digital photo frame, a Jensen portable GPS for $100, a $10 progressive-scan DVD player from GPX, and a $150 DVD camcorder from Samsung. There will be limited quantities of each per store.

Less dramatic savings will be offered on major-brand TVs. For example, a 37-inch Sony Bravia will be priced at $800, while different 46-inch Sony Bravia 1080p LCDs will carry price tags of $1,040 and $1,600. Toshiba is well represented in the circular, with a 52-inch 1080p Regza LCD priced at $2,200, a 42-inch 1080p Regza for $1,250, and a pair of 32-inch Regza models, with different features, for $700 and $800. A 50-inch 720p Toshiba DLP rear-projection HDTV will sell for $900.

Other notable TV deals include:
• 42-inch JVC 720p LCD for $900
• 47-inch 1080p JVC for $1,500
• 52-inch 1080p Mitsubishi LCD TV for $2,400
• 65-inch 1080p Mitsubishi rear-projection DLP for $1,700
• 73-inch 1080p Mitsubishi rear-projection DLP for $2,500
• 50-inch 720p Panasonic plasma for $1,400
• 50-inch 1080p Samsung plasma for $2,400
• 58-inch 1080p Samsung plasma for $3,360
• and a 52-inch Sharp Aquos with 120Hz technology for $2,800.

Several other retailers have announced Black Friday specials. Costco, for example, will have a 26-inch Magnavox LCD/DVD HDTV combo for $500 and a 42-inch Magnavox 1080p LCD HDTV for $1,000. The store is also lopping $300 off the price of Sharp’s 46-inch 1080p Aquos LCD HDTV. OfficeMax will have a dual-core Acer Aspire PC—with 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and a 20-inch widescreen LCD monitor—for $600. Also on tap are an $80 8.5-inch digital photo frame from Mustek, an $80 6.2-megapixel Kodak digital camera (C613), a $100 7.2-megapixel Sony Cyber-Shot digital camera with a free printer, and a $100 Mio DigiWalker C220 GPS. The chain will have a 24-inch Soyo widescreen LCD monitor for $250. Even auto supply chain Pep Boys is getting into the act, with a $40 7-inch digital photo frame, Mio’s DigiWalker portable GPS for $80, and the TomTom One GPS for $140.

We’ll keep you updated on more Black Friday deals as they’re announced.

—James K. Willcox

Best Buy matches Wal-Mart HD DVD player price

Though we're still a few weeks shy of the official Black Friday shopping period, things are already getting brutal—at least in terms of pricing for Toshiba's entry-level HD DVD player.

As we reported yesterday, Wal-Mart has special pricing today on several consumer electronics items, including Toshiba's HD-A2 HD DVD player, which it's selling for $99. Refusing to be outdone,  Best Buy today countered by offering the same model for $99. The chain quickly sold out of the model via online sales at BestBuy.com, but there's a chance it could still be available in select stores.

At that price, even those who are in the market for a standard-def player might want to consider one, since it can play—and upconvert—standard DVDs. Even better is that Toshiba continues to offer five free HD DVDs, via mail-in redemption, to those who buy a player.

Makes us wonder what's going to happen when Black Friday really kicks off.—James K. Willcox

Wal-Mart: Why wait for Black Friday?

While other retailers are gearing up for the three-day shopping extravaganza affectionately known as Black Friday, tomorrow (Friday) Wal-Mart kicks off its own holiday shopping season three weeks early with special deals on what it says are five of the most sought-after items.

Among the deals: a $99 Toshiba HD DVD player, a $998 50-inch Sanyo plasma HDTV, and a $348 Acer notebook computer (with 1GB of RAM). The official Wal-Mart “secret” deal website can be accessed by clicking this link.

Toshiba’s HD DVD players could be big sellers this holiday, as many retailers are already offering significant cuts on its entry-level HD-A2 model. Both Amazon.com and Circuit City last week cut the price of the player, which had been $299, to under $200. Wal-Mart’s $99 price—it's also selling select HD DVD tiles for $15 each—is the lowest we’ve seen. Wal-Mart’s in-store sale kicks off at 8:00 a.m. and lasts as long as supplies last. Prices in three states—Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Utah—could vary due to each state’s regulations. We'll keep tracking Black Friday specials as they're revealed.

—James K. Willcox

Halloween “Black Friday” Ad Leaks Portend Some Scary Holiday Electronics Deals

Although it’s not quite November, it already appears that this year’s Black Friday shopping holiday will once again hold some great deals for those willing to brave early-morning hours and the sharpened elbows of fellow bargain shoppers. Those that do should be rewarded with special holiday prices on HDTVs, high-def DVD players, and portable electronics including MP3 players and digital cameras.

A number of Black Friday websites, such as gottadeal.com, dealtaker.com and bfads.net, have already started posting Black Friday retail ads. But one circular that will be hard to find early this year will be Wal-Mart’s. That’s because the company--which last year set the Black Friday pace with a deep price cut on a popular 42-inch Panasonic plasma--has preemptively threatened legal action against any site that post its ads before November 19th. We’ll be keeping track of how well that threat works.

So far, in fact, Black Friday ad postings have been spotty. One exception is Sears, whose Black Friday specials are now widely available on Black Friday websites. Many of the deals are “opening specials” that are available only from 5:00 a.m. until noon, and which can require both instant and mail-in savings. Among the Sears highlights we found:

• a 42-inch LG plasma (42PC5D) for $900
• a Samsung 50-inch plasma (HPT5044) for $1,400, and a 46-inch 1080p LCD (LN-T4665F) for $2,000
• a 46-inch Sharp Aquos LCD (LC-46D43U)for $1,000
• a Sony W-series 40-inch 1080p LCD (KDL-40W3000) for $2,000, and a 46-inch Bravia LCD for $1,500(unspecified model number)
• a 42-inch Sylvania 1080p LCD (LC420SSR) for $900
• a 42-inch Toshiba 1080p LCD (42HL167) for $1,250
• and a V32-inch Vizo LCD (VXLHDTV32) for $599

Also noteworthy is Toshiba’s HD-A3 HD DVD player fort $170. Other Black Friday specials at Sears include a Philips upconverting DVD player for $30, a $10 DVD player from Coby, a Zenith DVD/VHS combi player for $40, $200 DVD camcorders from Panasonic and Samsung, and numerous deals on digital cameras.

ACE hardware also has a few CE doorbusters, including an unnamed 7-inch digital photo frame for $50, and a 7-inch portable DVD player for $60. Macy’s ad shows a $60 Haier-brand 7-inch portable DVD player, and a $20 Haier progressive-scan DVD player, plus three Pandigital-brand digital photo frames, with 6-, 8- and 9.2-inch displays, for $70, $150 and $180, respectively.

Stay tuned to our blogs for regular updates on Black Friday deals and specials--and feel free to chime in with some of your own!

—James K. Willcox

Plasma TVs May Be the Biggest Bargains This Holiday Season

If you’ve had a big-screen flat-panel HDTV in your sights for a while, it looks like this fall will be a great time to pull the trigger.

Prices this holiday season are expected to hit an all-time low, about 40 percent cheaper in general than a year ago and as much as 65 percent lower on certain kinds of TVs. There’s growing speculation that the season will start off strong on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, with eye-opening deals, particularly on plasma TVs.

We may see some 42-inch 720p plasmas priced as low as $599 on Black Friday, predicted manufacturers and retailers attending a conference held last week by DisplaySearch, an Austin, Texas-based research firm. According to DisplaySearch forecasts, prices could rebound a bit after the kickoff weekend, averaging closer to $1,000 throughout the holidays. 720p plasmas with 50-inch screens are likely to go for about $1,400 this year, down from $2,300 a year ago. Plasma will finally become competitive in 1080p, with the average price of a full HD 50-inch set dropping sharply, to just under $2,400 by the end of the year, the firm projects.

Discounts will be less dramatic on LCD sets, but prices will be lower. A 40-inch LCD set with 720p resolution will go for about $1,000. Look for bigger price cuts in 1080p, where average selling prices will drop to about $1,500 for a 40-inch set and $2,000 for a 46-incher. Full HD 52-inch LCD TVs will sell for about $2,700. DisplaySearch predicts that 1080p sets will take over the 40-inch and larger category this holiday season, accounting for about 60 percent of all HDTV sales.

Analysts say it’s unlikely TV prices will drop much lower in 2008, so there’s little point in waiting for better bargains next year. True, predictions for less-severe price drops in 2007 haven’t panned out, but this time they could be on the money. According to DisplaySearch presient Ross Young, much of the price cutting we’ve seen this year resulted from a perfect storm of events late in 2006, “where we had too much panel supply, too many brands and too many retailers.”

What does this portend for your holiday shopping? Retailers are likely to steer you to big screens and 1080p sets, which offer them bigger profit margins than smaller screens. Many big-box retailers aren’t actively promoting 40- and 42-inch 720p LCD HDTVs, so it may be harder to find them. Young noted that recent advertising circulars by national chains focused almost exclusively on higher-priced 1080p sets 40 inches and larger. And supplies of 32-inch LCD TVs could be tight as manufacturers shift their focus to more lucrative segments, including digital photo frames and notebook PCs.

That means your best bet of finding a 720p LCD set this holiday season may well be in warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s or at mass merchants such as Wal-Mart or Target. These chains, which have a lower margin structure than traditional retail stores, are becoming a more important outlet for TV sales—and they’re a big reason that Vizio became the number-one flat-panel TV brand in the second quarter of this year, according to data from NPD Group, DisplaySearch’s parent company.

Also, gird yourself for a stronger-than-usual push to load up on extras, such as an extended warranty, cables, wall mounts, and even high-def DVD players and digital receivers. With TV prices and margins falling, stores will need to sell you more of these extras to bolster profits.—James K. Willcox