Amazon Black Friday 2013 Deals to Watch

The Amazon Black Friday deals ramp up today as Thanksgiving signals the official start of Black Friday sales, and while there is not a complete schedule of Black Friday deals on Amazon, we do know what to look for from the online superstore and where you should be watching to find the best deals.

While the Amazon Black Friday 2013 deals did start earlier this week, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are when the deals really heat up. Even if you plan to do most of your shopping at a Walmart Black Friday event or at Best Buy you should keep a close eye on Amazon as you might find the same deal or a better deal and be able to buy it and walk out of line.

Many of the Gotta Be Mobile staff members who like to shop on Black Friday skip out on the lines of Walmart, even with the temptation of a 70-inch HDTV, and opt for buying our deals on Amazon. This lets us spend time with our friends and family during Thanksgiving without waiting in line. As long as you have a smartphone and an internet connection you can snag these deals wherever you are.

Read: Amazon Black Friday Tips

As we shared earlier this week, the best Amazon Black Friday 2013 deals are Lightning deals that come and go very fast. You can get a look at what is coming up and plan ahead, but be ready to add that item to your cart and then figure out if it is exactly what you want. These deals go faster than stuffing at the Thanksgiving dinner you skipped to stand in line at Walmart.

You can sign up for email alerts, follow Amazon deals on Twitter and on Facebook to get alerts, and you can install the Amazon app for faster shopping on the go.

Here are five categories that you should pay attention to when you are doing your Black Friday shopping on Amazon this year.

There are a lot of Kindle Fire Black Friday 2013 deals at brick and mortar stores where you will need to line up for a few hours, but we could see Amazon offer $30 or so off of the Kindle Fire HD.

If users are lucky Amazon will offer a very limited deal on the Kindle Fire HDX, which is the latest version with MayDay live tech support built-in.

The Kindle Fire HD Black Friday 2013 deals are most plentiful, but there are options for the new Kindle Fire HDX, and one old Kindle Fire deal.

There are several in store deals for the Kindle Fire HDX, but they use gift cards. With more retailers turning to gift cards, Amazon might include an Amazon gift card instead of an up front discount.

Watch the Kindle Fire page, homepage and the deal alerts for any Kindle Fire deals as this is one that Amazon will surely promote front and center.

Amazon is well-known for offering great HDTV deals throughout the year and Black Friday is no different. Amazon already offers a listing of HDTV Black Friday deals with discounts up to 50%, but the savings may go bigger on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Amazon is already cutting 50% off Samsung HDTVs for Black Friday.

The Amazon Black Friday HDTV deals might even include one that matches the Walmart 70-inch Vizio HDTV for $998. We already know that Amazon is planning these Black Friday HDTV deals, but there will likely be more in the form of Lightning deals.

50-Inch Toshiba HDTV for $499, a savings of $400Haier 46-Inch HDTV for $349, a savings of $200

Check this page, and keep checking it, to see the latest Amazon Black Friday HDTV deals as they come and go during Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

This is also a good time to look or iPhone cases, iPhone accessories and Android accessories and cases on Amazon. We could also see Amazon discount some Android smartphones for Black Friday, but it’s not promised. Check this page for the latest deals.

Save on iPhone and Android accessories at Amazon Black Friday sales.

Look for deals on Lifeproof, OtterBox, Speck, Spigen  and other big name cases on Amazon during this sales event. We are already seeing 25% off OtterBox cases and 50% off Bluetooth headsets.

The Amazon Black Friday 2013 sales already include many video game items for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and we will see even more discounts on games and consoles. Look for a focus on console bundles, games and accessories like 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound headsets.  Here’s a few of the deals Amazon promises,

Halo 4 Game of the Year Edition for $19.99, a savings of $20Batman Arkham Origins for $39.99, a savings of $20Buy an OUYA Game Console and get an OUYA Wireless Controller for free

And here’s a bigger list of Amazon Black Friday video game deals. If you are open to shopping in store, check out our overall Black Friday video game deal roundup.

Odds are Amazon won’t have any big discounts on the Xbox One and PS4, but we could see some game deals and even a limited stock of each console would be considered a deal right now.

Third party retailers like Amazon offer better Black Friday deals on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro than Apple typically does on Black Friday.

Read: Best Apple Black Friday 2013 Deals

Expect some MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Black Friday deals at Amazon.

We don’t know what Amazon has in store yet, but it is possible they will meet or beat the Best Buy MacBook Air and MacBook Pro deals, delivering $150 to $200 off select models – without paying any sales tax up front, which can be a significant savings.

Don’t Buy a Cheap Black Friday Android Tablet

The holiday season and Black Friday shopping is almost here. We’ll be seeing deal after deal surface and sell-out over the next month or so, but there’s a few “deals” that must absolutely be avoided at any and all costs.

When it comes to buying a tablet there’s a few things you all need to know. What are these deals that you must avoid? All the “Android Tablet” and “Google Android OS” tablets that will be appearing over and over again. If you see a “Google Android” tablet for $49, or even $79, it’s in your best interest to completely ignore these “deals” and keep on walking or shopping. If it’s under $100 you probably shouldn’t buy it. We all love holiday shopping and the Black Friday craze, but don’t get stuck with a worthless Android tablet paperweight this year.

While roaming the halls at Walmart on Thursday night or Friday morning you may run into that RCA 7-inch “Google Android” tablet for a mind-blowing $49, or a similarly priced offering at CVS when all regular stores are closed at 9PM Thanksgiving day or on Christmas eve. They’ll even have an “official Android tablet” sticker of some sort, but that doesn’t mean anything, and you shouldn’t buy it.

It isn’t just Walmart and CVS or the average corner store either. Places like Kohls, Target, Sears, and even Best Buy all have cheap tablets you should avoid. Things like the Kobo Arc, NOVO, Ainol, Arnova, Polaroid, MIDI, and even bigger names like Archos and Lenovo. If it’s under $100 avoid it like the plague. If the box says things like capacitive touch display, TabletPC, Google OS, or even Android PC tablet. These are all signs of a Chinese knockoff and a complete waste of your hard-earned money.

Android is a free open source operating sytem, one that anyone can use to release tablets and smartphones. This is a good thing and a bad thing, and as a result days like Black Friday the worst of the Android ecosystem comes out to play. One extremely important part of any Android device is having Google certification for apps, and of course the Google Play Store. What use is that tablet if you can’t download or install any of the nearly 1 million apps from Google Play? A paperweight! Almost any sub-$100 slate won’t have access to Gmail, Google Music, the official Google Play Store, or any of those must-need applications. And this is only half the battle. They’ll be cheap, poorly optimized and run slow, not to mention probably never see an update to the latest software.

Read: Tablet Christmas Shopping? Consider These Options

If you need help with your purchasing decision this year you’ll want to read the link posted above. We break down a few things to consider, what you’ll actually want, and confirm that you’ll want to stick to the four main tablet options worth buying. That being Apple’s iPad lineup, Google’s Nexus 7 and popular Android tablets (not the cheap ones) Microsoft’s Surface 2, and then of course the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and HDX.

There are tons of deals floating around that will be excellent. Just last night I bought the LG G Pad 8.3-inch tablet for $174 from Newegg. Even at the regular price of $349 that is an excellent tablet worth buying if you see it on discount. Don’t cheap out for a $79 device you’ll use for less than a month. Google’s Nexus 7 is still the best Android tablet to date, and last years model can be found for $119 TODAY from Groupon, and will be available for the next 8 days. At $119 no tablet can compete with it. This is 100% your best bet for a cheap Android tablet this holiday season.

Spend $149 on a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, get the new 2013 Nexus 7 by Google and ASUS for $229, or even grab the iPad Mini from Walmart for $299 with a $100 gift card — essentially making it $199. Of course the iPad 3 or iPad Air is an excellent choice, but not everyone has $500 or more to spend on a tablet. Remember though, you get what you pay for, and $49 isn’t a tablet worth buying.

In the end as far as Android tablets go I’d only recommend the Nexus 7 or new Nexus 7 2013, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 or Note 8.0, LG G Pad 8.3, or even the HiSense Sero 7 Pro Tablet, which is basically a repackaged Nexus 7 with the same quad-core Tegra 3 processor under the hood. You may find some decent Lenovo tablets, or even an ASUS MeMo 7, and they’re good for the budget, but we’d still recommend the old or new Nexus 7 first.

It’s a crazy world out there during Black Friday and retailers will be trying to mess with our heads. Stay vigilant and get a good deal, don’t settle for a $79 Android tablet.

Where to Find the PS4 and Xbox One on Black Friday

Now that the Xbox One and PS4 are through their launches in the United States, potential buyers are understandably worried about if and where they’ll be able to pick up their choice of console before the holidays.

Based on current stock levels and in-stock guarantees from retailers, users shouldn’t have too hard a time picking up an Xbox One or PS4 on Black Friday, if they head out early and know where to look. Here’s where to find the PS4 and Xbox One on Black Friday.

Walmart doesn’t have any deals on either console, however its Black Friday advertisement indicates that it will have both consoles on hand “while supplies last.” It’s also confirmed that “quantities are limited.” Unfortunately, getting your hands on either console at the nearest Walmart will require you to change your traditional Thanksgiving and Black Friday routine. Walmart stores will open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Read: Walmart Black Friday 2013 Details: PS4, Xbox One, More HDTVs and Wristbands

To its credit, GameStop is among the few retailers who are also offering users the opportunity to pick up a next-generation console. However, GameStop’s offerings come with nearly the same caveats as Walmart’s. GameStop isn’t offering any deals on the console itself, or titles. It’s also opening its stores at midnight, so users will need to stay up late if they’re hop to snag a PS4 or Xbox One on Black Friday. GameStop says its quantities are so limited that users will want to head to its website to check availability before heading to stores.

Read: $29 Battlefield 4 and $49.99 Wiis at GameStop on Black Friday

Buy, now Rakuten, seems to also have a number of Xbox One consoels available for users to order on Black Friday. Unfortunately, the company’s Black Friday ad doesn’t include anything about the PS4, so if you are looking for that console its a good idea to head to either Walmart or GameStop and check the site once you are in line.

Outside of those retailers, availability for both consoles is touch and go. While Best Buy and Target originally showcased the Xbox One and PS4 on their websites and in advertisements, each of them seems to have removed any references to them, possibly indicating that they just don’t have enough left to advertise to customers.  In addition, stock at online retailers is almost non-existent. Microsoft’s own retailers show no stock of the Xbox One, for example. Amazon doesn’t show units of either console outside of offering buyers the opportunity to purchase each console from a few reseller at ridiculously high prices.

The Xbox One costs users $499, with the purchase price of a PS4 coming in at a more modest $399.

Apple Black Friday 2013 Deals Revealed: No Discounts, Free Gift Cards w/ Purchase

Apple’s in the midst of launching its Black Friday 2013 promotions around the globe. Unfortunately, Apple is not offering Black Friday discounts and is instead offering gift cards with select purchases. The gift cards can be redeemed at the Apple Store only and cannot be used for iTunes or App Store purchases.

Apple rarely discounts its iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macs to the general public, though it does regularly offer college students and businesses discounts. Last year Apple offered $101 off Macs on Black Friday and many were expecting Apple to repeat the offer this year.

Read: Best Apple Black Friday 2013 Deals

Apple isn’t officially calling its gift card promotion a Black Friday event since it is offering the deals around the world. Though Black Friday is an American phenomenon, Australians are the first to benefit from the promotion.While the gift card amounts and linked items in the Apple store are advertised in Australian dollars, we expect them to translate over to U.S. dollars. We’ll know with certainty once Apple officially launches its Black Friday deals on its U.S. online store in the wee hours of Black Friday.

Apple typically launches products, early ordering and promos based on PST since the company is headquartered there. That means those on the east coast will have to wait up until about 3am EST if they want to be amongst the first to take advantage of the deals. Unlike iPhone, iPad and Mac resellers, Apple is not likely to run out of any of its own items which means there’s no need to rush.

Apple’s Black Friday iPad deals aren’t as attractive as Walmart’s and Target’s. Those retailers are offering up to $100 in gift cards with iPad purchases on Black Friday, but quantities are limited and they are not available online. Apple is offering an $$75 gift card with the iPad and an $50 gift card with the iPad mini and iPad 2.

Apple is offering an $150 gift card with the purchase of any iMac or MacBook. That’s a superb deal on the cheapest Macs, such as the $999 11? MacBook Air since it amounts to a 15% discount. However, it isn’t much to brag about on the high-end 15? MacBook Pro, which costs up to $3,199 at retail depending on configuration.

Perhaps the best deal at Apple stores and Apple.com is the $50 gift card that can be had by purchasing the $249 iPod touch, effectively dropping the price to $199. The iPod touch is a superb Christmas gift since it offers many of the benefits of the iPhone without the messiness of gifting a device that requires a long-term wireless contract.

Read: iPod touch Review

The iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s are notably absent from Apple’s Black Friday Australian landing page. Apple is however offering gift cards with its own accessories and third-party accessories.

Best Apple Black Friday 2013 Deals

The iPhone Black Friday deals cut the price of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c dramatically and gift card bonuses make things even better. Walmart offers the best iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c prices for shoppers who want a contract with AT&T, Verizon or Sprint.

The deal includes a $45 iPhone 5c and a $189 iPhone 5s and a $75 gift card. T-Mobile is offering an iPhone 5s for $0 down and $20 a month for 24 months and Sprint is offering $100 off for switchers.

You will need to sing a new contract for most of these deals and be eligible for an upgrade. Check out the rest of the iPhone Black Friday 2013 deals for other stores near you which may have similar offers. If you want the iPhone 5s without a contract, RadioShack offers an iPhone 5s on Virgin Mobile for $549, a savings of $100.

Early Cyber Monday iPad Deals Match Black Friday Deals

Target is continuing its Black Friday iPad discounts and gift card giveaway scheme through Cyber Monday, offering $75 and $100 cards with the purchase of select iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad 2 models. Those who camped out in line or dealt with the Black Friday mobs to score iPad deals may have wasted their efforts considering that anyone can just waltz into Target and get the same deals today, without the mad rush.

The retailer is offering a $20 discount on the 16GB iPad Air and throwing in a $100 Target gift card that can be used on future purchases. The gift card cannot be used towards the purchase of the iPad Air. Target is also offering a $100 gift card with the purchase of the $399 16GB iPad 2, though we no longer recommend buying the aging device.

UPDATE: Target’s Taken down this offer and readers are reporting the discount cards are no longer being offered in stores. We’ll keep our eyes out for more iPad sales. 

Target is offering $75 gift cards with the purchase of the iPad mini or the new iPad mini with Retina display, neither of which are discounted like the iPad Air. The original 16GB iPad mini carries the standard $299 price tag. The 16GB iPad mini with Retina display sells for $399.99.  This gift card promo brings the effective price of the iPad mini down to just $224, which is $5 cheaper than the Nexus 7.

The gift card offers aren’t just limited to the 16GB iPad models, extending to the higher capacity models. These gift card offers are excellent, so long as you apply it to something you’d normally buy. Of course you won’t save anything at all if you end up spending the gift card on iPad accessories or any other items you don’t really need.

While these pre-Cyber Monday deals are attractive, this isn’t the best iPad mini deal we’ve seen this week. Both Best Buy and Walmart were offering $100 gift cards on the iPad mini through Black Friday. Now that those deals are over, Target seems to have the best widely available offering on both the iPad Air and iPad mini.

Though the original iPad mini is an excellent value, those who can afford the  iPad mini with Retina display should buy the newer model. In our review of the iPad mini with Retina display, our reviewer called it “almost perfect.”

We don’t expect Apple to match this iPad deal on Cyber Monday. Apple held a one-day gift card giveaway event on Black Friday that we don’t expect it to repeat any time soon. That promotion offered gift cards of up to $75 with the purchase of select iPads.

Walmart Black Friday 2013 Guaranteed Deal Details and Gotchas

If you are looking at the Walmart Black Friday 2013 ad, no doubt the 21 guaranteed in stock items caught your eye, and for good reason. Most Black Friday deals are in quantities so small that only a few people get the deal, but at Walmart there are many items that Walmart promises you can buy in store for the first hour of Black Friday sales.

If these items sell out you can get a guarantee card with an access code to claim the deal online and get it delivered to your local Walmart before Christmas at the Black Friday deal price. While other stores will run out of big screen HDTVs, iPad mini Black Friday deals and other tech items, Walmart has shoppers covered.

Read: Walmart Black Friday 2013 – What You Need to Know  

But, just like with any deal there are a few gotchas to keep in mind. And if you don’t act fast after Black Friday you could miss out on the guaranteed deals, though you won’t lose your money.

The Walmart Black Friday 2013 guarantee is nice, but there are some gotchas.

Here’s how the Walmart Black Friday 2013 1 hour guarantee deals work, and the gotchas you need to know about before you line up later today.

Here’s a look at the guaranteed in stock tech deals from the Walmart Black Friday 2013 ad.

Funai 32-inch 720P HDTV – $98Vizio 60-inch 1080P HDTV $688iPad mini for $299 plus $100 gift cardLG Blu Ray Player – $38Call of Duty:Ghosts – $39.96GTA 5, Assassin’s Creed IV, NBA 2k14 & Batman – $34HP TouchSmart 14-B109WM – $278Beats by Dr. Dre Solo – $114.95

There are other tech deals as part of this, but they are not worth buying.

If Walmart sells out of the items above, and a few others, in the first hour they will sell a guarantee card for the Black Friday price. This card will allow you to place the order online for delivery to your Walmart store.

You must register for your deals fast.

You will get an Access Code on the receipt that allows you to go to Walmart.com/1hourguarantee to enter the code and complete the checkout. The code and your gift card should have the right amount of funds to cover the sale, unless you choose delivery to another area or add a protection plan.

You need to claim your deal by 11:59 PM CT on Sunday December 1st or you lose your claim to the Black Friday price.

Even if you don’t register your claim for the Walmart Black Friday 2013 deals you won’t lose any money. The gift card value remains even if you don’t register or decide you don’t want to buy the Black Friday item.

Your access code will be on a receipt at the Walmart Black Friday 2013 event.

You can use this gift card to make a purchase in store or online if they don’t want to get the Black Friday item.

If your store runs out of the items during the Black Friday sales you will need to order for in store pickup. You can choose the store, but you cannot order for delivery at home.

You can also set an alternate pickup person if that simplifies the process, but no matter what you will be going to the store. The only delivery time-frame is before Christmas. Walmart will send you an email when it ships.

A guarantee is not a promise that you will get the exact item that was advertised in store. While Walmart will make good faith efforts to get the exact item that was in the Walmart Black Friday ad, things may not work out just right.

Here’s what Walmart has to say about this scenario,

“We’re sorry that we ran out of the original item however, in most cases, we will provide you with a comparable substitution item for the same price. If you do not want the substitute item, you can return your 1-Hour In Stock Guarantee Card with the original receipt to the Customer Service desk in your store for a refund, or you can use the 1-Hour In Stock Guarantee Card on purchases in any retail format of Walmart Stores, Inc. in the U.S. or Puerto Rico. You will be refunded an amount equal to the balance remaining on your card.”

Hopefully this won’t be an issue, especially for the tech items like the iPad mini which doesn’t have a comparable substitute in the same price range.

Check out the rest of our Black Friday 2013 coverage for the latest deals, shopping advice and tips.

Black Friday for owner after $8m in Bitcoin lost to landfill

This must be the biggest facepalm ever. A Welsh Bitcoin owner is banging his head against his desk after throwing away a hard drive containing Bitcoin worth almost $8m.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Bitcoin is a peer to peer electronic money and payment network.  It uses cryptography for digital signatures and it is difficult to associate with the identity of buyers and sellers. 

Bitcoin currency is gaining traction with online retailers with about 600 businesses willing to accept payment in Bitcoin 

James Howells from Newport in Wales purchased 7,500 Bitcoins (BTC) in 2009. Back then a dollar was worth 1,309.03 BTC so the value of his purchase was under six dollars. Howells stored the Bitcoin in his electronic wallet on his laptop hard drive and forgot all about them.

After “an incident” with his previous laptop, he stored its hard drive in a drawer and forgot about the Bitcoin. Earlier this year after sorting out his IT equipment the drive was thrown into the garbage. “All the files I believed I needed were already on my new computer” Howells said.

The value of one Bitcoin has now reached $1000 making the Bitcoin that Howells owns worth over $7.5m.

“As soon as I put it in the bin at home I had a second thought — you know you have never thrown a hard drive out before – why start now?” he said.  The thought was just “ a little demon in the back of my head”.

“I did not take it out — it stayed in the bin and came down to the landfill site with the other bags.”

The penny (or should that be Bitcoin?) dropped when he started to hear stories about the Silk Road site shut down and about other individuals making profit from Bitcoin. Howells realised that he had 7,500 Bitcoin on a hard drive that he had thrown out months ago.

Howells went to the council landfill site to try to retrieve his hard drive. Unfortunately, there is little chance of finding something the size of your hand in a site the size of a soccer pitch.

The manager of the landfill site told Howells that anything that had been thrown away “three of four months ago” would be buried up to five feet deep in waste. This site does not sort waste so there is no specific area for computer waste for Howells to look through.

The wallet on the hard drive contains the private key for the Bitcoin. Without this file, the Bitcoin can not be retrieved as there is no central server that records the initial transaction.

The waste is compressed and buried. There is no guarantee that the data could be recovered — even if the hard drive could be found.

It must be a terrible feeling, knowing that you have thrown away a potential fortune by sorting out your IT junk.

Howells spent six dollars — the cost of a beer on the purchase.  And now, as he looks out over the huge landfill site, his Black Friday is very black indeed. 

Black Friday 2013: U.S. Apple stores offer gift cards instead of discounts on iPad, Mac products

Summary: The company's discounts used to be small, but this year they have been replaced with store gift cards with the purchase of select Apple products and third-party accessories.

Apple watchers woke up Thanksgiving morning to a new wrinkle in the company's typical Black Friday plans. Instead of the usual small discounts the company offered across most of its product lines in years past, the Australian Apple Store launched with gift cards being promoted for the purchase of many items instead. Then to confuse things more, European Apple Stores came online after midnight with the typical discounts, and not the gift cards.

What would Apple do in the U.S.? After the online store went down for a few hours this morning, it's returned with the same Black Friday gift card "deal" as greeted Aussie shoppers. In other words, there will be no sale prices for products sold at Apple stores this Black Friday, just gift cards.

If you're still willing to buy directly from Apple today, be prepared for further disappointment if you're planning to buy an iPhone 5c or 5s or the iPad mini with Retina display. That's because Apple isn't offering a gift for these popular new products. In comparison, Walmart will provide a $75 gift card if you pick up a 5c or 5s at its stores this weekend, and Target is offering a $75 card for an iPad mini with Retina display purchase.

You will receive a $75 Apple gift card if you buy an iPad Air, which is $25 less than what Target is offering on Black Friday if you purchase the tablet from that store. You can get a $50 gift card with the purchase of an original iPad mini or an iPad 2 -- Walmart offered a $100 gift card for an iPad mini purchase yesterday as part of its first round of doorbusters, while Best Buy matched it online earlier this week. Target is offering $75 gift cards for the first-generation iPad mini and $100 cards for an iPad 2. 

Those looking for a new Mac can score a $150 Apple gift card, whether you're grabbing a new iMac or a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. Note, however, that Best Buy is slashing the price on Macs for Black Friday, either by $150 or $200 depending on the configuration. Though a gift card is nice if you're planning on buying other in-store purchases, when it comes to systems, the lower price is probably preferable to most buyers. 

The iPod is still around and kicking, and will be part of the Black Friday gift card fest. The iPod touch comes with a $50 card, while the latest iPod nano includes a $25 card. Some miscellaneous Apple products are also being offered with gift cards, ranging from the Apple TV ($25 card) to the AirPort Extreme and 2TB AirPort Time Capsule ($50). 

Finally, there are some third-party accessories that Apple will sell with gift cards worth up to $75. Many will include a $25 card, such as the Nike+ FuelBand SE, Powerbeats by Dr. Dre headphones, and Mophie Juice Pack Air iPhone 5 battery case, while purchases of such items as the second-generation Nest Learning Thermostat, GoPro HERO3+ camera, and Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones will come with a $50 card. Buying the $499.95 Bowers & Wilkins A5 AirPlay wireless music system nets you a $75 gift card.

Topics: Apple, iPad, Laptops, Tablets, PCs

Sean Portnoy is a former executive editor at Computer Shopper magazine and editor at CNET Networks.

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Are Walmart Black Friday Deals Big Enough to Get Haters in the Door?

The Walmart Black Friday 2013 ad is full of deals, and some steals, but is it good enough to get Walmart haters in the door on Thanksgiving day and Black Friday?

We all know a Walmart hater who refuses to shop at Walmart on principle. Sometimes the principle is sound and based Walmart’s treatment of workers or the fact that the retailer often squeezes out small businesses. Others complain about poor customer service, which is quickly becoming the standard outside of Walmart and is hardly a factor to consider on Black Friday — the most DIY and Defend-YourSelf shopping day of the year.

Read: 5 Walmart Black Friday Deals to Avoid

With Black Friday 2013 quickly approaching and Walmart’s deals bordering on Crazy, we reached out to retail and marketing experts to find out if the Walmart Black Friday 2013 ads are good enough to tempt haters in the door on the craziest shopping weekend of the season.

Will Walmart Black Friday deals draw haters in for big savings?

Here’s a fast look at the best Walmart Black Friday deals we’ve found. If anything tempts shoppers into the store we expect it will be a $199 iPad mini (After gift card) or a $75 Gift card with the purchase of an iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c. We may also see some shoppers get in line for the $100 gift card on an Android smartphone. Of course there is also a $288 50-inch HDTV on sale that could tempt some shoppers.

Walmart loves low prices and Black Friday is a day to drive prices even lower. This may work for Walmart’s staple of cost conscious shoppers, but it isn’t enough to bring in the haters on Black Friday says Ben Nettleton, Web Editor of Global Healing Center. In an email Nettleton writes,

“No, it’s not enough. Part of the reason many people hate going to Wal-Mart is dealing with the crowd at Wal-Mart. When Wal-Mart practically gives stuff away, it brings out the enthusiasts in droves and really concentrates the Wal-Mart experience.

Have you seen the videos of storage footage during black Friday? FORGET IT. Nobody who hates Wal-Mart is going to put up with that. Plus, people who hate Wal-Mart are, by definition, not swayed by shit for cheap.”

Just how bad can Walmart be on Black Friday? Here’s a video of Walmart’s Black Friday sales that started on Thanksgiving Day.

Walmart haters weigh in telling Gotta Be Mobile that these deals are tempting, but ultimately not enough to get them in the door on Black Friday 2013.

Tai Brown, a self professed long-term Walmart hater writes,

“I haven’t stepped foot into a Walmart in over 14 years, and even drop my mother at the door and refuse to accompany her when she needs a ride to the store. I am also in the market for a new iPad and considering an iPhone. Even being in the market for these items, and given the discounts, though I considered it, I will still not be going to Walmart on Black Friday. It’s not significant enough of an discount to entice me to go into Walmart and give them my money, or my time.”

Janice Sellers of Oakland California agrees, writing,

“I’m one of those typical Walmart haters. And no, those discounts are not enough to get me in the door. I wouldn’t go if they were giving them away.”

The Walmart iPhone 5s Black Friday deal may lure in some shoppers.

Kyle James of Rather-Be-Shopping is a personal finance expert who covers Black Friday, shopping tips and more with over a decade of experience. When asked if Walmart’s deals were good enough, James replied,

 “Heck no! Walmart haters are a pretty finicky group who’ll typically spend more elsewhere then walk through the doors. But the main reason they won’t walk in on Black Friday is because they can stay at home and shop online and find most of the same deals on Walmart.com and other discount websites. I honestly think the days of BIG Black Friday hype are over as retailers open earlier and offer many of the same bargains online.”

Based on comments from experts and consumers, there may be one deal that is good enough to get some haters in the door for a Walmart Black Friday Experience.

When it comes to Walmart’s Black Friday 2013 HDTV deals, there is one word to sum up the deals, “Crazy.” Dealnews tracks Black Friday prices closely and writers Lindsay Sakraida and Marcy Bonebright call the Walmart Black Friday deals, “The Crazy TV Prices We’ve Been Waiting For.” Here’s what the duo has to say about the 50-inch Black Friday HDTV for $288,

“It wouldn’t be Black Friday without a doorbusting TV deal, and this is certainly an enticing big screen offer. Up until now, the lowest price we’d ever seen for a 50? 1080p LCD TV was $348. Walmart’s deal on a third-tier manufacturer set drops the floor by an additional $60. While this set will likely be barebones without fancy “smart” features, this is about as good as it gets for big screen TVs.”

A $300 50-inch HDTV and the lure of a PS4 may draw in shoppers on Black Friday 2013.

Robert Kissell Jr. an Internet Marketing Specialist at  Southern Shores Realty weighs in telling Gotta Be Mobile,

“The TV sale MAY draw a couple of haters with the 50” that broke the $300 price floor.”

Ultimately, if you hate Walmart there are deals out there for you on Black Friday 2013.

Ultimately, Black Friday 2013 is full of deals at many stores which should offer enough of a discount to satisfy the budget craving needs of Walmart haters.

Brent Shelton of Fatwallet and eBates tells Gotta Be Mobile that while the Walmart Black Friday 2013 ad is aggressive, there will be other deals available that offer similar savings on hot products.

“For those that try not to shop at Walmart, there should be enough competitive/similar deals to help them avoid shopping through them, but mobile shoppers may be more apt to just go for the deal. For example, in our Black Friday app ( iOS or Android ), we’re offering the new Fatwallet Checkout which lets users purchase items in 2-clicks within the app, so they can avoid retail shopping carts, and essentially avoid Walmart, but still get the deal. ”

Shelton shares similar Black Friday Deals for Walmart haters, though one will bring shoppers pretty close to Walmart.

Meijer: Apple iPad Air 16GB WiFi w/ $100 off next Meijer’s Shopping Trip – starting at $379+ (was $479+)Sam’s Club is offering both iPhone 5c and Galaxy S4 for $.97 w/2 yr contract where Walmart, you have to pay $45 to get the $75 gift card. There are other options for Walmart haters who still love Black Friday.

At the end of the day, on Thanksgiving when these deals start, Walmart haters are not the shoppers that Walmart wants to pull in the door with these deals. Brian Waldo of Find.com shares his thoughts on who Walmart wants to bring in the doors on Black Friday,

“These deals will definitely bring customers through Walmart’s doors, but shoppers who dislike the company aren’t likely to change their views that easily.

I’d assume that’s not necessarily who Walmart’s trying to win over with deals like these. Instead, they’re looking to draw shoppers who may have planned to spend their Black Friday at Target or Best Buy but don’t necessarily oppose the Walmart itself.

Despite these and other serious sales, with the growing popularity of Cyber Monday, it’ll be interesting to see how many people ‘attend’ Black Friday this year at all.”

The Walmart Black Friday sales start at 6 PM on Thanksgiving day and continue through the weekend with special events on each day.

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Staples Black Friday 2013 ad leaks: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC deals

Resumen: El minorista ofrece ventas en Windows 8.1 comprimidos usando procesadores Bay Trail de Intel, y ha Surface RT de Microsoft con teclado con descuento a $249,99.

Ya aprendimos que las grapas estaba vendiendo el HP Chromebook 14 (no el uno que se ha tirado de estantes) para $179,99 negro el viernes, pero ahora podemos ver el resto de ofertas de la megatienda oficina con la fuga de su anuncio completo.

Grapas negro el viernes 2013 ad fugas: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC dealsOfficeMax: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC dealsStaples venta de laptop HP Pavilion Chromebook para $179 .99Office negro Depot el viernes 2013 ad fugas: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC dealsDell ad fugas: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC dealsBest compro: Laptop, desktop, tablet PC dealsAdobe: Thanksgiving superará negro el viernes en ventas online

Una burbuja las explosiones del anuncio es otro negocio minorista se filtró temprano. Resulta que el Kindle Fire 7 "modelo que las grapas se venderán a sólo $79 no es la versión HD, pero la generación anterior. En otras palabras, resulta no ser una gran cantidad después de todo, especialmente desde que Best Buy venderá la edición HD por $99.99. Por su parte, grapas está vendiendo al HD 7 "para almacenar tarjeta de regalo de $139,99 con un $25 y como OfficeMax y Office Depot, está vendiendo el Kindle Fire HD 8,9" por $169.

Más interesantes son las otras tabletas especiales, incluyendo las ofertas de viernes negro primeras que hemos visto hasta ahora en los últimos 8 pulgadas Windows 8.1 comprimidos que hacen usan del nuevo procesador Atom Z3740 basado en la plataforma de Intel Bay Trail. Estos incluyen Dell lugar 8 Pro para $279,99, 20 dólares menos de lo que Dell está actualmente sellling se para y el Encore de Toshiba en $299,99, que es $30 menos que el original precio Toshiba anunciada, aunque se está vendiendo a través de la tienda de Microsoft en $299,99 también.  Este también es el segundo anuncio que hemos visto donde se descuenta Surface RT de Microsoft; mientras $249,99 Staples $50 más que el precio de Best Buy, lanza en un accesorio de teclado que Best Buy no.

Tablet Android ofertas gama de un 8 pulgadas $99,99 Acer Iconia al Google Nexus 7 por $199.99, que coincide con el precio de Office Depot se venderá por (y que el actual precio de 30 dólares). También existe el 10.1 pulgadas Asus Memo Pad ME102 por $179,99, o 100 dólares menos que lo grapas es venderlo para hoy.

Mientras el negocio de HP Chromebook se encarga del espacio portátil sub-$200, Staples tiene unos cuadernos sub-$300, también. Toshiba 15,6 pulgadas con procesador AMD A4, 4GB de RAM y disco duro de 500GB es $249,99 después algunas rebajas, y también hay un par de portátiles de 15,6 pulgadas para $299,99: otro Toshiba con procesador Intel Core i3 - 3120M Ivy Bridge, 6GB de RAM, 750 GB disco duro (se requiere un "descuento fácil" de $250, sin embargo) y un portal con CPU Intel Pentium 2117U4 gigas de RAM, disco duro de 750GB y capacidades de pantalla táctil.

Otras ofertas portátil incluyen un modelo de 14 pulgadas con pantalla táctil de Dell con procesador Intel Core i5-3337U Ivy Bridge, 8GB de RAM y disco duro de terabyte que $579,99, Toshiba 15,6 pulgadas con Core i7-3630 Ivy Bridge chip, un considerable 12GB de RAM y disco duro de 1TB para $649,99 tras una rebaja y una laptop Lenovo Flex de "modo dual" (es decir, la pantalla puede vuelta a trabajar en "modo stand") se ejecuta con 15,6 pulgadas de pantalla táctilProcesador núcleo i5-4200U Haswell, 8GB de RAM y disco duro de 500GB.

Staples tiene unas ofertas más escritorio que algunos otros minoristas, aunque ninguno es un sistema de potencia real. Para $329,99, puedes agarrar o una torre HP Pavilion con procesador quad-core AMD A6, 8GB de RAM y disco de terabytes duro o de un Gateway modelo all-in-one con procesador AMD E1, 4 GB de RAM, 500 GB y pantalla de 20 pulgadas (sin pantalla táctil).

Otras opciones de torre son dos PC Dell con 8GB de RAM y terabyte disco duro--uno con una CPU Core i3-3240 Ivy Bridge y ejecutando Windows 7 para $399,99, el otro con procesador Core i5 - 3330M Ivy Bridge (y Windows 8) para $429,99. Finalmente, otras ofertas de all-in-one son un 23 pulgadas HP Pavilion con procesador AMD E2, 6 GB de RAM y disco duro de 500 GB y un Dell io2020-4668BK con CPU Pentium G2020T, 4 gigas de RAM, disco duro de 500 GB y pantalla táctil de 20 pulgadas por $499,99.

Temas: Tabletas, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Laptops, Lenovo, movilidad, PC

Sean Portnoy es un ex editor ejecutivo en revista Computer Shopper y editor de CNET Networks.

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Walmart Black Friday 2013 Smartphone offers: surprisingly competitive

The Walmart Black Friday ad 2013 continues to deliver deals that are worthy of Black Friday, with a $ 100 gift card for the purchase of many Android smartphone you actually would like to use.

In addition to the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 c deal that includes a $ 75 gift card at Walmart Black Friday sales are two major Android Black Friday deals and a few others that might be worth checking out.

The Walmart Black Friday ad 2013 includes several days, and the deals on smartphones start on Friday at 8 pm while supplies last. Unfortunately these deals not like the iPad mini deal that is guaranteed to be in stock for the first hour.

Read: 2013 5 Walmart Black Friday deals to prevent

The $ 100 Walmart Black Friday gift card is valid on future purchases, so you'll have to spend the money on these deals in front. You must also be eligible for a new contract out and want to sign up for two years.

The Walmart Black Friday ad includes four tempting 2013 smartphone offers.

Walmart lets users trade an old phone for up to $ 300 to the purchase price. This can net you some extra cash to spend on Black Friday. You will want to make sure trade in values on Gazelle and NextWorth.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available for $ 99 with a two-year contract, which essentially free on contract after the gift card. We've seen some great deals on Galaxy S4, but this is better than we currently see on Amazon. The deal is valid on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon in multiple colors. Read our review Galaxy S4.

The Moto X is $ 49 on contract for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. This does not include customization options such as carrier offer saved but colors of store to save will vary. With this deal will users get a $ 100 Walmart gift card, effectively earning $ 50. Moto X rating.

The Walmart Black Friday ad 2013 also shows a Samsung Galaxy S3 for 97 cents, with a $ 100 gift card. This phone is a year old, but it's still a nice device that may be a good fit for some users. This is only available on Verizon. Samsung Galaxy S3 Review.

Finally, there is a Samsung Galaxy Mega on AT&T for $ 79 on contract. This phone with a 6.3-inch LCD display contains a $ 100 gift card and is an attractive device. Read our review of the Galaxy Mega.

Staples selling HP Pavilion Chromebook laptop for $179.99 on Black Friday

Summary: The office supply chain will also have an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet available for $79.99.

The news on Black Friday tech specials this year keeps dribbling out. Best Buy teased a doorbuster deal on an Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7", and now Staples has provided a taste of its sales. Most notably, it plans to discount a Chromebook.

The company announced that an HP Pavilion Chromebook will be available for $179.99 and claims that that is a savings of $150. Ironically, the Staples website lists three models, none of which is sold for $329.99, so it's unclear which particular Pavilion Chromebook is the special (though they all use Intel Celeron processors and come with a 14-inch screen, 4GB of RAM, and 16GB solid-state drives). Unfortunately, the Stapes PR contact I got in touch with had no other information, so we'll need to wait until next week to find out the specifics.

That goes for the tablet special Staples has teased for Black Friday as well. It's selling an Amazon Kindle Fire with special offers for $79.99, but official word does not detail which Kindle Fire it is. Again, despite saying it's providing a savings of $80, the company's site doesn't sell a Kindle Fire for $159.99. The closest is the 7-inch HD model with 16GB, which currently goes for $169.99 and is the same one that Best Buy is offering as a doorbuster. If that's the case, Staples is selling it for $20 less than Best Buy, making a good deal even better (albeit for a last-generation tablet, as it's being replaced with the Kindle Fire HDX 7" version).

Staples is more specific in revealing one other laptop deal: the Toshiba C55D-A5382 for $249.99. However, this notebook is currently not for sale online that I can find -- at Staples or anywhere else -- suggesting it's a SKU specifically for holiday shopping deals. As a result, we once again know little else about this laptop, other than Staples telling us it's providing a savings of $200 off its price. 

Like an ever-growing number of retailers, Staples will be open on Thanksgiving in addition to early (6 a.m.) on Black Friday, though its Thanksgiving hours will only be from 8 p.m. to midnight. Is the Chromebook deal worth you getting out to a Staples near you on Thanksgiving night? Let us know in the Talkback section below.

Topics: Laptops, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Mobility

Sean Portnoy is a former executive editor at Computer Shopper magazine and editor at CNET Networks.

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