It is upon us: Retailers are already promoting Black Friday deals. The push toward the perfect storm of savings has begun. Best Buy has released its Black Friday circular debuting upcoming deals, and Amazon has launched a Black Friday Deals website open until the shopping holiday officially starts.
Best Buy
Best Buy's 22-page preview - just a sliver of what's to come, the company promises - includes deals on everything from big-screen TVs and laptops to smartphones and tablets.
"Doorbuster" deals
Doorbusters will be available once Best Buy stores open at midnight on Black Friday, to get the deals and in-store discounts, customers will need tickets, which will be handed out up to two hours before a store's midnight opening.
Tablet doorbusters include the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 with 8GB of storage in an exclusive white color for $179.99, or $70 off its normal price. The nabi 2 8GB Android tablet for kids will be available for $169.99, a $30 discount from its regular price.
Other doorbusters include a 15.6-inch Lenovo laptop for just $187.99 that features an AMD processor, 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive; a 14-inch Asus notebook equipped with an Intel Pentium CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 320G hard drive for $249.99. and a Dell desktop with an Intel Core i5 processor and bundled with a 20-inch LED-backlight monitor for $499.98.
There's also a Samsung laptop bundle for $349.95 that includes a carrying case, wireless mouse, and security software, though no details about the notebook's specs have been given.
Other Best Buy deals
If you'd rather not have your trachea punctured by whirling dervishes of jabbing elbows, there are other non-doorbuster deals.
Other tablet deals include Acer's Iconia Android with 16GB of storage for $249.99, while Asus has a similar model for $279.99. Best Buy has the same price on the Amazon Kindle Fire ($159.99) and Kindle Fire HD ($199.99) as everyone else, but is trying to sweeten the deal by offering $30 Best Buy gift cards if you buy from one of its stores.
The preview also has a page of Apple deals, although, as several sites have noted, these appear to be the usual 10-percent off deals Apple always offers on Black Friday. You can get $40-$60 of savings off full-sized iPads (both the iPad 2 and the new iPad with Retina Display) or a 13.3-inch MacBook Air is $1,199.99 before $175 worth of savings.
There are also more deals on a variety of Windows 8 devices, such as an impressive selection of touch-screen laptops, from an 11.6-inch Asus for $449.99 to a 14-inch HP Envy with an Intel Core i7 processor for $629.99.
Another desktop bundle is a Core i3 HP desktop with 20-inch monitor for $429.98, while a Gateway 20-inch all-in-one system is $389.99 and a 23-inch Lenovo touchscreen all-in-one is $599.99. If you don't need a monitor, there's an HP desktop with Core i3 CPU, 6GB of memory, and 1TB hard drive for $349.99.
Best Buy is offering up a number of different HDTV deals (page 7 in the circular), from a 55-inch Samsung LED set for $799.99 to a 40-inch Toshiba LCD for $179.99. There are also many laptop options (page 12), including $200 off HP's Envy lineup.
Also on tap are discounted Roku boxes, gaming bundles, 10 percent off Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, and more.
Amazon
Amazon similarly began promoting Black Friday deals last week. On Nov. 1 the online-retailer opened its Black Friday Deals Store, offering "thousands of discounts," free shipping for "millions of items," and "great prices on the season's most popular gifts, including televisions, cameras, video games, movies, books, tools, watches, jewelry, clothing, and more," says the site.
"By visiting our Black Friday Deals Store, customers can expect to find a large selection of the most anticipated products of the season, all for a great price. Plus, they can take advantage of free shipping on millions of items through Amazon Prime and FREE Super Saver Shipping," Amazon.com vice president of consumer electronics Ben Hartman said in a statement.
Customers who visit the online store now through Black Friday will also find Deals of the Day offers and "limited-time, doorbuster-style Lightning Deals," Amazon said.