Black Friday 2015: 30 Best Tech Deals
On The Hunt For Savings
You don't just need elbow pads, sneakers and a wallet for Black Friday. You need a game plan. Merchants don't always make it easy to find the best deals. Too often claims of steep discounts don't pan out. Other times merchants make you jump through hoops. Amazon, for example, has a number of great Black Friday deals that are only available via its Amazon smartphone app.
And that's where we come in. To help you bypass the Black Friday smoke and mirrors, CRN has put together a shopping cheat sheet with shortcuts to 30 Black Friday tech items.
Our Black Friday cheat sheet starts right now with some practical advice on when to hit the stores.
-- Best Buy opens at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
-- Walmart opens up Thanksgiving day at 6 p.m.
-- Target opens its doors on Thanksgiving at 6 p.m.
-- Kmart opens Thursday at 7 p.m. with the first 100 shoppers receiving a free mystery goodie bag.
-- Staples opens on Black Friday at 6 a.m.
-- If you're an Amazon Prime member, you'll get access to some deals 30 minutes before they're available to the public.
Harman Kardon Onyx Studio Speaker
Where: Kmart
How Much: $100 (Reg. $400)
Notes: The Harman Kardon Onyx Studio is a Bluetooth speaker with a big emphasis on delivering deep bass ranges. Kmart claims the regular price is $400 for the Onyx, but we spotted it for as little as $130. Still a great deal at $100.
Samsung Galaxy Gear Fit Watch
Where: Walmart
How Much: $100 (regular $200)
Notes: One of the best-designed smartwatches on the market with its curved AMOLED display. However, unlike the Apple Watch that you can add apps to, this watch doesn't support apps – so you're stuck with the features it ships with.
Beats Wireless Headphones
Where: Target
How Much: 25 percent off all wireless models
50-inch LED HDTV from a yet-to-be disclosed brand
Where: Amazon
How Much: $149.99
Notes: This Black Friday deal is only available only available via Amazon's app.
Parrot Bebop HD Camera Drone
Where: Target
How Much: $400 (Reg. $500)
Notes: This drone sports a 14-megapixel fisheye camera, has 3-axis stabilization, and is perfect for enthusiasts just starting out with drones.
Fitbit Flex Wristband
Where: WalMart
How Much: $40 off
Note: The Fitbit Flex has been replaced by the newer Fitbit Charge and Fitbit Charge HR. But this fitness tracker is still a rock-solid option for tracking at a very affordable price point.
iPad Air 2
Where: Best Buy
How Much: $125 savings
Notes: One of the best deals around for an iPad Air 2 where the savings is in cash and not in the form of an in-store gift card.
HP Deskjet 2545 All-in-One Printer
Where: Kohl's
How Much: $20
Notes: Note that this deal is only available until 1 p.m. Friday.
60-inch Samsung UN60JU6390FXZA 2160p 4K Ultra HD Smart LED HDTV
Where: Best Buy
How Much: $800
Notes: Outstanding price for this mammoth 4K HDTV.
Bundle of Samsung 40-inch TV and XBox One
Where: Best Buy
How Much: $500
Notes: Good deal for those in need of both an HDTV and Xbox One. Xbox One bundles (see next slide) are going for $300 elsewhere. Make sure that for $200 you're happy with the Samsung HDTV.
Xbox One Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Bundle Plus Fallout 4 & Extra Controller
Where: Dell
How Much: $300
Notes: Other stores are matching the $300 price point, but Dell brings it with recently released and insanely popular Fallout 4 along with extras that include an extra controller and a Gears of War download and 3.5 mm headset.
49-inch Toshiba HDTV
Where: Best Buy
How Much: $149.99
Notes: Dirt cheap and mighty big puts the onus on you to make sure this HDTV has the ports and features that you want.
Apple TV
Where: Target
How Much: 25 percent off
Notes: Doors open 6 p.m. Thursday
Toshiba i3 notebook
Where: Staples
How Much: $299 (regular price $499)
Notes: Specs include: Toshiba (model) C55-B5352, Intel Core i3, 6 GB RAM, 750-GB hard drive, 15.6-inch display and running Windows 8.1. (Upgrade to Windows 10 is free.)
7-Inch Fire Tablet
Where: Best Buy
How Much: $34.99 (Reg. $50)
Notes: Amazon is a name you can trust in tablets, which will give you confidence that at $35 you're buying reliable hardware.
4-TB WD My Cloud
Where: Amazon
How Much: $150
Notes: Are you a storage junkie? Amazon is offering many more Black Friday deals on storage devices and networking gear.
Nest Cam
Where: Best Buy
How Much: $170 (Reg. $200)
Notes: Dual-band Wi-Fi surveillance camera that offers crisp 1,080p video, motion and sound detection, and integration with other Nest devices. Installs easily, but the catch is you have to pay to view recorded video via a subscription service.
Canon Rebel T5
Where: Walmart
How Much: $400 (Reg. $500)
Notes: For when a smartphone camera just won't cut it.
iPad Mini 4
Where: Staples
How Much: $300 (Reg. $400)
Notes: Starts Friday 6 a.m. and limited to one per customer. This deal is available both at Staples.com and also at retail stores.
Gaming i7 Laptop: Velocity Micro Signature 17
Where: Velocity Micro
How Much: $500 off instantly (starting price of $2,700)
Notes: Intel Core i7 desktop processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M graphics, a 17.3-inch 1, 920 x 1,080 display, a fully customizable illuminated backlit keyboard and support for dual SSDs and/or dual M.2 drives.
Bose Solo 15 TV Sound System
Where: Amazon
How Much: $300 (Reg. $450)
Notes: If you want sound that matches your gorgeous HDTV picture quality, try the Bose Solo 15 TV sound system. The unit is designed to fit under most TVs with screen sizes up to 46 inches.
HP Pavilion 15t Touch
Where: HP Inc.
How Much: $520 (Reg. $750)
Notes: This isn't last year's model. This laptop rocks with Intel's new 6th Gen Intel Core i5-6200U Dual Core Processor, 8 GB DDR3L and a 15.6-inch display.
10-Inch Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows
Where: Lenovo
How Much: $240 (31 percent savings)
Notes: This tablet includes a ton of premium features: a wireless keyboard dock, Intel Atom Z3745 Processor (1.33GHz), 2.0-GB DDR3 (1,066MHz), a 10.1-inch (1,920 x 1,200) display and a 32-GB SSD hard drive. The tablet has a 15-hour battery life and weighs 1.39 pounds.
Fitbit Charge HR Wireless Heart Rate + Activity Wristband
Where: Kohl's
How Much: $120 (Reg. $150)
Notes: While supplies last online and at retail locations.
Hover Board: SoGo Sharper Image
Where: Kohl's
How Much: $370 (Reg. $500)
Notes: You know you want one.
Kindle Paperwhite (2015)
Where: Amazon
How Much: $100 (Reg. $120)
Notes: Considered the best e-reader on the market.
Jawbone Up3
Where: Amazon
How Much: $100 (Reg. $150)
Notes: Jawbone's fitness band has a one-week battery life, a compact design and comes with an app for coaching and lifestyle tracking. The only knock on this is that the fitness band lacks a display requiring you to keep looking at your smartphone for the latest tracking results.
GoPro Hero 4 Silver Bundle
Where: Overstock
How Much: $400 (17 percent off)
Notes: The GoPro Hero 4 Silver comes with a Lexar high-performance MicroSD reader, a three-way grip tripod/arm, a head strap and Wasabi Power Battery (two-pack) and dual charger.
Logitech Harmony universal remote
Where: Best Buy
How Much: $50
Notes: This Harmony 700 model universal remote is not the most recent model. But in its day it received many positive reviews. Just the same, you might want to double check compatibility with your key home theater components to ensure you don't need an extra remote on top of this universal remote.
Complete Mad Men Collection
Where: Amazon
How Much: $30
Notes: The holidays are perfect for binge-watching great TV. With six seasons of Mad Men for $30, you may not resurface until spring.
Keep Shopping
For more Black Friday insight, check out CRN's guide to the best laptop, tablet and PC deals this year.