"Gifts & Gadgets"-Best Big Ticket Buys
Tuesday, December 09, 2008SUZANNE PRATT: It's that time of year again; time to make your holiday gift list and check it twice and we're here to help. Scott Gurvey kicks off our annual three-part "Gifts and Gadgets" series, looking at the best in big ticket items.
SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: With shoppers cutting back on spending this holiday season, it is surprising that one item still selling well is the flat screen television. Industry groups say sales are running 20 percent ahead of last year. Some buyers are motivated by the upcoming switch to all-digital broadcast television in February. But Dan Proctor of Best Buy says other consumers figure, if they can't afford to go out and party, at least they can stay home and watch.
DAN PROCTOR, MANAGER, BEST BUY: There are still a lot of people out there that have been waiting for the prices to come down year after year and every year it's always going to be a customer is thinking now is the time. They're going out and exchanging their old television for a flat panel.
GURVEY: This year, I went shopping armed with my favorite movies on DVD and my wife, something I recommend when making a big family purchase. You have to put your own eyeballs to work. I expected I'd be buying a liquid crystal display screen, but we found for viewing the movies we love, plasma pleased more than LCD and our DVDs looked great with an up- converting DVD player. No need to replace the collection with Blu-Ray discs. Make sure the model you buy has the right kind and number of connectors for your other equipment. We settled on a Panasonic 50-inch plasma for $1,700. The Pioneer up-converting DVD player was less than $100. These are mid-range prices. You can find less expensive models and you can also spend a lot more. With our DVD movie collection and our FIOS television service from Verizon, we're pleased with our purchase. The other big electronics seller this year is the netbook, a new size of portable computer. Lance Ulanoff of "PC Magazine" says the netbooks are perfect for road warriors who do not need the power of a full-size laptop computer.
LANCE ULANOFF, EDITOR, PC MAGAZINE.COM: Netbooks are incredibly hot this holiday season. They're the new buzzword for laptops. I will tell you this -- in my mind, it's a marketing scheme. A netbook is simply a lower- powered low-price laptop. So you're going to get probably a netbook for probably under $500.
GURVEY: At under $500, don't expect to do major multimedia presentations or play complex games. Netbooks are best if you need to process email and do a little web browsing while on the road. But get out in the stores and try the keyboard yourself. Make sure it's big enough for you. The latest in cell-phones are also big sellers this year. We'll take a look at the leading models tomorrow. Scott Gurvey, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.
PRATT: Paul, I have that Panasonic TV that Scott talked about in that piece and I bought it about six months ago and I would be afraid to tell you what I paid for it. The price drop has been tremendous.
KANGAS: I think I'll wait.
PRATT: Works fine I might add. You should wait. What are you getting me for Christmas? KANGAS: I'm thinking, I'm thinking.
PRATT: I like that Blackberry Storm. I have to say.
KANGAS: OK. Fair enough.
