Can it really be that time again? It seems that every year, Black Friday arrives earlier thanks to eager retailers sprinkling deals throughout the week, then into the following week kicked off by “Cyber Monday.” If the thought of standing shoulder to shoulder with the (potentially unwashed) masses gives you the hives, stay in and grab some post-Thanksgiving deals with our 2011 Black Friday Deals Guide.
For our readers in the U.S., the Thanksgiving dinner coma soon wears off and what’s left? Why, shopping, of course -- or at least that’s what retailers are counting on this Friday, November 25, which is dubbed “Black Friday” since many companies count on the surge of bargain shoppers to get their bottom line into profit for the year.
Here’s how to venture into the Black Friday madness without leaving the warmth and comfort of your home, MacLife.com style!
In keeping with tradition, Apple’s Online Store is also celebrating Black Friday on November 25 with some modest discounts on its iPad, iPod, iMac and MacBook lines. 9to5Mac has just leaked a list of the discounts, which unsurprisingly pretty much exactly match Cupertino’s 2010 offerings. But hey, a deal’s a deal, right?
Get a new Mac for $101 off, iPads from $41-61 off (depending on capacity and type), iPod nano for $11 off and iPod touch models from $21-41 off. The big price slash has been reserved for the base model 11.6-inch MacBook Air at $898, but there will also be a wide variety of accessories on sale this Friday as well.
Did Grandma move in the last year and now you find yourself without a clue how to get to her new location? ALK Technologies is coming to the rescue with a 50 percent discount on their newer CoPilot Live Premium GPS navigation apps, with the USA edition only $9.99. The deals also include Premium North America for a mere $12.99, Standard USA for $2.99 and Standard North America for just $3.99. Pricing extends to both the iOS App Store as well as Android Market and the sale ends at midnight on Monday, November 28.
http://prmac.com/release-id-34218.htm
Agile Bits has a lot to be thankful for this year judging from their robust Turkey Day offerings, which includes 50 percent off their flagship 1Password app -- be it the Mac App Store version, the website Mac or Windows versions or even their iOS App Store editions.
We know, you’re heading into a little time away from the office, so who wants to think about word processing and number-crunching, right? Quickoffice has some great deals on their mobile apps, with 52 percent off Quickoffice Pro HD for iPad and 60 percent off Quickoffice Pro for iPhone and the deals also extend to the newly-released Android version 5.0 as well.
iOS developer Readdle is once again unleashing a number of Black Friday Deals for November 25, with discounts on their popular ReaddleDocs, PDF Expert, Scanner Pro, Calendars and more.
Still in search of the best way to protect your favorite smartphone or other gadget? GelaSkins is offering 20 percent off everything they sell through Monday, November 28 and that includes even gift certificates, should you prefer to buy down the road but still nab the savings.
Uniea is also ramping up for Black Friday, granting bargain hunters 40 percent off their entire order at the company’s website with flat rate shipping anywhere in the world for only $5.95. You’ll need the promo code BLACK40 to make the magic happen, and the deal is open to international customers as well.
iDevices, LLC is celebrating Black Friday by giving away a free iGrill apron with every purchase, plus free shipping to boot -- a $19.99 value for those in the market for the company’s award-winning $99.99 iGrill Bluetooth cooking thermometer through December 9, but the deal is only available on the company’s website.
Seagate is already in full swing with their Black Friday sale, with prices good until Wednesday, November 30 (or while supplies list), plus free shipping. Deals include the 750GB GoFlex Pro for $79.99 (43 percent off), the GoFlex Net Media Sharing Device for $49.99 (50 percent off) and the GoFlex Pro Ultra-Portable Drive Only with free auto backup cable for $59.99 (59 percent off).
Steam is pumping out the heat with their Autumn Sale, including “huge savings” on titles like Portal 2 and Duke Nukem Forever (66 percent off) and Call of Duty: Black Ops (50 percent off) and more. The company claims there are new deals each day, but act fast because the deals are only valid through November 27.
Need some royalty-free stock music or production elements for your next work of art? StockMusic.com has just kicked off a Black Friday-Cyber Monday sale with complete CDs on sale for 50 percent off -- that’s just $49 each until November 30.
“With savings like these, you’re going to need more ribbon,” touts Adobe, who is serving up to 50 percent off on their flagship Photoshop applications through November 29, including Photoshop CS5, Photoshop Extended CS5, Photoshop Lightroom 3 and the combo of Photoshop Elements 10 with Premiere Elements 10.
Already filled up your free 5GB on SugarSync? The company is offering 50 percent off annual plan upgrades for Black Friday, which means plans are as low as $24.99 for the first year if purchased before November 28.
MacPaw is sticking to the Black Friday playbook with a 50 percent off discount on its “ultimate Mac cleaner,” CleanMyMac. You’ll need the coupon code BKF11 to take advantage of the deal, which is only valid on Black Friday (that would be Friday, November 25) starting at midnight PST.
But that’s not all from MacPaw -- the company is also teaming up with MacLegion by offering a free Black Friday gift in the form of Ensoul, a Mac app that helps beautify your iPhone graphics. Instead of paying $9.99, you’ll get the app absolutely free just by logging into your existing MacLegion account or creating a new one -- no purchase required!
Pogoplugged helped spread the word via Twitter that its favorite Pogoplug Premium Software license is available now through Monday at a special price of only $19 -- that’s a $10 savings over the regular price.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Header image courtesy of SheFinds.com)
