len_mullen

The frames show videos as well, so wide screen is probably for that.

They will be better, cheaper, and bigger next year. I'll probably get another one This is my third.

I'm going to arrive at Staples just before 5:00am. If I judge the line to be too long, I'm off to RS. If RS has a line, it's back to bed I think GPS prices are going to be flat between now and Xmas.

I have always BF'd at Staples and buy most of my tech toys there. In the past, they have been up front about the BF deals and helpful during reconnaissance missions. This year the manager is 'not even sure if they will have the items in the leaked ad.' He has no idea how much merchandise he will have on hand and most of the BF items are not even on display. The Navigons were on the display counter but powered off -- defective units, he said. If I buy the Omnitech 11.3" frame sight unseen or have to compare two GPS devices *after* getting them home, that is just me dealing with their tactics. If the manager is unhappy about this, I can't help that. I don't understand the secrecy surrounding BF. If I were trying to sell lots of great merchandise at great prices, I'd want everyone to know that I had plenty of the right stuff at the best prices. When the merchants are coy, I think they are probably hiding the fact that their prices are not the best or that they don't have enough merchandise. I don't do Walmart for this reason. Next year, I may pass on Staples too.

I guess we all agree. This is not good -- I'll have to get up earlier. I'm Staples bound. I plan to get a 2100 and a tt-one. If you are undecided, buy both and decide later. Don't feel bad about taking merchandise off the shelf -- if Staples had made these available for examination before BF we would not need to go this way.

You're a coward, Marc, but I agree with you. I like the real time traffic enough to pay for map updates. Besides, next BF we may be waiting in line for the next generation of GPS hardware. I think market forces will lead to free/cheap/third party map updates for all -- even if the maps are sponsored by Google Same for expanding the POIs.

I haven't seen one that does not, but there are too many to say for sure that they all do. Google the models for features and see what you see. If you cannot find information for one, post the model/ad here and I'll see if I can.

There are not two LCDs in the box -- just one LCD and two interchangeable frames that are mounted to the LCD. My pandigital came with a wood grain and a black frame. For all these frames, I highly recommend a little scouting. Image quality, package construction, and user interface vary widely. If the frames are not yet out for display, buy extras and return the ones you don't like to be sure to get the BF price.

Minor mention of the Navigon 2100 on the Short List. Was this compiled before you saw the review on gpslodge? Reading the review and visiting the experiencenavigon site, I think it has more going for it than free traffic service (which covers a wide area around the 68 cities). I'm going to grab one of these and a TomTom. If the traffic feature works as advertised and the user interface is even tolerable, I think the Navigon 2100 is the deal. Text-to-Speech and Reality View are icing on the cake. Who can't afford to make a $100 mistake?

I think the 7" frames are the smallest that look good, but I can see smaller frames on a desk. The 7" frames are ~$50 -- I got one at Staples for that price last month. Offciemax has a Pandigital 5.6" frame for $30 (after rebate; maybe hard with a gift). The 11" frames are striking and will be <$100 at RS and Staples. I think these are the sweet spot right now. Resolution is different than size. Just as important, but different. When I got my Pandigital last year, I was disappointed with quality of the images I was loading from my (older) digital camera. The photos I scanned and images from a newer, higher resolution camera looked much better. If you are going to load images from a camera, check the resolution of the camera -- it should be as high or higher than the resolution of the frame. If you want to gift one of these, load it with images ahead of time. While geeks like the cool technology, others are intimidated by *any* technology. Shifting the focus from the frame to the images will make this a better gift for technophobes.

I found it right here on this site. Go to... http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/BlackFridaySales/Store/RadioShack Search the page for photo and click the camera beside Digital Photo Frame with 11.3" LCD Display. That will bring up... http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/black-friday-3538-DigitalPhotoFramewith113LCDDisplay.html which is kind of generic, so I went to RS and asked to see the 11.3" frame that would be $100 on Friday. This is the frame I was taken to. If I search the RS site for the part number in the scan, I find... http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2911612&cp which is a 10.4 frame. This *may* be the frame I was looking at. I didn't have a ruler and this is the right price and manufacturer. It looks the same. The image was big and beautiful. If the 11.3 number is incorrect, I won't complain...much.

Sage advice, emdiva. I was at my local Radio Shack and Staples stores tonight and learned that 1) RS has two 2100's in the store. These do not have the traffic bonus. They will not have any in for BF due to a problem with the packaging. 2) Staples is being coy about everything BF and talking down the 2100. In fact, all Navigon units in the display case were unpowered -- manager said they were defective. He said that GPS would be distributed first come, first server via voucher. He was such a thorn that I am going to buy a Navigon and a TomTom and return one later.

There are never lines at my RS. I usually hit it after Staples and always get what I want. I stopped in there tonight and was told they have a *lot* of these. The girl said there was no limit on quantity. The frame looks amazing. It's high resolution, the colors were nice, and the frame was attractive. The controls were intuitive and it comes with a remote. I'll get one or two. Here is a web site with info on the frame... http://smartpartsproducts.com/content/index.php The RS frame is SP113MW. Watch the video. These have nice features. Staples had an SP15MW on display that was not working properly. I don't know how this reflects on the technology or the brand, but it looked as bad as the RS frame looked good.

I just asked this at my Staples. I was told they would not adjust to BF prices and would not match other BF prices.

I'm thinking about this one... http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/black-friday-3538-DigitalPhotoFramewith113LCDDisplay.html

you're welcome

I think the Post-BF prices for GPS will resemble the BF prices. If I don't get out BF, I think I will be able to do well on Monday or as Christmas gets closer. There isn't much to a GPS. They have been priced to their value (it's worth $1000 for some people to never be lost). Now they are a commodity and going forward their price will be tied to a reasonable profit. Good for us.

it's the diagonal of the part that displays the picture.

I got the pandigital 7" frame at Kohls last BF. I think it was $80 and they gave you 10% off if you used the Kohls card and $10/50 spent, so it ended up being ~$60. I got three and gave two as gifts. I had compared the frames for features and image quality and found this superior -- the Optimus frame was not as nice and the image did not look as good to me. I liked this frame so much that I bought another for $49.99 at Staples last month. We have it loaded with still images running a slide show. It sits on a piano in the dining room and I cannot pass through the room without stopping for a few seconds. Hundreds of pictures of our kids growing up. I'm going to put a compilation of our home movies on the other. No sound, just the clips. I'm stopping into RS this week to check out the 11.3" frame. If it looks good, I'm in. It's important to use high res images for best results. Digital images from a few years back are not good enough to play on these frames. Images from our 7m camera or scanned from stills look great. My frames run on AC as well as batteries. We use AC. They take lots of media types. We use 1g sd cards. These cards are not for everyone. I see people who think they are a TV -- turn them off except to watch. You really want to run them 7x24 (it costs pennies a year to run these). Good luck!

I guess so. I'll stop into RS and Staples this week to check out some items I'm interested in (11.3" frame, GPS). I'll ask about quantities and price matching as well. If I can get RS to PM, I'll start there BF.

That's how it goes with Dell -- teaser price then kill you with upgrades. Still, your requirement for Business says you're screwed anyway. It may be worthwhile to chase a bargain then upgrade to Ultimate ($170). Depends how you are going to use the machine.

Why Business? Business will increase your cost and limit your selection. Unless your PC will be in a domain, maybe you do not need business...

On 10/30 you posted that no pricing had been released to stores. On 10/31, you confirmed what my friend shared on 10/7. Maybe Staples leaks are more prevalent than you know In my experience, Staples associates are *very* knowledgeable *way* before BF. They are right 100% so I don't think it's pure speculation

VEI is a paradigm shift. Instead of averaging the capability of the subsystems or measuring the computer's ability to accomplish a specific task, VEI attempts to identify bottlenecks. You get an overall score -- the bottleneck -- plus the score of each subsystem. The idea is that software will report requirements using the same benchmarks. You will be able to pick up an app or game and see the VEI and have some expectation as to how well it will run on your machine. I think this is a leap forward -- assuming MS did their math right. If I have a 5+ system except for a 3 6150, it's easy for me to see I need a new video card. When I bought my system, I settled for a cpu and video card at 4.8. My other scores are in the high fives, so I know I can improve performance with a new cpu and video card when the prices come down. I can also look at benchmark sites for help determining how much this cpu or video card will improve performance. You're correct that the benchmark weights the video card, but that makes sense considering how visual Vista is (Windows + tab). I like that they broke out the gaming number as this tends to be an exception.

I know. I was reluctant to post because I could see it going that way, but I hate it when people give nonspecific advice (don't buy Vista, BF computers are junk) without tangible examples. Definitely OT to discuss other Deal Sites in here. If Brad disagrees, I can follow up. In the meantime, PM me and I'll give you some specific pointers. But don't just go by me. Visit your local retailer and try some Vista machines. Check the VEI details and Computer properties so you can know what VEI index works for you and what kind of hardware is required to achieve it.