A complete guide to Black Friday deals, advice, and Ratings

We've been busy here getting ready for the holiday shopping season, which—despite its early start this year—traditionally starts on Black Friday. In addition to following deals and offering shopping tips here on the Electronics Blog, our reporters and testers have been updating the buying advice for a host of products at ConsumerReports.org. They've also been hard at work in our labs, as the flood of new product Ratings within the last week and a half can attest.

If you're among the brave ones venturing out in search of deals this Black Friday weekend, we hope this buying guide will help prepare you. For buying tips and deals throughout this holiday season, be sure to check back with the Electronics Blog periodically. Check in also with Tightwad Tod, who is following deals for a number of products and offering useful shopping advice.

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS
Our reporters have combed through a number of Black Friday deal sites and retailer circulars. Below are the fruits of their labor. Many deals carry through the weekend. Even if they're only valid on Black Friday itself, you might be surprised at what a little haggling can accomplish. And be careful of tempting bundled or package deals—sometimes they aren't as great a value as they appear.

• LCD TV deals
• Plasma TV deals

• Laptop, desktop, and netbook computer deals
• Digital camera deals (Some of these deals are advertised as available through Wednesday, though others may continue until stocks are depleted.)
• Blu-ray player deals
• GPS deals

PRODUCT RATINGS
We've recently added model Ratings and recommendations to a number of product categories. Read the reports to see what's new or go straight to the charts (available to subscribers).

• High-def camcorder Ratings & report
• Standard-def camcorder Ratings & report
• Desktop computer Ratings & report
• Laptop computer Ratings & report
• Netbook computer Ratings & report
• Cell phone Ratings & report
• Smart phone Ratings & report
• LCD TV Ratings & report
• Plasma TV Ratings & report
• Point-and-shoot digital camera Ratings & report
• Digital SLR camera Ratings & report
• Blu-ray player Ratings & report
• Home theater Ratings
• MP3 player Ratings

BUYING ADVICE
Along with the Ratings, we've updated our shopping advice for a number of product categories to better address the issues you'll face as you research your purchases. We've also added some new categories—like e-book readers and pocket camcorders—and updated our descriptions of video game consoles.

TVs

• TV buying advice
• TV buying guide video
• LCD vs. plasma: Which is right for you?
• How to decide on screen size
• Are "derivative" TV models a good buy?

MP3 players

E-book readers

• E-book reader buying advice
• E-book reader model reviews

Pocket camcorders

• Pocket camcorders overview
• Pocket camcorder model reviews

Video Game Consoles

Computers

• Computer buying advice
• Laptop buying guide video

Cell phones

• Cell phone and smart phone buying advice

Blu-ray players

• Blu-ray player buying advice
• Blu-ray buying guide video

GPS navigators

• GPS buying advice
• GPS buying guide video