Analyzing the 2012 Black Friday Ads: Walmart Promises You'll Get a Doorbuster

Among the more anticipated Black Friday ads is the one from Walmart, and it just hit the internet. Below, we'll show you some of its more noteworthy and notorious deals, so you know what to add to your Black Friday shopping list.

It's worth first pointing out though that Walmart is doing something a bit unusual this year. The vendor is actually guaranteeing availability of three of its doorbusters to customers who make it in-store on Thanksgiving, November 22, between 10 pm and 11 pm. If the doorbuster sells out and is no longer physically available in-store at the store, shoppers will receive a Walmart "guarantee card," which entitle shoppers to buy the doorbuster at its promotional price on the spot. With card in hand, customers then register their purchase online, and the item will be shipped to the store for pickup by Christmas.

As it turns out, all three of the deals that qualify for this promotion are pretty choice, so they're all noted in our analysis below. For a look at other ads, check out the Black Friday hub.

• Acer Ultrabook for $499
  Though Walmart isn't very specific about the internal components of this laptop, it's still the lowest total price we've seen for any Acer Ultrabook by $100.
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• Compaq Presario CQ58 15.6" Laptop for $179
  While we haven't found deals that support all of our Black Friday predictions, here's one that does. We anticipated seeing a basic 15" to 16" laptop with a dual-core processor for $179... and that's exactly what Walmart is offering with this Compaq laptop. Pretty spot-on!
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• LG Blu-ray Player for $38
  Here is the first of the deals that Walmart is guaranteeing availability of on Thanksgiving between 10 pm and 11 pm. Outside of refurbished units, we've only ever seen a Blu-ray player this low once before: a Toshiba for $35 total. This deal also solidifies our Black Friday prediction of seeing a Blu-ray player for $39.
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• Apple iPad 2 16GB WiFi 9.7" Tablet with a $75 Walmart Gift Card for $399
  We predicted that this Black Friday, we would see this tablet drop to as low as $299. If you take into account the $75 gift card, it's close to what we expect, but not quite there. Though, for what it's worth, this is also one of the items that Walmart guarantees will be in stock for the first hour. That might push this deal into "pretty good" territory, since the availability of iPad deals on Black Friday is always risky. (A $299 iPad 2 would almost certainly sell out very quickly.)
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• Vizio 60" LED-Backlit Smart TV for $688
  Sometimes it's nice being wrong. Such is the case with when we predicted seeing a 60" 1080p LCD HDTV for $719 this Black Friday. Not only does this shatter our prediction (in a great way), it's also the lowest total price we've seen for any 60" LCD HDTV by $112.
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• Emerson 32" 720p LCD HDTV for $148
  The third and final guaranteed doorbuster at Walmart is for the lowest total price we've seen for any 32" LCD by $21. A 32" TV for $148 as a "sure thing?" We have a feeling deals like this are the reason why the word "doorbuster" was coined.
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• Orion 24" LED-Backlit LCD HDTV for $78
  Need a second TV, or just live in a shoebox New York City apartment? You could do worse than this deal which, if true, is the lowest total price we've seen for any 24" LCD — including refurbs — by $22.
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• Microsoft Xbox 360 4GB Console with Skylanders for $149
  Having never seen the console alone for this low a price, it's a great deal, regardless of how you feel about Skylanders as a game. (Our previous low was $21 more, and that required in-store pickup at Target.)
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• Nintendo Wii Game Console for $89
  That is certainly an impressive price for this console, but keep in mind that the Nintendo Wii U is the one everyone will want under the tree this year. And that new console is going on sale right before Black Friday. You may struggle through crowds of overeager parents to get this deal, but your kids may still resent you when they unwrap this last-gen system.
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• Select Blu-ray Movies for $3.96
  It's another victory for the dealnews crew! Just as we predicted, Blu-ray movies are hitting this price-low. And shockingly, they're not all terrible titles! According to Walmart's flyer, it looks like The Dark Knight, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and The Matrix are all available at this price.
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• Select DVD Movies for 96 Cents
  That is just an insane price for a movie — the cost of the materials and shelf space to store these things must cost more than that! The gild falls off the lily a bit when you realize the best titles are Starsky & Hutch, Amityville Horror (the remake), and Jonah Hex.
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• Leap Frog LeapPad Explorer for $65
  Perennially in demand as a holiday gift, the best deal we've ever seen for this child's learning tool is $89. And we mean ever. If true, Walmart's price blows that historic low out of the water. Let us reiterate: $65 is a ridiculously low price for something that we've never seen available for less than $89, and is frequently closer to $100.
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• Apple iPod touch 16GB MP3 Player for $195
  During Black Friday, we advise the consumer to look past Apple's Black Friday sale, because third party merchants show greater discounts around this time of year. However, we'd advise against this particular deal, as Amazon has it for this price right now.
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• Barnes & Noble NOOK Color 8GB Tablet for $99
  At $50 under the lowest total price we've ever seen for this device, you might think it's a steal. However, know that this is last year's model, as Barnes & Noble just refreshed their entire NOOK line of tablets. (Score another one for our tablet predictions!)