The images posted by 9to5Mac appear to be from an internal staff leaflet or flyer detailing the Apple Store’s Black Friday deals. In addition to the Mac sales (which are actually pretty good at $100 off even the cheapest models), a lot of accessories are on sale, including Apple’s own iPad Smart Cover ($11 off all models), wireless input devices ($11 off keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad) and networking devices ($11 to $51 off AirPort and Time Capsule hardware).

But some of the standouts include sales on products that, while excellent, are normally out of reach for a lot of consumer budgets (mine included). For instance, the Jambox by Jawbone gets a $51.95 discount, making the Bluetooth speaker only $148 on sale. Jawbone’s breakout hit, the fitness tracking UP wristband, is also significantly cheaper according to the spy shots, getting a $21.95 temporary price drop. Bowers & Wilkins’ excellent C5 stereo headset, which we recently picked as the best overall iPhone headphone companion, is on sale for $128, a full $51.95 off its original price, and the same company’s Zeppelin Air, which is the best and brightest of the AirPlay speaker lot, hovers a little closer to being affordable thanks to a $101.95 price break, making it ‘only’ $498.

I may not have expressed much enthusiasm about Apple’s Black Friday sales in the past, but if this flyer turns out to be accurate I’ll be singing a different tune. Deals on high-end Apple accessories don’t come along often enough, and wireless, room-filling sound just might be worth waiting in line for. Check out the full flyer snapshot at 9t05Mac and let us know if anything catches your eye.

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While the idea of a sale at Apple, where sales are seldom seen, is tantalizing, if history is any indication, there’s no real reason to get too excited about Apple’s Black Friday plans. Last year, for instance, discounts were in the order of around 8 percent across its product lines. In other words, you’d save about $100 on items over $1,000, and much less on cheaper items like iPods. Not bad, but not great; generally people can get similar discounts using education or business purchasing discounts.

You can do better. There are lots of sites out there that will have deals that make sure your money goes further on Apple products on Friday. One recurring favorite is MacMall, which often offers discounts at least as steep as those offered by Apple itself, and often beats the official prices by at least a few dollars. Amazon  is another place to check for bigger reductions, especially since it offers access to many partner stores, as is MacConnection, which already has some decent sales running.

It’s even worth keeping an eye on Best Buy, which is apparently offering $150 off MacBook Pro and iMac devices this year, as well as $100 iTunes cards for only $80.

Don’t get me wrong. For Apple to loosen its tight grip on pricing enough to let you save even a few dollars on any of its products is reason enough to pick up that new MacBook you’ve been dreaming about, but make sure you can’t get a better deal elsewhere first; Apple isn’t running out of its own products anytime soon.

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Black Friday by Brad Deals (Free)

If you want the virtual experience of looking through those fun newspaper inserts with lots of pictures and happy models wearing ugly sweaters, then this app is for you. Plain and simple collection of ads that aren’t searchable, saveable or sharable. But despite limited features, as someone who enjoys marketing, I genuinely loved looking through the national ads with this app, in their full print glory.

Black Friday App (Free)

This app is put out by the very reputable and addictive Dealnews site. This app is a great tool for searching for a particular product or product category. Need an external hard drive? Search for it, find the best deal and then click on the item to find out when the store offering that deal opens, whether you can buy it online and how long it’s on sale. You can also save the deal to a list, or share it with others via social media.

This is a great browsing app for seeing what’s out there and remembering where to go. For each deal it has a list of the store limits for items and limits per customer, letting you know how early to get online for them (for some, you’d better be reading this while in line!). Logical and easy to use.

ShopSavvy (Free)

While not specifically a Black Friday app, ShopSavvy is the definitive guide to finding the best deals online and off. Scan a barcode on an item or simply search for it, and the app will check online prices as well as local stores. It can even tell you if an item is in stock. If you miss that “1 item per store” deal, this app will help you find the next best price.

The interface is slick. You can create lists of items you found and sync them with DropBox or export them for later use. If you see something you want someone to buy for you while shopping for others, this app will help you drop some hints while saving you money on your own purchases. You can also quickly create lists of potential gifts for others.

Sale Saver LT (Free)

So many Black Friday sales are percent-off deals requiring you to do some fancy calculations every time you want to know what the price is. One or two deals is fine, but doing mental math for a long list can be very taxing. Sale Saver quickly figures out the sale price based on the listed price and percent off. Plus, it figures sales tax.

A quick cheat sheet in the app is included to quickly calculate deals that are a standard percent off of everything in a store or section. Put in 20% and it calculates the price of products ending in .49 cents and .99 cents, since nobody ever prices their products in round numbers.

Decide.com (Free)

Decide.com is a technology-focused price predicting engine. It analyzes pricing trends for popular products and tells you whether to wait on purchasing or go ahead and buy. Using a bar code scanner or  through basic searches and browsing, the app will look at the price of the item within the past two weeks to determine if its recent price trend. Think of it as a stock predictor for electronics pricing. Once you decide it’s time to buy, it will compare prices locally and online to help you get the absolute best price.

mGifts ($2.99)

To track all those purchases and to make sure you’ve got something for everyone on the list without duplicates, mGifts helps you organize your purchases. Can you get your entire list done in one day? mGifts will make it possible to stay organized enough, but unfortunately won’t help you pay for anything. mGifts isn’t exclusively holiday, related so you can use it all year for birthdays and anniversaries.

eBay (Free)

A true Black Friday warrior is as interested in buying things for themselves as turning a little profit by reselling the incredible deals they get. The eBay app makes it easy to scan a barcode and see what an item is selling for. This is also helpful for selling the stuff you already have around the house to pay for your Black Friday overindulgence.

Finally, don’t forget individual store apps. These are always free. The Amazon Price Check  app will search all of Amazon and stores that sell via Amazon. National retailers such as Target and Walmart have individual apps to help you find the best deals, and some even offer coupons, so it’s a good idea to have the app for the store where you’re shopping. Even some national mall chains have apps, and it can’t hurt to have them since they’re always free.

Now you’re armed with a quiver of apps to get the best deals of 2011 while keeping your sanity, though waiting in line still might drive you batty. Happy hunting.

Disclosure: mGifts provided a promo code for their app for review purposes, which is about as close to a Black Friday deal as this writer will get this holiday season.

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From Apple’s U.S. Store website:

Come back to the Apple Online Store (or any Retail Store starting at 8 a.m.) for a special one-day-only holiday shopping event. You’ll find dozens of great iPad, iPod, and Mac gifts for everyone on your list. Mark your calendars now.

Though the company has been offering Black Friday discounts for several years now, Apple has extended what has been traditionally an American holiday to other countries, too, following the lead of many other retailers such as Amazon. Silicon Republic reports that Apple’s Irish online site is displaying the same ad. Exploring other international Apple Stores reveals it can also be found in the UK and Italy, but we’re not seeing the ad in Asian-based stores at this time.

Now, before you start camping outside your local store or sitting in front of your computer for hours in anticipation (prices are usually the same whether shopping online or in-store), it should be noted that Apple’s Black Friday discounts are usually much smaller than what you may be used to from Best Buy or other retailers. But, this is also one of the only annual sales that Apple provides, so if you’re looking to order your technology straight from Cupertino, this could be as good as it gets.

Though we haven’t seen details on this year’s deal yet, 2009 boasted various discounts such $11 to $41 off iPod models, $21 off Apple TV, $101 off some computer models, and discounts on other Apple and third-party accessories.

However, if you’re willing to purchase from another retailer, drop by Apple Insider on Black Friday for their pricing matrix that lists each Apple product’s price and discounts by retailer. Keep your eye on MacMall and OWC, too, to name just a few places that traditionally provide some Mac-related bargains. And be sure to let us know in the comments where else you might be able to snag a great deal.

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A small number of T.J.Maxx and Marshalls stores received a very limited quantity of tablets this week. These were first quality goods sourced from a retailer. They sold out in one day, and they were not advertised in the media.

Apple’s own Black Friday deals never seem to be that impressive, but this one from TJX Companies, Inc, which operates the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, is sure to attract consumer attention. Both stores will offer the 16GB Wi-Fi version of Apple’s iPad for only $399 on Black Friday and the following two days.

Both chains will offer the $100 discount off of the regular price between Friday and Sunday of next week, following Thanksgiving. Rumors circulated about the discount yesterday, as reported by Engadget, but the person behind T.J. Maxx’s Twitter account offered official confirmation today:

The rumors are TRUE! Select (unadvertised) locations/limited quant @ajdelao whats this i hear of @tjmaxx carrying IPADS for $399? #maxxfinds—
T.J.Maxx (@tjmaxx) November 18, 2010

Buyers wanting to snag one of the discounted units will have to be both dedicated and lucky, as only select stores will be carrying a limited quantity of devices. For the retailers, it means a smaller overall investment that will draw consumers to all of its locations. For consumers, it could mean a long wait in a line that proves deeply unsatisfying.

No official word on how many iPads each store will receive, either, though a Mac Rumors commenter notes that Marshalls stores in Florida say they will be receiving 100 iPads per day during the holiday weekend.

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So it’s finally Black Friday and retailers across America are slashing their prices and welcoming hordes of hysterical shoppers. The question, of course, is how generous is Apple being this year? Is it – as it teased earlier in the week – a “happy” Friday for the Apple-buying public?

The answer is (not unsurprisingly) No. Not if you buy from Apple it isn’t.

While Apple observes the Black Friday custom, it never really embraces it. It’s been said before, Apple unashamedly sets higher-than-average prices on its products (particularly when MacBooks are compared to run-of-the-mill Windows computers) and just isn’t interested in doing bargain-basement deals. I guess that’s why they have sixty bajillion in the bank.

Anyway, here’s a quick rundown of some of the more noteworthy price-cuts among the meager discounts Apple has on offer just for today.

Apple TV
This’ll rock your world (not); save $21 on an Apple TV, now only $208. I bet that has you reaching for your credit card…

iPods
The iPod Nano starts at $138 today, a saving of $11.
The iPod Touch enjoys a $41 discount, cost today: $178.

iMacs
The 21.5 and 27 inch iMacs start at $1098, a saving of $101.

MacBook Pros
13, 15 and 17 inch MacBook Pros also get a $101 discount and so also start at $1098. No savings on the MacBook or MacBook Air, sadly.

All manner of Apple accessories and software get moderate discounts. If you’re interested in picking up the latest edition of iWork, Apple’s productivity software suite, a single user license will cost only $49 today, a saving of $30. (Actually, this isn’t a bad discount, given how sophisticated iWork is.)

The new Magic Mouse gets a measly $5 shaved off the asking price (today’s cost to you – $64 – is still way too much for this mouse).

The 1TB Time Capsule, Airport Extreme Base Station, Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple In-Ear Headphones all get a little of the Black Friday treatment. Not to mention a whole lot of stuff nobody cares about. And there’s no discount on a MobileMe subscription, which is what I was hoping to see happen.

Altogether now… “Meh.”

The same percentage discounts have been rolled-out to Apple’s international stores, but ultimately equate to the same small-time savings. None of this is new — Apple just doesn’t “do” discounts. It’s not in its DNA.

Where the Real Action Is

If you want a genuine discount that makes a real difference to your bank balance, you need to leave Apple’s stores behind and go to its authorized resellers. That’s where the real action is this Black Friday. AppleInsider has a great roundup (including side by side comparisons) of the top Apple-approved resellers and their best one-day-discounts.

If you’re out shopping for an Apple bargain today and stumble across a fantastic deal, why not share the news in the comments below? But only after you’ve helped yourself, naturally. No one expects retail-altruism on a day like this…

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But there is a day — just one, glorious day in the year — when the prices on Macs (and other goodies) fall and we are no longer forced to make the agonising choice between, say, food for the month or a shiny new toy with a glowing fruit on it. It’s Black Friday, of course, it isn’t only for Americans, and Apple just started teasing us about it.

The Apple online store features a new Apple One-Day Shopping Event page. It doesn’t say an awful lot, though the headline tantalises us with “Happy Friday. Especially this Friday.”

The special one-day Apple shopping event. November 27.

Come back to the Apple Online Store the day after Thanksgiving for a special one-day-only holiday shopping event. You’ll find dozens of great iPod, iPhone, and Mac gift ideas — all with free shipping.

Mark your calendar now. And until then, start your research by browsing the Apple Online Store to find iPod, iPhone, and Mac gifts for everyone on your list.

No precise word yet on which iPods, iPhones and Macs will be included in the sale, or how generous the (very temporary) discounts will be. The Boy Genius Report suggests the discounts on iPods might be as high as 30 percent, and up to 25 percent on Macs. Accessories, they say, will enjoy discounts of up to 15 percent. Even better, while Black Friday is a mostly American tradition, the discounts are usually made for all customers buying on the Apple Store, irrespective of their country of residence.

I tell you this much; if the Magic Mouse gets discounted, I’ll be mighty upset (see what I did there?). I only bought mine last week. It won’t do that, will it?

However, my MobileMe subscription does need renewing, and I’ll be deeply happy to get a discount on that hobbled-yet-necessary wreck of a service. (Sadly, a 15 percent discount still doesn’t mean a fair price for MobileMe, but heck, I’ll take what I can!)

What do you think should be discounted, and by how much? Are you waiting for Friday with baited breath, and credit card in hand? What are you most hoping to see — and don’t say a Core i7 iMac at half price, you know that’s never gonna happen! Share your retail therapy dreams in the comments below.

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Boy Genius Report got the early tip-off, from an anonymous source. It comes in the form of what looks like a flyer image, detailing some pretty significant discounts on all things Apple, basically. They’re deep enough that you’d probably do well to hold off any Mac or iPod-related purchase for at least another 10 days just in case.

Here’s what we’re looking at, if the rumors prove true:

• Up to 30 percent off all iPods (excluding iPhone and iPod shuffle)
• Up to 25 percent off all Macs
• Up to 15 percent off all accessories, Apple software and Apple hardware

The sales seem to be available in Apple retail stores only, since the poster also states that “Select Apple stores open at 6 am,” and a line at the bottom advertises the new availability of in-store gift-wrapping. Last year we saw online Black Friday discounts, though, so it’s possible we’ll see them again.

If these deals do indeed come to pass, they would be pretty significant compared with previous Black Friday sales by the Mac maker. Twenty-five percent off of all Macs is a very good discount, for example, and would result in a $500 discount on the Core i5 27-inch iMac, or a $250 discount on the entry-level MacBook. Compare that to a $101 discount on the MacBook last year, and a $101 discount on the top model iMac.

The teaser image leaked by BGR is fairly convincing, in that it does seem to use design cues and aesthetics currently favored by Apple in its marketing materials, but it’s hard not to be skeptical in the face of sound business sense — considering Apple’s previous Black Friday discounts, and the fact that last time I checked, it really wasn’t in a position to need to offer big price cuts to bolster sales.

If these do prove true, I’ve been putting a new Time Capsule or Airport Extreme purchase on the back burner for quite some time now, and that 15 percent off is nothing to sneeze at, given Apple’s usual reluctance to offer any kind of price cut at all. Anyone else planning on making a purchase if these discounts really do apply? Something you wouldn’t buy otherwise, perhaps?

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The 13″ aluminum MacBook is an “almost” machine. It appeals to me in many aspects, being a roughly three-quarter-sized unibody MacBook Pro at a substantially lower price. But it falls just short of the slam-dunk it might have been.

For me, probably the biggest negative is the lack of a FireWire port. I think I could live quite happily with the glossy display that some object to, and while I’ve gotten comfortably used to the 1440 x 900 screen resolution in my PowerBook G4′s 17″ display (I knew that would spoil me), I don’t think downsizing to a 13.3″, 1280 x 800 screen would be a deal breaker for me. I’m still working fairly happily on the 1024 x 768 screens in my two old Pismo PowerBooks.

Consequently, I spent a lot of the day on Friday ruminating over whether or not to take advantage of Apple’s one-day $101 price cut on the aluminum MacBook at the expense of other things I should have been doing. In the “just do it” column were the arguments that Apple rarely has sales of any sort, and while a hundred bucks off wasn’t especially exciting, it would at least pay most of the sales tax, and with the Canadian dollar having dropped by more than 25 percent in relation to the U.S. greenback over the past year, I’m skeptical that Apple Canada will hold its current price points for much longer. It’s also the time of year that one starts thinking about income tax expense deductions.

However, on the downside, I have a provisional policy of not buying Revision A computer hardware, there’s the FireWire issue, the smaller screen issue, and that $101 really isn’t much of a discount off the C$1399 sticker price. It was almost enough to persuade me, but not quite. I’m looking to upgrade to a MacIntel machine, but I’m not desperate yet for a new computer. My old 1.33 GHz G4 machine is still anvil-dependable, very pleasant to use, and an astonishingly capable performer for its age, although it is struggling a bit to keep up with what I’m demanding of it lately.

There’s also the matter of Apple Certified Refurbished early 2008 2.4 GHz MacBook Pros selling for just C$150 dollars more than the Black Friday discounted unibody MacBook, and it’s equipped with both FireWire 400 and 800 ports, an ExpressCard 34 slot, a 2.1-inch larger LED backlit display with 1440 x 900 resolution (same res. as my current 17″ PowerBook), a more than 20 percent faster processor, a real discrete graphics processor with dedicated video RAM, and a backlit keyboard, all for C$650 less than the equivalent new model cost less than two months ago.

Another alternative I priced out was an old-school MacBook. Apple’s Black Friday discount on it was a paltry $51, and that didn’t seem like much of a deal at all compared with the unibody pricing out to $200 more, since the base model comes with just 1GB of RAM as opposed to 2GB, a 120GB hard drive instead of a 160GB unit, old-fashioned CCFL screen backlighting, and of course the white plastic enclosure instead of aluminum carved from a solid block of metal.

I could also get a Certified Refurbished early 2008 2.4 GHz Penryn MacBook with a a FireWire port, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive for C$1054. The biggest drawback with the older model is its Intel GMA x3100 integrated graphics, rather than the unibody machine’s claimed 5x faster Nvidia 9400M graphics chipset, but I’m not a serious gamer and don’t do high-end graphics or video work, so that’s probably not a deal-breaker issue for me. What I really want is a unibody MacBook Pro, but it will probably be at least eight months to a year before refurbished examples of that currently future model become available, so a 2.4 GHz white MacBook might make a sensible tide-me-over machine for a year or two. Of course, that’s what the refurbished 17-incher was supposed to be when I bought it nearly three years ago!

So, in hindsight, what would you have done? Is a $100-off sale enough for you to jump the gun and buy an Apple notebook?

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Past Black Friday deals at the Apple Store have been limited to modest ($50 to $100) discounts on computers. Special pricing should be available in the online store and in retail stores around the U.S.. No word yet on what Apple plans, but we will post an update here as soon as the announcement is made. In the mean time, here are some other sales going on this week for the holiday shopping season.

Best Buy is having a sale on Apple gear through Wednesday, November 26. These deals to get $50 to $150 off a new Mac are available online and in retail stores. You can check the story on AppleInsider to get all the details.

MacMall is also running two sets of promotions — a Thanksgiving Blowout Sale and a 3 Day Black Friday Sale.

If you’re having trouble deciding where to shop, MacRumors has put together a nice chart showing the best discounts on Macs between the two sites.

If you’re shopping for discounts on accessories for your Mac or iPod, check out the great web site, bfads.net for searchable listings and scans of all the major retailers. For example, check out these hard drive, printer, and digital camera deals. Online, newegg.com and Amazon.com are having some great sales too.

If you know of other great deals, please share links in the comments below.

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