BlackFriday

It’s Black Friday and we’ve got the best deals from around the web on Apple products and accessories. Although most of the Apple Store prices (which we stumbled upon a few days ago) are moderate discounts, some are actually the lowest we could find, especially in iPads and accessories.  We’re updating all day long so come back early and often…and don’t forget to check 9to5toys.com.

Apple Store Refurbished items come with Apple’s one year warranty and are as good as new. AT&T has 64GB iPad 3G for $479. DailySteals has a 16GB iPad for $280 (refurb).  iPhone4 16GB Refurb is $49 with activation, Frys has $25 off of current iPhones

Software:

1. Microsoft Office for Mac is $70 at Amazon or $100 for the Family Pack
2. Parallels is $35 PLUS you get $40 off Windows when you buy Parallels, VMWare Fusion is $28
3. Adobe Photoshop Elements $48 at Amazon, Premiere Elements:  $50, Lightroom Student Teacher :$89 Full Version $100 CS5: $289
4. Quickbooks 2012 is $125
5. Toast 11 Pro $80

Misc:
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From 9to5Toys.com:

Best Buy gets the Black Friday started early with some pretty incredible deals this morning:

Buy an 8GB iPod Touch for $195, get a $50 Best Buy Gift Card sent to you.

iPad 2s are $45 off across the board.

iTunes Gift Cards are 20% off 

And the current Macbook Airs start at an impressive $849

More below:
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Both Australia and New Zealand Online Apple Stores just went down for Black Friday updates. Here’s a pretty good idea of what’s coming. We suspect the rest of the world will shortly follow – feel free to update in the comments (Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving for those in the US!).

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The wraps are coming off of the Grand Central Apple store frontage to reveal a ticker sign according to our morning commuter tipster.   The screens move like flipping letters of the old Grand Central timetables.  The design is reminiscent of Apple’s Green Monster Facade at the Boston Store.

A construction worker on the scene said that the store wasn’t going to be opening any time soon, reiterating a comment from yesterday.  Apple had originally hoped to have the store open for the Black Friday shopping rush, but now rumors are floating around of Friday, December 9th.

Another angle and more signage snaps below — including video.  Thanks Michael Ortega from Stamford, CT and others!

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fpBEcpw3wqA]

It appears that Apple isn’t satisfied with the progress on the Grand Central Apple Store and is postponing the opening at least a week perhaps more.  Clearly, Apple would have preferred to have another huge venue open for Black Friday but we’ve been told by a GC Apple employee today that they’ve been told to continue working at other New York Area Apple Stores during Black Friday weekend.

Last weekend, a group of employees was told that the opening announcement was scheduled for today and Apple was going to try to open for Black Friday.

On the other hand, it is good to have an abundance of Apple Store workers on hand at the other NYC Apple Stores for the busiest shopping weekend of the year.

We’re sorry we got your hopes up and we’re still hoping to see the store open next week.

Update: Mashable spoke to a construction worker who has said as much.

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Update: We’ve been told there has been a delay.

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We reported on the construction progress of the future Apple grand Central store earlier this month and have since received further information and pictures from our  trip to the location and from the tech blog, Techfootnote. Both sources grabbed shots of the upcoming Grand Central Apple Store as it was actively being worked on Friday, November 18th.  There were dozens of construction workers and corporate reps putting the final touches on the future store.  In the images you can see what looks to be several large hanging boards.  The boards are hung on large hooks, which would make it easy to pull off and reveal what is behind the boards.

9to5Mac has heard that Apple will officially announce the opening of the Grand Central Apple store this Tuesday and presumably pull the black boards to reveal the announcement.  This store garners extra special attention because it will be Apple’s largest in the world by square footage and resides in a building where 750,000 people pass daily and over 1,000,000 people during the holidays.  Check out our previously posted spyshots of the location for a sneak peak of the store.

The Grand Central Apple Store will have little over 300 employees, which are currently training in other local NY Apple stores.  All Apple retail employees will be attending a holiday-focused (policies / loss prevention) meeting tonight.

From what we have now heard, Apple will be filling the store with stock and applying the finishing touches this week putting the  the actual opening of the store on Black Friday or shortly thereafter.  The goal all along has been to get the store open for the holiday shopping and to make a big splash with Apple’s new crown jewel of retail.

Wall of Monitors spied between pillars, right, Video of the store space below (more here):

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Apple is beginning to prepare for the upcoming holiday shopping season by putting the final touches on several retail locations and reinventing the way their visitors buy Apple gear.  Most notable is opening up a flagship store in New York’s iconic Grand Central Station.  Why is Grand Central such a big deal, especially when there are already Apple Stores in New York in affluent neighborhoods?  Here are some quick facts on Grand Central:

1. 750,000 people pass through Grand Central daily and over 1,000,000 people during the holidays
2. Mean household income for Grand Central Terminal commuters is $95,800; 50% of household incomes are over $100,000, and 20% are over $200,000.
3. The captive shopping population of more than 326,000 neighborhood office workers earn a combined $11.3 billion a year.
4. An average 7,500 people an hour pass the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, making it one of the busiest intersections in the city.
5. 21.6 million out-of-town tourists, with a mean income of $62,000, visit Grand Central each year.
6. Grand Central is served by Metro-North commuter trains, 31 commuter and 15 city bus routes, 7 subway lines, buses to and from the area’s three airports, and two million taxis a year.
7. Grand Central Terminal subway station is the busiest stop in the New York City subway system.

The future Grand Central Station Apple Store is progressing towards an end of November opening.  Future employees for the store have been going through their “Core” training for the past several weeks at a hotel in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan…
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