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The short month of February is here, and just because it's a mere 29 days long doesn't mean it's any less chock full of deals. Check out the list of the best and worst things to buy in February, which the dealnews editors compiled after poring over their extensive archives of sales, coupons, and individual products from years past. If you're curious about Presidents' Day sales, gifts for Valentine's Day, or prices on electronics, outerwear, and more, then read on.

Valentine's Day Deals Are Predictably Not Great
Since this is the time of year in which jewelry, flowers, and perfume are in their highest in demand, it shouldn't surprise anyone that you probably won't get the best price possible on these items; perfumes, for example, generally see better discounts in late February after Valentine's Day and March. That's because there's less incentive for retailers to offer truly great deals on these items when they're selling so well due to circumstance. Try buying your sweetheart a less routine Valentine's Day gift in a category that's more likely to see a fair discount.Read more

Does the sagging economy, national debt and the previous list of the 11 things that will be more expensive in 2012 have you feeling down? Well, here's something to look forward to: to help counteract some of that 2012 gloom, the editors at dealnews have gathered 12 items they predict will cost less in 2012.

From TVs to laptops, cash-strapped shoppers should keep an eye on prices for these items; even wine might see notable discounts this year!

So cheer up and read on for the good consumer news.

12 Things That Will Be Less Expensive in 2012:

1. Apple iPad 2
The iPad 3 will not feature a significant price drop (if any at all), but one thing is guaranteed — Cupertino's forthcoming tablet will most certainly bring down the price of refurbished iPad 2s.

2. Wine
With less disposable income, folks have left wines priced at $30 and above untouched on store shelves. So to move stock, retailers are expected to offer more sales and even flash deals on wines.

3. Desktop Replacement Laptops
Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs may be dominating the laptop landscape, but it's AMD's recession-friendly Fusion APUs that are driving prices down, particularly in the realm of desktop replacements.Read more

Better Year – To know where you're going you have to know where you've been, what you've been through. Based largely on what we've been through, people are cautiously more optimistic about the coming year. Image – Universal Pictures

Imagine:

• A global population of seven billion people … and growing.
• More than six billion mobile subscribers … and growing.
• More than nine billion connected devices (two billion machine to machine) … and growing.

We've become a mobile and open world, and there's no turning back.

Constantly Connected – Some feel at a loss if they don't have their mobile "tools" – smartphone, iPad, notebook – with them constantly. Admit it. You go back home if you forgot your phone. You're at a loss when your tablet/computer battery runs low. No wonder we feel we're always connected … we are!Read more

Whether it's for school or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) the iPad or tablet is first on nearly everyone's wish list.

At the same time there are those who are practical and see the need for a new light, high-performance notebook or ultrabook.

Anyone who has tried one of the new systems agrees that the light weight and lightning speed of the new systems make them very enticing.

A lot of the features people find desirable in the new systems are because they're using solid state drives (SSDs) rather than traditional spinning hard drives.

SSDs have been around since 1976, they didn't begin to appear in mainstream consumer applications such as mass-marketed notebooks until 2006.

Today, with SSDs delivering so many advantages over hard disk drives (HDDs), a growing number of notebook/ultrabook manufacturers are offering them as the standard storage solution.Read more

Black Friday 2011 is almost here. The editors over at Retrevo have been analyzing the deals on electronics from HDTV sets to digital cameras and have turned up some real deals and some duds. There are some great deals like a Sharp 42-inch 1080p TV for $199 at Best Buy although we suspect supplies will be limited on killer deals like this one. On the other hand, there are some deals that don't look as sweet - like the $78 Magnavox Blu-ray player at Walmart - that has been offered in past Black Friday deals. Here are some picks and recommendations:

*Amazon hadn't announced their prices as this list was put together but we're sure Amazon will be offering some very compelling deals

HDTV Bargains Come in All Sizes

If you're looking for a small TV to put on the counter, bedside or next to Grandma's chair there are some under $100 small screen sets worth considering. There are plenty of larger screen deals to consider as well even some 3D sets.

Samsung 55-inch D6000 LCD TV for $1099 at Sears
This TV offers some attractive features for the price. You get 120Hz, LED backlight and connectivity all for $400 off the normal price.

Dynex 24-inch 1080p LCD TV, $79 at Best Buy
Dynex is Best Buy's house brand which we understand is made by a Thai electronics manufacturer named Orion. Even though you don't really need 1080p on a set this size, it might make DVDs and games look better and it's hard to turn down at $79. Read more