Sleepy eyes and an uncertain economy were not enough to keepBrookhavenites from buying up all the electronic items they couldget their hands on when Black Friday’s sales began early today.

Technology was dominating shoppers’ wish lists for the secondconsecutive year.

Bluetooth equipment, MP3 players and GPS systems flew off theshelves at Harvey Electronics/Radio Shack as soon as manager KevinHarvey unlocked the doors at 6 a.m. But it was the items’functionality rather than price that made them so popular, hesaid.

“The prices are pretty much the same as they were last year, butthe features are more enhances,” he said. “There’s more memory,more speed, more storage.”

Harvey said the items’ improvements were causing some people togive up their old hardware and buy the newest versions of the sameequipment.

“We have a lot of repeat customers I’ve seen from last year,” hesaid.

The small glass case containing the stores’ GPS systems washeavily visited Friday morning, as some of the direction-providingdevices were marked half off. The ever-popular TomTom 130 wasselling for $99, while the robust Motorola systems were still goingfor $250.

GPS navigators weren’t the only pieces of technology goingcheap. Bluetooth headsets were selling Friday for a fraction oflast year’s cost.

“Most everybody has one already, but I didn’t want to spend the$60 last year,” said Greenville’s Robyn Hastings, a Brookhavennative who was home for Thanksgiving.

Hastings said the good deals were causing more and more peopleto become technologically savvy – a good thing, in her opinion.

“Everybody needs to be,” she said. “I’m a social worker, and Iuse databases every day. Everybody needs to learn how to usecomputers and technology.”

Bogue Chitto’s Linda Wash purchased an MP3 player while passingthe time in Radio Shack. She was waiting for GameStop to open at 7a.m. so she could purchase the much-coveted Nintendo Wii – one ofthe hottest items in the entertainment industry and one that wasscarce last year.

With the Wii selling as soon as it was placed on shelves lastChristmas, some shoppers – like Debbie Robertson, a Hammond, La.,resident who came to Brookhaven for Black Friday – bought thegaming system and all its accessories.

Robertson triumphantly left GameStop with a Wii bundle thatincluded the exercise game Wii Fit, three extra Wii Nunchuckcontrollers and additional games. She spent more than $650 on thesystem and its components.

“I thought the family would use it more than just something myson uses,” said Robertson, who passed up other consoles like theXbox 360 and Playstation 3. “I checked for one last year and theywere out. We knew we were going to get one this year, and we werehere when the doors opened at 7 a.m.”

Robertson was on her way to Jackson as she left GameStop,hoping, she said, to enhance her Wii purchase with a highdefinition TV.

Not all of Black Friday’s shoppers were electronics devotees.Brookhaven’s Robert Sivils purchased a portable DVD player fromWal-Mart for $49 and then shifted gears, heading to Sears in searchof a set of tools.

But while Sears owner Sid Sasser said tools were always amonghis store’s “hot items,” it was a half price appliance combo thatmade waves Friday morning.

Sears’ front-loading washer/dryer combo sold at $599 so well, itsold out. Sasser said all 10 units were purchased by 7 a.m., andcustomers continued to buy them – paying up front and waiting forthe appliances to arrive in January.

It wasn’t exactly Christmas shopping, but it was definitelyBlack Friday shopping. The normal price for the combo wasapproximately $1,300.

And, as always, Black Friday shoppers set aside a few of theChristmas dollars for themselves.

“I’m shopping for myself right now – I deserve a little,”Brookhaven’s Paulette Mathis said with a laugh. “They haveBluetooth for $10. You can’t beat $10!”

Lincoln County’s Billy Jackson also used Friday’s deals forself-presentation.

“I don’t have anyone to shop for, and I figured today would bethe day to get my hands on some good equipment I can use at home,”he said while inspecting power tools at ACE Hardware. “I sentChristmas cards to my friends and I expect they’ll send them to me,but we’re not exactly passing gifts around this year.”