Struggling to give chase down one last stocking - stuffer for anyone on your vacation shopping listing ? If they happen to own an iPhone , iPad , or iPod touch , the App Store offer more than a half - a - million last - minute giving options . And gifting features in iTunes make giving the gift of apps as easy as a few clicks .
In case you ’re unfamiliar with iOS gift - giving , here ’s a quick summation of how the process works . We ’ll wait at gifting specific apps first , followed by give an iTunes gift certificate — which your lucky receiver can apply to buy music , movies , TV shows , apps , and more . ( See “ How to give talent from the iTunes Store ” for extra universal giving information . )
Giving specific apps
you’re able to find the Gift This App alternative by penetrate the triangle next to the app ’s price .
Before you do , though , make indisputable to check the app ’s prerequisite to see if it will run on the gimmick of your recipient . You do n’t desire to inadvertently endue someone an iPad - only app if they only own an iPhone , say . Similarly , some apps wo n’t run on old iOS devices . Most App Store listings are pretty clear when it come to the gimmick the app supports .
Once you ’ve pick out the Gift This App option , you ’ll be take in to the Give A Gift blind , in which you ’ll be asked whether you want to send the gift via e-mail or print the gift security yourself . This is not an insignificant doubt : If you select email , the redemption coupon is directly sent — there ’s no manner to clock the electronic mail to arrive on a specific day . If you ’re of the “ Do Not Open Until Christmas ” schooltime of talent - gift , you may want to go with the printed pick . ( You could , I think , wait until Christmas to invest any apps , but that sort of behaviour is glower upon under the Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in my household . )
You can find the Gift This App option by clicking the triangle next to the app’s price.
I hope my mom does n’t take this article , or one of her gifts is vitiate .
allow ’s say you ’re give an electronic mail gift . The Sender ’s Name field is already filled in for you , with your first name listed . You then enter the recipient ’s name follow by an email address ; another subject area asks you to swan the email address by entering it again .
notice that if you ’re giving gift via email , you could transmit an app to multiple receiver in one go . Just enter their email addresses all at once , ramify each one with a comma — but keep in mind that you ’ll be charged for each person you ’re place the talent app to . ( This multi - recipient pick is n’t useable if you print up the gift certification yourself . )
I hope my mom doesn’t read this article, or one of her gifts is spoiled.
Finally , iTunes gives you a space to leave alone a personal message to your recipient role . attempt to appropriate your sentiments in less than 500 characters because that ’s the maximum numeral you ’re allowed .
dab continue and — if you have n’t purchased anything recently — you’ll be asked to supply your iTunes password . ( In the unlikely event you do n’t have an iTunes chronicle , you ’ll have the alternative of setting up one in that dialog box . ) After signing in , you ’ll see one last concealment for survey your leverage ; click Buy , and your natural endowment will wing its means electronically to your loved one ’s inbox .
Should you take the mark - it - yourself route , the appendage is similar , though with fewer field . Those extra electronic mail address fields go away , leaving you just to put down your name , your recipient ’s name , and the subject matter . After review the purchase , you then get a screen for printing up the gift certificate . render and expend a color printer if at all possible — the credentials follow with a stylish green perimeter and a lovely refreshment of the app ’s icon .
Another grateful loved one enjoys the gift of an iOS app.
Now when I was testing this feature film , I started to typewrite notes in what I thought was my open text editor ; turns out I was still in iTunes , and my ham actor - fisted typewriting made the printing varlet disappear before I could print it out . Not to vex — all you have to do is access to finagle your iTunes account by clicking on your account name in iTunes ’s upper - right niche . You ’ll be ask to participate your word again . From there , scroll down to Purchase History and tap See All . Search for the specific purchase , select that , and you ’ll see the natural endowment certificate with a print option . Try not to make a hash of it this time .
Another grateful enjoy one relish the gift of an iOS app .
While I favour to do my app gift - giving on my MacBook Pro with its physical keyboard for comfortable data accounting entry , more mobile - inclined shopper can give apps as talent through the App Store app on their iOS gadget . Go to a specific app page and scroll downward — the Gift This App push button appears just below the sample distribution screenshots and user ratings , just to the rightfield of the Tell A Friend button . You ’ll require to sign in once you tap Gift This App , but from there , the process is identical to the one described above .
Giving iTunes gift certificates
If you do n’t have a specific app in mind — or if you think your recipient role would choose to pick out their own gift — you could always prefer for an iTunes Gift Certificate . You ’ll notice strong-arm lineup at any Apple Store near you , not to mention in the endowment - card section of most grocery stores and retail merchant . If that ’s not an option , though , you may still turn to electronic gift giving .
Go to the home screenland in the iTunes Store , and bump theBuy iTunes Giftsoption — it lives in the Quick Links area on the correct side of the covert .
Click Buy iTunes Gifts , and the next screen will give you the selection of ordinate a gift certificate , with e-mail or mark options . Select the email option , and you supply the receiver ’s name , email savoir-faire ( entered twice for check design ) , and a personal message . you’re able to also jell an amount , pasture from $ 10 to $ 50 in $ 10 growth . Once you confirm the leverage , the gift security is sent on its merry way to your recipient to deliver ( for utilisation in the iTunes Store , App Store , and iBookstore ) at their leisure .
If you opt to control when and where your recipient role gets their gift , you ’ll require to take the printable security choice . The process works as it does for emailed natural endowment certificate , but without the email address fields . confirm the leverage convey you to a photographic print screen where you may output a paper gift certificate festoon with a silhouetted dancer from the iPod ads of erstwhile .
[ Helping out Macworld readers is talent enough for Macworld.com editor in chief Philip Michaels . ]
