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I can't remember this happening before, but Apple in Australia sent me a list of recommendations for my Christmas buying.
Hah! I think Apple gets quite a lot from me already, myself. Don't you? But there are some good ideas all the same.
The message said "This holiday season, give the perfect gift to the musician in your life with one of these great music 'app-cessories'. Whether your loved one or best friend is a DJ, guitar player or the next big thing, we have the perfect accessory + app solution for everyone, even those that are just eager to learn or noodle around."
Products touted include the Apogee Jam for iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, a guitar input for recording direct for your iDevice for further fettling in GarageBand on iDevice or Mac ($149.95); the Yeti USB Microphone for Macs ($299.95); and some other input devices.
Closer to home, the new Apple Reseller called iStore, which has opened at 61 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna (on Auckland's North Shore), has combined with Apple-centric importer MacSense NZ Ltd for some Christmas iStore-only special deals until the end of December, so wish a figurative Merry Christmas to MacSense's Bruce and Mark for that.
iStore is a creation of those amiable guys from Wired Dog. As it says on the site: "Come and experience the products first hand, and our friendly staff can provide you with buying advice. You can also purchase products from us directly through our web store, and we ship nationwide.
The RainDesign mStand for MacBooks normally costs $129 - until the end of December, you can get one from the iStore for just $99.
It's designed to mount the Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro at a comfortable, ergonomic height on your desk (but it works for all laptops). mStand helps you work comfortably by raising your laptop to the same height as an external display (15.3cms). It's made from a single solid piece of aluminium to match the MacBook Pro for a stable and stylish workstation. Meanwhile, it cools your laptop, working as a heat-sink.
Griffin Passport for iPad2 is a slim, one-piece folio cover for iPad. It opens like a book, and flips closed to protect, has an inner cover with card pockets, a tab closure to secure the cover when closed and it features a soft microsuede interior.
Normally $79.95, your iStore deal is $59.95 until the end of December.
And the Griffin iTrip Universal Plus lets you play your iPod, iPhone and iPod touch through your car's FM radio (88.1-107.9MHz). It has a built-in antenna, it's powered by the cigarette lighter, uses a high stability crystal, phase-lock loop control and normally costs $94.95 ... but your iStore special price is $79.95.
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Music
How about some free music? Of course, remember to check back every Wednesday for the new free music track in iTunes (in it's Store section, natch), and also recall that Apple added a free band video weekly this year, too. Thankfully you can preview anything before you download; they're not all pop-dreck; some are actually pretty good. Besides, they're free: if you change your mind, bif 'em out.
But Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, a long-time Apple fan boy and GarageBand collaborator (a few years ago Reznor posted a track in GB-form you could remix yourself, as did Fallout Boy), has done the soundtrack for the American version (argh!) of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
What's Swedish for 'Arrgh!'? It doesn't matter. It's going to be all in US English, for those who can't read English subtitles. Star Daniel Craig has already warned people not to take their kids. If it's anything like the superb and gritty Swedish original, this is good advice. Foreign in origin it might be, but Tintin it is not.
In the originals, the heroine is a hacker who uses Macs - we'll see about this US one, I guess. Somewhat contentiously, the new version's soundtrack includes a cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs singing (I like it, many don't), plus Is Your Love Strong Enough? by How To Destroy Angels. Quite.
You can download a free six-track sampler of the album here, but only if you preorder the full soundtrack. And that costs money.
(Good luck finding the sampler - it's one of those arty sites that looks great while making it hard to find anything.)
Christchurch app developer Sam Jarman is making all his apps free for the Christmas period. The game Align It! was $1.29.
His other apps are Memory Matcher 2, the timely iChristmas Cracker and Flag Learner.
Do you like the Beatles? Who doesn't? OK, me. But if you do, you can currently get the book Yellow Submarine for free to read on your iDevice. It's an animated version to show off what iBooks can do.
All Iain Brown's Little Blue Monkey apps are on sale, 50 per cent off, during the holidays. This represents a reduction from $2.59 to $1.29 for Ciao Baby and Tooth Camp.
In keeping with the spirit of the season (or so their press release says), Jason's Travel Media has made its new travel app free, so you can book instant holidays at the touch of a screen.
The holidays will not be free.
Jasons' may be the first New Zealand-focused travel app that lets you book your choice of nearly 2000 accommodation properties nationwide directly from your phone. It uses a secure encrypted connection, so you can have total confidence when you book.
It can find accommodation near you by using your GPS, and has the added benefit of being able to filter your needs based on price, hot deals and accommodation preferences.
It has a 'Near Me' feature which takes you straight to local attractions and accommodation options with maps and high resolution photos giving you a closer look at your options.
The travel app is the second initiative in Jasons' developing suite of market-leading mobile tools, the first being Txt2Check, released in October.
So enjoy. Happy shopping and remember to support our businesses and developers in these leans times. (I appealed to all resellers and vendors for specials, btw - thanks to those who did get in touch and good luck to everyone.)
- Mark Webster mac-nz.com
Trump Mobile was launched by Trump's sons at Trump Tower in New York.