Apple Archive

The most popular deal request I am asked for help with continues to be the Apple iPod Touch. Even with this year clearly being the year of the tablet, it seems like everyone still wants to get an iPod Touch as a gift for a friend, colleague or family member. Last week I learned that HTC offers a similar device called the “Flyer” which is like an iPod Touch except that it is based on Android instead of iOS – I wonder why this hasn’t seemed to catch on as of yet (at least it’s not a popular item on the deal boards.

Here are this week’s top deals for the iPod Touch – frankly the Amazon deal is the best one because, for most, there is no sales tax. The key is that you should absolutely not purchase the iPod Touch at the Apple Store – save the cash and use it for apps or music!

Best Buy – Here the deal is on the 8GB model – for $189 plus a free $30 Best Buy gift card. (deal details)

Amazon – It seems Amazon has matched the deal from Best Buy (they seem to be matching a lot of electronics prices as of late) – purchase the 8GB model at Amazon for $189 and get $30 to use towards MP3 songs from the Amazon Music Store. Smart move here by Amazon because it gets you to buy songs from Amazon versus from iTunes. (deal details)

Target – If you want a larger iPod Touch, Target will be your best option. Purchase the 32GB iPod Touch for $295 and get a $40 Target gift card. (this is an in-store deal)

I have a 8GB iPod Touch and I really like it for walking – the Galaxy Tab has replaced most of my at-home general game playing.

Continue reading “The Latest iPod Touch Holiday Deals” »

This might be the best deal of Black Friday on an Apple laptop – especially if you have been wanting a Macbook Air. 9to5Mac has a scan of the Apple Store Black Friday ad showing the Apple Macbook Air starting at $898 which is $100 less than the price as of today. I assume that this $898 price is for the base 11.6″ display model. As usual, the better deals are outside the Apple Store.

Best Buy is running a deal for the same 11.6″ display base model for $849 but they charge tax for all.

Good news! For those in a non-taxed state, Amazon is the way to go on this deal. Enough people asked Amazon for a price match and Amazon has dropped the price to $849 with no tax for most (aff link). If this deal is anything like last year, you better be quick because Amazon removed the deal a few hours after posting.

Just to give you an idea, if you purchase the laptop from Amazon with no tax, you will save approximately $120! That’s 120 apps or songs at 99 cents and you don’t have to deal with the mall crowds.

This is definitely the entry level model with the following specs: 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 2GB memory, 64GB flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 3000. Take note that I believe the memory is not upgradeable. The other 3 Macbook Air models all come with 4GB memory.

If you have been wanting a Macbook Air and don’t want to shell out for the upgraded spec models, this is the way to go.

Last year the best Apple iPod Touch deals were around $229 – $40 gift cards. This year the deals are even better because Apple dropped their price on the iPod Touch to $199. Here are three of the best deals I’ve found so far on the device. The deals below are for the 8GB model and most have the white and black models.

UPDATE: Amazon has now listed the black iPod Touch 8GB as a “Lightning Deal” for 9PM PT this evening. No price is noted and the lightning deals usually go within seconds so you if you want one, you better have your mouse finger ready on the page at exactly 9PM PT. You can find the deal listed here – just keep scrolling until you get to 9PM (aff link).

Best Buy has the best deal so far – $194.99 and they throw in a $50 Best Buy gift card. The device is currently showing a sold out status but it is worth checking in today periodically as they have been known to replenish the supply throughout the day. (hey Best Buy webmaster, how about a short link or a URL to share that isn’t 2,000 characters?!?)

Target is offering the 8GB model for $195 with a $40 Target gift card.

Amazon has matched the price from another retailer on the 8GB model to $189.98. For most there is no sales tax and Amazon is throwing in a free $2 MP3 certificate (aff link).

All 3 retailers are offering free shipping so if your city charges an 8% tax rate, here’s how the deal works out:

• Best Buy – $210.59 – $50 = $160.59
• Target – $210.59 – $40  = $170.59
• Amazon – $189.98 – $2 = $187.98

If you want a guaranteed device, I’d go with the Target deal immediately. You can always return the item if Best Buy does open up more inventory.

There is a rumor going around the deal boards that Target will offer a $75 gift card if you purchase an iPad 2 on either Black Friday or Saturday. The deal is in-store and should be applicable to any Apple iPad 2 model with 3G either on Verizon or on AT&T.

The pricing is the standard Apple pricing which means:

• 16GB – $629
• 32GB – $729
• 64GB – $829

If you purchase the 16GB model, it’s basically a 12% discount which is pretty good considering you can’t buy the device from Amazon. It’s important to note that Target does charge sales tax on the iPad 2.

If you have a Target red credit card, they will take another 5% off the iPad 2 that you select. This is probably going to be one of the best deals this weekend for the Apple device – especially if you don’t want to fight the crowds for the stores that offer one iPad 2 for some crazy low price to get you in the door.

I know that many of you have pre-ordered the Steve Jobs biography written by Walter Isaacson on Amazon. The book is currently set to be released on October 24, 2011. Amazon has the hardcover version priced at $17.88 and the Kindle version priced at $16.99.

Buy.com is running a special today on the hardcover version of the Steve Jobs biography for $10.  The Buy.com price includes free shipping for all purchases, Amazon includes free super saver shipping if you spend over $25 or free shipping if you are an Amazon Prime member.

Update: Looks like the deal is finished – the price has shot up to $35.

I am guessing if you want to buy the book locally at a Barnes & Noble, they may discount the $35.00 sticker price but I imagine the best they will do is $25 or thereabouts.

Here’s the overview of the biography of the former Apple CEO:

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

Deal hunters have submitted price change requests to Amazon although it is unlikely they will match the Buy.com price.

By now you know that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died yesterday. His touch on the world was amazingly huge. His touch will live on within Apple and his ability to captivate an audience is something we will talk about for years and decades to come.

George Beahm has put together a book of quotes from the entire career and life of Steve Jobs. The paperback includes over 200 Steve Jobs quotes and looks like the kind of book that you read, think about, and then pass on to a friend or colleague. I received an early PDF of the book and I learned a lot about Jobs’ thinking process. The book will be released in early November and even though it is currently in pre-order only, it’s already a top 100 book. The book is called “I, Steve Jobs” and costs $5.99 on Amazon. Update: As of 4pm, the book is now up to #29.

Here are a few of quotes from Steve Jobs that are included in the book which you may not have heard before:

“Let’s go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday.”
—D5 Conference: All Things Digital, May 30, 2007

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”
—Bloomberg Businessweek, February 6, 2006

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
—The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs, 2011

“The problem is, in hardware you can’t build a computer that’s twice as good as anyone else’s anymore. Too many people know how to do it. You’re lucky if you do one that’s one-and-a-third times better or one-and-a-half times better. And
then it’s only six months before everybody else catches up.”
—Rolling Stone, June 16, 1994

Continue reading “Ten Great Steve Jobs Quotes” »

MicroCenter has announced a $50 price cut on the Apple (AAPL) iPad 2 tablet device. The deal is only good in-store at all Microcenter locations – which appear to be spread out across the U.S. Basically the deal should cover the tax since Microcenter charges sales tax.

Since the iPad 2 isn’t sold at Amazon, this deal seems to be the best out there over the past few months. For the WiFi-only iPad 2 – the pricing for the 16GB, 32Gb and 64GB are $449.99, $549.99 and $649.99 respectively. For the 3G model (you pick either Verizon or AT&T) the prices (same GBs) are $579.99, $679.99 and $779.99.

One secret deal hunter tip – Apple stores will pricematch – typically they only price match for stores that are “close” – but if you want an iPad, print out the full email and head to your local Apple store and give it a try!

There is good discussion about the deal on Fatwallet and SlickDeals.