Procrastinator's Gift Guide to iOS Apps

Struggling to track down one last stocking-stuffer for anyone on your holiday shopping list? If they happen to own an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, the App Store offers more than a half-a-million last-minute gift 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 rundown of how the process works. We'll look at gifting specific apps first, followed by giving an iTunes gift certificate--which your lucky recipient can use to buy music, movies, TV shows, apps, and more. (See "How to give gifts from the iTunes Store" for additional general giving information.)

Giving Specific Apps


Each paid app in the App Store offers a gift-giving option. Just click on the triangle next to the download bar that lists the app's price. You'll see a pop-up menu with the following options: Gift This App, Tell A Friend, Copy Link, Share On Facebook, and Share On Twitter. It's that first option you'll want to click.

Before you do, though, make sure to check the app's requirements to see if it will run on the device of your recipient. You don't want to inadvertently gift someone an iPad-only app if they only own an iPhone, say. Similarly, some apps won't run on older iOS devices. Most App Store listings are pretty clear when it comes to the devices the app supports.

Once you've selected the Gift This App option, you'll be taken to the Give A Gift screen, in which you'll be asked whether you want to send the gift via e-mail or print the gift certificate yourself. This is not an insignificant question: If you select e-mail, the redemption coupon is immediately sent--there's no way to time the e-mail to arrive on a specific day. If you're of the "Do Not Open Until Christmas" school of gift-giving, you may want to go with the printed option. (You could, I suppose, wait until Christmas to gift any apps, but that sort of behavior is frowned upon under the Christmas tree in my household.)

Let's say you're giving an e-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 followed by an e-mail address; another field asks you to verify the e-mail address by entering it again.

Note that if you're giving gifts via e-mail, you can send an app to multiple recipients in one go. Just enter their e-mail addresses all at once, separating each one with a comma--but keep in mind that you'll be charged for each person you're sending the gift app to. (This multi-recipient option isn't available if you print up the gift certificate yourself.)

Finally, iTunes gives you a space to leave a personal message to your recipient. Try to capture your sentiments in less than 500 characters because that's the maximum number you're allowed.

Tap continue and--if you haven't purchased anything recently--you'll be asked to supply your iTunes password. (In the unlikely event you don't have an iTunes account, you'll have the option of setting up one in that dialog box.) After signing in, you'll see one last screen for reviewing your purchase; click Buy, and your gift will wing its way electronically to your loved one's inbox.

Should you take the print-it-yourself route, the process is similar, though with fewer fields. Those superfluous e-mail address fields disappear, leaving you just to enter your name, your recipient's name, and the message. After reviewing the purchase, you then get a screen for printing up the gift certificate. Try and use a color printer if at all possible--the certificate comes with a stylish green border and a lovely recreation of the app's icon.

Now when I was testing this feature, I started to type notes in what I thought was my open text editor; turns out I was still in iTunes, and my ham-fisted typing made the printing page disappear before I could print it out. Not to worry--all you have to do is log in to manage your iTunes account by clicking on your account name in iTunes's upper-right corner. You'll be asked to enter your password again. From there, scroll down to Purchase History and click on See All. Search for the specific purchase, click on that, and you'll see the gift certificate with a print option. Try not to make a hash of it this time.

While I prefer to do my app gift-giving on my MacBook Pro with its physical keyboard for easy data entry, more mobile-inclined shoppers can give apps as gifts through the App Store app on their iOS device. Go to a specific app page and scroll downward--the Gift This App button appears just below the sample screenshots and user ratings, just to the right of the Tell A Friend button. You'll need 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 don't have a specific app in mind--or if you think your recipient would prefer to pick out their own gift--you can always opt for an iTunes Gift Certificate. You'll find physical cards at any Apple Store near you, not to mention in the gift-card section of most grocery stores and retailers. If that's not an option, though, you can still turn to electronic gift giving.

Go to the home screen in the iTunes Store, and find the Buy iTunes Gifts option--it lives in the Quick Links area on the right side of the screen.

Click Buy iTunes Gifts, and the next screen will give you the option of ordering a gift certificate, with e-mail or print options. Select the e-mail option, and you supply the recipient's name, e-mail address (entered twice for verification purposes), and a personal message. You can also set an amount, ranging from $10 to $50 in $10 increments. Once you confirm the purchase, the gift certificate is sent on its merry way to your recipient to redeem (for use in the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore) at their leisure.

If you prefer to control when and where your recipient gets their gift, you'll want to take the printable certificate option. The process works as it does for e-mailed gift certificates, but without the e-mail address fields. Confirming the purchase takes you to a print screen where you can output a paper gift certificate festooned with a silhouetted dancer from the iPod ads of old.

Helping out Macworld readers is gift enough for Macworld.com editor Philip Michaels.
(pcworld.com)

Microsoft releases OneNote as first Office app for iPad

Already out there as an iPhone app, the latest 1.3 update to OneNote turns it into a full-fledged iPad app able to take advantage of the tablet's full-screen real estate.

Though it's part of certain versions of Microsoft Office, OneNote is probably the least understood application in the midst of Word, Excel, Outlook, and Access.

As its name implies, it's basically a note taker and todo list, but one designed to capture free-form notes and ideas as text, images, tables, bullet points, and other types of content. You can also link to or embed video and audio clips and draw illustrations in your notebooks.

You can easily move each piece of content around the screen to organize it. OneNote can also tie in with Outlook, so you can e-mail information and link meeting notes and todo items between the two applications.

You can do all that and more in the full desktop version. The iPad version is much more limited.

Wtth the OneNote IOS app, you can type notes, create bullet and checkbox lists, and insert photos from the photo library or by snapping a new picture.

You can create multiple notebooks and easily organize them. You can also e-mail a notebook. But you can't insert objects other than photos or move and manipulate your content the way you can on the desktop application.

Still, OneNote for the iPad can come in handy for viewing notebooks created on your desktop. OneNote for Windows lets you save each notebook on the Web through your SkyDrive account. Your iPad or iPhone will then automatically retrieve new and updated content by syncing with SkyDrive in the background.

From there, you can open any synced notebooks to view them on your tablet or phone. Though your notebooks don't retain their original layout on the moble device, you can easily read them and make changes to the text, though not to the images.

As described in a Microsoft blog, the new version of OneNote supports both the iPad and iPad 2, is available in different languages, and easily syncs over a Wi-Fi connection.

Microsoft is reportedly prepping a mobile version of its Office suite
for the iPad, according to sources, though the company hasn't confirmed those reports.

As Microsoft's first effort, OneNote for the iPad is a promising idea, but the current version feels incomplete, especially compared with its desktop counterpart. I'd like to see Microsoft try to enhance the app in the next round to give it at least a few of the features that distinguish the desktop version.

The basic free app lets you create and store up to 500 individual notes. Those of you who need more will have to shell out $4.99 for unlimited use on your iPhone and $14.99 for unlimited use on the iPad.
(cnet.com)

Samsung Loses Bid to Block Apple IPhone 4S Sales in France

Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) failed to win a court order blocking Apple Inc. (AAPL) from selling its newest smartphone, the iPhone 4S, in France.

The Paris court rejected Samsung’s request for an emergency order against Apple while it considers the South Korean company’s patent-infringement claims.

Samsung, the biggest maker of smartphones, sought to block sales of the new handset in France, Italy and the U.K. days after it was unveiled in October, arguing Apple violated its wireless-communications patents. Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung sued in Paris in July over earlier versions of the iPhone and Apple’s iPad tablet.

“The disproportionate character of the ban sought by Samsung against Apple is clear,” Judge Marie-Christine Courboulay said in the decision today.

The Paris court ruled Samsung must pay Apple 100,000 euros ($134,100) for legal fees while denying Apple’s request for damages. Samsung’s claim wasn’t “abusive” and the company’s infringement claims can move forward as a regular lawsuit, Courboulay said.

Florence Catel, a Samsung spokeswoman in Paris, declined to comment on the decision. Calls to Apple’s office in London for comment weren’t immediately returned.

Samsung has been locked in a global legal battle with Apple since the Cupertino, California-based company claimed in an April suit that Samsung’s Galaxy devices copied the iPad and iPhone. Samsung was the world’s biggest maker of smartphones in the last quarter, while Apple dominates the tablet market.
30 Lawsuits

The companies have filed at least 30 lawsuits in 10 countries and European Union regulators have started an antitrust probe of the companies’ use of smartphone patents.

A Milan court will hold a hearing Dec. 16 concerning Samsung’s Italian suit. Samsung won a Dec. 3 decision in California, when the U.S. District Court in San Jose rejected Apple’s request to block Samsung’s 4G smartphone and its Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer.(bloomberg.com)

Motorola scores Apple iPhone/iPad injunction in Germany

Motorola Mobility has won a wireless patent case against Apple in Germany this morning, meaning – unless Apple can secure a stay until an appeal can be heard – the iPhone and iPad could be blocked from sale in the country. A Germany court ruled that Apple’s cellularly-enabled devices infringe European Patent 1010336, detailing a “method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system” FOSS Patents reports, and deemed an essential component of the GPRS data standard. Motorola will have to cough up a €100m bond if it wants to chase a sales injunction, however.

That bond – which is designed to cover Apple’s losses should the patent case be subsequently overturned while an injunction was imposed – is considerably less than the €2bn the Cupertino company’s legal team demanded. If Motorola Mobility pushes ahead, Apple is almost certain to request a stay on the injunction while it files an appeal. The original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad WiFi + 3G and iPad 2 WiFi + 3G are all named in Motorola’s case, though the iPhone 4S is also likely to be impacted.

Apple could attempt to modify its products to work around Motorola’s patent, though it’s unclear how feasible such an endeavor might be. Alternatively, under European law, Apple could seek to license the patent; the company has already attempted to license it under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms, but Motorola managed to convince the court that the damages involved should Apple be found to have infringed would exceed FRAND rates. Motorola could agree to a license covering future products, but not applying retrospectively, and insist on damages for Apple’s past infringement.

The general opinion is that Apple will seek to convince an appeals court that Motorola should grant a compulsory FRAND license, with minimal penalties for past actions. There’s no word on when the appeal might be heard.