Apple introduces iPhone3G Gift Card
With a little more than 24 hours before the official start of the 2008 holiday shopping season, Apple has made a new offer to shoppers. The iPhone 3G Gift Card provides its lucky recipient with an activated iPhone that has been tricked out with email and personalized ring tones. Plus, an Apple Store Specialist will help the new owner customize his or her home screen, pick some great apps and find their favorite songs.You can purchase the card in any amount starting at $25US toward the cost of a new iPhone. They may be redeemed at any Apple Store in the US. Apple also notes that the iPhone 3G Gift Card can also be used for all things Mac and iPod at the Apple Online Store or any Apple Retail Store. Sweet!
[Via Steve Rubel]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eric said 8:30PM on 11-26-2008
So how does this differ from a normal Apple gift card, exactly?
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Dean said 8:33PM on 11-26-2008
This has been an option for weeks. I'm pretty sure they introduced this almost 3 weeks ago
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Mark said 8:58PM on 11-26-2008
Too bad you can't get them an AT&T gift card to go along with it to cover their new $30/month for two years data plan.
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Gabriel said 9:01PM on 11-26-2008
This has been an option for quite some time. I couple months ago I tried to buy an iPhone 3G as a "gift" so I wouldn't have to activitate in the store (and pay the increased data rate vs. my original iPhone). They told me I couldn't do that, but the gift card thing was an option.
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nando said 9:06PM on 11-26-2008
so how does this differ into taking an iphone into some one that knows how to customize your phone..(ie move icons) and set it up for u?!?!?!?
and then tells u ...which apps to download..?!??!
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Michael R Johnson said 9:08PM on 11-26-2008
It should be noted that while the iPhone 3G Gift Card can be used for Mac and iPod products, a "regular" Apple Store Gift Card *cannot* be used toward an iPhone 3G.
(I had this conversation with a customer support rep from Apple.)
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eatmoreramen said 3:14AM on 11-27-2008
That is, 100 %, false.
I work in one of the Apple Retail stores, and yes, any of our Store gift cards (the iPhone 3G one, the silver one, or even the old white ones with the iSight camera on there) can be used to purchase an iPhone 3G.
The only gift card that can't be used is an iTunes gift card, as well obviously, they only work in, you guessed it, iTunes.
Michael R Johnson said 9:31AM on 11-27-2008
I certainly would like to believe you, but there is an explicit clause on the iPhone 3G Gift Card page ("The iPhone 3G Gift Card can also be used for all things Mac and iPod at the Apple Online Store or any Apple Retail Store.") whereas no such statement exists on the Apple Store Gift Card page. That page states: "...choose almost anything that Apple offers in its huge collection of Mac and iPod products..." and "Apple reserves the right to change at any time the products you can purchase with gift cards...".
Your statement would certainly be a pleasant surprise, as I was intrigued enough by these phrases to chat with a person at the online Apple Store. He put me on hold to double-check with a higher-level tech. I rephrased, and repeated my question, and got confirmation several times that it's a one-way street.
eatmoreramen said 10:37AM on 11-27-2008
But I've TOTALLY rung people out with the gift cards!
And we've given the iPhone 3G gift cards to non-iPhone buying customers, and they work.
Haha, I get where you are coming from, but Tuesday even, I swiped one of the silver cards cause someone wanted to pay with check. So he used the check to buy one of the silver gift cards and used that to buy his phone on my easypay!
Ah, whatever, haha have a good thanksgiving! Back to bed I go.
Jason said 7:41PM on 11-27-2008
Dude, if someone who actually works in an Apple retail store tells you that they accept regular gift cards for the iPhone 3G, you really ought to believe him. After all, the retail stores actually SELL IPHONES (so this guy knows what he's talking about), and the online store DOES NOT sell them (which is why that guy had to go ask someone else... how would he know?)
Calling the online store to ask about iPhones and gift cards makes about as much sense as asking one of the in-store trainers how long it takes to get your laptop back when you send it to California for repairs... and taking her guess over the word of someone who works in Apple Care.
Michael R Johnson said 10:55AM on 11-28-2008
I was just sharing my personal experience. The overall goal of which was to inform, and try and get the real story.
Thanks to eatmoreramen (who understood how Apple's web site was misleading) and a phone call to an Apple retail store, I've confirmed that the information that I got from the Apple Store online is not correct.
(Jason- you may remember there was a time not that long ago that the Apple Store sold iPhones directly.)
Tired_ said 9:12PM on 11-26-2008
Do they have a gift card yet that works in the App Store?
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PSN: HinchyFC said 9:28PM on 11-26-2008
regular iTunes gift cards worked fine for me when I first got my iPod touch.
Galley said 10:32PM on 11-26-2008
Yeah, regular iTunes Store cards work (except in Canada, for some reason).
brentt said 10:12PM on 11-26-2008
ahaha, this is better than normal gift cards, cuz it makes 100% of the recipients think they have enough money on it to purchase an iphone. OOPS
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Andrew@the.macguy.us said 10:29PM on 11-26-2008
Ummm, this has been an option since I got my iPhone 3G gift card in August. The only thing I can't confirm is its time of arrival to the Online Apple Store.
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Rigved said 5:15AM on 11-27-2008
i want an iphone too!
similar -
Apple iPhone Video Review at -
http://www.techreviews4u.com/?p=2126
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(01) said 10:49AM on 11-27-2008
Too bad this is nothing like being out of town for your birthday and having your girlfriend hand you a box that you're sure is a new iPod...but it's really an iPhone. I still think it's weak sauce that you can't activate at home anymore; it's part of the visceral experience of receiving a present.
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Datajockey said 1:02PM on 11-27-2008
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Jason said 11:56AM on 11-30-2008
The only difference between this gift card and a regular Apple Store gift card is what it looks like. Either of them can be loaded with any amount of money, and you can get the same after-sales service - setting up mail, selecting a ringtone, etc. - with either one (or any other method of paying for it).
This is just a marketing tool. It's kind of like the gift cards you can get at other stores that might have various designs to choose from. Just because you give someone a Buy More gift card with a picture of a stereo on it doesn't mean they can't spend the money on a game console or a MacPod.
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