A one-day "Red Friday" sale on Apple's online store has hit several Asian countries in celebration of the Lunar New Year, including China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Discounts on the Hong Kong store are broadly similar to the modest discounts Apple offered during its Black Friday promotion, with one-day price reductions of no more than ten percent on Apple's own gear.

Discounts on third-party accessories are a bit more generous, so if you're looking for a case or some other accessory for your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, the one-day Red Friday sale may be a great time to buy.

Apple's Red Friday sale runs for the rest of today only, so if you live in one of the eligible countries be sure to check it out.

Apple's 'Red Friday' sales launch in several Asian countries originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's 'Red Friday' sales launch in several Asian countries originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here's a weird deal that might work well if you poke around a bit: Bed, Bath and Beyond (which usually sells towels, sheets, and other household utilities) is apparently clearing out its inventory of iCade devices, per TouchArcade, which means that if you act fast and you're lucky, you might be able to pick one up from the retail store for $49.99. As of this writing, the arcade cabinet built for your iPad is available on BBB's website for the half-off price, and if you call around, you might find one at a store near you for just as cheap. These things usually sell on ThinkGeek for $100, so this is a pretty good deal if you can find it. As Mike's iMAME post noted last week, the cabinet works with MAME arcade emulators on jailbroken hardware and with quite a few App Store games.

Good luck out there. My guess is that BBB bought a bunch of these for the holiday season to sell as gifts, but didn't see the kinds of sales they expected to (which makes sense -- your standard housewares shopper probably wouldn't be after an iCade in the first place, necessarily). But that's cool; those of us who still haven't jumped on an iCade might be able to find them for cheap. It's been on sale before, but not quite this low. If you do get to pick one up, be sure to let us know what you think of it -- we definitely liked ours.

Bed, Bath and Beyond selling off iCades for $49.99 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bed, Bath and Beyond selling off iCades for $49.99 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We'll do one more big app roundup post today before the holiday weekend. The App Store freeze went off as scheduled yesterday, so devs can no longer change their prices or upgrade their apps until next week, but in addition to the sales already covered so far, there are still a few more apps on sale worth pointing out for you:

• Konami's got the charming Gesundheit on sale, 99 cents on the iPhone and $1.99 on the iPad.
• The very well-reviewed King of Dragon Pass is 20% off, $7.99.
• I already mentioned Chillingo having most of their titles on sale, but it's worth mentioning as well that Anomaly: Warzone Earth and Swords and Soldiers are both on sale.
• Com2Us has put all of its titles on sale as well, including the popular Tower Defense: Lost Earth.
• Crescent Moon's got Pocket RPG iPhone edition down to a buck, and it's done the same with Rimelands and Aralon, two excellent games.
• Polarbit also has a bunch of fun titles on sale.
• And Telltale has big discounts going on its titles as well.

As I said yesterday, there's lots more out there, so if there's an app you've been wanting, chances are that it's on sale. Unfortunately for smaller developers, I just checked the top paid apps on the store, and EA has claimed most of the spots already, with Angry Birds and Sega filling out most of the other real estate. It looks like Electronic Arts is all set to ring in the holidays with another huge batch of app sales, as people open up those new iPhones and iPads over the weekend.

More app sales: King of Dragon Pass, Swords and Soldiers and Crescent Moon RPGs originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

More app sales: King of Dragon Pass, Swords and Soldiers and Crescent Moon RPGs originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The App Store freeze goes down today, so this is the last chance for many developers to put their apps on sale. And of course, many have taken advantage of that chance.

• Before we even start listing sales today, many of the sales previously listed, including EA and Gameloft's whole-catalog 99 cent sales, are still ongoing through the weekend.
• The anniversary release of Grand Theft Auto 3 is only $2.99. That's a bargain no matter which way you slice it -- pick it up.
• Japanese developer Cave is having a big 99 cents sale, with some of its bullet-hell shooters available for cheap.
• id Software is also going cheap, with Rage HD, Doom Classic, Doom II RPG, and more going on sale for just a buck.
• Hack-and-slash Aurum Blade (above) is free for the holidays.
• Monster RPG 2 is 99 cents.
• Comixology's great Comics app is having an in-store sale, with lots of comics for only a buck.
• Dungeon Raid is one of the best games of the year, and it's only $1.99 in a rare sale.
• Dragon Fantasy is an excellent 8-bit style RPG that's only a buck.
• Wayforward's excellent Shantae: Risky's Revenge platformer is only $1.99.
• Gamevil's Zenonia and Zenonia 2 are both completely free.
• iPad exclusive tower defense/strategy game Ant Raid is only a buck.
• Chillingo's Ravensword: The Fallen King is only 99 cents, and there's plenty of other Chillingo titles on sale for cheap as well.
• Disney's in on the sale, too, with Where's My Water, Jelly Car and lots of others for only 99 cents.
• Companions for iPad is only a buck.
• Galaxy Pirate Adventure got renamed as Galactic Phantasy, and it's only 99 cents right now.
• Word game Welder is just $1.99.

And that's only the ones we've heard of -- there are probably lots more sales out there. In other words, if there's an app that you've been wanting to buy, you should probably check up on it today, because if it's not on sale now, it probably won't be this year. Good luck, enjoy all of your new apps!

App Store holiday sales on now: GTA 3, id software, Dungeon Raid, lots more originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

App Store holiday sales on now: GTA 3, id software, Dungeon Raid, lots more originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And so it begins -- the App Store has its busiest time of the year over the Christmas holiday, when iPhones and iPads and iTunes gift cards are unwrapped under the Christmas tree, and millions of people take to the App Store to pick up some great apps. There are lots of sales coming out this week. We'll have more posts each day, and stay tuned to our Twitter account for even more.

• Velocispider is free right now.
• ComicBook! is down to just 99 cents.
• Sesame Street's Monster at the End of this Book (starring Grover, of course) is only 99 cents right now as well.
• 1Password for iPad is on sale for $5.99, well worth it according to fans of the app.
• The micro version of Sword and Sworcery is just 99 cents, while the universal version is $1.99.
• EA's mobile sale continues -- Trenches 2 is currently on sale for just a buck, along with more than a hundred other EA titles. Odds are that if EA makes it, you can get it for cheap this week.
• Sega also has a big 99 cent sale going on, with Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes, and many other titles available for just a buck.
• Gameloft's also got a nice library of titles on sale, including the Gameloft Action Pack of games.
• And so does Square Enix, but those games have only dropped a few bucks to around $4.99 to $11.99, rather than down to 99 cents. Still, Final Fantasy Tactics for $11.99 is not a bad deal if you've been waiting for it to drop.
• Firemint (through EA) has Spy Mouse on sale for a buck. You've bought that one already, right?
• Readdle's got a sale going on its apps, including ReaddleDocs for iPad on sale tomorrow for $2.99.
• Happy Hills has gone free for a limited time.
• Big Fish Games is having a huge sale on most of its titles starting tomorrow -- there's a lot of good stuff in there, including Drawn: The Painted Tower for cheap, and Azada HD as well.
• In Case of Fire is free through the holidays.

That's just the beginning -- stay tuned all through the week for more deals on lots of different apps and games around the App Store. Everything will likely be sorted by Thursday (as that's when developers become unable to make any more price or app changes), but before then, we'll see lots and lots of apps on sale, no doubt.

iOS deals begin, App Store freeze coming Thursday originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iOS deals begin, App Store freeze coming Thursday originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, Christmas isn't until next week, but around here, a free app is always welcome. Here's some apps that have gone free for this holiday season.

• The excellent match-3 Call of Atlantis is free this weekend.
• Chillingo's puzzle platformer NyxQuest is also free.
• Babo Crash is another match-3 title that's gone free.
• Pro Zombie Soccer, where you use a soccer ball to kill zombies, is free.
• Bejeweled is usually 99 cents, but you can get it for free thanks to a promotion on Apple's Facebook page.
• Gameloft's Asphalt 6 racer has gone free.
• And the great RPG Fara is now completely free as well.

And there's some solid sales going on as well:

• Com2Us has most of its catalog on sale for 99 cents.
• Peggle and the HD version are down to just a buck each.
• Just in case you missed it on our Twitter account, Edge Extended is on sale for just 99 cents, while the original Edge is free.
• And EA is continuing its daily deals through the holidays with lots of free and discounted games inside their catalog.

Lots of great games for cheap or free this weekend! Enjoy.

Lots of free and discounted apps this pre-holiday weekend originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lots of free and discounted apps this pre-holiday weekend originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just in time for Christmas, Apple has dropped the price of its refurbished iPad 2s by $80, which means you can now grab a sweet returned iPad 2 for as low as $419. These are of course items that have come back to Apple retail stores or otherwise not been sold due to defects, but they've been fixed up, tested and certified, given a brand new battery and shell, and are good to go with a one-year warranty.

Sure, I bought my iPad 2 brand new, but I also spent another hundred bucks or so (I also went with the 32 GB -- the $419 price is for the 16 GB model). But if you're panicking about getting a sweet tablet under the tree this year, you won't find a better bang for your buck.

[via AppleInsider]

Apple cuts prices of refurbished iPad 2s originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple cuts prices of refurbished iPad 2s originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The "Crazy Ones" quote used in a few different places around Apple, including some icon Easter eggs and the famous commercials, has been turned into a typeface posted by Los Angeles advertising firm TBWA/Chiat/Day in order to raise funds for charity. You can see and buy the poster over at the aptly named crazyonesquote.com; It's available unframed for $95, and with a frame around it for $100 more.

The quote is labeled with Steve Jobs' name at the bottom, and while it's definitely been used a lot lately to represent Jobs' life and what he stood for, all we really have in terms of credit is a general sense that Jobs helped put most of it together for defining Apple's brand. Still, it fits, and Chiat/Day's design on this poster looks great.

All proceeds from the sale will go to the Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that helps by investing in great social enterprises and ideas around the world. Because, you know, the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world ... are the ones who do.

[via TNW]

"Crazy Ones" poster being sold for charity originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Crazy Ones" poster being sold for charity originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So now that we're rolling into December, we're about to enter into the biggest season of the year for both app buying and app sales. Right before Christmas, Apple will "freeze" the App Store, which means listings won't get updated, and developers won't be able to change prices or release new apps, so iOS devs and publishers are working overtime right now to make sure everything is ready for the holiday. To that end, here's a few tools to help you find deals as quickly as possible. As always, we'll be reporting on as many deals as we can here on TUAW, and for up-to-the-moment discounts, you can also follow our Twitter account at @TUAW.

But there are other ways to find big app price drops. EA has made it easy for its apps -- the company has put together a "Daily Deals" page that will highlight free and discounted apps that show up in the company's catalog. Right now, for example, Shift 2 Unleashed and The Sims Medieval are both completely free, and there are a few other apps that are discounted in price.

Another nice tool for finding free apps is AppShopper's discounted apps page -- that will show you all apps that have seen a price drop recently. Unfortunately, that includes both apps worth your time and apps that aren't so much, so you can also check AppShopper's "popular" price drop page to thin the herd a bit. For example, I see there that Zen Bound 2 and Street Fighter 2 Collection are both on sale for 99 cents, both great apps at that price.

Again, if you want the complete story, you can stay tuned here to TUAW -- whenever there's a big wave of sales, we'll definitely find the hits and let you know when there's something good to buy for cheap. But if you want to do a little cheap app hunting yourself, there you go.

EA premieres a Daily Deals page for the holidays, and other ways to find cheap apps originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

EA premieres a Daily Deals page for the holidays, and other ways to find cheap apps originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple is apparently giving yet another popular game away using its Facebook page -- this time, it's Disney's Where's my Water up for grabs. To grab your free copy of the great water-guiding physics puzzler, just head over to Apple's App Store Facebook page, become a fan, and you'll get a free promo code to download the game on an iOS device of your choice. It's a great title (put together, as we've previously reported, by a former game tester at the House of Mouse), and obviously much better at the low price of completely free.

This is still such a weird promotion, though -- Apple has traditionally not had the best relationship with Facebook, but they have given away apps using Facebook before. Cupertino has a perfectly good Twitter account that could also be used to give away free games, but the Facebook freebies appear to use a slightly different method than posting promo codes. Don't forget Apple also has the Ping social network that could probably use a little traffic (and, you know, already happens to be connected up in iTunes).

Get Where's my Water free from Apple's Facebook page originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Get Where's my Water free from Apple's Facebook page originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Updated to reflect that the iPad version has been out for several months.

Google's shopping-centric mobile app isn't particularly new on the iPad -- we checked in on it in August -- but it's finally made its way to the Android platform. It's called Catalogs, and you can find it as a free download on the App Store or in the Android Market.

The big G has used its Google Books technology to scan and set up links on a number of different holiday shopping catalogs, so you can load up the app, flip through the virtual pages to find something you want, and then click away to buy it directly from your mobile tablet.

The links aren't built in to the app -- they more or less just open up an internal app browser that then lets you buy the product online. But the experience is pretty seamless otherwise; there are over 400 catalogs to browse through, and I quickly saw brands like ThinkGeek, Nike, Sonoma Williams, Sharper Image, and Pottery Barn on display.

It's a pretty specific use of Google's search and scanning software, but hey -- it's free, and it might help with the holiday shopping this year.

[via Engadget]

Google's formerly-iPad-only Catalogs app now also on Android originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google's formerly-iPad-only Catalogs app now also on Android originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sea Stars is Hothead's latest game on the App Store, and it's really good. You play as a little fish who can swim and jump through water with a touch of the screen. Your goal is to swim as far as possible while avoiding obstacles. It's quite fun and well done.

There's just one big issue: The game is basically Jetpack Joyride. Now, it's not exactly Jetpack Joyride, since you're not riding a backpack, and in practice, the controls are more or less upside down from JJ's float-up-when-touched controls. But the other similarities are undeniable. First, you collect coins which can be spent on upgrades (coins can also be bought via in-app purchase). You'll also find "friends" which work like JJ's vehicles, making you survive an extra hit and switching up the control scheme. Finally, the obstacles move and turn like the electric spheres in Jetpack Joyride. It's possible Hothead was working on this before Halfbrick's big title, but not likely. This game is essentially Jetpack Joyride re-skinned.

That's not necessarily bad. Jetpack Joyride is a great game, and if you've already prestiged in that one a few times, Sea Stars will definitely float your fish (though I do have to say that I don't understand the "hurt your tail" reference when the game ends, whatever that means). But this is a blatant ripoff. I would rather have seen Sea Stars try to improve on Halfbrick's great formula rather than borrow it.

Perhaps I'm complaining too much, especially considering the app's current price. Sea Stars is a great title that just happens to be free thanks to a promotion in the App Store right now.

Daily iPhone App: Sea Stars originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Daily iPhone App: Sea Stars originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As is its custom, the Earth continues to spin on its axis while many of us in the States are working off our turkey and stuffing comas with a solid nap/some football on TV. That means that the expected Apple Store discount offers for Black Friday are already up and running in parts of the world where Friday coincides with now.

The Apple Store Australia's discount page gives a solid preview of what US customers should expect tomorrow: about 10% off most-wanted products like the iPad, iPod touch and MacBook Air. While these discounts are certainly welcome, you might find as-good or better deals at Amazon, MacMall or big-box retailers; you can also check in with our pals at Dealmac for the latest savings.

Happy shopping, and happy Thanksgiving!

[hat tip to Macgasm]

Apple Store Black Friday discounts already live... in Australia originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple Store Black Friday discounts already live... in Australia originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here are even more Thanksgiving/Black Friday app sales popping up on the App Store:

• Gameloft has a few more titles on sale than I mentioned yesterday -- here's the full list.
• Retro RPG Companions for iPad is down to $3.99.
• The official Peterson Birds of North America app is down to 30% off, at $9.99.
• Steam has started up its official holiday sale, featuring huge discounts on all kinds of downloadable games for the Mac. Portal 2 for just over $10 is a great place to start (if you don't have it already), but there will be great games in there all week long.
• Boy, if you've ever wanted an EA Mobile game, now's the time to buy it -- almost all of the company's games are down to 99 cents. Reckless Racing, Simcity Deluxe, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit are standouts, but there's a lot of good choices in there.
• Pangea Software is having a Black Friday 99 cents sale as well, with Enigmo 2 and Nanosaur 2 as two to check out.
• Tactical Soldier: Undead Rising is down to $1.99, and Heroes of Kalevala is that same price on iPad, only 99 cents on iPhone.
• Wayforward's great Shantae: Risky's Revenge is usually $4.99 with an in-app purchase, but this week it's only a buck.
• Firemint's titles are on sale, but I think we all already own those.
• Playfirst's Hotel, Wedding, and Parking Dash titles are lowered to 99 cents on iPhone and $2.99 on the iPad.
• Dark Meadow is just a buck -- highly recommended if you don't have it yet and don't mind some scares.
• Kairosoft's Hot Springs Story and Pocket Academy are both down to just $1.99.
• Telltale has a whole bunch of iOS games on sale, including Puzzle Agent 1 and 2, and all of the Back to the Future, Hector: Badge of Carnage, and Tales of Monkey Island games for iPad. Each episode is $2.99, which could make for a fun Thanksgiving weekend if you buy the whole set.
• Spinlight Studio has a whole line of colorful childrens' education apps, and all of them are on sale this weekend.
• All of the Sage Board games apps, including Tigris and Euphrates, Ra, and Puerto Rico, are on sale, from $1.99 to $4.99.
• Flickr HD is just 99 cents, which is the cheapest price the app has ever been.
• DebtMinder is half off at $.99.

And I think that's all ... for today (isn't that enough?!). There's really no need to fight store lines for video games when you can get all these great titles for pennies each on the App Store. Be sure to keep an eye on our Deals category for even more deals all weekend and holiday season long!

Thanksgiving app sales: More Gameloft titles, Dark Meadow, and Steam sale underway originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thanksgiving app sales: More Gameloft titles, Dark Meadow, and Steam sale underway originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Follow this link to sign up, and the first 100 readers to apply get a free six-month subscription to MacTech. Don't worry if you aren't among the early birds; subsequent entries merit a free single copy of the magazine. Supplies are limited, and the offer is only good through Monday.

We are happy to be among the media sponsors for the recent MacTech Conference and the upcoming MacTech InDepth: Mobile Device Management and MacTech Boot Camp.

The fine print: Offer only available while supply is available and cannot be combined with other offers. Supplies are limited, and offer may terminate early if supplies are exhausted. Offer only valid for U.S. delivery addresses, and not valid for current subscribers. MacTech is not responsible for typographical errors. MacTech is a registered trademark of Xplain Corporation.

This offer is wholly controlled by MacTech and TUAW/AOL Weblogs is not responsible for fulfillment or management in any way.

Black Friday offer: Free MacTech subscriptions for 100 readers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Black Friday offer: Free MacTech subscriptions for 100 readers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every day this week, we'll be spotlighting some major app sales on the Store, because all week long for Thanksgiving, devs everywhere are putting up their apps for discounted prices. Come get some great cheap apps!

• The beautiful Lemmings-a-like Spirits for iPhone is down to just 99 cents.
• This is a must buy: iBlast Moki 2 HD is on sale for just a buck. One of the best games of the year, for the change you've got in your couch? Yes please.
• I really wish the deck-building card game Dominion was out on iOS, but it's not yet, and until then we have Battle of Gundabad, which is also a buck today.
• All of Huaxu's games are going free during the holiday this week, including Castles Conqueror, Crystal Soul, and Crystal Dash.
• And it's not really a holiday sale until Sega gets involved -- they've got a bunch of games on sale, including Gunstar Heroes, the Streets of Rage and Super Monkey Ball games, and all of the Sonic the Hedgehog titles.
• To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Frogger, Konami has released a game called Frogger Free, featuring new content, new modes, and the same old game that you already love. I don't know how holiday-related this is, but hey, it's a free classic game -- what more do you need?

Enjoy! Stay tuned to our holiday gift guide all this week -- we'll have lots more sales to report, I'm sure.

Thanksgiving app sales: Frogger Free, iBlast Moki 2, lots more originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thanksgiving app sales: Frogger Free, iBlast Moki 2, lots more originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We've already seen a few app sales already this month, but companies are now starting the windup to the big Black Friday holiday, and things are going to get chaotic. Starting this weekend, and rolling on through the Christmas holiday (and even up to New Year's), new iPhones and iPads are going to be making their way as gifts into lots of consumers' hands, and that means that app developers everywhere are going to be fighting tooth and claw to get their apps installed on those new units.

That makes it much more important to get into lists like the Top 50 paid and free apps. When Apple "freezes" the store for developers over the holiday, what's on those lists stays there, so there's even more incentive to sell. We're aiming to track app sales as much as possible -- stay tuned this week and all holiday season long to our holiday gift guide to see what's dropping and on sale now.

In the meantime, here's what's already on sale this week:

• Hand-drawn adventure game The Train has dropped all of its episodes down to 99 cents.
• Developer Com2Us has put lots of its iOS titles on sale for a buck, including Homerun Battle 3D, Inotia 3, and Tower Defense: Lost Earth.
• Gameloft is also underway with a sale, including Eternal Legacy, the Gameloft Action Pack, and lots more for a buck as well.
• Infinity Blade is down to $2.99, both for Black Friday and because its sequel will be out on Thursday of this week.
• Konami's charming Gesundheit is down to just 99 cents, as is Pro Evolution Soccer 2011.
• The really fascinating action RPG title Fara is also just a buck.
• Namco Bandai is planning some big sales for later this week, but Puzzle Quest 2 is already discounted to $2.99.
• Breaking Art's Morning Motivation is down to $1.99 from $5.99, which will help with those post-Thanksgiving crises of gym dedication.
• The Comixology app has all 12 of the old Marvel Secret Wars comics on sale for just 99 cents each. Perfect time to catch up on some classic comics.
• Mortal Skies 2 is completely free today as well -- it's a pretty well-done shmup for iOS.
• The Wave Ride-esque Riptide GP is still on sale for a buck from last weekend.

Stay tuned -- we'll probably end up doing a post a day this week about all of the various sales starting up on the App Store, so come back every day to see what a dollar can get you for great software on your iOS device.

Thanksgiving app sales: Com2Us titles, Puzzle Quest 2, Infinity Blade on sale already originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thanksgiving app sales: Com2Us titles, Puzzle Quest 2, Infinity Blade on sale already originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shopping season is here, with a vengeance. The circulars and sales sheets are popping up like discounted weeds, and while most Apple products aren't eligible for steep discounts at retail, the big chains do find a way to make it worth your while.

US retail giant Target has posted its two-day discount flyer online already, and among the doorbuster deals (starting at midnight Thursday night/Friday morning) is a $195 8GB iPod touch, while supplies last. "But that's what they always sell for!" you say. True, but for this promotion Target is throwing in a $40 store gift card, lowering the effective price of the iPod to $155 assuming you can find $40 of other things you want to buy at Target. (There's always light bulbs and batteries.)

Update: Target has sweetened the pot with an iPad 2 deal. Buy a Wi-Fi+3G iPad 2 and get a $75 Target gift card. This offer is good starting at midnight Thursday night.

Electronics and Apple gear megastore Best Buy is not to be outdone, advertising a similar deal for its doorbusters on Friday, but with a $50 gift card instead. Best Buy stores also open at midnight the day after Thanksgiving, because why the heck wouldn't you want to be at Best Buy in the wee hours of the morning trying to focus on which 3D TV has the better picture?

Apple generally does not reveal its discounts for Black Friday until a bit closer to showtime, but last year's deals may serve as a guideline for what to expect later this week.

Interesting side note from the Target circular: check out the price on this Acer netbook. Yes, for about the same net cost as the iPod touch, you can have an entire teensy computer.

[via Dealnews]

Target, Best Buy post Black Friday deals: $195 iPod touch with gift card rebate (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Target, Best Buy post Black Friday deals: $195 iPod touch with gift card rebate (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another day of the holiday season brings a whole lot of great downloads from the App Store. What we saw yesterday was mostly new releases, but here's a list of free games (and free updates) you might want to check out.

• A whole bunch of great games have gone free for the weekend, including Baby Monkey, Redlynx's 1000 Heroz, Battle Slugs, Burn the Rope Worlds, Crystal Soul, Gem King, and Ragdoll Blaster 2. Every single one of those is worth a download if you don't have them yet.
• More free apps: Legends of Alekham, Sarge, Rise of Atlantis, Doomsday 2: Legions of Hell, and AtlantiSub.
• There are also some really great new freemium titles to play; Cosmonauts is one, and I've really been enjoying Battle Nations (you can friend me in that one -- I'm "toucansamurai").
• Freemium title Tiny Tower has gotten a big update that adds missions, the ability to share stock with friends, and new floors and costumes to play with.
• Bungie's Crimson Steam Pirates is free on the iPad right now to celebrate the new 99 cent iPhone version, and there's a new Chapter 3 update with more content to play with.
• Zombie Gunship has added a new unlockable scenario, as well as full AirPlay support.
• Freemium title Rocket Chimp recently got an update for iCloud and iOS 5.

Once again, there's more there to play than you'll need all weekend. Things are picking up as this holiday season gets into swing. Stay tuned, because I'm sure we'll see lots more of this over the next few weeks.

Free games and big updates this weekend on the App Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Free games and big updates this weekend on the App Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I've been reading a lot of comics on the iPad lately, and while I love my iPad for a lot of reasons, I think reading comics is one of the best reasons to own an iPad. The big, beautiful screen brings comic art to life exquisitely, most apps allow you to zoom in and out of bigger pages at will, and the touch interface makes flipping a page as easy as, well, flipping a page. So I have no problem at all with free comics to download on the iPad, and that's exactly what Operation Ajax is.

It's a historical comic (so no superheroes, for those of you into that, unfortunately), about the CIA's operation to cause a coup d'état in Iran in 1953. The app features full sound and motion as you're reading through the pages, along with lots of background information about the real-life story and even some newsreel videos to check out.

And right now at launch, the app is completely free. Excellent deal, and a great way to get started in comics on the iPad if you haven't yet. After that, I highly recommend the Comixology app for buying digital comics directly, and I've been using the free ComicBookLover for reading my own .CBR digital files. I've been reading plenty of things in iBooks, too, but the iPad really seems made for reading some great comics.

Free iPad comic tells the story of Operation Ajax originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Free iPad comic tells the story of Operation Ajax originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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