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Rick Broida
Until yesterday, the only way to buy an app for someone other than yourself was to give an iTunes gift card and say, “This is so you can buy Words With Friends.” Lame, right?
Now, giving the gift of apps is a whole lot easier. In iTunes, just click the pull-down menu next to an app’s Buy button, then click Gift This App.
From there you’ll fill out a short form, starting with how you want to deliver your gift: e-mail or printed certificate.
The latter, of course, is just like what you get when buying a generic iTunes gift certificate, except that the code delivers the chosen app, not a monetary credit.
Whatever method you choose, you can include a personal message of up to 500 characters. It’s all pretty straightforward, but do read the fine print regarding OS requirements. (Thankfully, if you accidentally buy, say, an iPod Touch owner an app that works only with iPhones, you can request a refund.)
So, what do you think? Is this something you’ll use? Or is app gifting a little too personal, like buying someone a piece of art? I’m interested to hear your thoughts in the comments.
