Apple's Back to School' Promo starts tomorrow, offers $100 iTunes Gift Card
Apple's annual back to school promotion for college bound Mac buyers begins tomorrow, offering a $100 iTunes Store gift card rather than bundling a free iPod as it has in previous years.
The new promotion, as it appears in marketing materials depicted by MacRumors (pictured below), notes the deal begins June 16 and runs through September 20.
While the deal highlights "$100 to to spend on the Mac App Store," ostensibly "so you can get Pages, Numbers and Keynote for your studies. And still have plenty left for your study breaks," the fine print details that the credit is redeemable for any iTunes content, including the iOS App Store, iBooks, Mac App Store, and iTunes movies and music.
This year, Apple will add Mac OS X Lion and Final Cut Pro X to its Mac App Store software offerings, which currently include Aperture, iWork apps and iLife apps (although the latter are currently bundled on new machines at no cost).
The new promotion, as it appears in marketing materials depicted by MacRumors (pictured below), notes the deal begins June 16 and runs through September 20.
While the deal highlights "$100 to to spend on the Mac App Store," ostensibly "so you can get Pages, Numbers and Keynote for your studies. And still have plenty left for your study breaks," the fine print details that the credit is redeemable for any iTunes content, including the iOS App Store, iBooks, Mac App Store, and iTunes movies and music.
This year, Apple will add Mac OS X Lion and Final Cut Pro X to its Mac App Store software offerings, which currently include Aperture, iWork apps and iLife apps (although the latter are currently bundled on new machines at no cost).
Comments
That deal sucks...
Apple figures that anyone who wants an iPod already has one. Sales have been declining since the iPhone's launch. And what better way to spur on Mac App Store/iTunes Store/iOS App Store purchases?
Apple figures that anyone who wants an iPod already has one. Sales have been declining since the iPhone's launch. And what better way to spur on Mac App Store/iTunes Store/iOS App Store purchases?
BS. Apple is being cheap here. Apple should offer then a $200 gift card.
BS. Apple is being cheap here. Apple should offer then a $200 gift card.
Apple doesn't have to give a discount at all. They do.
What is WITH people and this sense of entitlement? Not just from Apple; overall...
That deal sucks...
Students get a pretty good deal anyway with Educational pricing. Apple does not need to give away an additional $229 (price of an 8GB iPod touch) to sell a MacBook to them.
Students can now get a white MacBook for $799 ($899 less $100 iTunes card) or a 13" low-end MacBook Pro for $999 ($1099 less $100 iTunes card).
That's a good deal !!
Apple figures that anyone who wants an iPod already has one. Sales have been declining since the iPhone's launch. And what better way to spur on Mac App Store/iTunes Store/iOS App Store purchases?
Lol.
Ummm, no. More likely Apple has decided that their laptop products & pricepoints are sufficiently attractive to students now, and that therefore they don't need to discount them so heavily.
Sad for those who were looking forward to a new (albeit slightly crippled at only 8gb) iPod Touch.
On the other hand, $100 is not a very good promotion when your competition is giving away XBOXes. For most people, the first $30 will go right back to Apple for OS X Lion.
Why not a free Apple TV? I bet a lot of dorm rooms could use one of those.
On the other hand, $100 is not a very good promotion when your competition is giving away XBOXes. For most people, the first $30 will go right back to Apple for OS X Lion.
Lion is free to new buyers of Macs.
And I needed a new iTouch, my old one is dying.
F***.
I was getting impatient, as the deal seemed delayed compared to previous years, and grew very excited at the news that an announcement was just around the corner.
Needless to say, I am very disappointed in the announcement - I own neither a Mac nor an ipod, and was really looking forward to entering the world of Apple. A $100 itunes card is not the sort of enticement I had been expecting, and I will now probably wait a full year to see if a better deal is offered - or perhaps even go with the much more affordable PC option, which I had been sure I would not do.
I guess Apple is really past the point where they are interested in courting the newbie and gaining new converts!
On the other hand, $100 is not a very good promotion when your competition is giving away XBOXes.
It might be that the product is unattractive enough that you need to throw in a separate game system to make it worthwhile.
Ummm, no. More likely Apple has decided that their laptop products & pricepoints are sufficiently attractive to students now, and that therefore they don't need to discount them so heavily.
Except the computers keep the same discounts they've always had... because it's the Education Store...
It was never the computers being discounted (well, it was ALWAYS the computers being discounted, because they've ALWAYS been discounted, but that's not the point), it's the iPods. People have shown they don't want as many iPods anymore.
I guess Apple is really past the point where they are interested in courting the newbie and gaining new converts!
If the only thing that makes a Mac "worth it" for you is a free iPod, then you're not in Apple's target market, anyway. They'll never miss you.
Does this mean I can't expect a refresh to the Macbook Air line until mid-September? These promotions typically clear out old inventory, so I'm wondering if they're going to wait until then to release the new line. That would be a very big bummer.
Except the computers keep the same discounts they've always had... because it's the Education Store...
It was never the computers being discounted (well, it was ALWAYS the computers being discounted, because they've ALWAYS been discounted, but that's not the point), it's the iPods. People have shown they don't want as many iPods anymore.
If the only thing that makes a Mac "worth it" for you is a free iPod, then you're not in Apple's target market, anyway. They'll never miss you.
Anyone who bought a Mac since the Lion announcement gets a free upgrade. So that first $30 will NOT go back into Lion.
Ahh...good to know....thanks!
Doubly so when you consider that they also have "Apple Gift Cards" which can't be used digitally.
If you don't like it, then go get a free X-box instead from Microsoft. Or wait until next year and see what promotions Apple will be having.