Holiday

Festive Christmas wallpapers for iPhone and iPad

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

As we round out the year, Christmas is upon us. The last shopping frenzies are ending and we turn to the kitchen to bake up our favorite goodies. If you are still looking for some last minute shopping ideas, you can still deliver items just in time. All of your favorite iDB editors compiled their favorite Christmas items in our annual Holiday Gift Guides.

One of my favorite decorative ways to celebrate is with holiday-themed wallpapers. It may sound funny, but that is the item I see most throughout the day, why not dressing it up in some red and green? Take a step inside for a selection of Christmas wallpapers for your favorite device.

iDB holiday gift guide: Oliver’s picks

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Now I'm not sure if you folks have noticed, but we're currently hurtling towards Christmas. It's not so much crept up on us as jumped out from behind a pillar, pulled a funny face and shouted "oogabooga" at the top of its lungs. Christmas is just around the corner, and it's time to get those gifts sorted out.

If you're much more organized than my good self, then you're probably reading this with a decidedly smug grin on your face sipping on some egg nog, but if like me you just can't bring yourself to do Christmas shopping until the week in which the day actually occurs then you may just be sat panicking at the thought of coming up with some gift ideas.

And that's where we come in.

New Apple video goes behind the scenes of ‘The Song’ holiday ad

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 17, 2014

Earlier this week, Apple begun airing its new holiday ad titled 'The Song' which features a woman using her Apple hardware and software to record herself singing along with a recording of her grandmother from several years ago. The 30-second commercial wraps up with a scene depicting her grandmother enjoying the resulting song on an iPad.

Today, the iPhone maker via its YouTube channel released a behind-the-scenes video titled 'The story behind “The Song”' featuring the ad's musician Dana Williams and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens who explain basic concepts behind the commercial and lay out a creative workflow which involves most of Apple’s current product lineup.

iDB holiday gift guide: Timothy’s picks

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

The year has flown by and 2014 has reached its holiday season, which means the usual cold weather, long lines, gift shopping, family visits, delectable food, and exorbitant amounts of sweets. In an effort to help you avoid the lines and still find meaningful gifts for your friends and family, my colleagues and I have compiled our yearly holiday gift guides with a gift for everyone on your list.

Throughout the year, I've come across several amazing devices, accessories, and services that I've grown to love and use daily. Each of these has a lasting value and isn't likely to be forgotten, abandoned, or returned the day after Christmas – a quality I look for in things I purchase all year long.

iDB holiday gift guide: Chris’ picks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

It's that time of year again and iDownloadBlog is right on cue with its traditional Holiday Gift Guide. Choosing the perfect Christmas gift can be stressful, whether you're looking to surprise your best friend with a useful item that won't break the bank, delight your gadget-toting family members with handy accessories, or give that special someone in your life a unique surprise.

Here's a list of holiday gifts that, based on my personal experience, provide long lasting value without costing too much. Needless to say, it's a highly subjective list and you may not agree with all of the recommended products. That's beyond the point, however, as the article is meant to provide an inspiration as you research before buying things for yourself and the people in your life you care about.

iDB holiday gift guide: Jim’s picks

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Another year down and year three of the iDownloadBlog Holiday Gift Guide hits the site. As tech bloggers, it is our job to make sure you know about the awesome new things that come out during the year. We pride ourselves in filling a Santa list that is top notch and informed.

The following list of items may or may not be things I currently own or reviewed. Items in my gift guide are simply my favorite gadgets, accessories or tech related items.Throwing price to the wind, but still keeping it within a reasonable reach of most consumers, take a step inside for my most wished for items.

Apple airs new holiday commercial “The Song”

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple today began airing a new holiday-themed commercial entitled "The Song." The spot showcases products from all of the company's major device lines, including a MacBook Air, iPhone and iPad, and how they can be used to create "thoughtful, emotional gifts."

More specifically, the ad shows a woman using her MacBook Air and GarageBand to record herself singing along with a recording of her grandmother from several years ago. She then presents the song to her on an iPad, as a gift, and as you can imagine, it's a big hit.

Scanbot goes free for the holidays, adds new features and gorgeous winter theme

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 11, 2014

Scanbot, a comprehensive, well-designed document scanner and QR reader for the iPhone and iPad, has gone free in a time-limited holiday promotion. You can now grab the $1.99 universal application free in the App Store.

Those who've upgraded to Scanbot Pro via a $4.99 In-App Purchase can send Scanbot Pro as a holiday gift to a friend during the duration of this promotion.

Just tap the Gift button at the top right corner and share the Christmas coupon with that special someone. Haven't upgraded yet? Not to worry, you can gift Scanbot Pro at a discount of up to 60 percent. Last but not least, both editions of Scanbot have received several new features listed below the fold.

AT&T is out with Emoji Carols

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 2, 2014

In time for the holidays, carrier AT&T unveiled Emoji Carols and it's exactly what it sounds like.

Teaming up with its favorite marketing agency, BBDO Atlanta, good ol' Ma Bell has created the Emoji Carols website which aims to allow anyone to emojify their favorite holiday songs with their own personalized emoji characters.

The nicely done web app invites you to customize your emoji by selecting hair, eyes, nose, skin color and mouth, each available in several pre-made variants that you can select and combine with each other.

Apple’s Lucky Bags promotion goes live in Japan

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 2, 2014

As announced a week ago, Apple today kicked off its Lucky Bags promotion in Japan. The 36,000 yen (approximately $345 USD) mystery bags filled with randomly picked Apple products and third-party accessories are being offered today only to customers in select Apple retail stores across the 128 million people country.

Also known as Fukubukuro, or Mystery Bags, Japan’s annual New Year’s Day tradition entices shopper with grab bags containing unknown contents. Although buyers can't tell what they’re actually getting until they look inside, these mystery bags contain a selection of products worth more than the value of the Lucky Bag.

Here's what fans in Japan are finding in their Lucky Bags from Apple...

Day 3 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts: ‘Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2014’ iBook

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

We are now on day 3 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts event, meaning Apple has removed Tiny Thief and has posted a new free item for download. Today's gift is an iBook called "Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2014."

For those unfamiliar with Lonely Planet, it's one of the world’s leading travel guide publishers with guidebooks to almost every destination on the planet. And in this iBook, it highlights 10 of its favorite spots...

iOS five times as popular as Android for Christmas shopping on mobile

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 27, 2013

In something of a repeat of 2012 when the iPad crushed Android tablets in Black Friday mobile revenue, this time around U.S. shoppers used their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad gadgets to racket up a whopping five times the amount of mobile Christmas Day sales as Android devices did, accounting for more than an 83 percent take of mobile-oriented sales compared to Google's mobile platform.

That's the gist of yesterday's survey by IBM providing insights into the nation's mobile holiday shopping patterns. Read on for the full breakdown...