Promotion

Walmart rollback: 16GB iPad 2 is now $299

Walmart's been frequently offering up various discounts concerning iPad 2 models. For example, its most recent iPad 2 sales promotion shaved $100 off in the form of a $100 electronic gift card.

Starting today, the entry-level Wi-Fi-only iPad 2 model with sixteen gigabytes of storage can be purchased over at the online and retail Walmart stores for as low as $299, a cool $100 saving over its retail price of $399.

The price change is the result of Walmart's rollback promotion, which occurs when a supplier gives Walmart a discount in the purchase price of a product. A rollback can be also the result of high demand.

This particular discount affects only the entry-level iPad 2 model. The Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad 2 still sells for $479, or $50 less versus Apple's asking price...

Apple Store app offering Tetris for free, grab it now

This week's Free App of the Week on the App Store is Max Axe, an over-the-top endless runner where you kill beasts by drawing with your finger to throw axes. If this sounds a little underwhelming, the official Apple Store app in its ongoing promotion is now giving away Electronic Arts' excellent take on the classic Tetris game. Having played countless Tetris versions over the years, Twintris for the Amiga 500 was by far the most fun I've ever had smashing simple geometric shapes down to clear the lines.

Electronics Arts' modernized mobile Tetris edition is the closest thing to Twintris. It's a highly recommended download so fire up the Apple Store app and claim your free copy now, here's how...

Max Axe is App Store’s new Free App of the Week

It's Thursday and those of you who routinely follow Apple's ongoing Free App of the Week promo know what to expect. That's right, the App Store editors have cherry-picked a new iPhone and iPad application, a game this time around, and slashed it to zero bucks for a limited time.

Max Axe, a humorous arcade frenzy by ChangeYou.com (a publisher of free to play MMORPGs), is now available free of charge until next Thursday (it normally costs $1.99).

This also means that last week's free app, Toca Boca's kids driving game Toca Cars, is no longer available in this promotion...

Target launches time-limited deals on iOS devices

Target, the nation's second-largest discount retailer, is launching some pretty interesting deals on Apple's iOS devices. Starting this coming Sunday, February 9, and through next week's Saturday, February 15, customers in the market for an iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPad Air and any iPad mini can get discounts in the form of gift cards.

The time-limited promotion will see some of these devices discounted by as much as $50 versus Apple's asking prices. Jump past the fold for the full per-product breakdown...

Kids driving game Toca Cars is Apple’s new Free App of the Week

I hope you have downloaded the excellent Spark Camera which was made temporarily free thanks to Apple's ongoing Free App of the Week promotion. Every Thursday a new paid app picked by Apple's editors goes free for a limited time in the App Store as Apple's way of thanking fans for their loyalty.

As Spark Camera today returns to its original $1.99 price, a new app has gone free until next Thursday, Toca Cars. Originally released last September and normally costing $2.99, this charming kids driving game from Toca Boca (a studio that makes digital toys for kids) has a 4.5-star rating and was never free, until today.

I wholeheartedly recommend you grab Toca Cars in the App Store now...

Walmart shaves $100 off iPad 2, now $299

The unreasonably priced iPad 2 with sixteen gigabytes of storage and no cellular sells for $399. You'd be hard-pressed to justify buying a 2011 tablet at that price when $399 can buy you the latest iPad mini with Retina display instead. On the other hand, some customers such as schools and businesses clearly see the value or Apple otherwise wouldn't be keeping the device on the market at that price.

If for any reason you're in the market for a second-generation iPad, Walmart has a sweet deal for you in the form of an electronic $100 Walmart gift card...

Apple goes behind the scenes of its new ‘1.24.14’ Mac anniversary ad

Apple this morning published a new 30th Mac anniversary video, titled '1.24.14' and shot entirely on iPhones and edited on Macs.

Now, less than an hour ago, the company's YouTube channel got refreshed with a behind-the-scenes video detailing the thought process that went into the creation of the well-received '1.24.14' ad.

I've included it for your viewing pleasure right after the break so give it a watch and then meet us in comments...

Apple celebrates Mac’s 30th anniversary with new video shot entirely on iPhone 5s, edited on Mac

OK, Apple didn't exactly return to Super Bowl with a 30th Mac anniversary ad like advertising legend Lee Clow a week ago hinted it would, but that doesn't mean the company is letting the Super Bowl ad blitz mute its message.

Not only did Apple celebrate the occasion by letting ABC News and MacWorld interview CEO Tim Cook, it also posted an interactive Mac timeline on Apple.com and a new ‘Happy Birthday, Mac’ section on the Mac App Store, dressed up retail stores' window displays in Mac-themed graphics and hung commemorative posters up on the walls of its Cupertino HQ.

The company even hid a custom font on its servers featuring gorgeous Mac model icons. And now, Apple has posted a new video on its homepage dedicated to the 30 years of Mac innovation. The 125-second clip was shot entirely on iPhones and edited on Macs, have a look at it right below the fold and meet us in comments...

Bank of America and U2 team up for Product (RED) iTunes free song promo

U2, the famous Irish rock band from Dublin, has teamed up with Bank of America in a new promotion where the latter donates $1 for every free iTunes download of U2's new single titled Invisible to (Product) RED's charity which fights against AIDS.

The promotion was announced via a Super Bowl ad and was designed to help end mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Product (RED) was founded in 2006 by U2 frontman Bono, together with Bobby Shriver of the ONE/DATA, as a way of raising awareness and funds to help eliminate AIDS in Africa...

You can now get $50 off any mobile phone at Best Buy any time during 2014

The United States electronics retailer Best Buy on Thursday announced an interesting new promotion giving anyone who signs up for a $50 gift card the ability to redeem the credit when purchasing and activating any mobile phone at Best Buy, any time during 2014.

The promo theoretically means you could get $50 off your future iPhone 6 purchase.

Not sure if this was Best Buy's intent, but the terms suggest a price discount should be available for any unannounced handset. Anyone can apply for the $50 discount provided they register their interest and purchase/activate a new mobile phone with the registered phone number and a two-year agreement on AT&T, Sprint or Verizon Wireless at any Best Buy or Best Buy Mobile store before December 31, 2014...

PopAGraph goes free as Apple’s Free App of the Week – make your photos pop now!

Like every Thursday, today Apple gets to slash another app to $0 in its ongoing Free App of the Week promo. A week ago today it was Disney's Where’s My Mickey? puzzler and now the App Store editors have named PopAGraph this week's Free App of the Week.

Released in April of last year, this nicely done photo-editing app for the iPhone and iPad by Flambe Studios LLC wants to make your photos pop, by allowing you to mask objects and pop them out to give them an impression of depth.

Grab it free in the App Store until next Thursday...

Microsoft’s Bing Rewards program now available on iOS

Microsoft launched Bing Rewards in September 2010 in a desperate attempt to get people search the web with Bing. Bing Rewards provides credits to users of major desktop browsers through regular Bing searches and special promotions.

Today, Bing Rewards is going mobile as the program has just been extended to owners of iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.

Rather surprisingly, the Windows maker said that Bing Rewards was “coming soon” to Windows Phone devices. Bing Rewards replaced Microsoft's similarly conceived initiatives, SearchPerks! and Bing Cashback...