gift giving
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Store It is a wishlist app that falls short of its potential
Store It, free in the App Store, has the potential to be more powerful than other wishlist and gift apps on the market. It has a great concept, but isn't so great in execution. You add items to your list by searching websites with the in-app browser, scanning a barcode or uploading a photo. This is in stark contrast with Instalist, an app I reviewed a few weeks ago, which only gives you a non-searchable selection of items from Amazon. With the free version, you can create two lists with up to eight items each. For US$0.99, you can build 50 lists with a maximum of 150 items per list. Search for items on the web via Google or go directly to your preferred sites by adding them to the "favorite retailers" section. You select your item by clicking on the "add new item" button at the bottom of the screen. Store It only pulls the image from the website. You have to add the name and price of the item. It would be nice if this information was automatic, the way that it is with Amazon's wishlist button. If the image doesn't show up for some reason, the app lets you take a screenshot of the product that you want. You can include notes with each item on your list for things like the size and color of the item or whether it's a must-have gift. You can also create lists for other people. I used Store It to keep track of the gift ideas I had for people on my holiday shopping list. Store-It connects with Pricegrabber to give you price comparisons. This is a cool idea, but you don't always get targeted results. For instance, I received price comparisons on iPad Mini cases alongside actual iPad Minis. There are a few quirks to the app. There are default websites included in the "favorite retailers" section, like Apple, Amazon and Pricegrabber. Even though I'm in the US, they are all UK sites. Likewise, the price on each item in your wishlist is in euros. Oddly, you can set the currency for the comparisons on Pricegrabber, but that has zero impact everything else. Store-It also has one big limitation: You cannot email a full list to anyone, however you can share individual items via social media. The point of a wishlist is to keep everything that you want in one place to make it easy for the people who are shopping for you. Why create a wishlist app that doesn't let you share your entire list? This feature is supposedly forthcoming, but I question why the developer released this app with such a critical piece missing. The option to build your lists online or offline make Store It a strong app conceptually, but until the developer adds more sharing features and cleans up some of the quirks, it's not going to live up to its potential.
Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: headphones
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. We imagine many a PMP or smartphone will be changing hands this holiday season -- iPhone 4S or Galaxy Nexus, anyone? And what better way to accessorize your brand new mobile gadget than with a set of headphones? Fret not audio lovers -- we've rounded up nine of our top picks that we think you'll really enjoy while on the move. We're talking headphones that'll let you control your playlists and chat with friends, all without exposing those precious new gizmos to the harsh winter elements. It's all just past the break, so what are you still doing here? Click on through to the other side!
TUAW's Daily App: mGifts
It's Thanksgiving week, Black Friday is coming up quick, and that means that we're knee deep in gift-shopping season. If you don't quite know what you're getting or where to get it yet, mGifts can probably help. It can't actually recommend gifts for you (we here at TUAW can take care of that part), but it can help you track all of the gifts you need to buy, keeping separate listings by person, stores to shop at, and even prices of what you've purchased already. If you've got a lot of gifts to pick up, this could be just the thing to help you organize. Other features include the ability to share a list via email or attach photos for each gift or person. And while we're posting about the app for holiday gift giving, it actually works for any event, even customized birthdays or anniversaries. The app is a universal release and is only US 99 cents right now, on sale for the season.
It's the thought that counts, but just in case, Amazon patents gift conversion system
The holiday season is drawing close, and gifting soon to begin, which almost certainly means another pair of woolen socks (oh, joy) from dear Aunt Mildred. What could you possibly do to escape your sheep-shorn fate? The top brass at Amazon have a plan -- they've patented a system by which your gifts will magically be converted into things you actually want. It's like Gmail filters for products, really, in that you set up a series of rules, and if the gift you're sent falls under one of them, you're sent an item from your Amazon Wish List (or a gift certificate) instead. Apparently they've even thought up conversion rules for media formats, which should come in mighty handy for those relatives who can't tell PS3 from Xbox. Why can't Aunt Mildred just look at your wish list to begin with? Hey, she's your aunt. Why don't you be a dear, give her a good old-fashioned telephone call and ask?
All the World's A Stage: Gift-giving in Azeroth
With Winter's Veil behind us, it is not too long until Valentine's Day is here. Between these two holidays, I'm frequently left pondering the best gifts available for our loved ones . . . in game. There's a subtle art to simulating gift-giving between characters, since there's obviously a few factors to be considered. First, it's difficult to be creative. Everyone has the same access to the items and gifts in-game, so you're going to be incredibly challenged to pull off something "no one else has considered." Second, it can be difficult to pick out just the right gift, since it can be a little hard to get excited over a trade window. Still, when it comes time for one character to give something a little special to his or her in-character spouse, it's good to have some ideas ready to go. Take a look behind the jump and let's talk about 5 of my favorite in-game gifts.
Social currency and giving in MMOs
SFGate.com takes on virtual giving in MMOs, with pretty accurate results-- they cover everything from Facebook (is that an MMO?) to Habbo Hotel, and even though they don't take on any more traditional MMOs (I've heard many stories of gift-giving in World of Warcraft), the fact remains that in any game where players can transfer items among one another, there's a possibility of giving virtual gifts for the holidays.Have you ever done it? SFGate says there's meaning associated with these virtual gifts, and I think that's definitely true-- spending your own time to craft or purchase an ingame gift for someone is definitely meaningful, and as more and more people play MMOs, more and more people will understand what it means to put together enough money to buy them an Epic item.But the article also (rightfully, I think) doesn't cross the line and say that a virtual gift would replace a real one. In my estimation, getting a virtual gift is nice, and definitely would be enough for any acquaintances you've met in game, but for real-world friends and family, just a virtual world gift isn't enough. What do you think?[Via 3pointd.com]
