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Motorola's rebate site goes live: $100 credit if you need to upgrade to get Jelly Bean
During Motorola's keynote on Wednesday, the company announced a nice little bonus for loyal fans -- should your 2011-or-later handset not receive a Jelly Bean update, you'll get $100 if you upgrade to one of its new models. Well, a website for the deal has gone live and the initial Ts&Cs don't make it sound like an immediate discount, but that the Benjamin will instead be reimbursed as a gift card, carrier credit or a cash equivalent of Motorola's choice. We're still in the dark about which specific phones will be denied a taste of Android 4.1, although the list is expected "very soon." In the meantime, you can sign up at the source link below to receive details of how to update, or how to claim the rebate once the fate of your old handset has been decided.
Spotify gift cards now available at Target in $10, $30 and $60 values
If any of you tuning in from the US have ever wondered why you can't buy a Spotify gift card for the internet radio lover in your life, well, you can quit pondering: Target is now selling Spotify credits in its brick-and-mortar stores -- a first in the US. The cards are available in $10, $30 and $60 amounts, which translates to one, three and six months of service, respectively. As you can imagine, you need a Spotify Premium account to redeem them, so make sure whoever you're buying for has a subscription or at least intends to sign up. Still, we have to say: a month of ad-free radio and offline playback could make for a nice last-minute gift, even if the lucky recipient chooses not to hang around after the included free days expire.
Google Play gift cards officially announced, now rolling out to Target, RadioShack and GameStop
We've seen hints of them in the Google Play app and some pretty clear evidence of them in the wild, and now Google has finally officially announced the availability of Google Play gift cards. Those are available in $10, $25 and $50 denominations, and will be rolling out to Target, RadioShack and GameStop retail stores in the United States over the next few weeks (no word on availability outside the US just yet). According to Google, they'll also be available on Walmart.com later this month, but not in Walmart stores for the time being. As you'd expect, the cards can be used to purchase anything on Google Play, including movies, music and books in addition to apps (or in-app items). [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple demos Passbook, a one-stop shop for tickets and boarding passes
From airline and train boarding passes to concert tickets, we've seen a variety of tix make their way into the digital realm at venues around the world. With today's announcement of Passbook, the hard copy credential may soon be a thing of the past. Speaking on stage at Apple's WWDC keynote, VP of iOS Software Scott Forstall demonstrated the feature with United boarding passes, Fandango movie tickets and a Starbucks gift card. While none of these examples are making their premiere debut, Passbook will certainly make the QR-code-based stubs more user-friendly, while also increasing awareness among folks who continue to opt for paper while doubting the usability and authenticity of a digital counterpart. Passbook is also location aware, bringing up a Starbucks card as you approach a shop, for example. You can also get updates related to your stored credentials, such as a gate change announcement with a pending United boarding pass. The feature will come bundled with iOS 6, set to launch this fall. Check out our full coverage of WWDC 2012 at our event hub!%Gallery-157917%
Amazon's gift card restriction patent: puts some thought in your otherwise thoughtless present
We all have that one friend or family member that's nigh impossible to shop for, whether it's because they have everything or like nothing. Gift cards are the quick and dirty solution to this gifting conundrum, but what if you don't trust that special someone to make a purchase you'd be proud to call your present? Never fear, Amazon is here... with a new patent that lets you, the gift-giver, control which of the retailer's wares can be bought with its gift cards. Of course, those who aren't such control freaks can simply have the card make purchase recommendations instead. Plus, this gift card of tomorrow can also let you know what was bought with the card to give you some insight for future gifting occasions. Maybe then you'll be able to give your mother-in-law something she'll like, instead of just some repurposed retail cash.
Engadget giveaway: win one of five Nexus S 4G phones with $1,000 Google Wallet credit!
We're pretty excited about Google Wallet, but the service is currently only available for Nexus S 4G phone owners, leaving most of you waiting for broader implementation. Well, how would you like to skip the line, getting to test it out on a Nexus S 4G of your very own? Google has supplied us with five phones to give away -- the company is even throwing in $1,000 (yes, one THOUSAND dollars) of prepaid credit to help fund those first few dozen taps. There's one catch: you'll need to use your Nexus S 4G with a Sprint plan, though the carrier is throwing in one month of demo service to get you started. Check out our in-depth preview for a detailed look at the service, and simply leave a comment after the break to be entered to win -- after checking that you meet the entry requirements, of course.
A week with Google Wallet (video)
Contactless payments have been something of a curiosity in the credit card industry. MasterCard's PayPass has been around for the better part of a decade, but merchants and banks alike seem hesitant to adopt the technology required to make the system work, and inconsistent implementation adds to the confusion -- particularly for customers. Google's new mobile phone-based Wallet service has the potential to transform the technology from its current status as a transaction turkey, to a future as a checkout champion. But will it work? We spent a week with a Wallet-enabled Nexus S 4G, using the device to pay whenever we encountered a MasterCard PayPass terminal. Unfortunately, that wasn't often enough, limiting us to just a handful of transactions in the first week. Still, with Google just beginning to roll out the service and only a limited selection of launch partners ready to go, it's impossible to deliver a complete verdict just yet. Jump past the break for an inside look at Google Wallet, including a video of the service in action, and a brief look at what the world of contactless payments may look like in the future.%Gallery-130759%
Zynga crowns Lady Gaga as FarmVille's newest cash cow
What better way to market a game that isn't really a game than with an artist who isn't really an artist? Such was the rationale, apparently, behind Zynga's recent decision to partner with Lady Gaga, the freshly anointed face of FarmVille. As of May 17th, FarmVille users will be able to take a much-needed break from wasting their lives and visit GagaVille -- a neighboring but equally fake farm full of unicorns, crystals and terrible life decisions. There, visitors will be able to listen to unreleased tracks from Gaga's forthcoming album, Born This Way, which they can also download for "free," once they've dropped $25 of their parents' hard-earned cash on a Zynga gift card. The campaign will mercifully come to an end on May 26th, but not before Diet Madonna extends her corporate leviathan to every corner of Zynga's gaming universe, including Words With Friends, Mafia Wars and anything else your pre-teen cousin spends far too much time playing. Gaga will win. Zynga will win. The human race, on balance, will lose. If you haven't slit your wrists yet, the PR after the break should do the trick.
Apple Stores now selling iPad gift cards
Apple has begun selling their signature silver gift cards inside "iPad Gift Card" packaging just in time for the holiday rush. iLounge says that although the cards themselves aren't anything different than the ones I normally get from family as Christmas gifts, they can now be used to purchase an iPad. When I bought my current iPhone I tried to use gift cards and wasn't allowed to do so -- Apple mandated that customers had to use a debit or a credit card -- but I guess this is a change in company policy. I would much rather unwrap an actual iPad on Christmas morning rather than just a gift card, but beggars can't be choosers, can they? If you are traveling to see me for the holidays, I completely understand it would be a lot easier to pack a gift card than an iPad. So you're more than welcome to bring me one if you absolutely have to. I won't mind! [via MacStories]
iBooks gift cards appear in Apple Stores and Target stores
iLounge reports that Apple has started to sell iBooks-branded iTunes Store gift cards in Apple Stores. I also saw the same gift cards for sale in my local Target store this morning. The gift cards come in US$25 and US$50 denominations and, like other iTunes gift cards, aren't limited to purchasing iBooks but can be used to purchase any content in the iTunes Store. The idea behind the iBooks gift card branding is twofold: to appeal to customers buying iPads for book lovers this holiday season and also to remove any doubt in the minds of purchasers that gift cards could not be used in the iBookstore. That was a common misconception, because the iBookstore is only found on iOS devices and not in the iTunes desktop application. But that should be put to rest with these cards right alongside the usual iTunes gift cards this holiday season.
Facebook Credits coming to Walmart and Best Buy
Feel like taking your hard-earned capital and turning it into ones and zeros? Stocking up Farmville "cash" just got easier as Zuckerberg and Co. have announced that they're bringing pre-pay Facebook Credits cards to the impulse racks at Best Buy and Walmart. In Target stores since September, they'll be available in denominations anywhere from $5 to $50, and as for the credits themselves, they're redeemable within over 200 games and apps on the site, but sadly they're utterly useless for that one need we have above all others: stopping people from tagging really unflattering pictures of us. [Thanks, Jeff]
Barnes & Noble accepting gift cards for ebook purchases starting mid-December
A few nasty rumors were circulating that Barnes & Noble wouldn't accept its own gift cards for ebook purchases, but thankfully, the outfit has come clean today to refute those claims. 'Course, it's possible that this change in policy was a direct result of all the bickering, but either way, the company will be accepting physical gift cards and online gift certificates as payment for ebooks really, really soon. The cards will work on purchases made at B&N's website and through the Nook itself (not to mention "other devices using the B&N eReader software), and we're told that the new policy will be in full effect come "mid-December." In other words, all those gift cards you just purchased as stocking stuffers for to-be Nook owners are good to go. Phew. [Thanks, David]
Toys R Us videogame 'buy back' program underway nationwide
According to the gang at Joystiq, the Toys R Us videogame trade-in program launches in earnest today, meaning that any of you cats with old videogames laying around can trade 'em in for the retailer's gift cards, no questions asked. Just take your old games (even going as far back as the Atari 2600 or Intellivison) to the customer service desk of your local store and they'll make you an offer at which point, according to a store representative, the games are then "taken by a third party company that refurbishes them for resale." This year's been pretty tough, but between our old game cartridges, Cash for Clunkers, and Compton's "Cash for Firearms" program, it looks like things might finally be going our way after all! The worm has turned, our friends. Indeed, the worm has turned.
Brookstone converts Sharper Image gift cards into practically worthless discount
What's worse than being forced to hang with your "pals" as they peruse the aisles of Sharper Image? Why, perusing the aisle at Brookstone, of course! In an admittedly ridiculous ploy to solicit business from now-shafted Sharper Image gift card holders, Brookstone is attempting to do the world some giant favor by converting any Sharper Image gift cards or gift certificate into a 25-percent off discount for its stores. Unfortunately, the individual with a $1 gift card and a $20,000 gift card get the same lame-o discount, and better still, the deal isn't valid on the few things in there worth a darn Sony, Celestron, Bose, Panasonic and Tempur-Pedic items. Thanks for nothing, Brookstone.[Image courtesy of OrlandoAirports]
Unredeemed gift cards dwarf credit- and debit-card fraud
We should have included "give cash not gift cards" as one of our gamer-focused resolutions for 2007. See, most companies that we buy our games from offer gift cards. Problem is, of the $80 billion in gift cards purchased last year, experts estimate that $8 billion (some 10%) will never be redeemed -- an amount that dwarfs credit- and debit-card fraud together, according to the New York Times. Heck, Best Buy alone earned $16 million from unredeemed gift cards last year, the Times said. Go redeem those cards. $16 million buys a lot of game loot. Don't let it rot. [Photo credit: Flickr user XoXoAndy&LebronXoXo, who has accumulated $365 worth of the cards.]
Gift Redemption by URL
Got an iTunes Giftcard that iTunes doesn't want to recognize? Try using a direct URL to fix the problem. Pop the following URL into your favorite web browser after logging into your iTunes account. (Substitute the actual gift code for the YOURCODEHERE part.) The URL connects to iTunes and attempts to load the code by the "back door" so to speak. Here's the magic URL, though make sure you enter it all on one line: https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/ com.apple.jingle.app.finance.DirectAction/freeProductCodeWizard?code=YOURCODEHERE
