Black Friday

Apple’s gift card-only Black Friday deals now live in North America, cash discounts in Europe

Following Apple's Black Friday deals that went live yesterday on the Australian web store, the company this morning refreshed its United States and Canadian outlets with 2013 Black Friday promotion.

Just as we suspected, this year the iPhone maker has rather disappointedly opted not to offer actual discounts on products and instead is luring shoppers with Apple Store Gift Cards, redeemable against purchases solely at a later date.

Apple has never offered deep Black Friday discounts and this year's gift card-only promotion will no doubt disappoint bargain hunters who'll be better served shopping elsewhere (iDownloadBlog has you covered with a comprehensive roundup of Black Friday deals)...

Apple’s gift card only Black Friday deals launch in Australia

Just as we suspected yesterday, Apple's Black Friday promotion may disappoint even the most ardent of fans as this year Tim Cook & Co. have opted to treat shoppers to Apple Store gift cards instead of actual discounts on products. Apple's deals are now live on its Australian web store and we're expecting the U.S. Apple Store to come online with the promotion later in the day. The problem with Apple's gift card-only approach is that these things are redeemable against future purchases only.

As a result, eager shoppers who are on the lookout for real discounts on products, right there and then, will instead need to visit their retail or online Apple Store again in order to actually spend their credit...

MacMall discounts iPads, Macs and more in Black Friday sale

Continuing on with our Black Friday coverage this week, popular online retailer MacMall has kicked off its big holiday sales event today. The deals, which will be good through midnight on November 29, include significant discounts on Macs, iPads and more.

Among the discounted products is the all-new iPad Air. MacMall is offering various deals on Apple's latest tablet, starting at $41 off for the 16GB Wi-Fi model all the way up to $70 off the 128GB. And it's taking $102 off all MacBook Airs and 13" MacBook Pros...

Apple’s 2013 Black Friday to be based around gift cards, not product discounts?

Black Friday, for our international readers, is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day, which is observed on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. While Thanksgiving is a national holiday and is celebrated as such, Black Friday is not.

What Black Friday does is it kicks off the Christmas shopping frenzy by having major retailers open extremely early and offer huge discounts.

Not Apple, America's greatest retailer since the turn of the century.

To Apple, Black Friday is a one-day shopping event with only modest discounts. Example: last year, Apple's Black Friday sale included $101 off MacBook Pros/Airs, a rather modest $41 off the iPad with Retina display and a paltry $31 off iPod touches, Airport Express base stations, the Magic Mouse and other select accessories.

And this time around, Apple's Black Friday promotion may focus on Gift cards rather than actual discounts on products, reports a well-informed blogger. Duh...

iDB’s Black Friday Deals Roundup

Black Friday is now just a few days away, meaning folks planning to do some bargain shopping this weekend don't have much longer to put their game plan together. The day is infamously hectic, for both retailers and consumers, thanks to limited-time and supply sales and unruly crowds of shoppers, so planning ahead is crucial.

But never fear, iDB has you covered this year with a complete guide on where to locate the best deals. We've sifted through as many Black Friday ads as we could get our hands on in order to find out which stores are going to be worth going to this weekend, so you don't have to. Presenting our first Black Friday Deals Roundup...

T-Mobile offering iPhone 5s/5c with $0 down for Black Friday weekend only

Black Friday is just around the corner and TMoNews is reporting that T-Mobile USA will be offering Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c with $0 down on its usual installment plans, for the Black Friday weekend only, November 29. Following the weekend, limited time pricing "for these amazing devices" will be available beginning Cyber Monday, December 2, as per the carrier's internal memo.

I'm guessing these prices are for entry-level iPhones with sixteen gigabytes of storage. For those wondering, that’s a $149 saving on the iPhone 5s and a $49 saving on the iPhone 5c right off the bat as you’ll be paying about $20 per month for 24 months on T-Mobile's installment plans. I've included the full details right after the break...

Original Infinity Blade goes free for a limited time

Good news gamers, Chair Entertainment is offering Infinity Blade free as a limited time Black Friday special this week. The game, which normally retails for $5.99, supports a wide range of iOS devices dating back to the iPad and iPhone 3GS.

This was the first mobile game powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 technology, giving it gorgeous visuals and a fully 3D castle realm. And for those that haven't played it yet, this is your chance to see where the Infinity Blade series began...

Apple confirms Black Friday will take place in both online and retail Apple Stores

This coming Friday marks the official beginning of the lucrative holiday shopping season in the United States. Black Friday, as the day following Thanksgiving is called, typically gives America's greatest retailer a nice boost. Last year, for example, Apple Stores outsold Microsoft Stores nearly 5 to 1 in Black Friday purchases - and that was with Apple's traditionally conservative deals and unimpressive discounts.

Some of Apple's retail outlets in the United States and Canada will be opening early on Black Friday. Although the company has yet to announce actual Black Friday deals, it confirmed Monday that the one-day shopping event will take place at both its brick-and-mortar retail outlets and online, with free shipping on online orders...

Some US, Canada Apple Stores opening early on Black Friday

Black Friday is next week, and for those unfamiliar with the term, it's the Friday after Thanksgiving that kicks off the busiest shopping weekend of the year. Retailers open their stores early and offer significant discounts on their products in hope of luring in holiday shoppers.

And it looks like Apple will be participating in the festivities this year. While we haven't yet received word on the company's Black Friday deals, it does appear that many of its retail stores in both the United States and Canada will be opening early to accomodate the crowds...

Good deal: get Parallels + 7 awesome Mac apps for one super low price

Black Friday is nine days away, but that's not stopping companies from advertising huge holiday discounts like there's no tomorrow. Notable deals Cody told you about in the past week or so include 28% off the iPhone-controlled Cobra iHelicopter, 46% off id America's iPhone 5/5s accessory bundle, 55% off Jony Ive and Inside Steve’s Brain book combo and more.

You can put Parallels on your shopping list as the virtualization company is now offering eight great Mac apps for the price of Parallels Desktop 9 alone - that's 82 percent off or a cool $356 in savings right off the bat...

Best Buy knocking $100 off iPad 2 and up to $200 off Macs for Black Friday

Following Black Friday sale previews from Target and Walmart, major electronics retailer Best Buy has published a number of deals it will be offering up on the popular after-Thanksgiving-day shopping weekend.

Folks looking to get an iPad for a friend or family member for the holidays will be interested to hear that Best Buy will be selling the iPad 2 for $299—$100 off. And it will also be discounting Macs, iPods and more...

Walmart’s Black Friday sale: $100 gift card with iPad mini purchase, $75 with iPhone

And they're off! With Black Friday now just a few weeks away, retailers have begun teasing their after-Thanksgiving-day sales in hopes of convincing hordes of customers to visit their stores on the busiest shopping weekend of the year.

We've already seen a preview of Target's sale, which offers the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad Air for $479 with a free $100 gift card, and other discounts. And now, Walmart has published a snippet of its Black Friday specials showing a similar offer...