Check out our 2010 Christmas Gift Guide, with a look at what we believe to be the best Apple products. We have chosen our favourite Mac, iPods, iPhone and iPad models, which may help you choose the best gadget!



Click here for details.

Tags: Christmas | Gifts

Black Friday is a traditional sales day in the US, and over the last few years, some of the discounts available to US shopper have also been available in the UK and Ireland. It traditionally marks the start of the Christmas buying season in the US, following the Thanksgiving holiday.

If you are in the market for a new Mac or accessory, and you can wait until November 26th, then you may get a discount.


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Apple have launched their annual “Back to School” offer for students and teachers. This entitles a person in the education sector to buy a Mac at special prices, and then to claim a rebate for buying an iPod at the same time. Given that the rebate is up to 160 euro, this means you can get an iPod touch for a small price.

The price of an iPod touch on the education store is 189 euro, so the effect of the rebate is that you can get the 8GB model for 29 euro.

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Tags: Students | Mac | iPod

Many people we have spoken to have a yearning to listen to radio on their iPhone. This is not possible from a hardware point of view- there is no radio receiver in the iPhone. However you can download apps which will let you listen to radio stations using internet feeds.

One such example which we like is FStream. It is a free app, and you will need to know the address for the radio stations you wish to listen to:
http://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/fstream/id289892007?mt=8

However we have gathered a few examples:

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Tags: iPhone | iPod

One interesting development we have noticed over the last few months is RTÉ's embrace for apps on the iPhone and iPod touch. The latest application is the RTÉ news app, which is availbale for free on the iTunes App Store for Ireland. it's worth noting that if you try to buy the RTÉ News app from the US store, it costs $2.99.

The RTÉ news app is quite a simple application with two main functions: the first is top stories section which reflects the news stories on the RTÉ website. It has four sections covering news, sport, business and entertainment. The second feature is the "watch live" section, which has a video feed of RTÉ News headlines and weather. There are two other buttons at the bottom of the screen, one called "share" and one called "RTÉ Mobile". However these are just links for sharing details of the app with a friend and a link to other mobile features and applications. So on first impressions it looks as if this application has more to it, but in fact it is just a combination of the RTÉ website news, and the news video feed. Overall it is useful, if rather uninspiring. [Click here- iTunes link].

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Tags: Apps | iPhone | iPod

If you have any plans to buy Christmas gifts from Apple this year, make sure you take a look at the Apple online store for Ireland or the UK this Friday. Traditionally in the US, there is a Black Friday sale after the Thanksgiving festival, and this is an opportunity to pick up a Mac or iPod at a special discount.

Apple are not known for their sale prices, but this is the one exception in the year, when the special shopping event is adopted by many US retailers. However to be fair to all customers, Apple offer the similar discounts to all of its international online and retail stores. The following teaser has been placed on the Apple online store for Ireland:



Click here for details.

Be sure to check out the site on Friday to see what offers are available.
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Tags: Apple Store

We have put together a series of items which may help with your Christmas gift selection. We have recommended our favourite Mac, iPod and other accessories.

These ideas are based on products we have bought in 2009 and those we have set up with our clients.

Click here to see the 2009 Christmas Gift Guide.

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Tags: iPod | Christmas | Buying Guides | Mac | Apple

Apple have launched their new line-up of iPods, ready for the Christmas buying sseason. The biggest changes effect the iPod nano and iPod touch ranges, both of which have been revised with new storage space and new hardware features..

Tags: iPod | Apple

With the education season about to start up again, here are a few tips on purchasing a Mac as a student or teacher.

Firstly, anyone connected to education should purchase through Apple's Education Store (Ireland or UK). This is not open to the general public, but is instead a way for students and teachers to buy Apple products at a discounted price.

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Tags: Education | Mac | iPod

Apple have started their annual Back to School Offer, which gives students and teachers the chance to buy a Mac at reduced prices, and to receive a rebate when buying an iPod and Mac together.

The offer is available for teachers, lecturers and all students in higher education institutions. If they buy a qualifying Mac before September 8th 2009, they can get a €185 rebate on an iPod touch. .

Tags: Education | Apple | iPod | Mac

One App Store application we really like is Quickoffice Files, which allows you to download or place files on your iDisk, and email them to colleagues. You can also connect your Mac to the iPhone to drop files between the devices..

Tags: iPhone

Apple launched a new iPod shuffle today, with two colours available. The shuffle comes with 4GB of storage for 1000 songs. Not only is this shuffle smaller than ever (1.8" x 0.3"), but all controls are now on the earbuds instead of on the face of the shuffle. The only button on the top is an on/off switch- where you can set it to play, shuffle or turn it off.

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Tags: iPod | Apple