Even in these tough economic times people will be giving gifts this holiday season. Those gifts may be more modest than in previous years, though, as budgets are tighter. There are a number of good iPod and iPhone gifts to be had for under $25, but did you know there are even some good free iPod gifts you can give?
These gifts are less items than things you can do or make for people, but that handmade touch and extra thoughtfulness will make these gifts more treasured than those that strain the wallet.
If you want to give an iPod gift this year, but don't want to break the bank, consider these four suggestions.
1. Hand-me-Down iPods
A lot of iPod owners have more than one iPod and don't need all of them. If you've got someone - especially a kid or teenager - on your list who'd love an iPod, giving them one of yours can be a great treat. Make sure it's in good condition, of course, but a gently used iPod can be just as good as a new one to a lot of kids. Simply
restore your iPod to factory settings - thereby erasing all of the content on it, leaving it ready for the recipient to fill it with their music - and you'll be ready to give. The recipient just needs to
download and install iTunes and
create an iTunes Store account and they'll be ready to rock.
2. Mix CD of the Month
Everyone loves to get new music, but that can be an expensive proposition with full albums running $9.99 at the iTunes Store. But, if you've got a big iTunes library, you can supply people on your gift list with music year-round for free. Consider pledging to make a mix CD every month for your recipients. ITunes makes it easy to
create custom CDs, so you'll be able to spend your time crafting the perfect disc. Not only does everyone love a mix CD, but getting one every month will make the gift last all year long.
3. Get Album Art
As
CoverFlow and big, pretty screens like those on the iPhone and iPod touch become more common, making sure that all the songs in your iTunes library have album cover art is becoming more important. But getting cover art can be laborious. Though iTunes has a
built-in tool for grabbing art, it doesn't get everything. Here's where you can come in. Offer to save your recipient the time it would take to get all the covers iTunes misses. The
process of adding the art is simple, but searching the web for the images can take time. Still, sitting down at someone's computer to perform this service will save them a lot of time and will leave their library and iPod stocked full of great-looking art.
4. Subscribe and Sync Podcasts Automatically
Almost every
podcast at the iTunes Store is free and can be
subscribed to so that each new episode is automatically downloaded. Another great free gift is to find a handful podcasts your recipient isn't familiar with and that you think they'd enjoy. Then, subscribe them to those podcasts and configure their iPod to
automatically add new podcasts every time they sync (obviously you'll need access to their computer and iPod for this). With this gift, your recipient will get interesting new podcasts all year long and you'll have something to talk about each time a new episode comes out!
