From time to time I come across an iPhone app I think would make a great gift for a friend or family member (in this case, my mom, since she has an iPod Touch and everyone else in my family is either Apple-phobic or a Luddite). Problem is, it just seems too authoritarian to send them a $5 iTunes Store gift card with stipulations on how to spend it.
Well, problem solved: Apple is apparently now allowing individual apps to be given as gifts. Although no official word has come from Apple — the heads-up comes from the folks at TUAW — I clicked on the “Gift This App” menu item and, sure enough, was taken to a screen to handle the details.
Presumably, the gift is actually a code similar to the redeem codes app reviewers typically receive from developers when reviewing apps. The gift can be emailed or printed out and mailed, but can only be redeemed by residents of the same country as the purchaser, and can’t be bought with iTunes store credit.
[via TUAW]