Filed under: Deals

The ever-popular MacHeist bundle, offering eight Mac apps for $20 total, closes out at midnight Pacific Time tonight. If you've been on the fence so far about whether or not to buy in this year, two bits of news may push you over the brink.

First, all the initial applications have been unlocked; both Tales of Monkey Island and RapidWeaver are fully present and accounted for. Second, there's been a last-minute addition to the roster; Tweetie for Mac (normally $20 on its own) is now part of the bundle.

If you're Macheisting this year, let us know what you think of the app selection; if not, share your reasons why. (We will accept "I'm saving up for tickets to Tron Legacy" as a valid reason.)

Sure, Apple will sell about a gajillion iPads when the device finally releases on April 3rd, but analysts are saying that's not all -- apparently 30% of the revenue from the device itself is expected to be from the sale of content read, listened to, watched, or otherwise consumed on the iPad.

Brian Marshall with Broadpoint.AmTech calls the touch tablet's media strategy "sticky," and says that the App Store is nothing compared to the kind of market for media that the iPad will create. He says that we might even see 7 million iPads sold in the first year, which is a number that's much higher than other estimates. But Marshall also says that when people actually get their hands on the device, they'll be sold -- there's a lot of "naysaying" going around that will be answered, he believes, with a hands-on test.

As I said on the talkcast, I agree -- I think the iPad's real selling point will be how it actually feels and works in your hands, and considering that very, very few people have had that experience so far, it's no wonder there's still so many doubters. I do think that content will be huge on the device, though that's a no-brainer -- even Apple has pointed out that it's basically a device designed to let you sit on your couch and consume media.

At the same time, playing with the iPad won't make it magically grow a camera or lower the price, or fix any of the other objections that people have had. Marshall's guessing big numbers, but then again, that's his job. The rest of us will have to wait and see what the usage (not to mention the actual content deal Apple gets) is actually like.

Today's deals are all generated from a friendly search-based robot courtesy DealNews. We didn't pick 'em this time, so no warranties expressed or implied. Aol uses a referral code for these deals.

• Apple Store: [iPods] Refurbished Apple iPod touch MP3 Players from $139 + free shipping
• iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Price Drops: Pocket Heart, Diner Dash, Magellan RoadMate, more
• MacUpdate Promo: [Security/Anti-Virus Software] Lockngo 4 for Mac downloads for $10
• Buy.com: [Networkable Hard Drive (NAS)] Linksys NMH300 Two-Bay Media Hub for $130 + free shipping
• eBay: [Supplies] Quartet Magnetic Dry-Erase Board for $8 + free shipping
• Buy.com: [802.11g Wireless] Zyxel 802.11g Wireless Powerline Router for $40 + free shipping
• Adorama: [Printers] Canon SELPHY ES30 Compact Dye Sublimation Printer for $50 + free shipping
• Dell Home: [40" - 42" LCD TVs] Sharp 42" 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $539 + free shipping
• Shop4Tech: [Cell Phone Accessories] Universal GPS Car Mount for $5 + free shipping
• ThingFling: [Surge Protectors] Philips 8-Outlet Home Theater System Surge Protector for $50 + $6 s&h
• Buy.com: [Mice/Trackballs] Logitech Trackman Trackball Mouse for $22 + free shipping
• 6ave: [42" And Smaller Plasma HDTVs] Panasonic VIERA 42" 1080p Plasma HDTV, Blu-ray, more for $833 + free shipping

It's refurbished Mac madness today! Today's deals via our friends at DealNews....

• Ending today, ExperCom offers the Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 3.06GHz 21.5" Desktop, model no. MB950LL/A, upgraded to 8GB RAM and bundled with three years of AppleCare for $1,399.
• The Apple Store again has six factory-refurbished Apple Mac Pro workstations on sale in its Special Deals section, with prices starting at $2,149.
• B&H Photo-Video offers the Apple iMac 24" Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93GHz 24" Desktop, model no. MB419LL/A, upgraded with the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse for $1,299.95 with free shipping.
• The Apple Store has stock of four factory-refurbished previous- and current-generation Apple Aluminum iMac Desktops in its Special Deals section.

Welcome to a all-mobile edition of the Daily Deals, brought to you by our friends at DealNews (but curated by yours truly).

Some people actually like using a stylus on their iPhone, and in some cases it may be preferable to a frozen sausage. Try out this retractable "universal" stylus at Overstock for just a couple of bucks.

How about a "traveling kit" for the iPhone 3G? Kit includes an FM transmitter, car charger, screen protector, and skin case. Under $12 with coupon code 'EFWS030125' (it expires March 7).

Some app news too:

Eco Punk, an action game for iPhone/iPod touch featuring deadly skateboarding rabbits with guns is free today.

Several iPhone and iPod touch applications available from the App Store have recently dropped in price. Each is the best deal we've seen on that title.

• Aqua Forest for 99 cents ($7 off): an accelerometer-based puzzle game
• 'stachetastic for 99 cents ($1 off): Moustache applicator
• Spending Tracer for 99 cents ($1 off): Finance management
• Hand of Greed for 99 cents ($2 off): Puzzle game
• WorldCard Contacts for $1.99 ($4 off): Contact management

See all of those deals here.

Finally, if you're looking for a iPod touch knockoff, the V-Touch 16GB Touchscreen Expandable Portable Media Player, model no. VL-885-16GB-BLK, for $79.99 with free shipping. Adorably worthy of a KIRF moniker.

We wrote about blog app Blogo a while back and now it's on sale for $12.95. If you're in the market for a Mac-based blogging tool, give it a try.

If you missed Macworld then you missed Sennheiser selling their headphones for 50% off. But these Sennheiser PXC-310 noise-cancelling headphones for $179 (with free shipping) may ease the pain.

Earlier today we wrote about an iPod dock with a "bed shaker," but these Memorex Minimove iPod dock speakers won't likely shake you out of bed. Still, for under $30 it's a good deal if you're looking for a cheap dock to put in a spare room.

Those are all the deals for today, courtesy our friends at DealNews.

All Dr. Seuss apps, such as The Cat in the Hat, are just $.99 today in honor of the good Doctor's birthday and Read Across America Day. Enjoy!

Note: Deal of the Day is brought to you by our friends at DealNews.

Battle of Puppets fell through the cracks here when it was first released, and that was unfortunate -- it's a 2D real-time strategy game for the iPhone with a distinctive art style and a plethora of cool features that definitely deserves a look. The team has been updating the app often, and the latest update not only adds in achievements and leaderboards via the OpenFeint platform, but also has dropped the price to just 99 cents for a limited time.

The game has a surprising amount of strategic depth -- more than you'd expect for an iPhone title. There are five different armies (each one representing an "opera" theme), each with its own strengths and weaknesses, and the little unit battles play out over 22 different theaters, where various environmental changes can actually affect the strategy of the game. And in addition to commanding your puppet troops, you can "cast spells" on the screen with gesture input, which will also affect the flow of battle. It's almost too much to handle on the iPhone's small screen, but the developers have added in a tutorial that should help you figure it out.

At 99 cents, Battle of Puppets is a steal. More casual game players might get a little dragged down by the complexity, but those looking for strategy will find it underneath the cutout art designs. And if they continue to update the app at the rate they have so far, there'll be even more coming in the future.

If you are joining us at Macworld this week, you know that deals abound on the show floor -- every company usually has some sort of show discount or sale going on. And sometimes, even if you're not here at the show, you can still take advantage of the sales back at home. Here's a few we've seen even before the show officially starts tomorrow.

• Tropical Software is offering $10 off its normally $39.95 purchase of notekeeping app TopXNotes.
• Unmarked Software has a Macworld 2010 promotion going on, with a 20% discount on TextSoap 6, an application that will "scrub up your text" and clean out unwanted garbage and characters.
• This isn't specifically Macworld-related, but SmileOnMyMac is here, and they just added their iPhone app TextExpander touch functionality to a number of other apps, so it's on sale for $1.99 right now.

Stay tuned all week long for more deals and discounts from the show floor. If you're looking for a full rundown of show events, parties and activities, be sure to check out the Hess Memorial List.

TUAW reader Conrad N. tipped us off to a nice 3G iPhone deal this morning. Buy.com is offering an 8GB 3G for just $430 with free shipping. While I wouldn't classify this as a red hot deal (a 3GS would have qualified) it's not bad for anyone who wants to pick up an inexpensive contract-free unit, for generous interpretations of the word "inexpensive".

The 3G model works right out of the box with any AT&T SIM, although AT&T encourages you to sign up for an iPhone-specific plan. If you're only interested in basic phone service without data, you can buy a $10 O2 SIM at Best Buy (it's a re-branded AT&T SIM) good for 3 months of use, at 5 cents a text message and 17 cents per minute of airtime. That's great for developers who want to add a telephony-ready unit into their testing arsenal without signing up for a full contract, who don't want to use the phone except for testing and occasional use.

If you want to use data, however, your best economy bet probably lies in jailbreaking and unlocking (with a tool like blackra1n or pwnage) and using one of T-Mobile's better-priced data plans. But be aware: because T-Mobile uses a different 3G frequency than AT&T, their data plans can only use EDGE service when accessed on the iPhone 3G. Want to use an existing AT&T data-plan enabled SIM? It should work out of the box but AT&T generally disapproves of that approach, and may (ahem) "encourage" you to upgrade to a (contract-enforced) official iPhone plan.

So is the 3G a good iPhone to buy for four-hundred-plus dollars? Recall that the 3G is just a 1st generation system (model 1,2 -- i.e. 1st gen, 2nd iteration) with a few extra bells, whistles, and case design beyond the original model. The 3GS (model 2,1) is a far better system in terms of processor power and features, and we're half a year out from what will likely be the next (model 3,1) iPhone, let alone any (possibly mythical) tablet. I'd call this a "warm deal" at best.

'Tis the season to shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews and DealMac.com. Each afternoon, tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!

Note that today's deal list includes refurb availability on two of the current 21.5" iMac models, plus older iMacs as well -- most under $1,000. Happy shopping.

• Apple Store: [iMac] Refurbished Apple iMac 21.5" LED-Backlit Desktops from $999 + free shipping, more
• Shop4Tech: [Electronics] Shop4tech.com roundup: Targus Lock for iPod for $3 + free shipping, more
• OfficeDepot: [Office Furniture] Office Depot Furniture Clearance: Christopher Lowell Chair for $90 + free shipping, more
• Tanga: [Magazines] 1-Year Subscription to Outside Magazine for $3
• Logitech: [Audio/Visual] Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control for $100 + free shipping
• BookCloseouts.com: [Books & Magazines] BookCloseouts.com 2010 Calendar Sale: Extra 50% off, calendars from $2 + $3 s&h
• SuperBiiz.com: [Media Receivers] ASUS O!Play HD Media Player for $90 + free shipping
• Meritline: [Camera Accessories] Wireless Remote Control for Nikon Cameras for $3 + free shipping
• Logitech: [Mice/Trackballs] Logitech G7 Laser Cordless Mouse for $40 + free shipping
• Shop4Tech: [Cell Phone Accessories] Portable Solar Cell Phone Charger with USB, iPhone connections for $19 + free shipping
• WilsonsLeather: [Notebook Carrying Cases] Kenneth Cole Wheeled Leather Brief for $80 + free shipping
• Buy.com: [Office Furniture] 2-Drawer Lateral File (not freestanding) for $174 + free shipping

'Tis the season to shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!

• iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Freebies: Falling Gems, Koala Dartz, Stop and Go, Pattrns Turbo, more
• Finish Line: [iPod Accessories] Nike + iPod Watch Remote for $20 + $8 s&h
• Apple Store: [iMac] Refurbished Apple iMac Core 2 Duo 3.06GHz 27" Desktop for $1,449 + free shipping
• MacUpdate Promo: [Home & Hobbies Software] Optimism 3.1 for Mac downloads for $20
• Dell Home: [Headphones] Dell Bluetooth Headphones for $19 + free shipping
• Shop4Tech: [Digital Camcorders] 4GB Pen DVR Digital Camcorder for $33 + free shipping
• OfficeMax: [Office Furniture] OfficeMax Divoga Task Chair for $50 + free shipping, padding
• Dell Small Business: [Computer Speakers] Dell AY511 Multimedia Soundbar with Virtual Surround for $63 + free shipping, more
• PC Micro Store: [Store Events] PC Micro Store coupon: $9 off $18 or more + free shipping
• PC Connection: [24" - 26" LCD TVs] Samsung 24" 1080p Widescreen HDTV / Display for $240 + free shipping
• HandHeldItems: [iPod Accessories] HandHeldItems.com: Up to 80% off Apple iPod touch cases + 20% off coupon
• ExperCom: [MacBook Pro] Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 3.06GHz 17" Laptop for $2,699 + $10 s&h

'Tis the season to shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!

• Geeks.com: [Computer] Geeks.com End-of-Year Liquidation: Up to 90% off
• Other World Computing: [Store Events] OWC Holiday Sale: Accessories, HDDs, RAM, LCDs, more
• ExperCom: [Computer Services] AppleCare deals at ExperCom: Mac mini for $104, MacBook for $174, more
• iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] Wild West Pinball for iPhone / iPod touch downloads for free, more
• Apple Store: [MacBook] Refurbished Apple MacBook 13" Laptops from $849 + free shipping
• iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Price Drops: Harry Potter: Spells, Super Monkey Ball, more (updated)
• CompUSA: [] Samsung Sound Bar / Subwoofer Speaker System for $200 + free shipping
• ExperCom: [iMac] Apple iMac Core i7 2.8GHz 27" with 8GB RAM for $2,273 + $22 s&h, more
• InvisibleShield: [iPhone] ZAGG.com sale: Buy one ZAGGSkin, get a second one for free
• ThingFling: [Cell Phone Accessories] Duracell PowerSource Mini for $16 + $6 s&h
• Tanga: [Magazines] 1-Year Subscription to Muscle & Fitness Magazine for $3
• PC Micro Store: [iPod Accessories] PC Micro Store coupon: 50% off iPod touch accessories

'Tis the season to shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!

• Apple Store: [MacBook] Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz 13" Laptop for $728 + free shipping
• LA Computer Company: [MacBook] Used Apple MacBook 13" laptops at LA Computer Company: Deals from $599 + $17 s&h
• figis.com: [After Christmas Sales] Year-End Clearance Sale roundup: Figis, Alloy, L'Occitane, more
• Overstock.com: [Mice/Trackballs] Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse for $25 + $3 s&h
• Western Digital Store: [USB Hard Drives] Western Digital External Hard Drives from $40 + free shipping
• OfficeMax: [Printer Supplies] 1,250 sheets of Epson 8.5x11" Matte Presentation Paper for $50 + free shipping
• PC Connection: [MacBook] Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz 13" Laptop for $870 after rebate + free shipping
• Buy.com: [USB] Kensington ShareCentral 1 USB Sharing Device for $9 + free shipping
• Verizon Broadband: [Computer Services] Verizon.com: $150 cash back, free DVR, $5 off/month with FiOS Double, Triple bundles
• MidnightBox: [Accessories] Monster Cable Ultra 600 4-Foot HDMI to DVI Cable for $2 + $4 s&h
• Meritline: [iPod Accessories] iPhone / iPod touch Car / Travel Charger Bundle for $6 + free shipping
• HandHeldItems: [iPhone] HHI Apocket 1750mAh External Battery for Apple iPhone 3G / 3GS for $20 + $6 s&h

As Engadget is reporting, New York City residents can get back to buying their iPhones via AT&T's website after the strange outage that seemed to start yesterday kept them from doing so. It's been a rollercoaster of a story -- first we heard that they weren't being sold at all because of coverage issues, and then that was clarified to just online sales and only because of fraudulent online ordering. But as we predicted on the talkcast last night, AT&T didn't hold off on sales for long, and everything should be now back to normal.

Unfortunately, we never actually heard what the fraud was, but that's not too surprising -- if there was a way to defraud AT&T's ordering process, it's unlikely they'd shout it from the rooftops anyway. And it's also not likely that we'll never know how many customers were actually affected. NYC is a big city, but there's no way we'll see official numbers on how many people couldn't buy iPhones because of the steps taken the other night. Considering that iPhone sales are off the charts in most markets anyway, it's doubtful that online sales in NYC missing for a day or two would make a dent in the numbers.

In other words, nothing to see here. But just in case you were in NYC and trying desperately to buy an iPhone via the AT&T site last night, you can now go to it.