madison

The Apple Core

Jason D. O'Grady & David Morgenstern
Home / News & Blogs / The Apple Core

Tactical shopping with Black Friday apps for iOS

By | November 23, 2011, 12:01am PST

Summary: Here are the top iPhone apps for helping you make the most out of Black Friday.

I don’t like malls and I like them even less on the day after Thanksgiving — a.k.a. Black Friday.

The problem is that there are some Black Friday deals that are only available in the meat space, forcing millions of brave bargain hunters to camp out at dawn in front of big-box retailers. Adapting with the times many Black Friday deals are now available online, and before and after Friday, making bargain hunting even more complex.

If you fancy a tech gadget at a low price, there are Black Friday deals to be had. You just have to be smart and plan your shopping quest in advance or risk waiting in long lines or worse, not getting a deal that you did wait for.

Enter the iPhone. If you choose to take part in the madness here are some iOS apps can help you make the most out of Black Friday.

TGI Black Friday 2011 (iTunes, free) is one of my favorite BF iOS apps because it has lots of features (newest ads, popular deals, deals by store, deals by category and search) and its fast. You can search thousands of deals, create a personal shopping list and get push notifications.

TGI Black Friday 2011 iOS app

BFAds.net Black Friday (iTunes, free) has early access to the season’s sale advertisements, offline mode and a large companion website — in addition to the requisite shopping features that you’d expect.

BFAds.net Black Friday iOS app

Others on my short list:

  • RedLaser - Scan any barcode and instantly comparison shop between online and offline stores.
  • Amazon Deals - Lighting Deals appear hourly (but sell out fast).
  • FastMall - If you have to go to the mall you might as well be a jedi.
  • SaleLocator - Specials near you via GPS.
  • Apple Store - This amazing app lets you shop Apple’s online and offline stores. Now with self-checkout! (see screenshot below)
  • Lemon - Scan receipts with your iPhone camera to track purchases.
  • Slice - Greps your email account and tracks purchases and shipping.
  • Black Friday by Fat Wallet - Get push notifications when new ads are leaked.
  • Black Friday Survival Guide - News and leaks in real-time.
  • eBay - Some of the best deals are on eBay.
  • and don’t forget to check out the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade app!

Apple Store app - Easy Pay - Jason O'Grady

There are a ton of BF apps on the App Store but these stand out from the crowd. Do you have a favorite?

Photo: GoMo News

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “The Apple Core”

Topics

Mall, Apple iOS, Mobile Operating Systems, Jason D. O'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

Talkback Most Recent of 7 Talkback(s)

Talkback - Tell Us What You Think

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
Click Here

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources