Giving someone a digital gift used to be the last refuge of procrastinators and people who didn't glance at a calendar until December 23 or so. The shelves at the local megamall have been picked clean, the clerk manning the UPS desk won't stop laughing at you, and only your sense of pride is stopping you from scrawling "IOU: One present" on a scrap of paper—that's when it's time to print out the ol' iTunes gift certificate.
That's no longer the case. In this day and age, when entire TV series can be had with the click of a Download button instead of cluttering up your shelves with discs, cases, and other items that could just as easily live in the cloud, digital gifts are no longer the present of last resort. These days, a downloadable movie, album, or TV show—or a virtual gift card that allows your family and friends to pick out their own present—may be at the top of your gift-giving list.
But just because digital content has become more ubiquitous and sought-after doesn't mean it's always intuitive what you can and can't give and when that gift will find its way into the waiting arms of your recipient. Whether you're wrapping up your holiday shopping now or waiting until the very last second to settle on presents, here's a rundown of what to expect when you stroll down the virtual aisles of online stores to pick up a digital item or two.
iTunes Gifts from Apple
The Quick Links section on the iTunes Store front page gives you a direct way to send iTunes gifts electronically. (Click to enlarge.)
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