Queueing up outside the Singtel store for almost 4 hours before I could get my hands on an iPhone 3G had me all excited about its awesome features (seeing the hysteria in other people... the excitement just increased... )
Well being a student and without many lines of credit , I had been deprived of the most wonderful thing that the iPhone has to offer - Apps. If you have tried using the iTunes store, even the free applications cannot be downloaded without having an account and an account cannot be made without having a credit card.
But here is a catch for students. If you are members of the Facebook group - Apple Students, Apple periodically releases free iTunes giveaways - Tv shows, audio/video samplers etc. The best part is that these redemption codes allow one to make an iTunes account without a credit card - The payment option (None) comes in only when you are redeeming a gift code.
So here are the steps to get a free iTunes store account and getting all the exciting free apps it has to offer :
1) Make an account on facebook and join the Apple Students Group
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Apple-Students/11147074409?ref=share
2) Click on the promotion going on (Currently there is a free giveaway of a few TV Shows and songs (which can be converted to ringtones :) ) .. Its available only in December. So if you are late... youll have to wait till the next give away.
The direct link is http://apps.facebook.com/freeonitunes/3) Get the redemption code. Open iTunes -> iTunes Store -> Change the store to the US store. (The redemption codes are generally from the US store. This is great because all the best applications are available on the US store.)
4) Click on redeem option available on the iTunes Store Homepage .
5) Enter the redemption code on the following screen :
5) Follow the instructions that follow to create an iTunes Store Account. Please note that you shall need a US address to complete the form . (It isnt difficult to get an address now is it ;)) Select the payment option to None (Note this None option is not available when you directly try to make an iTunes Store Account.)You're done.. Start downloading all the cool free apps available. Some of them are really useful.. Another post on them shall follow..
Cheers
Sparsh
PS: This also helps if you have a credit card of say Singapore - but are frustrated that all the good apps dont appear in the Singapore store (or say India store etc.) . The US store is by far the best and has the most free apps.
