The products that have emerged from Apple’s stables over the past decade have probably been the most captivating and revolutionary among all the electronic gadgets and gizmos developed in the world. These tiny devices have totally revolutionised the way we do things, and overnight have become a part and parcel of our everyday lives. After the invention of the personal computer and the Internet, most of us were of the opinion that nothing can ever beat these devices in terms of usability and features. But the products from Apple have consistently proved us wrong. Their gadgets continue to amaze and mesmerise people, both young and old. Moreover, these are not just a North American phenomenon, but have immediately been accepted all over the world as the best innovations in consumer electronics.

Apple’s founder Steve Jobs is also known for his uncanny ability to bring out the right products at the right time. The timing of the release of the iPod, the iPad and the iPhone has been as crucial for their success as their advanced features and incredible design. Had the iPod been released before the Walkman, before the concept of personal, portable music became popular, it probably would have been a failure. It is also said that the release of the iPad was delayed in order to have the right timing.

If there is anything negative that can be said about the products from Apple, there is only one thing that can even come close to being a downside – and that is the high cost of the products. Most of Apple’s products are justifiably expensive, given their superior quality and amazing features. A basic iPod costs anywhere from $100 to more than $200. Other products from Apple can cost much higher too. Owning an Apple product can therefore be quite an expensive affair. No wonder, once people buy a product from Apple, they flaunt it openly for everyone to see.

But you need not be deprived of the joy of owning an iPod just because of lack of fund. There are a few good, genuine offers that enable people to get an Apple iPod completely free of cost. They need not max out their credit cards or empty their pocket just to get an iPod. But instead, they can get one for free if they just knew how and where to look for the right offer.

There are many offers on the Internet that sound too good to be true. And unfortunately, most of them are too good to be true – they are all scams. So it is natural for most people to be sceptical when such unbelievable offers are made, especially involving such incredibly good products such as the Apple iPod. It is therefore important to remain cautious and diligent to avoid most of the scams going around on the Internet. But at the same time, being over cautious and suspecting every offer that comes your way can make you lose a few genuine offers in the process as well. So you need to be able to discern the good from the bad, and capitalise on the genuine offers.

We will first see how to spot many of the scams that do the rounds on the Internet currently. Some programs offer you the chance to get an Apple iPod if you participate in a raffle or lottery program. Although this can be a little tempting for you, you need to realise that thousands or hundreds of thousands of people would be competing for a handful of free products. The chances of winning the raffle in such circumstances would be extremely remote.

Other offers that do the rounds in many social media networks like Facebook is that you need to recommend a particular Fanpage to your friends and acquaintances in order to qualify for the free gift. At the very outset, we should know that the person making this offer is all out to create a huge fan following for their page, under the pretext of giving away a free gift. You should never waste your time and resources on such offers. Moreover, you should not be troubling your friends and family to join such schemes in order to get a free gift either. Unfortunately, many people fall for these scams and end up troubling all their friends and family as well, compelling them to join the program. Especially when they have a lot of regard for you and trust your judgement, you should use your influence more judiciously.

There could be many variations on the type of scams that we have discussed about here. The concept is always the same, but the bait can come in different forms so as to make the offer appear different each time. While scams such as these abound, there are also a few genuine programs that are legitimate, which provide a free gift as promised to its participants. We will now see how they work, and why they are genuine and different from the scam offers.

Many companies use beta testing before releasing their products into the market. These products are identical to the real product that they would be launching shortly, but they would not be available in the market yet. These companies call for beta testers who would be willing to test their products for free and use them on a daily basis, and report back to the company about the product. If they find any defects and issues on usability, they can report it back to the company. If they like certain features to be modified or improved, these recommendations can again be made to the company. This is an invaluable feedback that the company could have before launching its product into the market.

Another great benefit of beta testing using volunteers is that the entire testing process can be done free of cost. The company would not have to pay any of the testers for their services. And since the beta testers are not part of the company, their opinions would be totally unbiased, and free of any prejudice. Voluntary participation of beta testers also enables the company to sample a wide cross section of society, which would never be possible if they were to hire testers to test the products in their factory. All of these factors work very positively for the benefit of the company. And as a sign of appreciation for the efforts put in by the beta testers, the companies usually let the testers retain the products that they have been testing. So the beta testers not only get the privilege of getting their hands on the latest products before anyone else in the world gets them, but they also get the products totally free of cost.

This is how some of the genuine offers work and the beta testers are promptly rewarded for their efforts with free products. The only downside with these offers is that a person can only be a beta tester for one product at a time. But that is not a very big issue as most products are never released simultaneously anyway. Many people have received the Apple iPod and other exciting products through such beta testing offers. If you keep your eyes open, you can also be the next lucky person to own an Apple iPod totally free of cost.