Celebrate Christmas with Free Stuff for Your Phone and Tablet

Giveaways abound for apps, music, games and e-books.

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Christmas is reportedly the most popular time to download phone and tablet apps, but it’s also a great time to amass some free stuff, as app makers get into the holiday spirit.

Here’s a rundown of the app store giveaways going on right now:

  • Apple is running a “12 Days of Gifts” promotion, with free items from the App Store, iTunes and iBooks every day from December 26 through January 6. To see what’s free each day, download the 12 Days of Gifts app.
  • Angry Birds Star Wars II is also Apple’s free app of the week. It usually costs a buck.
  • For more iOS app giveaways, check out this section of AppShopper’s website, which lists all apps whose prices have dropped to zero. Notable examples include Vjay, Pocket Scanner HD and Skulls of the Shogun.
  • Amazon is giving away $5 in credit with any app download from the Amazon Appstore for Android. Check here for instructions.
  • Amazon is also offering a bunch of free apps this week, as listed at AndroidAuthority. Load them up on a Kindle Fire tablet, or on an Android device with the Amazon Appstore installed.
  • For Android users, Google Play has a handful of free Christmas songs and free goodies in various apps and games.
  • Microsoft is giving away 20 GB of SkyDrive storage for Windows Phone 8 users. If you have a Windows Phone, the offer should have landed in your e-mail inbox by now.