Have you bought coconut water, pinot noir, a Samsung TV, or an iPhone 4? If you purchased any of these products, plus a whole bunch more, you may be eligible to file a claim in one of these recently settled class action lawsuits. Proof of purchase isn't always required, but lying is bad consumer karma. More »
Technology combined with social networks can create a kind of vicious oversharing cycle. Yes — we've all seen pictures of food, and yes it's great to know what you made for dinner. But in the case of a woman whose iPhone was stolen, cloud technology paired with Facebook has made for an interesting twist, as she's chronicling her property's photographic adventures with the thief in an attempt to get it back. More »
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' words came back to haunt the electronics company today. Its attempt to have a judge dismiss charges of e-book price-fixing were refused, in part because of things Jobs said during his time with Apple. More »
Hey, iPhoners, remember when you scoffed at your friend's Android and what you called its "ginormous screen" while lovingly cradling your tiny, precious iPhone? Looks like people really do want bigger screens on their smartphones, as a new report says Apple is preparing to build four-inch screens for its next-generation iPhone. More »
Jeremy is eligible for an upgrade of his unreliable Droid X. Or maybe he isn't. No, but today he totally is! It seems like every time he talks to someone new at Verizon, he gets a different answer. More »
Let the gleeful rumormongering begin! Apple filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization over the domain name iphone5.com, because it doesn't control it. And it wants it. So bad. Is it because that's the next iPhone, or just to stop others from taking advantage of the iPhone name? More »
Forget about all that high-tech fancy pants electronics stuff, who needs an iPad 3 when you can have a box full of fresh yellow notepads to scrawl on? There have been a few complaints at a Walmart in Michigan, with customers claiming they thought they'd bought an iPad 3, only to find stacks of paper in the box once they brought their items home. More »
If smoking near your computer turns it into a biohazard, what does urinating on it do? According to local police, a Pennsylvania elementary school found out when an 11-year-old student emptied his bladder on a cart full of MacBooks. This hilarious prank destroyed more than $36,000 worth of computers. More »
Even though there are still significantly more smartphones running some version of the Android operating system, it's not uncommon to see developers come out with an app for iPhone users weeks or months before they release anything for Android. What's up with that? More »
Even though three of the publishers accused of colluding with Apple to fix prices on e-books have already settled with the Dept. of Justice, the electronics giant continues to assert its innocence and wants the opportunity to answer the charges in court. More »
Chalk up another win for the little guy! A blogger in Seattle says he just wanted Apple to repair his MacBook as the company had promised. When Apple refused, he felt he had no other option but to take the computing colossus to court. More »
Michael was having a pretty minor problem with playing television programs in iTunes. Sure, it doesn't even rank as the a serious first world problem, but he contacted Apple to get it resolved, because that's what Apple is supposed to do. A senior representative tried to resolve the problem by resetting his iTunes password. Nice idea if it had worked. It didn't. Now this cord-cutter, who uses his Apple TV to catch up with favorite shows, can't watch those shows at all. Being locked out of his iTunes account and all. More »
In the midst of a lawsuit from the Department of Justice, Apple is all, "What? Who? Us? Price fixing e-books? No! Never!" They issued a statement saying they weren't involved in conspiring with major publishers to set the price of e-books in an agency model, and that anyway, agency models are a benefit to the industry. More »
Only hours after filing suit against Apple and six book publishers over allegations of e-book price-fixing, the Justice Dept. said has agreed on settlement terms with three of those publishing companies — HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette. More »
Over the weekend, AT&T began allowing iPhone customers who were no longer locked into a contract to unlock the device so it could be used on any other compatible wireless network here or abroad. The best part? You don't need to go to the AT&T store to get it done. More »
Ever since Apple got into the e-book business, publishers have been determining their own prices for titles, meaning that e-books, in spite of having minimal overhead costs, are often sold for higher prices than their print counterparts. But it looks like the Justice Dept. antitrust investigation into this so-called "agency pricing" model is nearing an end — and may result in more affordable e-books for everyone. More »
This is definitely not good news for T-Mobile, which had promised customers they would get the iPhone when the merger with AT&T was complete, but which was left stranded after regulators pulled the couple apart: A handful of small regional carriers will soon not only be offering the iPhone to customers, they'll be selling it for less than their major competitors. More »
Just the other day, you might've been enviously watching your roommate flip through his Instagram pictures on his iPhone, shooting your Android sullen glances for its Instagram deficiency. But then, then there was yesterday — when one million downloads of Instagram for Android went flying through space and into eager hands. More »
While it turned out that monologuist Mike Daisey made up a bunch of stuff about working conditions at Foxconn, that doesn't mean that things there are all sunshine and roses. A recent labor audit found the giant Chinese manufacturer has working conditions that need a whole heck of a lot of improvement. More »
In his first visit to China as head honcho of the company, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook made time to take a tour of one of the company's key suppliers, Foxconn. The plant has been in the news again recently after This American Life retracted Mike Daisey's story about visiting it for not being so factual. More »
Of all the complaints we received from readers who nominated Apple for Worst Company In America, we're pretty sure that none mentioned the apparent dangers of glass doors at its retail outlets. But one elderly NYC woman says she not only broke her nose when she walked into these perilous panes, she thinks her pain is worth a seven-figure settlement. More »
One of these companies has had a pretty good year, business-wise; the other one... not so much. And yet, here they compete as equals in the Worst Company In America fighting pit. More »
The last time I looked something up in the Yellow Pages was back in the pre-Google era as part of a youthful prank calling spree, although I'm sure I used it to keep a door open at some point in the last eight years. And now I'm stuck with an unwanted Yellow Pages app that came on my Android phone. It can't be deleted, along with a stupid Blockbuster app and other useless things I do not want. More »
The floor of the Worst Company In America BattleDome is stained with the blood of the vanquished. But only one company can earn the privilege of placing the WCIA Golden Poo in its trophy case, so the violence must continue. More »
Over at Consumer Reports, they've been busy testing the new iPad, which they've discovered isn't just a hot item in the figurative sense, but in the very physical way in that it can run sat significantly higher temperatures than its predecessor, the iPad2. More »
Here we are at the final match of Round One in the Worst Company In America 2012 Tournament. And while you can argue whether or not we've saved the best for last, these two competitors are certainly two of the biggest. More »
Many listeners of the This American Life radio program were shocked during the broadcast of an excerpt from comedian Mike Daisey's one-man-show, "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," where he visits a Foxconn factory in China that makes Apple products, and encounters tales of terrible conditions and sad life stories of its workers. Turns out that much of that controversial story was just made up, and the show's host, Ira Glass, is issuing a retraction for the segment, "Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory." More »
Welcome to Consumerist's 7th Annual Worst Company In America tournament, where the businesses you nominated face off for a title that none of them will publicly admit to wanting — but which all of them try their hardest to earn. So it's time to fill in the brackets and start another office pool. That is, unless you work at one of the 32 companies competing in the tournament. More »
Last week Apple revealed its next iPad would be available Friday, but that doesn't mean everyone who orders them online will get them on day one. Apple has moved back its shipment date to Monday, March 19, presumably because it's sold out the first round. More »
Yesterday, the same day that Apple announced its new iPad would be able to access AT&T and Verizon's 4G LTE networks, AT&T iPhone 4S owners received an update to their devices — and suddenly millions of people who had been told their phone didn't work on 4G networks now had a little icon that reads "4G." But it's really just the same speed they had the day before. More »
The U.S. Justice Department is inching closer to legal action against Apple and five e-book publishers who are reportedly pricing books under an "agency model" that isn't the greatest for consumers. The government is threatening to take legal action if the issue isn't resolved soon. More »
Drowned out in all the hullabaloo over Apple's unveiling of the next iPad was its announcement that its cloud storage of movies had gone live. Those who have bought movies from iTunes can now stream their films onto their Apple devices. Two studios, though — 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures — aren't letting their films come out and play for now. More »
Apple CEO Tim Cook began today's unveiling of the new iPad by talking about what he has dubbed the "Post-PC Revolution," i.e., the explosion of electronics devices that go beyond the traditional uses of computing. Between the various iterations of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, Cook says post-PC devices now account for 76% of the company's revenue. More »
As iPads continue to grow in popularity, their prevalence in the office could not only sap productivity but push WiFi networks to their breaking points. Because the tablets are less efficient at picking up signals than laptops, they tend to put more of a tax on networks. As the iPad 3 release looms, researchers say businesses may need to triple their WiFi coverage in order to handle an an office iPad influx. More »
For several years, we've been writing about the iPhone's built-in humidity detector and numerous customers' complaints that an incorrect reading had voided the phone's warranty. Now one Consumerist reader explains why he's voided his long-term relationship with Apple over this little pink dot. More »
The Apple iPad currently dominates the tablet market, even though none of the currently available versions give users access to 4G wireless networks. But according to a new report, that could all change when the latest iPads are unveiled next month. More »
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is probably the best Shia LaBeouf movie released in the last year that also features big robots. And while that alone might make it worthy of an award, the film has also been singled out for its efforts to cram brands down viewers' throats. More »
While fans of Whitney Houston mourned her death, fondly remembering belting her tunes into hairbrushes in bedrooms everywhere, Sony Music appears to be primed and ready to make a big stack of cash off our nostalgic appreciation, hiking up the price of her greatest hits album hours after her demise on Saturday. More »
When it comes to trusting corporations, it seems we're a lot more likely to have high opinions of the ones that provide us with shiny toys and zippy technology, rather than big bad banks and other financial institutions. That is, according to an annual public opinion poll on corporate brands. More »
Apple could have a pretty major problem, to the tune of $38 million in fines and a huge hit to sales, as claims by another company that they registered the name iPad for use in mainland China in 2001 gain momentum. One report says officials were seizing iPads from store shelves as a result of the issue. More »
Foxconn is the world's largest electronics manufacturing company, assembling devices for just about every major company, from Apple to Microsoft to Sony to Nintendo. It has come under fire in recent years, following reports of poor working conditions and employee suicides. Concerned that their favorite products might be being produced in such an unfriendly environment, more than 250,000 Apple users have signed two petitions asking that company to improve conditions at Foxconn. More »
Since we don't really know what happens to us when we pass on, a Taiwanese commercial is taking advantage of the unknown and picturing heaven as a place where Steve Jobs can finally play with Android phones to his heart's content. Which is very likely, considering he called them "sh#!" while he was alive. More »
There are no hard and fast rules for bending customer service reps to your will. Sometimes kindness will get you far, and other times it will just get you dismissed. The same is true for being gruff and to the point. Much depends on the personality of the CSR, the power the company bestows him with and the legitimacy of your concern. More »
Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant on the iPhone 4S, knows to chide you gently when you swear at her, and she can handle complicated questions about the meaning of life and whether love is real. But faced with a thick Scottish burr, Siri fumbles. More »
Textbooks suck. They're pricey, heavy, often outdated and they don't play videos or music. The folks at Apple have been pushing possible educational aspects of the iPad since its release, but today the company went hogwild on the topic, introducing both a new version of its iBooks e-reader app and an app to help anyone create truly interactive books on the fly. More »
Built up expectations boiled over into an all out egg fight, complete with shoving matches, when Apple's Beijing store told customers they wouldn't be selling the iPhone 4S as scheduled. You keep people away from their shiny toys, and that's what you get — food rage. More »
Apple recently introduced in-store pickup at all of its retail stores. They call it "Personal Pickup." order an item online, and you can go fetch it in person at your local Apple retail store, assuming that you have one. But you can't perform this trick in reverse. At least, that's what Randolph was told when he tried to return a sealed AirPort Extreme without taking it to a retail store. More »
You may have idly wondered where it is that your favorite gadgets come from...for a few seconds, and then gone right back to your game of Fruit Ninja. But writer and performer Mike Daisey took that curiosity to a whole other level. He traveled to the "special economic zone" of Shenzhen, China, to see where it is that all of our crap comes from. UPDATE, 3/16/12: This American Life has issued a retraction of this story after reporters tracked down Daisey's interpreter and learned that much of the material presented in the show was made up. More »
As much as you might be yearning to snuggle up at night with an action figure version of Steve Jobs that is creepily akin to the real person, Apple doesn't want Jobs fans to get their hands on any such dolls. They're reportedly planning to sue the makers of a new extremely lifelike figure of the late CEO. More »
We knew it was just a matter of time before Siri got fed up with the whole nice, iPhone voice-activated assistance thing and showed her true colors. A young boy in London was trying out one of the phones in a store and asked Siri, "How many people are there in the world?" and got quite the potty-mouthed response. More »
Apple's policy of not intervening in the theft of their products from customers is costing them a wad of cash, after store employees in Toronto handed over a new iPhone to a thief. More »
The buzz over the next Apple product usually starts about 24 hours after the newest toy is introduced, so devotees might be happy to hear that two new iPad models could be announced as soon as January 26, 2012. More »
If you're a new owner of an iPad or iPhone, you've likely been bombarded by Apple cult members who are commanding you to download this and try that with your device. Or maybe you're the only member of your social circle who has gone Apple and are flailing around without much of an idea of how to use your new toy. More »
There are so many patent battles going on around the globe between Apple and various smartphone companies, it can be hard to keep track of all the suits and countersuits. In one small but important battle decided recently, Apple has come out on top of HTC, in a ruling that could also affect the way Google's Android operating system works. More »
In a move to make everything iFriendly, Apple is moving ahead with developments in TV, in an effort started by late CEO Steve Jobs. Those in the know say the goal is for their TVs to work wirelessly with other Apple devices like the iPhone. More »
Today is Free Shipping Day, which is pretty self-explanatory, but free shipping doesn't mean good shipping. That's why the folks at STELLAservice wanted to know which of the top 25 online retailers were able to get you your order in a timely manner. More »
When Zach bought iPhones for his parents and added them to his AT&T plan, someone made a mistake. One of the new phones became the primary line on the account, Zach's phone became one of the secondary lines, and this messed up his ability to upgrade to a shiny new iPhone of his own so he could FaceTime video conference just like his super-cool parents. Only that's not how things work at AT&T Wireless. Zach was told that no one in the entire company has the power to fix this error. Not the customer service reps. Not the managers. Not the CEO. Not even the combined forces of Seal Team Six and the ghost of Steve Jobs could undo this error committed by a single authorized AT&T dealer employee somewhere in the Western United States. More »
So you've been tinkering away on iPhoto, creating your own personal holiday card, family calendar or thoughtful photo book for a loved one, and finally get to the part where you put your order in to send it on its way. But wait, no card/calendar/book for you, says iPhoto, and we'll still take your money hostage. More »
Well, that was quick. On Friday, we wrote about the iOS app that allowed users to craft fake driver's licenses — for the sole purpose of entertaining and amusing their friends, of course — and how one U.S. Senator had appealed to Apple CEO Tim Cook to have it removed from Apple's online store. Looks like that may have been sufficient, as the app has is no longer on sale. More »
Apple is having a tough go of it over in Europe, as they're involved in various lawsuits in several countries, including one they just lost. Motorola Mobility just scored a big hit against Apple, winning a patent infringement suit against them in Germany. More »
The U.S Department of Justice has joined its counterparts in the European Union in looking into the pricing of e-books. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed that the agency's probe was concerned with the possible "anticompetitive practices involving e-book sales." More »
In a page ripped from the script of Scarface, except switch out drugs for e-books and Tony Montana for Apple, European Union anti-trust officials are looking in to whether five publishers of e-books have colluded with the makers of the iPad, offering them lower book prices than they do for everyone else. More »
The attractive lower price tag of Amazon's Kindle Fire might be luring in plenty of customers, but according to some analysts, owning the Fire is akin to a "soap box derby" car and eventually, customers will upgrade to an iPad. Burn! More »
Siri, the helpful virtual assistant in the iPhone 4S, will help you find the nearest Thai restaurant, tell you your nearby options to get an oil change and suggest places to get a haircut. What she reportedly won't tell you, for now, is where to find an abortion clinic. More »
Look, Apple, Samsung — your fight over patents and intellectual property could affect all of Europe. Think about that, while you're locked in battle over intellectual property rights! And now you've gone and upset EU regulators. More »
Back in the day, if your company needed you to check email on the go, the IT guy set you up with a BlackBerry. But in what might be the most recent in a series of nails in BlackBerry's coffin, a new report says more mobile workers now use Apple's iPhones to keep in touch with the office. More »
Apple may be the media darling that grabs most of the headlines, but the sprawling monolith that is Android is the phone of the 99 percent. Or at least the 52.5 percent. Android devices garnered the majority of global market share in the third quarter, while the iOS market slipped from 16.6 to 15 percent in that span. Quickly-fading Symbian — the operating system for Nokia phones — plunged to 17 percent from 36.3 percent last year. More »
If you have an iPod nano sold between Sep '05 and Dec '06, you could be eligible for a replacement under a new worldwide recall issued by Apple to deal with battery heating issues. More »
Melissa couldn't get any reception around her home on her iPhone, despite living only 25 miles from downtown Chicago. Zero bars. It wasn't just annoying to always miss calls, it was also damaging her rental business. But thanks to a detailed, and snarky, email to the CEO of AT&T, she was able to get the wireless provider to reset its towers and fix the service around her house. More »
911 emergency services are a very helpful community resource, but they have their limits. They cannot, for example, deliver you a pizza. Or transfer you to AppleCare when your iPhone doesn't work. That didn't stop a man in Illinois from doing the latter...and then getting arrested for it. More »
Users met the release of Apple's new operating system, iOS 5, with complaints of battery life issues and bugs involving Siri, the digital assistant. Apple is attempting to smooth things out with a software fix called iOS 5.0.1, which it's beta testing with a small group of users. More »
When Apple last overhauled the iPhone, our corporate cousins at Consumer Reports ruled that, in spite of all the device's positives, they could not recommend it because of the so-called "death grip" issue, a fundamental design flaw that could lead to weakened signals or dropped calls if the user placed their hand over a certain spot on the edge of the phone. Now that the iPhone 4S has hit the market and the testers at CR have had the chance to put it through its paces, would the new phone fare better than its predecessor? More »
Right out of the gate, the iPhone 4S has developed a reputation for a battery that wastes away quicker than a Kardashian marriage. We've yet to see any decisive testing that proves the phenomenon, but hearsay says this is a problem that needs to be addressed. Until if and when Apple rolls out some sort of fix to satisfy customers, they are forced to manage. More »
Our lab-coated colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports are still testing various features of the iPhone 4S, so we don't have their verdict on its battery life yet. But many customers online, including reader Bill, are already complaining that the battery drains much too quickly, and never fully charges to 100%. More »
With its large touch screen and comparable size to a folded up newspaper, some in the news business had hopes that the tablet computer would usher in a new era of customers willing to pay for access to news content. But a new study shows that — at least so far — it just isn't so. More »
Customers like Stacey thought they were doing the responsible thing by pre-ordering the iPhone 4S and having it delivered to their doorsteps, instead of queuing up on release day. But now some customers won't get their preordered phones for weeks while brick-and-mortar stores have stacks of them, and they can't even cancel the preorders to go buy one from a local store. More »
Reader Matt tells the story of how an Apple store manager broke a little rule so as not to dash the hopes of his 10-year-old daughter, and, in the process, made a little bit of retail magic happen. More »
Until a few minutes ago, most of us had barely heard of C Spire Wireless, even by its previous name of Cellular South. Regardless, the wireless provider with only about a million customers announced today that it is now taking orders for the iPhone 4S. More »
Have you fired up your new iPhone 4S, only to feel lonely because no one is texting you? Don't be sad. You might still have some friends after all. As reader Hillary discovered, AT&T's cheapest text plan ($5 for 200 messages) isn't compatible with the new phone, so people with that combination just don't get their messages.Update: We heard from an AT&T rep, who told us that there's no reason why the 4S shouldn't work with a 200-message texting plan, and isn't sure why this happened to Hillary. More »
As if we didn't already know, Apple's iPhones are near and dear to the hearts of many consumers. So it might not shock you to learn that the company broke sales records when it sold 4 million of the new iPhone4S phones in just three days last week. More »
Figuring that if you can't bring others' customers to you, it's best to go to them, Microsoft is trying to draw interest in its new emporium by setting up a hut outside a Seattle Apple Store. The hut, which is promoting the Xbox 360's Kinect peripheral, is an attempt to advertise an upcoming Microsoft store to the throngs of iPhone 4S buyers. More »
Our phone-testing friends at Consumer Reports have the new Apple iPhone 4S in house, and they'll have their first hands-on review later today. In the meantime, they have some advice for anyone who is considering rushing out of the house to wait in line to buy the phone today or later this weekend: Do it. Or don't. Depending on what kind of phone you currently have, and what features are important to you, now may be the time to get a new iPhone. Here are some things to consider: More »
Samantha has moved since registering for an account on Apple.com. That's not unusual. Her problem is that Apple is somehow unable to deal with this reality, and she isn't able to change her address in their system. This means that they can't ship her freshly ordered iPhone 4S anywhere but her old address. "Maybe I will show up at the house and ask them to please not steal my new iPhone," she muses. More »
When a pre-release iPhone 4 prototype went missing at a beer garden last year and ended up being sold to Gizmodo, the stakes seemed high. Investigators seized an editor's computers and charged two men with crimes connected to the alleged theft. But several months and an entire newer iPhone model release later, the drama turned out to be much ado about very little. Two men accused of selling the device were sentenced to a year of probation, 40 hours of community service and a not-so-whopping $250 restitution they must both pay to Apple. They pleaded no contest to charges of misdemeanor theft. More »
When one thinks of Steve Jobs, the image of the great Apple innovator in a black, long-sleeved mock turtleneck probably comes to mind. In a sign of the man's impact on, well, everyone, sales of that same shirt more than doubled in the day after his death. More »
Apple's revelation that the iPhone 4S is nigh has started a domino effect that sapped much of the value away from its predecessors. Those who have spent the past several months longing for the iPhone 4 will now be able to grab an 8GB model for $99 on a two-year contract. And the older iPhone 3GS now is free on contract. More »
There has been a mountain of speculation about just what exactly would Apple be unveiling at today's big press event — Would it be the iPhone 5? Maybe the lower price, slimmed down iPhone 4S? Would it be a 4G device? Would Sprint and/or T-Mobile finally get the iPhone? Would they kill the iPod as we know it? More »
On the cusp of a big Apple event today where a new iPhone is expected to be announced, fake emails are going around purporting to give details of "the new Apple iPhone5GS," featuring a see-through keyboard. Clicking on the links leads to a malware-laced website that targets PCs. Here's the email and what to look out for. More »
Among the many whispers surrounding tomorrow's big iPhone announcement are rumors that Sprint would finally get its hands on the coveted smartphone. Now comes a report that the wireless company isn't just going to be offering the iPhone but that it's betting the company's future on it. More »
Visions of one day strolling the Google breakroom dance inside the brains of business students. A worldwide survey found that Google topped the list of most attractive workplaces, leading an uptick of tech companies, including Apple, that are edging out traditional businesses. More »
As Apple prepares to unveil the iPhone 5 next week, it also may soon bring down the hammer on the long-beloved but now largely obsolete iPod Shuffle and iPod Classic. More »
Be still, beating hearts, the anticipation is finally (officially, and sort of) over! Apple confirmed Tuesday that on Oct. 4, they'll whip back the curtain and reveal the iPhone 5. More »
The iPad will dominate tablet sales until 2014, according to a new report from research firm Gartner. But Android models will take about 17% of the market this year, and there are a few reasons to consider one, according to our computer-savvy cousins at Consumer Reports. More »
Just in case you're looking for a more reliable source for information about the release date of Apple's next iPhone, former vice president Al Gore has weighed in. "Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug," Gore said yesterday. He should know. In addition to having invented the Internet, he's a member of Apple's board. More »
I know iPad and iPod and gizmo-disgorging vending machines are nothing new, but it was still unnerving to see one as I passed through a Macy's men's department this weekend. I kind of hate it, and I kind of love it. More »
Last spring, Vik was looking around online for a deal on an iPad. He finally found a decent offer on the AT&T website so he ordered away. But by the time it had arrived, he'd decided he actually wanted a newer iPad 2. So he packed the tablet back up and shipped it back to AT&T within a couple days of getting it. He was still within the return window so he figured at worst he'd be charged for a month of data or some sort of small fee. More »
Apple devices have always been conspicuously absent from GameStop's wares, even as competing electronics trade-in services dealt with the likes of iPods, iPads and iPhones. That's reportedly about to change, with GameStop already accepting trade-ins of the istuff leading up to the rumored October release of the iPhone 5. More »
If the iPhone 5 is indeed, as rumored, going to launch early next month, it makes sense that Apple's contractors are hard at work putting the products together. A report says that Chinese manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron are doing just that. More »
Apple scored a hit against Samsung in their battle for tablet computer dominance after they won an injunction blocking sales of the new Galaxy Tab 7.7 in Germany. Samsung then had to remove the Galaxy Tab from a big electronics show. More »
When you're listening to your music collection, it's easy to get annoyed with yourself for stuffing so many terrible songs that you once liked for some inexplicable reason. Apple knows you all too well, and has provided a feature that helps you shed the chaff. More »
While Sprint hasn't yet joined AT&T and Verizon Wireless in switching from unlimited data plans to tiered pricing, the company has announced it will soon jack up the cost of cancelling your smartphone contract to match the early termination fees charged by these competitors. More »
Beware, South Carolinians looking for a good deal on an iPad in a parking lot! Don't fall for the trick one woman succumbed to and purchase a block of wood instead of an Apple tablet!. More »
Among the many rumors and reports surrounding the inevitable release of the iPhone 5 is that the device will finally be made available to Sprint customers. With speculation building, Sprint has reportedly issued a memo to staffers instructing them how to respond to customer queries about the iPhone... with a "no comment." More »
By renting and selling TV episodes via iTunes, Apple presented an a la carte alternative to subscription TV. Now it's funneling viewers toward the more expensive option by eliminating the 99-cent rental option and only selling episodes, mostly in the $2-$3 range. More »
As if you didn't know, it takes a lot of hard work and ingenuity to design products the whole world has fits of joy over. Also, you better own those ideas if you're going to sell them! So it's not surprising that Steve Jobs, Apple CEO from 1887 until he stepped down this week, has his name on 313 patents. More »
Reflecting on Steve Jobs' abrupt departure from the CEO position at Apple yesterday, our elder siblings at Consumer Reports reminisced about iconic products of the Jobs era. They reached back into the archives and found the January 1985 review of the original Macintosh: "Is this the computer you already know how to use?" asked the headline. Maybe. While the operating system then seemed like "a dazzling display of technical wizardry," they deemed the Atari 800XL a better choice for writing long(ish) documents. More »
Steve Jobs, the co-founder, CEO and public face of Apple, announced on Wednesday that he is leaving his position atop the computer and personal electronics giant. More »
Kimberly and her Verizon Pad 2 didn't know it, but her tablet has an evil twin lurking somewhere in the country. It lurked, waiting to steal her iPad's identity and rob it of its network connectivity. Who created this horrible monster? Er... Verizon Wireless. More »
Responding to Apple's lawsuit alleging it copied designs for the iPad and iPhone, Samsung's lawyers have pulled out video evidence from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In a 1-minute clip, the lawyers imply that the iPad-style form factor predates Apple's devices. More »
As Apple's iPad continues to sit atop the tablet market, a new report says the computer company is already ordering parts for the device's next iteration. More »
When a pre-release iPhone 4 prototype wound up in the hands of Gizmodo last year, authorities began an investigation that led to the seizure of an editor's computers. Authorities allege that an Apple engineer left the prototype at a bar. Gizmodo admitted paying someone to get the phone, stating it didn't realize the prototype was stolen. Now Gizmodo editors can breathe easy, because the San Mateo County District Attorney has not brought charges against anyone from the site. More »
In what could be described as a streaming contest, Viacom and Cablevision have been legally sparring for weeks over how to divvy up the rights to control streaming video on iPad apps. Now the corporate giants have settled their differences out of court. In a joint statement, the companies announced that Cablevision will be allowed to stream Viacom channels, including MTV and Comedy Central, over iPads located inside cable-subscribing homes. More »
One of the major knocks against Apple's iPhone and iPad devices is that their operating systems would not support playback of video in Adobe's popular Flash format. But earlier today, the makers of the Skyfire mobile browser released an app that will give these devices that much-desired functionality. More »
Apple's new version of Mac OS has some new and exciting features, and for Mac fans is a bargain at only $30. It is not, however, worth three times that. Or even $4,000. That's what some customers have paid, without exactly meaning to. More than one person has come forward complaining that their PayPal accounts, linked to their iTunes accounts, are getting charged for their purchase of OS 10.7 Lion over. And over. And over. More »
With the exception of some odd, headline-making incidents, the general image of the Apple Store, especially those here in New York City, is one of "do what you want so long as you don't break or steal anything." Thus, armed with a video camera and some livestock, one man wanted to see if Apple Store staffers were willing to shrug off his antics. More »
With their portability and user-friendliness, tablet computers seem perfect for students. But before you go spending big money on an iPad for a student, you should consider the limitations of the devices. More »
An American blogger living in the middle of China was amazed to stumble across a fake Apple store in her town. It was a complete counterfeit of a real Apple store, designed to look like the real thing. It had signage, and employees walking around in the iconic blue shirts with those lanyard nametags. It had the big long wooden tables with Apple products on them and the typical Apple store winding staircase. But certain details were off. More »
If iPhones were skydivers, they wouldn't need parachutes. That appears to be true after an iPhone 4 slipped out of a Minnesota skydiver's pocket during a 13,500-foot jump and survived the impact in working order. More »
This summer, Abe went on a trip through Europe this summer with his wife and kids. One night, he made a hotel reservation using the Expedia iPhone app. But when he arrived at the place, it was already past check-in time and no one was around. When he called Expedia for a refund, they said no, because the check-in time was disclosed on their website, even though that information was not available through the iPhone app at all. More »
The legal war between Apple and Amazon over the term "App Store" continues, but a judge has handed the most recent battle to the e-tailer, denying Apple's request for a preliminary injunction against Amazon's online Appstore. More »
According to a research note from RBC Capital, customers who sign up for a two-year contract may be able to score an iPhone 3GS for free in September, when the next version of the iPhone is expected to be released. More »
The neat thing about high-falutin' technology these days is that if you lose it, many times you can use software to track it. Which is all well and good, except when that's all you can do — watch as it travels around without you. Such was the case for a woman who left her iPad on a plane seat. More »
It looks like Steve Jobs may have found his Waterloo in his war to defend Apple's application to trademark the phrase "App Store." A federal judge has advised the company that it will likely lose its lawsuit against Amazon.com over the e-tailer's Appstore. More »
Adolescence is a time for people to learn by doing, but here's one bit of advice we'd like share with the future of America now: As tempting as it may be, don't go bending your iPod — or really any electronic device — back and forth until it breaks, the battery explodes and the ambulances come. More »
Apple's untiring defense of its application to trademark the phrase "App Store" continues. But this time, the Cupertino Crew isn't squabbling with Microsoft or suing Amazon. No, Apple is going after a small start-up software company you may have never heard about. More »
Chris had to go to Japan recently to help out with his deathly ill grandmother. He brought his new Verizon iPhone4 with him. While he was there, Verizon pushed a series of updates to his phone, and that racked up over $600 in global roaming charges. When he called customer service, they told him the charges were valid and nothing could be done. He couldn't even get retroactively added to an international plan as Verizon says they don't have one anymore that covers Asia/Japan. More »
Texting? That is just so 2010. The cool thing these days is instant message texting with applications like BlackBerry Messenger, or Apple's upcoming iMessage, which use the Internet to send texts instead of service carriers. More »
The latest brainstorm from Apple Geniuses may be to organize and bargain for better pay and benefits. A unionization effort is on in San Francisco, led by a part-time Apple Store employee there. More »
Apple has tinkered with its in-app subscription purchases policies, making things more flexible for publishers and possibly more difficult for consumers. Previously, Apple required publishers to charge their lowest prices for subscriptions purchased within apps, but now Apple has dropped pricing restrictions. More »
Most of us just blindly click "I ACCEPT" when presented with those user license agreements when we install software. I think I would pay a lot more attention if they were all give dramatic readings, like this one actor Richard Dreyfuss did of the Apple iTunes EULA. More »
During this week's Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple announced its new cloud storage service, the creatively named iCloud. To grossly oversimplify the matter, iCloud is an evolution of Apple's three-year-old MobileMe service ...except that iCloud doesn't cost $99 per year. It will be free, unless you want to sync music between devices that you didn't buy from iTunes. (That costs $25 per year.) Apple plans to kill MobileMe on June 30, 2012, and current members won't have to pay to renew their subscriptions. That's pretty great, unless you're a subscriber who handed over a hundred bucks to renew just a few weeks ago. More »
Walmart announced this week that they were chopping the price on 16 GB iPhone 4's to $147, down from $197. The deal is only for a limited time and runs through June 30th. More »
The Amazon tablet doesn't even exist yet and already some are saying it could be the one to take Apple's iPad down a notch, in the form of actual competition. So how could something that hasn't been announced take on the Goliath that is the iPad? More »
A 17-year-old boy in Shanghai is experiencing extreme buyer's remorse after his health has begun to falter after selling his kidney to buy an iPad 2, reports the Global Times. More »
If you've listened to the radio, glanced at a pop-up ad or checked your spam folder, you've no doubt been subjected to highly questionable ads that guarantee you "free" iPods or iPads if you do a whole lot of fine print stuff, and more. Apple is fed up with being associated with such offers, and is attempting to shut them down. More »
Apple will soon be releasing an update to its operating system that will seek out and remove copies on users' computers of "Mac Defender," a fake antivirus program that tricks the unwary into forking over their credit card info. More »
We can just hear it now: "Your tablet is so stupid, it thought a quarterback was a refund!" Hewlett-Packard hasn't released their TouchPad tablet computer yet, but already they're smack-talking iPad and Android devices and claiming it'll be the best one ever in the whole entire world. So there! More »
Three workers have died in an explosion at a plant run by Foxconn Technology Group in Hongfujin, China. Fifteen other workers were injured at the plant, said to be a manufacturing base for Apple's iPad. More »
Apple fanboys are sometimes referred to as "zealots" or "fanatics" in terms of their devotion to their beloved brand and the intensity with which they defend it and proselytize its virtues. Especially in online comments sections. And it turns out that perhaps those descriptions are not too far off. A recently screened BBC doc Secrets of the Superbrands (unfortunately not available for online streaming in the States) analyzed an MRI of an Apple devotee and found that the brand stimulated the same areas of the brain as religious imagery does to people of faith. More »
Four people were sent to the hospital when the crowd outside Beijing's number one Apple store turned violent as they stormed to get their hands on the new iPad 2 when it went on sale there this weekend, reports AFP. More »
Hearst, publisher of such magazines as O, The Oprah Magazine and Esquire, is the latest big boy print player to set up space inside Apple's new virtual newsstand, which hocks subscriptions to magazine iPad apps. More »
A new investigation by two NGO's into working conditions at two major Chinese factories run by Foxconn responsible for pumping out iPads might make you angrier than a bird trying to destroy a bunch of green pigs, reports The Guardian. Among their findings was that after a rash of suicides at the factories, workers were forced to sign pledges promising not to commit suicide and to instead "treasure their lives." More »
This year's Fortune 500 list is out, and while Walmart's $421 billion in revenue may have beaten out Exxon Mobil's paltry $354 billion, the oil giant beat out Big W where it matters most, profits. According to Fortune, the crude colossus made a whopping $30.4 billion in profits last year, nearly double what Walmart made and over $10.5 billion more than the next most profitable company on the list. More »
Could it be that tech heavyweights including Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Adobe, Pixar and Lucasfilm were entangled in a nefarious plot to keep employee wages down and profits up? That's the allegation brought forth by a lawsuit filed in a California Superior Court, alleging antitrust violations among the companies, as well as "no solicitation" agreements that kept companies from poaching employees. More »
Calling it a "bug," Apple has responded to the backlash surrounding the revelation that iOS devices have been keeping track of their owner's movements via a hidden file full of timestamped map locations by releasing a new software update designed to minimize the extent of the tracking. It does not, however, get rid of it. More »
Most magazines are now available in digital formats, but very few offer simultaneous print and digital subscriptions for one price. Now a few of Time Inc.'s bigger print products have made a deal with Apple that would give some subscribers access to the iPad version of Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune magazines for no extra cost. More »
Since the white version of the Apple iPhone hit stores last week, the internet has been replete with stories that it is slightly thicker than its black predecessor. Since our test-happy cousins at Consumer Reports have equipment to measure the thicknesses, they decided to do so. More »
It's been nearly a year since the white version of the iPhone 4 was originally supposed to go on sale. There have been numerous rumors of its impending availability, followed by news of further delays. But now Apple says that tomorrow it will finally be selling an iPhone that matches the signature white headphones. More »
Should "apps store" really be "Apps Store®," a trademarked phrase tied exclusive to Apple and its application store for its devices? Amazon didn't seem to think so. But when it opened the Amazon Appstore for Android, the online retailer still got slapped with a lawsuit from Apple. More »
Samsung and Apple are now officially entangled in a messy legal slapfight. After Apple sued Samsung for allegedly violating iPhone and iPad patents, Samsung has responded in kind, alleging Apple violated several of its patents. More »
Yesterday, it was revealed that Apple iPhones and 3G-enabled iPads have been, unbeknownst to their users, recording their locations with corresponding time stamps in a file named "consolidated.db." This discovery did not please Al Franken, the U.S. Senator from Minnesota, who has fired off a letter to Apple bigwig Steve Jobs. More »
It's another day, so another rumor on the release date for the Apple iPhone 5 must be around. The latest scuttlebutt: Consumers anxious for Apple's latest and greatest smart phone will have their cravings satisfied in September. More »
Jeremy's iPad 2 has been backordered, and he has to wait another month or so to receive it. That's okay, though. They sent along his Smart Cover in advance, and he's found at least as many uses for the cover as he would have had for the iPad. Kind of. More »
In the corporate method of waving your hand to tell the teacher the kid at the desk next to you has been peeking at its paper, Apple filed a lawsuit alleging Samsung copied the "look and feel" of its iPad and iPhone. It seems Samsung's Android devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G and Nexus S drew too much inspiration from istuff for Apple's liking. More »
You use to be able to count on Apple announcing new products like clockwork. New computers were shown in January while new iPods were in September, just in time for the holidays. And new iPhones? In June. Except this year, the new iPhone 5 will be unveiled in September. Maybe. More »
The problem with having the latest, shiniest, newest gadgets is that when something goes wrong and that shiny gadget sells out, there aren't any others to exchange it for. That seems to be what happened to Nicholas, who bought an iPad 2 at Target, and shipped it off to Apple after had screen problems after only a few hours of use. More »
Here it is, the final no-holds-barred death match of the WCIA Sweet 16! To finish off this round, we've got two companies that — until very recently — shared a death grip on the U.S. iPhone market. More »
A suspect in a smash and grab robbery is dead after engaging in an estimated 40 shot gunfight with an armed private security store guard hired by Apple to protect its San Diego store, reports 10News and NBC San Diego. More »
After eight days and 16 first round battles, the WCIA steel cage is littered with the bones of those companies not crappy enough to continue on in the tournament. But the thrill of victory is fleeting for the remaining combatants, all of whom must square off again if they hope of crowning themselves the Worst Company In America! More »
Apple pulled a homophobic app from the App Store, but only after tens of thousands of people signed a petition asking it to do so. The app in question was meant to "cure" people of homosexuality. A religious group is responsible for the app, which reportedly used biblical teachings to attempt its goal. More »
An iPhone 4 fell from of the pocket of a U.S. Air Force Jump Master when he was looking out the plane and plummeted 1,000 feet to the ground, and was completely unharmed, reports iLounge. More »
It seemed reasonable enough to Mark: his local Target gave out more tickets to purchase 16 GB iPads than they had iPads, and he was the last person to reserve a ticket. The store had plenty of 64 GB models left, though, but Mark didn't want to pay that much and tried to leverage the situation into a discount on one of those. Some employees agreed that the company should make this happen, and others claimed that it wasn't physically possible. Mark began a quest to get his promised discount, but it looks like he'll be running Flash on his iPad before that ever happens. More »
TV lovers, rejoice! The future of legal, licensed television watching is here, and it's....incredibly locked down! Time Warner has introduced a beautiful new iPad app that lets you log in with your Time Warner Cable username and password and watch TV anywhere on your iPad. Well...as long as "anywhere" is "in your house, or on the wireless network of another Time Warner Cable customer, as long as you yourself have a cable package from Time Warner at home." So much for mobile. More »
Our more computer-savvy cousins over at Consumer Reports are out with their first look at Apple's iPad 2, and tester Dean Gallea has pronounced it a "very good choice" if you're looking for a tablet computer. More »
All this Consumerist reader wanted was to pick up a new iPad 2, bring it home and spend time playing with Apple's latest technology. But he was thwarted, humiliated and bummed out by his efforts, as he sends in his anonymous tale of woe. More »
For the sixth year in a row, we asked Consumerist readers to send us their nominations for our Worst Company In America tournament. And this year's response was the greatest by far. More »
Verizon customers waited for years to get their hands on the iPhone, and a new study finds they use those waiting skills more than their AT&T brethren, because the Verizon model takes twice as long on average to download data. More »
Even for casual college basketball fans, it's always been tough to work rather than keep an eye on NCAA tournament games. Now, for those with iPhones, it will be difficult to drive or take a bathroom break without distraction as well. More »
If your luck and sense of timing are such that you went and bought an iPad shortly before Apple announced the iPad 2 is on the verge of hitting shelves, Apple wants to hand you $100 in pity cash you can use to mop up your tears. More »
Apple guru Steve Jobs received a standing ovation at the company's latest press conference. As expected, the company announced the new generation of its popular tablet computer, the iPad. More »
When Verizon released its version of the iPhone last month, it said the unlimited data plan required to use the phone would eventually give way to tiered pricing though the company refused to put a timeline on it. Now, Verizon is being slightly more specific about its plans. More »
If they gave out Oscars for product placement ubiquity, Apple would have taken home the prize Sunday. The company not only does a lot of product placement, but places wise bets on box office winners, beating all competitors by showing up in 10 of the 33 movies that took the top spot at the box office in 2010. More »
Instead of spitting their gum on the sidewalk like usual, people are using it to vote whether AT&T or Verizon sucks more. "Gum Election" is a project where people download a free poster off this site, post it out on the street, and people stick their gum on the entity that "sucks the most." Early results based off a poster hung up on Lafayette Street in New York favor AT&T. More »
Our cousins-in-arms at Consumer Reports have finished their tests on the Verizon iPhone and found that, just like the AT&T version of the iPhone 4, it offers great multimedia functionality, a sharp screen and one heck of an MP3 player. Unfortunately, when used without a case, it also shares its predecessor's problem of dropping calls and weak signals. More »
Since Apple released the iPad last year, competitors from various corners of the tech world have trotted out alternatives. But infrastructure and savvy business moves have kept the iPad in control of the market. More »
Over at Popular Mechanics, they spoke to an anonymous Apple Store employee to get the inside scoop on what it's like working at the iPhone emporium. And the main thing he seems to want people to know is that he knows absolutely nothing about what the company is doing next. More »
Apple has this great new idea: App developers will pay the company 30 percent of in-app sales, including subscriptions. Also, Apple alone gets to keep the customers' name and contact info, requiring third parties to ask users to opt in to sharing the info with them. Well, the initiative is great for Apple, but not so much for others who may see a hefty cut in their revenues. More »
Those who rent films online — presumably not counting Netflix streamers, who pay monthly subscriptions — use iTunes more than any other service, but Apple's stranglehold on the market is loosening. More »
AT&T will let you make unlimited calls to any mobile phone on any network for free, as long as you are already have unlimited messaging ($20 for individuals, $30 for FamilyTalk plans) and are in a qualifying voice plan. After enrolling in Mobile to Any Mobile Calling, dialing another cellphone won't use up your minutes. Coming on the same day that the Verizon iPhone goes on sale, it looks like AT&T is making a play to try to keep budget-conscious customers from exiting. More info at att.com/anymobile. More »
A 2nd-grader managed to rack up a $1,400 bill for her parents over break while playing the "Smurfs Village", a Farmville-esque iPad game, reports the Washington Post. Like many of these app-based games, the game is free but you can purchase in-app upgrades, with real money, to speed your progress. In this case, you can get a "bucket of snowflakes" for $19 or a "wagon of smurfberries" for $99. Needless to say, her mother became quite blue in the face. More »
A $2 iPhone app walks users through a simulation of the Catholic sacrament of confession, offering sinners the opportunity to admit their misdeeds via their phones. More »
Spies say Apple is already in production of the follow-up to last year's iPad, and the upcoming model will include a feature that was conspicuously aspect from the original — a camera. The sequel will be lighter and boast more memory, as well as a superior graphics processor. More »
If you've ever been tempted to whip out your pen and just scribble all over your iPad, first of all, don't do that, and second, you'll be happy to know that Apple is developing a stylus for its tablet so you can draw, sketch and jot down notes to your heart's desire. More »
Ruh roh! Seems the Verizon iPhone is very popular, which is good news for Verizon but not so good for Android and BlackBerry. A new survey says many users of the Google and Research in Motion Smartphones would likely switch to Verizon's new offering. More »
Though the NFL is technologically advanced enough to feature high-definition instant replay and in-helmet communications systems, it's still antiquated enough to feature old-fashioned paper playbooks. Thanks to tablet computers — namely the iPad — that could change. More »
Oh, snap...? AT&T has responded to Verizon's snarky iPhone 4 ad, in which the "can you hear me now?" guy says yes, now he can hear you, on Verizon's network, with one big yawner of an ad. More »
The same day Verizon Wireless started taking pre-orders for iPhone, they posted a new notice on their site saying they reserve the right to throttle the top 5% of data users,WSJ reports. Here's what it said: More »
As Verizon prepares to start taking iPhone pre-orders from existing customers, the company has finally unveiled its full slate of pricing plans for the coveted smartphone. More »
For any iPhone or iPad users who might have suspected that AT&T wasn't accurately measuring their data usage, a new lawsuit claims you might be right. More »
The battle over the e-book market has just gotten a little nastier. According to Sony, Apple is now telling some application developers that they can not create apps for the iPad and iPhone that would allow users to purchase content — or even be able to access content — that isn't sold through its App Store. More »
RedOryx and her sister both ordered shiny new iPods directly from Apple, and they made an annoying discovery: you can have pretty much anything engraved on the back of your iPod...as long as it doesn't include any swear words. More »
The iPod Touch can be more than the oft-ignored stepbrother of the iPhone - with the right hacking touch, it can be a replacement for its much loved sibling. More »
If you're an iPhone user on a limited AT&T data plan but had an unlimited one in the past, AT&T will let you switch back for free, the AP reports. More »
Earlier today, Verizon announced that — at least for now — they'll be offering unlimited data plans to its iPhone users for $30/month. But the question is: Do you need it? More »
This digital photography fad isn't great for companies that built their empires on film, so Kodak seems to be grasping at legal straws to generate some revenue. The company filed a image-previewing patent claim to force smartphone makers such as Apple and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Limited to pay it royalties. The United States International Trade Commission ruled that the phones don't violate the patent. More »
While it's a good rule of thumb to hang up the phone on anyone who calls you to tell you that you won a contest, a woman in the UK almost found herself without a $10,000 prize when she didn't believe it was Apple on the other end of the line. More »
Are you an AT&T iPhone 4 owner with Verizon envy? Dan over at MoneyTalks News has formulated a minimally devious, moderately labor-intensive and somewhat risky way of switching carriers and getting a Verizon-capable iPhone and end up in the black. More »
Apple CEO and pancreatic cancer survivor Steve Jobs announced he's taking a medical leave of absence. He'll retain his title and remain involved in major decisions, but the COO will take over day-to-day operations. More »
The necessary but easily interchangeable pieces of a laptop, such as the power cord and any removable batteries, usually aren't covered under the laptop's warranty. When those items wear out or break in the course of normal use, you're expected to replace them. When the 1.5-year-old battery to Tommy's 6-year-old Macbook Pro overheated and began to expand, Apple representatives were sympathetic, but unable to replace the battery since, well, batteries are only supposed to last for a year or so. More »
It's been over two years since Apple first submitted an application to trademark the phrase "App Store," but that hasn't stopped Microsoft from attempting to stymie the iPhone maker's request. More »
The word on the street—or at least on electronics blogs—was that Apple stores would do away with the traditional 10% restocking fee on returns. This new feature starts not just as other electronics retailers are doing away with their restocking fees, but was timed ever-so-coincidentally for January 11, the launch day of the Verizon iPhone. Is the rumor true? Reader Tim reports that it is indeed, and he's even tested it. More »
After years of rumors, reports, whispers and tea-leaf readings that Verizon would definitely, maybe, someday possibly be getting the iPhone, everyone was wondering whether the nation's largest wireless provider would finally make the big announcement at this morning's press conference in New York City. More »
Signs point to Verizon announcing tomorrow that it's getting the iPhone. But that's not all that's in store. Here's a quickie roundup of the latest Verizon iPhone rumors to get you up-to-date: More »
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that according to "a person familiar with the matter," the iPhone will soon be available to Verizon subscribers. The news is expected to be the subject of a mysterious event being held Tuesday at New York's Lincoln Center. More »
Unlike houseplants, iPod Touches don't take kindly to watering. After Emily accidentally victimized her device in such a manner, she contacted Apple to see what it would cost to replace it. When she balked at the price, a helpful customer service rep sent her a free one. More »
On Jan 1 and 2 of 2011, tons of people overslept, not due to hangovers, but because of an iPhone glitch that made their alarms go off. For most people this was just an inconvenience, but for one couple it was disastrous. They missed a fertility treatment deadline. More »
From strange sandwiches to even stranger luggage, from rude receipts to corporate misdoings, here's a look back at the 10 most read stories on Consumerist for 2010. More »
In what will probably come as a surprise to no one, Consumerist readers have overwhelmingly selected the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as the biggest business debacle of 2010. More »
So much for hopes that tablets would become the savior of the flopping magazine industry. Every magazine that reports its sales on the iPad has signaled an end-of-year decline, according to WWD Media, which drew numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. More »
We asked for your input in nominating the biggest business screw-ups of the year and you responded. Now is your chance to vote for a loser from the final five nominees. More »
M ordered a MacBook Pro as a Christmas gift, but he says it didn't show up when it was supposed to, despite UPS's online report that it had been delivered to the "front door" of his apartment. More »
If you were hoping to get your hands on one of the few Steve Jobs action figures to make it out of China, you're too late. After Apple successfully stopped manufacturer M.I.C. Gadget from selling the dolls, a few were smuggled out and made it onto eBay, where they were going for $2,500. But Apple has blocked further sales, citing a California law that requires merchants to get an individual's permission before selling products based on their likeness. More »
When you're on the road in unfamiliar surroundings, wouldn't it be nice to have a little travel elf at your side to point you in the right direction and help you get the most out of your sojourn? If you've got an iPad, you own the next best thing to a travel elf, and it won't even object when you shove it into your suitcase. More »
Matt was able to turn his water-damage iPhone 3GS into a new iPhone 4 for only $200, even though he hadn't reached his upgrade time yet, thanks to a lot of persistence, and a little bit of mercy. More »
We at The Consumerist are known for our anti-gift card stance, but sometimes you find yourself in a situation where a gift is required and cash seems tacky. Vivian writes that she got an Apple gift card for her sister as a nice present, and it disappeared from her sister's mailbox. Unlike other high-value items that they sell, Apple mails gift cards using U.S. Postal Service first class mail, and someone stole and spent the card. More »
While Apple can't seem to get around to releasing the elusive White iPhone 4, a teenager in New York City has made over $100,000 in the last few months selling kits to convert iPhone 4s from black to white. Now he says he's being accused by an investigator of selling stolen property. More »
All day Monday, Apple had been promising some sort of life-changing announcement regarding its iTunes store. Would it be cloud-based streaming for music and video? A change in its pricing? No — it's the Beatles. More »
With its jumbo-sized touch screen, impressive processing power and portability, the iPad is fertile ground for gaming, but you have to know where to look for the best stuff. Kotaku dug through the piles of bad games to dig up the best freebies that you can find on the iPad App store. More »
We have enough fart, funny picture manipulator, and Starcraft build simulator apps. How about something utile for a change? Lost at E Minor has several propositions, including the "ex" radar that tracks your significant ex so you can avoid running into them in person. Of course, this could be use by stalkers to make sure they run into their ex, but let's not kill the joke with overthinking. More »
For those who find 3D glasses too liberating and are interested in making their portable devices less portable, Hasbro is making a viewfinder that lets you see your iPhone or iPod screen graphics in 3D. More »
Do your friends without iPhones wonder why you randomly send them texts with the word "utter" or "boner" in them? The answer, as you've explained over and over again, is iPhone auto-correct. More »
Imagine the opposite of Foursquare — an app you can use to steer clear of particular individuals rather than meet up with them — and you grasp the idea behind the Hollaback iPhone app. More »
Gizmodo's Joel Johnson got to peek inside the Foxconn factory in China where your iPhone and other fancy gadgets get made. Some 200,000 workers work inside, and also live in on-site dorms. Perhaps the most gripping images, however, are of what's on the outside. Every building is draped in protective nets to prevent workers from suiciding off the roofs. More »
Some iPhone owners say Apple's iOS 4 tossed some sand in the gears of their older iPhones, and at least one angry customer thinks it was all part of Apple's plan to make iPhone owners sour on their devices and upgrade to the iPhone 4. More »
Parents looking in the aisles of the toy store where they sell hula hoops, baseball gloves and baby dolls will want to start looking elsewhere to buy Christmas presents for their ungrateful ankle-biters. In face, they may want to avoid the toy section altogether and head toward the electronics department. More »
(iOS4 only) Yesterday fellow publishing family member Consumer Reports launched a new $9.99 iPhone app that lets you scan a barcode and get official Consumer Reports ratings, reviews and specs for that product. Fret not, an Android version is in the works. Video walkthrough, inside. More »
I'm waiting until next year's inevitable next-generation improvement to take the iPad plunge, giving those who already own the device a year or so to learn how to break the wild beast and teach me to use it. More »
Just in time for Christmas, the world's most expensive phone. At least that's what the designer of the $8 million dollar diamond-rimmed iPhone 4 claims. More »
In a move that might give credence to the latest rumors about a Verizon iPhone, Verizon announced today that it will begin selling Apple's iPad tablet device on Oct. 28. More »
The iPhone 4's "death grip" antenna issue has been well-documented on the pages of Consumerist and our sister publication Consumer Reports. But now comes news of a possible second design flaw, already dubbed "GlassGate" by some, in which slide-on iPhone 4 cases are reported to have a shattering effect on the device's rear glass covering. More »
It's tough to get too angry at Target for attempting to skim a buck off the top of iPad purchases, but to call the minimally-inflated price a "sale" crosses the line of decency. More »
Last week Newsday put out a hilarious new ad to promote its new iPad app, and now Apple has made them take down the most widely distributed version, according to an insider tip posted by by Network World. Maybe it was because the ad shows a guy who has replaced his newspaper with the iPad trying to swat a fly with the device and ends up smashing his iPad into shards. The tipster said Apple told Newsday had to get rid of the ad, or they would eject their app from the App store. Touchy, touchy. In case you missed it, here is the ad again (reuploaded by another user): More »
Usually we praise a CEO for responding directly to customers but Apple's Steve Jobs has made a hobby of talking tough to those who email him at sjobs@apple.com. In the latest case, because she couldn't get a quote out of the PR department, a college journalism student took him to task. So he took her to hers, saying "Our goals do not include helping you get a good grade" and "Please leave us alone." More »
Marco wrote a script to tease out the most commonly appearing words in 1 and 5 star App store user reviews and found some interesting trends. Among them, the word "useless" is surprisingly popular for 1-star reviews, and it's often for pretty narrowly defined reasons. More »
Providing further proof that he's part of an international ninja assassin squad made up of CEOs, Steve Jobs was reportedly detained at a Japanese airport for carrying a throwing star. More »
Like previous versions, iTunes 10 is a hefty hunk of software that actually contains within it 6 different Windows Installer programs that you don't always need or want. Apple doesn't let you customize the install, but this guide shows you how to install only the slimmest iTunes footprint you need for your purposes. More »
If you're an iPhone 4 owner and haven't scored your free bumper case, you've only got a couple weeks left to get one. Apple has announced that it is pulling the plug on the free bumper program at the end of September. More »
Had fate twisted differently, you might have bought domain names from BigDaddy.com, searched for stuff online via BackRub or never heard of Yahoo because its original name, Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web was so wordy it might have killed the company. More »
Quantcast reports that while iPhones still own the mobile web market, Android devices are quickly making up ground. A year ago the iPhone's iOS platform owned nearly 70 percent of the market while Android hovered below 10 percent. Last month iOS slumped to 56 percent while Android clawed its way up to 25 percent. More »
Not only did Apple announce a marauding horde of new iPods and an adorable micro AppleTV yesterday, it also revealed that an Xbox Live-ish service called Game Center is coming out next week along with the system update for iPhones and iPod Touches. More »
In addition to highlighting its line of overhauled iPods earlier today, Apple also debuted its much improved (or at least significantly smaller) Apple TV device, which not only lets you stream iTunes video and music through your TV, but also Netflix's Watch Instantly library of shows and movies. More »
As many predicted, Apple used its much-anticipated press event today to show off the latest development in their iPod devices. And though some had hoped Big Chief Fanboy Steve Jobs would be unveiling a new version of the iPod, it was really just updates — ranging from the blah to the significant — to the existing line. More »
If you're on one of AT&T's limited data plans, you'd better start carefully monitoring the data usage, because some customers are noticing unexplainable daily hits on their accounts. The support forums at Apple are filled with pages of theories and complaints from frustrated customers, but our tipster David got the following admission directly from an AT&T rep: "She told me that most, if not all, 3g-capable iPhones were being charged erroneously like I had been experiencing. She told me AT&T was unaware of why the data was being charged, and where it was coming from." More »
The PR outfit that publicizes the Rock Band video game franchise settled with the Federal Trade Commission, which caught agency employees posing as customers to post positive reviews on the iTunes App store. More »
Adding a feature Apple junkies have been clamoring for, Netflix upgraded its App Store application to allow it to stream movies and TV shows for subscribers. More »
Kirk says he lives in an AT&T dead zone, rendering his iPhone basically useless. After haggling with customer service, he convinced a company rep to give him a MicroCell signal booster. The CSR's superior overruled the request, offering a $50 credit instead. More »
Unless you enjoy buying TV show episodes on iTunes and watching them over and over, you'd probably rather save some money and rent the videos instead. According to the anonymous whispers in the ear of Bloomberg, $1, 48-hour iTunes video rentals from Fox, Disney and other giants are on the way. More »
It's not the heat, it's the humidity that can kill your iPhone, reports the South China Morning Post. Apple says their phones are built so that humidity doesn't accidentally trigger the device's water sensors, but users in Hong Kong, where humidity can reach 95%, say their devices' warranty claims are unfairly getting rejected for water damage, even when not a drop has touched them. Humidity test results tell an unflattering tale: More »
The National Association of Broadcasters and the Recording Industry Association of America, which have often bickered over royalties rules, have agreed that your iPhone and iPod need to have built-in FM radio capabilities via special microchips and want to push laws to make it happen. More »
Apple enthusiast David was annoyed to discover his Blu-ray of the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood won't allow him to use the download voucher to get a digital copy of the film that will play on his Mac or iPod. He feels misled because he had no such trouble with previous digital copy transfers, even from other Batman movies. More »
Now that the government says it's okay to jailbreak your iPhone, you can follow these instructions and install the Flash on your iPhone 4 that Apple engineers forgot to, without fear that the ninjas are gonna getcha. More »
Cops love finding iPhones at crime scenes because the phones carry so much priceless data about your usage habits, or as the cops call it, evidence. That email you typed months back about feeling stabby when you drink? It's still there because there because the iPhone captures everything you type to help fuel its spellcheck abilities—even emails you thought you deleted. And that's not all. More »
While the overwhelming majority of 20th century rock music is available for digital download through iTunes or some other online outlet, the Beatles catalog continues to remain a holdout. And Yoko Ono, widow of John Lennon, said yesterday that it could be a while before the Fab Four joins the digital download crowd. More »
Do you enjoy having a functioning iPod Touch? Then don't let Best Buy get their clumsy mitts on it and hire them to apply the tricky, delicate Zagg Invisible Shield. Reader Span_Wolf writes that he thought that he had a run of terrible luck with buying defective iPods, but eventually figured out the real cause of his troubles: he thinks, and Apple agrees, that Best Buy staff's misapplication of the fancy plastic cover damaged the devices. More »
Over the weekend, we wrote about how Apple had decided to cancel all shipments of free iPhone 4 cases to Puerto Rico because they were "unable to ship to an international address." Well it looks like someone at Apple checked out Wikipedia and found out that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and shipping to the island doesn't cross any national borders. More »
Better not load any PDFs on your iPhone for a while, not unless you want to risk handing over total control of your device to hackers. The exploit affects all iOS 4 iOS 3.1.2 and higher devices, including the iPod touch and the iPad. More »
Amazon's Kindle e-reader is the online retailer's top-selling single item, and the company recently announced that its sales of e-books has outpaced sales of hardcover titles. Meanwhile, Apple has jumped into the e-book market with both feet, selling titles for reading on its iPad tablet computers. But now the Attorney General in Connecticut has launched an investigation into the pricing plans that both companies have hammered out with book publishers. More »
Sorry Puerto Ricans, even though you bought your iPhone 4s with U.S. dollars, endure AT&T's shoddy "national" coverage, and are United States citizens, Apple doesn't think you're entitled to a free case like real Americans. Apple originally told Puerto Ricans that they would qualify for free apology cases, but decided to cancel all orders being shipped to Puerto Rico after claiming that they were "unable to ship to an international address." More »
While Apple still maintains a death grip on its no-porn policy for its iPhone and iPad apps, the adult entertainment industry is swarming to make money from the iPhone 4's FaceTime video-conferencing feature. More »
Are you an iTunes customer who bought a season pass to Mad Men? Have you not been able to download Sunday's episode yet? Lulu hasn't, and neither have a lot of other customers. Apple is doing a poor job of supporting customers who have ditched cable, but still want to pay for content. More »
A new class action suit filed in California takes issue with how the iPad shuts off automatically if it overheats. In particular, however, the suit claims that the marketing phrase "reading on the iPad is just like reading a book" is misleading, and that Apple is therefore engaging in fraud and misleading consumers. This is great news for me, because I was thinking of suing Apple for not providing dustjackets for iBookstore titles but my friends told me I shouldn't. More »
It looks like Citi doesn't just do a crappy job of protecting customer info in the mail. The bank admitted yesterday that its Citi Mobile iPhone app was storing sensitive data in a hidden file on users' phones and possibly their computers. More »
Apple has added the Droid X to its list of phones that it claims also has the "death grip" antenna issue. Apple's website depicts a hand holding the phone in a fairly normal one-handed grip, with the signal bars depleted. Below the image, Apple says: " In weak signal areas, this grip may negatively affect signal strength." PCMag, however, takes issue with Apple's methodology... More »
While Apple may oppose the idea, the federal government announced today that hacking your iPhone to accept third party software not approved or sold by Apple isn't a violation of the company's copyright. More »
Remember when e-readers like the Kindle came out and everyone got all excited and companies jumped in to copy them and make their own e-readers? Yeah, turns out that wasn't such a good idea. Seems if you're not Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Sony, your e-reader model won't survive the onslaught of tablets like the iPad. More »
The Internets are all abuzz with some undercover, special spycam shots of Apple's research labs, where engineers are currently "working their butts off" and dreaming of the iPhone 4 during office slumber parties. These sneaky shots, currently making the rounds on tech blogs, are actually just from an ABC newscast last week. More »
Looks like Apple's Tim Cook meant it when he told shareholders that most programs submitted to the company's App Store are approved within a week. Just seven days after CEO Steve Jobs promised to put together a program to allow iPhone 4 customers to get a free case, the iPhone 4 Case Program app is now available for download. (Yeah, Apple probably could have come up with a better name for the app, but what do you want for free?) More »
A tech-savvy 12-year-old Minnesota girl reported a sexual assault by her mom's ex-boyfriend by using her iPod to contact a friend through Facebook. More »
For anyone who is just sick of their typical black iPhone 4 already and was hoping to get a snazzy white one, Apple has some bad news for you. Apparently, making the paler version of the smartphone is harder than they'd thought, meaning you won't get your until later this year. More »
If you were trolling around the App Store last night, you might have come across a new 99-cent flashlight app called Handy Light. And if you were willing to pay for it, you would have found a bonus: the program contained a hidden tethering app that would allow your computer to connect to the Internet over your phone, a privilege that normally requires a $20 monthly payment to AT&T. While the app somehow made it through the inspectors at Apple, once word got out, it was gone. More »
Hardcover books have a lot going against them — they're expensive, often unwieldy, easily damaged. And now Amazon.com, which first made its name by selling books at deep discounts online, says it sells significantly more titles for its Kindle e-reader than it does in hardcover. More »
Don was robbed by a thief who went on a $200 iTunes spree. Determined not to let something like this happen again, he called Apple's customer service, which took days to respond before giving him no useful help. More »
When Steve Jobs says Apple, Inc. is going to "work our butts off" to solve the antenna problems on the iPhone 4, what he really means is... engineer slumber party! Bloomberg reports that Apple has moved cots into the engineering department, and cars have been in the parking lot overnight as the employees work on a fix. More »
Yesterday, our more studious siblings at Consumer Reports made some headlines when they said they couldn't recommend the iPhone 4 after lab tests confirmed reports that the device could lose its signal merely by being touched in one specific spot. As a quick-fix remedy, CR threw out the idea of using non-conductive tape like duct or electrical tape to cover the contact point. But we think there are some more creative ideas. More »
It would appear that Apple is unhappy with yesterday's bad news from Consumer Reports over the iPhone 4. Hmm, or maybe it just looks that way due to a goofy software glitch. At any rate, CNET is reporting that the company's forum moderators are deleting any mention of Consumer Reports' findings that the antenna issue is an inherent design flaw, and not just a software issue. But maybe that's for CR's own benefit as well, since CNET says many of the posts were from iPhone 4 fans who were "vehemently" defending the phone. More »
As we wrote last weekend, the tech types over at Consumer Reports had done some preliminary tests demonstrating that the reception on the new iPhone 4 dropped significantly when touched on a certain part of the device. Now, after more rigorous inspection, CR has announced that — in spite of the iPhone 4's many positives — they just can't recommend it right now. More »
If you were one of the early adopters for the Apple Time Capsule back in 2008 and yours won't power up, you might be able to get it repaired or replaced for free, or get a refund for repairs you already paid for, reports TUAW. To see if you've got a recalled model, look for a serial number between XX807XXXXXX and XX814XXXXXX. More »
Three years after the first lawsuits were filed against Apple and AT&T alleging the two companies of antitrust violation, a judge in California has given the green light to consolidate several of the cases into a single class action suit. More »
Good news for fans of Apple in China, as the company has added a huge flagship store in Shanghai to the one they opened in Beijing in 2008. And this second variation on the Apple retail theme is apparently a store of an entirely different color. And by color, we mean, it sounds super crazy cool. More »
An AT&T insider sent Boy Genius Report these pictures of an iPhone 4 that burst into flames after a customer tried to hook it up to his computer. More »
While iTunes users were barbecuing and preparing for fireworks this weekend, hackers smoked their accounts, buying apps with stolen money to drive specific apps up the sales charts. More »
In "informal tests" this weekend, Consumer Reports has been able to "reproduce the signal loss that's at the heart of the controversy" over the iPhone 4. And, no, it wasn't just an inaccurate bar display, as Apple recently claimed. "The drop had a significant effect on both call success and quality," according to CR. More »
While Vince "ShamWow" Shlomi might think slicing cheese with an Eminem CD is the ultimate in repurposed tech, MacForce has one-upped him big time. The tech consulting company is out with a video demonstrating how the Apple PowerMac G5, launched in 2003 as a $2,000 workhorse computer, is now better suited to working as a humble cheese grater. More »
The iPhone 4 seems to have a problem with bars. First, the prototype for the Apple smartphone got left in one by a careless engineer, and now the new iPhone apparently has trouble displaying an appropriate number of bars to accurately depict its signal strength. Maybe the phone and the engineers need to find other places to hang out. More »
Those "death grip" antenna problems in the new iPhone? There's an app for that. As in job application. Apple has posted some ads on the company web site for "Antenna Engineer(s) - iPad/iPhone." Candidates will be expected to "create test plans, execute them, publish test reports, provide feedback to the other design engineers, and lead some of the manufacturing of antenna." Does this mean nobody was doing this before? Or that Steve executed his own death grip on the previous holder of this position? More »
What Pixar needs to do is make a movie called iPhone Story, about what your outmoded past iPhones do when you're not looking and how they react to the annual, Buzz Lightyear-like newcomers. More »
Ryan writes that an Apple retail store's Genius declared his MacBook Pro dead: the required logic board replacement would have cost more than a new computer. So Ryan moved on, and sold his old MacBook for parts. Only it turned out that the Genius misdiagnosed Ryan's computer. The logic board was fine, and the real cause of his computer's failure was an inexpensive-to-replace bad stick of RAM. Ryan dropped two grand on a new computer for no reason. More »
Playing like a polite re-enactment of a gadget blog comments section flame war, two Consumer Reports journalists pit the features of the iPhone 4 against the new Droid X in this video thunderdome. Who will win? Will the iPhone's Retina blind the Droid's amber oculus? Or will the Droid's tapered top-knob bash the iPhone into shards? "Two phones enter... one phone leaves..." More »
Forget about the Nicolas Cage movie Gone in 60 Seconds. A pair of swift-moving Arizona bandits made off with $9,400 in Apple Store goods in the time it takes your iTunes to boot up. More »
The Verizon iPhone is turning into the telecom equivalent of a Jen Aniston baby, as rumors continue to abound regarding when — or even if — Big V will be the first U.S. mobile carrier to break AT&T's stronghold on the popular smartphone. The latest rumor to be put through the mill comes from BusinessWeek, who say that Verizon customers will have a very iPhone New Year. More »
Nokia takes the piss out of iPhone 4 in a new blog post that asks, "How do you hold your Nokia?" One of the problems with the new iPhone 4 is that if your hands are sweaty and you grip it holding the antenna band it loses reception. A Nokia, the blog says, can be held by the thumb and finger, by balancing it, cupping it, or the four edge grip. Or really any grip at all. More »
Valleywag says the same firm that sued sued Facebook and Zynga over "scammy gaming ads" is looking to take the fight to Apple over its iPhone 4 antenna problems. More »
Apple spotted Jason Bateman toiling in line for an iPhone 4 with 2,000 others Thursday, so it picked him out of the crowd and shuttled him into an invisible express lane that exists only for people who have been in such awesome things as Arrested Development and Up in the Air. More »
Apple has a message for you if you notice problems with the reception on your shiny new iPhone 4. The problem isn't the phone—it's you. If you hold your phone so that your gubby little hands bridge the metal antenna bars that wrap around the phone, the signal will suck more than usual. Apple's high-tech solution: don't hold it that way. More »
Consumer Reports sent their intrepid shoppers to wait on line for the iPhone 4 Thursday morning, and rushed the new models back to their labs. Their initial assessment: "Based on the first few hours of using this fourth-generation Apple smart phone, it’s the best iPhone yet." More »
Conde Nast announced plans to bring back the shuttered Gourmet Magazine as a free iPad app that gets users to pay for free stuff along the way with virtual currency, Farmville style. More »
BillShrink compared the new iPhone 4 to the Droid Incredible, the Evo 4G, and the Nexus One to see which one is the cheapest in total cost of ownership, and the results were somewhat surprising given the iPhone's reputation as a money gobbler. If you opt for the cheapest data plan AT&T offers, the TCO for the iPhone 4 is the only one of the four devices that comes in under the $2,000 mark. But beware! That "cheapest data plan" conditional is a pretty tricky one. More »
Not content with being in the search engine, browser, advertising and operating systems business, it looks like the bean bag-loving people at Google have their hungry eyes set on the music industry. A new report claims the internet giant plans to launch its own music download service in the coming months. More »
If you don't want Apple collecting data on you and using it to target you with ads starting July 1st, you can opt out from "any device running iOS 4," says AppleInsider. The opt-out is automatic when you hit up http://oo.apple.com from an iOS 4 device, and as far as I can tell you can't undo it, so don't click the link unless you really want to opt out. Also, it's not working at the moment. More »
Apple updated its privacy policy today, with an important, and dare we say creepy new paragraph about location information. If you agree to the changes, (which you must do in order to download anything via the iTunes store) you agree to let Apple collect store and share "precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device." More »
UPDATE: It's here. Plug your iPhone into your computer and fire up the iTunes. As even those who live in remote fishing villages probably know, today Apple is set to drop iOS4 on the streets. It's the operating system that the iPhone4 ships with, but owners of previous generation phones will be able to upgrade to it and enjoy some of the same benefits. A friend of mine who tried it out by installing iOS 4.0 developer's beta said, More »
Tyler tells Consumerist that he and his family, like every other person in the United States (or so it seems) tried to pre-order the iPhone 4. Since they were ordering three phones for their small business, they dealt with the business sales department over the phone. Their order went through: and then everything went horribly, horribly wrong and the entire iPhone pre-order system went down in flames. Now Tyler and family's order has been pushed back, and now their order now comes after those placed after their call. More »
If you were hoping to pre-order the iPhone 4 through AT&T's website today, you're out of luck. A visit to the wireless giant's pre-order site for the latest Apple super-phone gives you the terse note that "Pre-orders for iPhone temporarily suspended." More »
If you watch ABC's shows online or with an iPad, your limited commercial interruptions are about to get a little less limited. So far, most of ABC's streaming shows contain 5 to 6 ads of 30 seconds each, but mocoNews says one of ABC's executives just confirmed that the network is going to double that ad load, perhaps leading the way for other networks to do the same. More »
AT&T knows it needs to step up if it wants to be taken seriously these days as a wireless provider, so it's been beefing up 3G coverage, rejiggering data plans, and of course ramping up the speed at which it leaks your private data to strangers. In fact, according to multiple reports from AT&T customers, the company has managed to pull off the neat trick of logging customers in to strangers' accounts today during the iPhone 4 pre-order fiesta. See? You no longer have to wait until you've got the device in hand to worry about privacy issues. More »
Today is the first day you can pre-order an iPhone 4, and would-be shoppers have created long lines, both in front of Apple brick and mortar stores, and - online? More »
Christopher plans to upgrade to the iPhone 4 and get rid of the deadweight that is his current phone. His requirement is that he not be murdered, attacked or fleeced during this transfer of property, so he's asking for your tips on how to protect himself during the process. More »
Goatse Security, thewhite-hat hackers that exposed the iPad's problems keeping email addresses under wraps, is back with a warning about additional risks to owners of the tablet. And they're also more than a little peeved that AT&T called them "malicious" in yesterday's apology to customers. "When we disclosed this, we did it as a service to our nation. We love America and the idea of the Russians or Chinese being able to subvert American infrastructure is a nightmare," Goatse's Escher Auernheimer said. More »
Surely you remember last week, when a security breach exposed the e-mail addresses of 114,000 owners of Apple iPads. Well, it took a few days, but AT&T finally got around to the point in the "taking it seriously" grieving process called "sort of admitting responsibility and promising not to do it again." More »
Globe-trotting movie blogger Jeffrey Wells describes how he carefully negotiated his iPhone data plans as he hit the Cannes film festival, but was humbled by a $3,200 bill when all was said and done. The grizzled writer half expected the nonsense and calmly talked AT&T down from the ridiculous demand. More »
On the hunt for the best iPhone 4 plan price he could find, Josh says he found plans to be much cheaper on the AT&T site than through Apple. Unless his findings were some sort of fluke it seems like a no-brainer that prospective customers should visit the former rather than the latter. More »
Some early iPad adopters got a special bonus prize for buying a device that's sure to be replaced with a vastly superior model a year from now — a data breach in which hackers unearthed account info from 114,000 users, including newscaster Diane Sawyer, New York mayor Michael Bloomerg and movie kingpin Harvey Weinstein. More »
Say you've got one of the 1st gen iPhones that operates on the EDGE network, and you want to upgrade to that fancy new model that was just announced. Can your unlimited data plan be grandfathered even though it was never 3G? That's what Consumerist reader and 1st gen iPhone owner thecrazypnut wanted to know, so he contacted AT&T for an answer. More »
Update: Apple apparently realized that losing 30% of revenue on sales of the Pulse News Reader wasn't worth playing along with the Times' weirdness, and put the app back up for sale before the end of the day—with the newspaper's feed still included as a default. More »
Jane Lynch is a funny woman, so even though a parody of the iconic (and now dead) Mac vs. PC ads is a little tired, it's fun to see her going all Sue Sylvester on the iPhone 4. If you enjoy spoofs of ads and want to see why Jane Lynch dislikes Gizmodo as much as Steve Jobs, take a look. More »
While Monday was a joyous one for iPhone geeks eager to re-up their AT&T contracts to nab an iPhone 4, it was a sad day in Mudville for Verizon folk who feel they were left at the altar with no announcement that they too could partake in its wonders. But the wait for the device, or one like it, on Verizon may not be all that far off. More »
Why did Apple come up with iAds, the company's new platform for mobile advertising? It had nothing to do with the $60 million Apple has already taken in from companies like Nissan, GE and Best Buy. And it apparently didn't have anything to do with Apple's plans to control nearly half of the market for mobile ads. No, the real reason is simple. As CEO Steve Jobs explained it today, Apple created iAds "for one simple reason: to help our developers earn money so they can continue to create free and low-cost apps for users." More »
Back in April, Apple and Netflix ticked off a vocal handful of iPhone owners by deciding to launch the first mobile version of the video service's streaming videos on the then-untested iPad. But at today's much ballyhooed new iPhone announcement, Apple's Chief Executive Guru Steve Jobs was happy to let everyone know that Netflix is coming to the iPhone. More »
AT&T customers Many AT&T customers who weren't eligible for iPhone upgrades until later this year, and would have had to pay the full, non-subsidized price, or an early termination fee, have now had their dates bumped up to June. More »
Even though I'm not quite sure why someone would want to spend so much money on one, it is a fact that millions of people want to get their hands on an iPad, if only just to test it out. And that appears to be the problem, with a new NY Daily News investigation turning up some icky results from swab tests on the handheld devices. More »
AT&T has officially delivered on the threats made by its consumer business director Ralph de la Vega last December: it's switching to usage-based pricing on data plans for smartphones and the iPad. Starting Monday, all new AT&T customers who buy an iPad, iPhone, Blackberry or other smartphone and purchase the necessary data plan will have two options: $25 for 2 gigabytes, or $15 for 200 megabytes. More »
The same weekend that eager European, Aussie and Canadian customers were finally able to get their hands on Apple's iPad tablet thingy, the company announced that it had sold 2 million of the portable devices since its launch in early April. More »
Lastmonth, InformationWeek filed a Freedom of Information request with the FCC and the FTC for complaints made about the iPhone in the past year. Although the breakdown of complaints is interesting, what I found most striking was that in a nation of over 11 million iPhone owners, less than 600 complaints were filed in the past 14 months*, and some of those were for other Apple products. If you have a legitimate grievance with a company, you might have a much better chance of being heard by the FCC or FTC than you think. More »
After decades playing second (and often times third or fourth) fiddle to Microsoft, Apple finally moved to the head of the class yesterday, passing the software behemoth to become the most valuable tech company in the world. More »
Police in Oregon say a trigger-happy man who witnessed an iPhone mugging shot at the thieves' getaway car as the got away. Being that life is not Grand Theft Auto IV, the cops busted the guy. More »
The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Apple, to determine whether the company used its position as the nation's largest music retailer to unfairly influence music labels. Apple allegedly told labels not to offer exclusives to Amazon.com, and punished those that didn't comply by dropping marketing support on iTunes. More »
When the Yankees lost two out of three games to the Mets last week at New York's Citi Field, iPad owners could have tweeted about it, watched replay videos or switched to another game (an option many Yankee fans would have liked) using the device's big, bright screen. When the two teams have their rematch next month at Yankee Stadium, iPadders will have to settle for an iPhone or other small-screen device; iPads are welcome at Citi Field, but have been declared off-limits at the House That George Built. More »
Walmart has dropped the price of the iPhone 3GS to $97, which is $2 less than Apple charges for the older 3G model. The move has fueled speculation that Apple plans to announce the next-generation iPhone at its developers conference next month. They may as well. It's not like anybody's going to be surprised to see it. More »
Apple has finally caught on to something many of us have known for years: John Hodgman's befuddled "PC" is far more appealing than Justin Long's smug "Mac," so the "I'm a Mac" ads aren't really very effective at converting PC-users to Mac fans. Well. maybe that's not the official reason, but the company is still killing the long-running campaign
The ads have already been removed from Apple's site, and have been replaced by the company's "Why you'll love a Mac" promos. Last month, Justin Long signaled the end when he told an interviewer: "You know, I think they might be done. In fact, I heard from John, I think they’re going to move on." More »
Having cold feet with your iPhone will cost you $325 starting June 1. AT&T is increasing the fee for breaking early two-year smartphone contracts from $199. The carrier is also decreasing the early termination fee for "dumb" phones by $25 to $150. [AP] (Thanks to Jim!)More »
A day after refusing to take cash from a customer who wanted to purchase an iPad, Apple has reversed course and is now willing to accept Federal Reserve Notes backed by the U.S. government. "We want to make sure it's as fair as possible for people to get iPads," said Apple Sr. Vice President Ron Johnson. More »
If you're saving up to buy an iPad, don't do it by sticking your spare cash into an envelope. (Or a sock, for that matter.) As a woman in Palo Alto, Calif. learned, the same "credit or debit cards only" policy that Apple put in place to prevent rampant reselling of iPhones exists for iPads, and no stack of bills can be exchanged for the shiny gadget. More »
So, you bought a house right before the property bubble burst? Got out of gold a year ago? Invested in Pets.com back in the 90s? Well, guess what? No matter how many dumb investment decisions you've made, they likely pale next to a little mistake Steve Jobs made a few years ago, which cost him about $10 billion. Ain't schadenfreude grand? More »
The one thing the recession has taught me is that if you've got money, might as well burn it! And what better way to treat yourself to a little bit of luxury than with a $190,000 solid gold, diamond encrusted iPad? More »
This minute's latest rumor is that the can you hear me now guy could be put to work testing iPhones soon. DigiTimes reports that Apple has placed an order with Taiwan-based Pegatron for CDMA iPhone that could reach up to 10 million units. CDMA devices don't work on AT&T's GSM network. Verizon's network is CDMA. More »
Apple has kept a tight grip on iPad sales outlets so far, offering it only at Apple Stores, certain Best Buys and Apple Specialist shops. Bloomberg reports that may be changing later this year, with Walmart getting in on the hot supersized iPod Touch action. More »
Two weeks after Apple CEO Steve Jobs published his anti-Flash manifesto, Adobe — which makes the rich media software — has hit back. But instead of just sending out an anti-Apple rant, Adobe blows a kiss at the company, before scolding companies like Apple that "put content and applications behind walls" and "dictate what you can create, how you create it, or what you can experience on the web." Oh, and Adobe also thinks that black turtlenecks are evil. More »
San Diego Padres pitcher Tim Stauffer added a twist to the belief that Apples are good for your health, using his iPhone in his hotel room to look up his symptoms on a medical site and correctly deducing he had appendicitis, ESPN reports.More »
Despite rumors that Apple's iPhone would soon be available on carriers other than AT&T, recently unearthed documents paint a different picture: they apparently confirm that AT&T and Apple signed a five-year exclusive deal in 2007, which means no Verizon version until at least 2012. More »
Bill is understandably terrified of the Square app, which lets devices with audio input jacks and online connectivity accept credit card payments. That means iPhones, Droids and what have you are every bit as equipped to siphon money out of your accounts as crusty convenience store clerks with cash registers. More »
I guess Apple products aren't idiot-proof after all. We have found your idiot nonpareil. There is a man in San Fran who needs help using Apple products. He is wiling to pay $200 an hour. This is his NSFW Craigsist ad/rant about how he is too busy to figure out how to get his credit card number from auto-populating when his kids buy stuff on iTunes, but has enough time for you to come over to his house and teach him how to use his devices. More »
Netbook sales growth has slowed down! Apple has sold a million iPads! Quick, someone make a chart and prove that there's a causal relationship between the two facts.
That's essentially what Morgan Stanley did this week, and many media outlets picked it up as gospel. But there's no real evidence that the iPad has had any significant effect on netbook demand. More »
When AT&T and Apple announced an optional "unlimited" iPad 3G data plan for $29.99 a month, skeptics assumed that it would come with all sorts of fine print and caveats designed to introduce some limits and block "data hogs" from eating up all of AT&T's bandwidth. However, as one "torture test" confirms, the plan really does appear to be unlimited, which should be great news for early adopters who plan to use their iPads for Netflix or other streaming video services. More »
Early adopters of the iPad 3G were miffed that they couldn't stream ABC shows over the network for which they're shelling out a monthly fee. ABC informed iPadders they could only use a Wi-Fi connection to catch up on Lost. Engadget reports that ABC has issued a fix for its ABC Player app, and now all is well in the land of iPadia. More »
When Apple announced its iAd mobile ad platform a few weeks ago, speculation was high that the company would soon dominate mobile advertising, and drive consumers to new levels of frustration with endless ads populating the iPhone and other devices. However, that may not exactly happen, for at least one reason: The $1 million cost of entry for advertisers. More »
Jealous of all of those Apple fans who are getting random email messages from CEO Steve Jobs? Now there's no reason to wait around for him to contact you. Just use the Steve Jobs E-Mail Reply Generator, and you too can be the proud owner of a terse, Steve-esque one-liner like "No," "Nope" and "If you want porn, get an Android phone." More »
The 21-year-old California man who found a prototype iPhone and then sold it to gadget site Gizmodo.com says he now regrets not attempting to return the phone to its rightful owner. More »
It's official, Apple is shutting down Lala.com, a streaming service where users could pay for the rights to steam songs or buy and download them. After May 31, 2010, however, the web music will stop streaming and customers will be given iTunes credit. More »
For five years, the people at BrandZ (you know they're in branding because of the "Z") have been evaluating customer opinion and awareness of various global brands, and then putting a dollar value on that evaluation for their annual Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report. Here are the top 10 brands on the BrandZ list. More »
Two employees at the Sprint outlet at Cherry Creek Shopping Center, where that iPad customer had his pinkie ripped off by a criminal earlier this month, were fired for chasing down and holding a different shoplifter one day later. More »
Miriam says her boss had her skin blistered by a MacBook. Apparently the computer ran hot, but not uncomfortably so. The next thing the MacBook attack victim knew her skin, pictured, was blistered. More »
Police on Friday seized several computers from the home of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen, after they were granted a warrant allowing them to confiscate property that "may have been used as the means of committing a felony." The warrant specifically mentions that officials are looking for information about the iPhone 4G, a prototype of which Gizmodo obtained from a source who found it after an Apple engineer left it behind in a bar.
Update: The case is reportedly on hold as the San Mateo County District Attorney's office reviews Gizmodo's shield law defense. According to one report, Chen's computers haven't been examined yet, and won't be until after the DA completes the review. (Thanks, GetEmSteveDave!) More »
There have been a lot of boneheaded business decisions over the years, but the folks over at MSN seem to think they've distilled it down to an elite 8 of nearsighted, addle-brained, wrong-minded missteps. See if you agree. More »
Apple fans boast of the company's hardware and software reliability, but product performance has got nothing on Apple's ability to rock the stock market. According to KyleConroy, it would have been much smarter to have invested in Apple stock rather than computers. More »
This guy has hacked his iPhone so it runs Android. In fact, he can choose to run either the iPhone OS or Android. It only works on the original 2G iPhone and it's a little buggy, and not recommended that casual users try it, but the future could hold implementations on the 3G and 3Gs. Apple's secret garden just got further pried open. More »
A Colorado man has suffered permanent damage to his hand after a robber made off with the victim's new iPad, and a good chunk of his pinky finger. More »
Gizmodo snagged a prototype of what is almost certainly Apple's next iteration of the iPhone, which an Apple software engineer lost at a bar. The site analyzed the phone and broke it down, but parent company Gawker may now face some legal hot water for trafficking in stolen property, having paid a thief $5,000 for the phone. More »
The Augmented Driving iPhone app turns your car into a fighter jet. Mount your iPhone on the dash and launch the program and it starts tracking the cars around you, warning with an annoying voice if you get too close and showing you your lane so you don't drift. Could come in handy for long road trips, as would staying alert and pulling off to a rest stop and taking a nap if you get tired. Only, don't get so fascinated by playing with your driving app that you get into an accident. Even though it looks like a video game, there's no replays. Here's a demo so you can scoff or fawn for yourself: More »
Apple has banned a blogger from buying any more iPads. Ever. Like, for the rest of his life, he is not allowed to buy a single one. He will die an old man, still clutching the same iPad, forbidden from ever upgrading. Porkay? More »
This one should be very interesting, as perennial WCIA fave Comcast — who has stomped on DirecTV and United Airlines in earlier rounds — faces off against this year's giant killer, Apple. The iCompany has gone all Little Mac on both Microsoft and AT&T, but will they be able to get in the right punches to beat the Philadelphia Kid? More »
Four months after Apple said no to an iPhone app from Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist Mark Fiore, the computer company is feeling the blowback from negative publicity and has asked him to resubmit his application. More »
Before you board that plane to Tel Aviv with your snazzy new iPad, you should know that your shiny tablet-y thing will be confiscated by Israeli customs officials because Israel officials have yet to give the device their stamp of approval. More »
Fanboys and girls around the world will have to put up with their regular-size iPod Touches for a few extra weeks — Apple has announced that they're delaying the non-U.S. release of the iPad for a month. More »
If all this iPad iPad iPad Apple Apple Apple gyrating has got you hot and bothered for an iPhone, take a deep breath and calm down. Now is probably the worst time to take the plunge, notes The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Historically, mid-summer is when Apple ugprades the hardware, so if you wait a couple of months you might be able to get a faster or more feature-rich iPhone for the same cash you'd be shelling out today. More »
If the 9-inch iPad is an enormous iPod touch, what does that make the rumored 7-inch version? An iPad mini? The iPad Portable? Or maybe just the product Apple should have made in the first place, since it will come at a lower price point and won't require a special jacket just to carry it. More »
Hey world: Don't leave yourself logged in to a display product at Best Buy! One Consumerist reader found someone logged in to a display iPad at Best Buy and emailed them and us from the logged in account. More »
People can steal your iPhone, but if you've got the Mobile Me app, you'll be able to track it down. Florida police used the feature to track down a swiped iPhone and other stoolen goods, First Coast News reports. More »
We have a hunch that your feelings on the iPhone are going to be a big factor in how you vote in this battle. On one hand, there's the mobile carrier who has a monopoly on the iPhone. On the other hand, there's the company that is raking in the money through its iPhone app store monopoly. What's a fanboy to do? More »
Apple honcho Steve Jobs today unveiled the latest version of the company's iPhone operating system software, which adds long-awaited multitasking functions, so that you can finally listen to Pandora and check email at the same time. The new OS will also include the iPad's iBooks app and an email app that will let you manage multiple accounts from a single inbox. What's missing? Java and Flash are still no-shows. And don't expect a porn store anytime soon. "There’s a porn store for Android," Jobs said in response to a question about opening the App Store to unsanctioned products."You can download it, your kids can download it. That’s a place we don’t want to go, so we’re not going to." More »
The iPad has replaced the borrowed puppy as the lure of choice for bachelors on the make. Jim Colgan from The Takeaway took the latest Apple gadget out for some field testing and found himself besieged with admirers. Ok, really they were admiring the new tablet, but some of that adoration washed over on to its owner. To wit: "two women emerged from behind him and screamed and pointed. They all wanted a go." Here is the recording of different reactions to the iPad on the streets of New York, recorded using an iPad: More »
Reid's story of iPad frustration isn't worthy of an Executive Email Carpet Bomb, but it's pertinent for those who expect to rip the device out of the box and start iPadding. He says the device requires you to hook it up to iTunes for activation. Because Reid couldn't get to a computer with iTunes, he had to wait longer to get rolling. This is the kind of user-unfriendliness that has landed Apple in the Worst Company in America Sweet 16. More »
The rumor winds have been stirring for months about AT&T seeing an end to its iPhone monopoly with Apple set to launch a model that could work on Verizon's network. Today, Verizon's CEO would only admit that his company has expressed an interest in being able to offer the iPhone to its customers. More »
Endgadget compares and contrasts some of the most visible newspaper and magazine iPad apps. The rundown: The New York Times sets the industry standard, the Wall Street Journal is slick but expensive, the Associated Press is clunky but free and USA Today is crash prone. More »
What would you think if this happened to you? This guy, Owen JJ Stone, says he walked into the Apple Store to get a laptop, and when he asked for a specific model, security went on lockdown. People were touching their ears, saying code words, and blocking the exits. More »
Like a few hundred thousand other people this weekend, our early adopting kin over at Consumer Reports got their hands on the iPad. And being the science-minded people that they are, they rushed right into the testing lab to begin running the device through its paces. More »
In tests done earlier today, Consumer Reports learned that the iPad's included USB cable won't charge the device when it's plugged into a Windows computer or some Mac peripherals. And Apple support personnel contacted by Consumer Reports confirmed that the only official way to charge the device is via AC outlets. Too bad this advice didn't make it into the quick-start instructions included with each iPad. More »
Frederick tells Consumerist that he had an interesting dilemma yesterday. Another member of his household ordered an iPad, which showed up yesterday due to an error on UPS's part. He accepted the package, then gave it back when the driver returned 45 minutes later, explaining that the delivery was a mistake. Would you have given it back? More »
You don't have to go very far to find plenty of videos of iPads being unboxed. But if you want to see an iPad in a boxing match with an Amazon Kindle, there's only one place to go: the streets of New York, where these two dudes battled it out to entertain the masses waiting outside the Apple Store (and promote electronics recycling business YouRenew). The winner? The guy in the Pink Floyd shirt, who managed to get himself into every shot. More »
We didn't pre-order an iPad and we probably won't be hitting up the Apple store or Best Buy to get one this weekend. But we know at least a few of you will have your hands on an iPad and we want to hear your first impressions. More »
In what we can only assume is a bid to make sure you don't spend too much time thinking about the fact that you just spent between $50,000 to $60,000 on a Hyundai, the new luxury Hyundai Equus will have an iPad as a manual. More »
After speculation in recent days that Netflix would be launching an application that would allow people to watch movies on the new Apple iPad, the video delivery service confirmed the news this morning and the app is now available through the iTunes store. More »
At $499, the iPad may sound like an almost, maybe, sorta okay deal. But add extra memory, 3G, a few choice accessories like a keyboard ($69), USB power cord ($29) and a case ($39), and you're up in MacBook territory. Jeff Fox of Consumer Reports tallies up his expenditures and comes up with a way to justify the purchase to his wife: it's his birthday — almost. More »
It's time for these two foes to step into the Red Ring of Death. Will Microsoft's trail of dead Xboxes and too-late knockoffs of iPods and iPhones be enough to get them past Apple, the company that charges you $499 for an oversized iPod Touch and then only lets you use software they approve and sell to you? More »
Karen says Apple is shocking her. Not with their innovative product design, but literally, her 2004ish 17" Macbook Pro is shooting electricity into her arms. "We’re not talking, little static shocks," Karen writes, presumably, using the selfsame laptop, "these are fully legitly painful shocks." More »
Following up on yesterday's news that Apple is preparing to start production on Verizon-compatible iPhones, the Wall Street Journal now says that AT&T has been working since December to improve their existing networks to remain competitive when the inevitable battle for iPhone market share begins. More »
Less than a month after Apple filed a lawsuit against phone maker HTC over allegations of patent infringement related to Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad devices, the computer company finds itself the target of a similar lawsuit by a a Taiwanese company that claims Apple is using their touch-screen patents without permission. More »
One of the cool things about the iPhone ecosystem is there are nearly 17 quintillion apps available for it, and although many of these are crap, the good ones frequently cost only a dollar or two. Even the premium-priced "productivity" apps—things like note pads and to-do lists—rarely cross the $10 threshhold, which means you can load up your iPhone or Touch with a lot of cool stuff on a modest software budget. But if a leaked video of the iPad app store is accurate, you can expect to pay 200-500% more for simple things like 99-cent games, and PC-level prices for more robust apps, on your fancy new iPad. More »
Reader photoguy622 wants to let us know that our article helped him get some money from Apple for his broken hard drive. He'd fixed it himself, but Apple has a free repair program he didn't know about. More »
It's been rumored for months that Apple iPhones would soon be able to be used on U.S. mobile networks other than AT&T, and a new report says the company is finally set to begin mass production on the phones as early as September. More »
It's not often that a retail store becomes an icon even before it opens for business, but Apple managed to pull off this weird architectural/cultural feat with its glass box Apple store in NYC in 2006—it's the 5th most photographed landmark in the city and 28th worldwide according to a new study of Flickr images. The man who designed it, 70-year-old Peter Bohlin, has been awarded the 2010 gold medal from the American Institute of Architects for his entire body of work, and he doesn't like computers and had never designed a retail environment before the Apple store. More »
The wunderiPhone can be more like a shiny brick of strife, especially for urban dwellers who want to do futuristic activities like make and receive calls and text messages. That's because all your fellow connectivity addicts have saturated AT&T's network. I know people who have had to, on repeated occasions, on a clear night in Manhattan, resort to payphones because of this. But wait, there's a solution! More »
We guess early birds truly do get the worm. Or at least they get to be the first ones to get their hands on their biggie-sized iPod Touches. Apple announced over the weekend that they've sold out of their first run of iPads and some folks won't be getting their pre-ordered tablet thingies until after April 12, a full 9 days after the initial release date. More »
Apple's full-color iPad tablet thingy is set to launch in the coming weeks and it's predicted that the device will eat away at the huge e-book market share enjoyed by Amazon's Kindle e-readers. Among the knocks against Kindles by some has been that their E Ink display — while much easier on the eyes than a traditional backlit screen — does not display color images, text or video. But that may change in the next year. More »
Because nothing says "Happy Anniversary" or "Congrats on the new baby" like an iPhone app, Apple has recently added the Give a Gift feature to their App Store. More »
Are you excited about the launch of the iPad? Do you like cheese? Take your brand loyalty to new and disturbing levels by sculpting the head of Steve Jobs in cheese. Cheese Steve is made out of mozzarella, black pepper, and my nightmares. It's odd to celebrate the iconic CEO of a company by sculpting what looks like his embalmed corpse in soft cheese. More »
Until now, if a Mac owner wanted to read a Kindle e-book on his computer, they were out of luck (or used something like Parallels and had the Kindle for PC app running on Windows). But that all ended today, with the release of Kindle for Mac. More »
The Bedometer iPhone App tracks the amount of calories you burn during sex, according to The Sun. You just place it on the bed when things start to get freaky, try not to get so wild that the iPhone falls off or gets submerged in fluids and then check the device to see whether or not you burned off that bagel. More »
If you pre-ordered a WiFi iPad and you were hoping to use one of those snazzy keyboard/charger/display stands Apple showed off at the January unveiling, you're going to have to wait a few extra weeks, as it's one of a few iPad accessories that won't be available until after the April 3 ship date for the plus-sized iPod Touches. More »
If you're an iPhone user and received an email from the Rhapsody music-subscription service today, you got to check out a video demo of the service's upcoming music-download tool. That is, unless you check your email on your iPhone. Turns out the video, on Rhapsody's Facebook page, is in Flash, which iPhones don't support. But all is not lost, iPhone users! We've embedded the video here, and through the magic of not being on Facebook (or something like that), we got it to work. So, go ahead, Consumerist Mobile readers! Click away, and watch the video that Rhapsody kinda, sorta, maybe, wants you to see. More »
Since Apple's iPad, just like their iPod and iPhone products, doesn't have a battery that can be replaced — at least without voiding your warranty — the company has said that, if your battery dies, they'll give you a replacement iPad... for a service fee of $99. More »
Consumerist reader Victor has had a few — five, to be precise — problems with his Macbook Pro in the last few months. According to him, he's had the hard drive replaced four separate times and also had his entire laptop replaced, only to have that hard drive die on him too. So Victor wrote Mr. Apple himself, Steve Jobs, and copied Consumerist on the letter. More »
There are several apps on the Apple app store that help consumers track sales and free offers from developers, but you have to launch them and check in regularly. The website App Spy offers an automated price tracker for games (just games, unfortunately) that will send you an email whenever a price threshhold is reached. If you tend to be an app junkie, it can help save you money by letting you get your fix on the cheap good stuff. More »
Apple opened the doors on iPad pre-orders as of a few minutes ago. Git 'em while they're hot! Or not, and wait for the inevitable first-generation bugs to get worked out and feeding frenzy to fade. Should you buy? Which kind do you get? Sister Consumer Reports Electronics Blog has the breakdown. Take our poll as to whether you're getting with the craze or staying out of the race. More »
The story — TV star stands accused of going nuts on a store employee — is something straight out of any one of the numerous Law & Order shows on NBC. But this time it's real, and the actor in question is Richard Belzer, long-time co-star on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. More »
Replacing an iPhone is expensive, which is why this guy decided to buy a heavily used and damaged one and clean it up himself. You might find the screen replacement side too daunting, but the procedure for turning a dull, scratched case into a glossy smooth one is something pretty much anyone can do. More »
Anyone who currently owns an iPhone and was hoping they would be able to use it as a mobile web access point for a WiFi iPad got some bad news today, as Apple's turtleneck-in-charge Steve Jobs has reportedly said this will not happen. More »
It's been rumored for weeks, but finally confirmed today that Steam, the hugely popular gaming service for PC users, will indeed be available for use on Macs starting in May. More »
A new iPhone App, Comcast Mobile, gives Comcast customers the same ability as DirecTV users to program their DVRs on the go, High-Def Digest reports: More »
The High Definite spotted these signs in Baltimore. Since the device in question, the iPod Touch, costs $200 on the low end, there's plenty of room for higher bidding. More »
For those of you whose iPod Touches just aren't big enough, Apple has finally announced the pre-order and on-sale dates for one version of its much hyped iPad tablet thingamajig. More »
Taking a page right out of the screenplay for the 1996 Tom Cruise hit Mission: Impossible, some nimble crooks managed to descend from the ceiling of a Best Buy in New Jersey and help themselves to a $26,000 jackpot of Apple laptops — without ever touching the floor. More »
Looks like the potential for Amazon's mp3 store might have some at Apple's iTunes store a little worried. A new report claims that iTunes has been using its leverage to keep the record labels from making potentially high-profile deals with Amazon. More »
In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone, and the world exploded. In 2010, just moments after the world had reformed, Apple introduced the iPad, and the world exploded again. What will happen in 2012 and 2014? This chart attempts to explain. More »
Apple has always positioned itself as the computer and electronics brand of the hip and young — and it looks like they extended that ethos to their overseas manufacturing. The iCompany has issued an "oops" on its Web site, admitting that underage workers were employed in three different Apple-affiliated plants last year. More »
There are a lot of people who don't like the name of the iPad, Apple's upcoming device that will save the news industry, destroy the nettop market, cure cancer, and save the princess. This is because the name makes them think of feminine hygiene products. An Etsy seller took the product's name as inspiration, and has produced the iMaxi: a handmade, utilitarian case designed to protect your iPad and look exactly like a gigantic menstrual pad.More »
You should be backing up the data you keep on your laptop in case of hardware failure, theft, or an unexpected cup of coffee on your keyboard. This bit of common computer sense has a bit more urgency if you own certain MacBooks sold in 2006 and 2007, since their hard drives may fail suddenly with no notice. Fortunately, Apple has a free repair program: but only until the computer is (at most) four years old, and only once your hard drive has already failed. More »
Consumerist reader Aaron wrote in to share his experience of attempting to get a service credit from AT&T Wireless after experience a data outage on his iPhone. On one hand, he was successful in getting some money back. On the other hand, he probably spent more money getting the credit than he received. More »
When Apple launched their much-hyped iPad device a few weeks ago, the first thing naysayers asked — after they finished giggling over the silly name — was "What makes the iPad anything more than an expensive netbook without a proper keyboard?" Well, party-poopers, Apple COO Tim Cook has your answer: "Magic." More »
Want to update your Facebook status? There's an app for that. Looking to placate your baby with a dancing Teddy bear? There's an app for that too. And believe it or not, there are some iPhone apps that will actually help you save a few bucks. More »
Apple is bent on preventing its App Store from becoming a cesspool of pornography, according to a TechCrunch post, which says Apple's rules are a bit constrictive, banning tight clothing and bathing suits as well as nudity. More »
Mark tells Consumerist that he noticed a disturbing trend while shopping at his local Apple Store this weekend. While using the display models and contemplating a purchase, he and his son were displaced twice to make room for a customer training session. Does the Apple Store still exist to sell computers, Mark wonders, or is it now primarily an educational institution? More »
Let's step into a time machine and travel through the mists of chronos to an ancient yesteryear. It was a different era, Britney Spears shaved her head, Boris Yeltsin died, and people learned how to print images on toast from the comfort of their own workshops. Oh, and a lil' thing called an iPhone came out. The year was 2007, and Verizon and Sprint were so scared that they issued these ridiculous sheets to their frontline reps with talking points for discouraging people from buying an iPhone: More »
You know that your iPhone was made in China, but do you really know where it came from? Reuters recently looked inside the mainland China factories of Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn—manufacturer of many of Apple's best-known devices, including the iPhone. Or just parts of them, since Apple is known for having different parts of a device made in by different companies entirely in order to protect proprietary information. More »
Rob emailed Steve Jobs to tell him that until Apple fixed reader Joel's account that had been billed $50,000 for iTunes purchases, he wouldn't buy another Apple product. Replying via iPad, Steve Jobs told him, "I wouldn't believe everything you read from places like this." Ohhhh snap! But it wouldn't be Jobs who had the last laugh... More »
Just in case you didn't already know this from all the times you've seen someone bust out their iPhone just to pull up imdb.com or Wikipedia to settle a bar bet, a new study published by our hot cousins at Consumer Reports shows that users of Apple's super phone are using up to five times more data each month than Blackberry owners and nearly double that of other smart phones. More »
I think we can all agree that Jobs and his crew at Apple are a bunch of visionaries when it comes to gadgets, online stores, and now getting really, really screwed by an iTunes purchase. Joel writes, "I just got a call from American Express stating that my recent purchase for iTunes plus for my entire library (cost $146) has been charged to my account over 300 times and is currently still being charged. I have called Apple to have them stop charging me and they told me the only thing I can do is cancel my card. There is no number for iTunes and I have sent multiple messages to them without response via email." More »
Michael says his virtual life was shattered when his out-of-warranty MacBook crapped out, but he lucked into a free replacement at a San Diego Apple Store, where he took his computer and knelt at the altar, hoping for a miracle. More »
Gizmodo is reporting today that Apple is offering a 15% "refund bonus" to some customers who return one of the numerous 27" iMacs with a nasty yellow tinge to their beautiful big screens. iMacs are not cheap, so that's at least $250 depending on your computer's configuration. More »
A blogger had his iPhone swiped on a flight but managed to track it down in a saga worthy of a TV movie of the week, if those still existed. He's not the first guy to do this, but the story is inspiring every time. More »
I'll keep this short because it's Apple-related and we all need a break from that company: Apple has removed its ban on using your iPhone's 3G "connection" to place VOIP calls, so now you can use an app like Fring to place overseas calls even when you're not around a Wi-Fi hotspot. Call quality in those moments will naturally depend on AT&T's ability to provide a good 3G connection, so keep your expectations low, but still it's good news for any iPhone/AT&T customers looking to save money on calls. More »
Apple's Steve Jobs finally introduced that iPad the whole world has been talking about for the past two centuries. What can you do with it? Watch movies. Read ebooks and news. Send email. Play games. All from a shiny multitouch display. Right, the same stuff you can do on an iPhone (except make calls, but you can't really do that on an iPhone either). But it's bigger! Faster! And will only cost $499. Quick, where can I buy one? More »
Yes, we know it's the middle of a work day. But we also know you're probably switching between Consumerist and your favorite tech news site right now, hitting refresh over and over, as you wait to see what new gift His Steveness has bestowed upon mankind. Might as well have some fun while you're doing it, right? So, go ahead and join the Apple Press Conference Drinking Game right now.
(Oh, and if you're keeping score at home, it really is called the iPad, and Steve called it a "magical and revolutionary" product today! I think that deserves a 40!) More »
Apple made it clear last year that Google Voice is not welcome on the App Store or your iPhone. "Fine," said Google. "We'll go through the browser!" Today the search engine revealed a new mobile web interface that uses some fancy HTML5 magic to provide voicemail, calling, and text message functionality. If you don't already know, you can turn any page in Mobile Safari into an App icon on your home screen (click the "+" icon in Safari), meaning now you can have a legitimate Google Voice "app." Below is a video tour. Update: There's a down side to this: Cy writes in to let us know that this fancy new version actually breaks functionality for iPod Touch owners—the old web-based version let Touch owners make calls, but this one doesn't. More »
Is wishful thinking driving dozens of telecom pundits to conclude that Apple will announce that the iPhone is coming to carriers other than AT&T this Wednesday? Or are they just tired of reporting the same tired iTablet rumors?
Regardless, the internets are in a frenzy about the potential for a non-AT&T version of the iPhone, after a reporter for BusinessWeek ran a quote about the possibility from Tim Horan, a telecommunications analyst at Oppenheimer & Co More »
A stinging analysis on WalletPop makes the obvious but poignant argument that too-big-for-their-britches corporations such as Apple and Best Buy have let hubris cloud their customer service vision. More »
Sure, we focus on stories of bad customer service here, but Gizmodo turned the shiny white counter around and solicited stories from anonymous Apple Geniuses about the worst customers they've ever encountered. More »
The software that controls Apple's iPhone and iPod touch includes parental controls that are meant to block kids from buying porn apps. And it works. Sort of. While kids whose parents use the software to protect their iPods can't purchase any of the App Store's billions of "babe" apps (App Store porn is largely of the soft-core, pin-up variety), they can still browse it, checking out the app descriptions, reviews and, of course, screen shots. Oops. More »
Mark's MacBook had an unfortunate run-in with an open container of Mountain Dew while he was holding his newborn daughter. He called Apple, but expected no help from the company, and certainly not an exception to Applecare's accidental damage rules. He was wrong, and surprised. More »
Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek roused the hopes of Verizonites everywhere by predicting Apple will sic its upcoming iPhone 4G on the cell phone company's customers come June, Tech Trader Daily reports. More »
Tayler's cat and Tayler's MacBook Pro just had an unfortunate run-in. Does anyone have any advice on cheap ways to repair this laptop, or at least how to get the content off of it without paying hundreds of dollars? More »
Some unlucky iMac owners are still having problems with the screens on their new 27" models, including a writer for TechCrunch and another for Gizmodo. TechCrunch offers a DIY tip for dealing with the screen while you decide whether to return the product. Gizmodo, however, is warning readers not to buy an iMac until Apple can demonstrate that the problem has been resolved. More »
Liz has an iPod Touch that freezes up a few songs into a listening session. She's patiently slashed through mountains of red tape to try to find a solution but has just about given up on finding a fix. She writes: More »
Adam got a bad iPhone that stopped providing some key functions—he can't make calls on it, for example—18 months into ownership. He didn't buy Applecare when he purchased it, which would have covered him during the second year of his contract. But that shouldn't matter, he argues: "[Why isn't it] incumbent upon a device maker to guarantee a product's proper function for—at the very least—the length of the contract required at purchase?" More »
In March Daniel downloaded two tracks from iTunes that wouldn't play. He re-downloaded them several times and complained to customer service, getting several free downloads as a result, but the problem persisted. It took nearly the entire year for iTunes pull the tracks offline, he says. More »
Alisa, who told us last week that Apple wouldn't help her get back her stolen iPhone, has written to us today with an update.
This whole situation has turned out to be a happy story, e-mailing Steve Jobs actually turned out pretty well. I e-mailed him the same day I emailed you, which was the 30th of December, on the 2nd of January I got a phone call from the executive office of Apple.
If you've got an iPhone, a $50 eraser-sized dongle that snaps on to the bottom of your device could relegate that desk drawer full of remotes to the garbage bin. More »
Alisa was robbed on the subway a couple of weeks ago, and now someone else has contacted Apple about replacing the phone due to a software malfunction. Alisa found out about this because her email account is still associated with it, but neither she nor the police can persuade Apple to return the phone to her once the other party sends it in for replacement. More »
You may not be able to buy Mac clones from Hackintosh-maker Psystar anymore , but if you're looking to relive those glory days of running OS X on generic hardware, Psystar has a t-shirt for you. And it looks like they even designed it themselves, rather than modifying the fabric of some other company's shirt so that it would work on their loom. More »
AT&T has apparently found a workable solution to the reported data congestion in New York City. They've quietly stopped selling the iPhone from their web site to customers in the New York metropolitan area.
Update: New York customers are now able to order iPhones via AT&T's Web site. It would appear that the company has once more modified its "promotions and distribution channels." We've requested a statement from AT&T, and will update this post if and when we receive it. More »
MacWorld reports that Nescaline, an NES emulator, received Apple's blessing and was briefly available for download from the App Store, but quickly disappeared. iPhone users craving marathon mobile sessions of Paperboy were bereft. More »
So what ended up happening with "Operation Chokehold," the plan last Friday to protest unreliable iPhone coverage by having a bunch of people simultaneously run a bunch of data-intensive apps to bring the AT&T network to its knees? We'll tell ya. More »
Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update this Saturday took a headline about the potential Google phone and turned it into a potshot against the iPhone. And it made the children laugh. More »
Someone in Apple's iPhone Support department just got the crap haunted out of him by three ghosts, I'm guessing, based on what happened when David called to explain that his wife had dropped and ruined her brand new iPhone. More »
Sick of AT&T's unreliability and dropped calls, participants in this Friday's "Operation Chokehold" are plotting an act of consumer disobedience to bring the network "to its knees." More »
While reading articles about the iPhone and AT&T this morning, I came across Fake Steve Jobs, which I haven't read in a long time. On Saturday Fake Steve Jobs had a phone call with an even more fake Randall Stephenson of AT&T, and the fake conversation reaches a brilliant, hilarious Network-level rant against big business about halfway through. More »
Last week AT&T, in yet another of a string of PR failures about the health of its network, made things even worse by publicly blaming its customers for, you know, being customers. Over the weekend, though, a new thread was introduced into the narrative: it's the iPhone's fault. Not because it's too popular, which has been the old complaint, but because the hardware doesn't work right, and AT&T can't say anything about it for fear that Steve Jobs will reach down through the clouds and smite them. That sounds pretty tragic and sad for AT&T, but the problem is nobody knows if it's true, or if this is yet another strategy to shift the responsibility from AT&T. More »
Cory Doctorow is self-publishing a book and documenting the process for Publishers Weekly. His latest column is about selling audiobook versions of his past works, and how both Apple and Audible have refused to budge on their anti-consumer policies when it comes to digital rights management (DRM) and end user license agreements (EULAs). Even though both companies get paid the same either way, and even though both Doctorow and his publisher, Random House, want to sell the content without these restrictions, Apple and Audible have said no. More »
Apple just swung the banhammer pretty hard at Molinker, a development company, after a customer named Patrick Timney pointed out that the majority of reviews on Molinker apps were fake. Until yesterday, the company had 1,011 apps on the App Store, mostly easy-to-knock-out travel guides for 99 cents each. Now they're all gone, and Apple's VP Phil Schiller told iPhoneography, "Yes, this developer's apps have been removed from the App Store and their ratings no longer appear either." More »
Lala, the music streaming/backup service that's also a reasonably priced mp3 store, has been purchased by Apple. Does this mean Apple may introduce some sort of streaming service in the future? On Lala, you can pay 10 cents per song to stream it as much as you want, or $.99-1.29 to own it outright. At any rate, if you buy from Lala now, you're buying from Apple. More »
—>Unless you've just arrived in 2009 on a time machine, you know that smoking isn't good for you. Did you know, that smoking isn't good for your computer, either? It's true, at least according to Apple. Two readers in different parts of the country claim that their Applecare warranties were voided due to secondhand smoke. Both readers appealed their cases up to the office of GodSteve Jobs himself. Both lost. More »
—>Remember Aaron, the Marine who wrecked his 120GB iPod Classic in Afghanistan by accidentally letting it get run over by a Humvee, then slamming it in a Humvee door? More »
—>If you thought it was impressive that an iPod could survive a nine-story fall into the Pittsburgh G20 riots, just wait until you hear about the perils that befell an iPod belonging to Aaron, a Marine deployed in Afghanistan. More »
—>While leaning out her dorm window to watch some riots — hell, what else is there to do in Pittsburgh? — Bob's daughter's iPod decided it'd had enough of this world and took a swan dive into oblivion. More »
—>If you've been waiting for a chance to use Skype on your iPhone over AT&T's network to save on international calls or supplement your calling plan's minutes, your day has come. After a little nudge from the FCC, the company has reversed its ban on VOIP apps on its data network, and will now let you Skype away until you run out of people to call or things to say. More »
—>Since last year, a small company called Psystar has been selling Mac clones that, in some cases, are more powerful than Apple's own computers in the same price range. Now, the company has hit on another way to spread the OS X love: It will begin licensing its software to other companies that want to build and sell ersatz Macs. There are just a couple of problems that potential buyers might want to be aware of: Apple hasn't given Psystar permission to do this, and is in the process of suing the company for copyright infringement. Oh, and Psystar is also in Chapter 11. More »
—>When is a "W" not a letter? When Apple Inc. says it's a piece of fruit, that's when. The iPod-maker and self-declared ruler of all things pomaceous has decided that the stylized W adopted by Australian supermarket chain Woolworths as its logo looks a little too much like Apple's own logo, and that's reason enough to claim trademark infringement. More »
—>If you're one of the approximately three Mac users who uses a BlackBerry instead of an iPhone, today is an exciting day. BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac OS debuted this afternoon. CNET had an early copy and has checked it out for us. More »
—>John's fiancee bought an Apple computer earlier this year, financing it with a Juniper Visa account, then paying the account off early. That's the responsible thing to do, right? Not according to Juniper, which branded her as a filthy, filthy deadbeat. The bank marked the payment she sent in as "late" for arriving three hours before the end of the billing cycle. More »
—>Hey AT&T, maybe you should offer some sort of congestion pricing on your iPhone plans in places like New York City. We've heard/read all sorts of anecdotal reports on dropped calls before, but today Engadget reported that an Apple Genius said a 30% drop call rate is average for the area. If that's true, it seems like false advertising to charge for a full-time calling plan that you can only use about two-thirds of the time. More »
—>The San Fran/NY-servicing Zipcar car sharing service has finally launched their iPhone app. Besides the expected seamless reservation system, it has a pretty sweet extra feature: It turns your iPhone into a keyfob capable of locking and unlocking your car, and honking its horn. Not owning a car just got awesomer. More »
Pizza Hut is giving a 20% discount on all orders placed via its new iPhone app. We found a user review on YouTube, and he likes it. Beyond the usual app gimmickry, pinching a pizza to make it smaller or larger and shaking the phone to make wings spicey, it also has the excellent function of storing all your coupons for easy use. More »
—>When Apple needs to come up with a hot new product, it turns to CEO Steve Jobs, who is said to micromanage everything from the color of the product's box to how overpriced it should be. And, when Microsoft needs to go after the next big thing, the company turns to ... Steve Jobs. At least that seems to be the idea behind Microsoft's latest plan, which involves poaching managers from Apple's retail stores. More »
—>Here's the $199 question. What does it take to set off the moisture sensor on an iPhone 3G? Immersion in water? Sweat from a vigorous workout? Using the phone on a humid day? The truth is somewhere on that continuum, and many iPhone users claim that their warranties have been unfairly voided when normal use set off the sensors. More »
—>If you're a gadgetophile like me, you love firmware updates because it's like giving your smartphone, camera, or other mp3 player a mini-makeover. If you're normal, however, don't rush into it—the best thing to do is wait a bit and see what problems are reported from the front line. Take for instance this issue between 3G iPhones and Exchange servers, which no longer play well with each other after yesterday's 3.1 iPhone OS upgrade. More »
—>A recent flurry of reports on the internets claim that Microsoft has been training Best Buy employees to push customers away from Linux and Mac systems to those running Windows. While some posts claim that the Gatesians are teaching Best Buy workers to become "Linux assassins," most of what's going on looks like typical retail marketing: a deep-pocketed supplier working with a chain to hawk its products more aggressively. However, Linux pros are up in arms about "inaccuracies" in the Microsoft program that walks customers through the advantages of Windows vs. Linux. More »
—>I've always found Apple Stores to be open and inviting. A team of thieves in New Jersey evidently agree with me. They smashed the front window of the Promenade at Sagemore store in Marlton, N.J. and cleaned out the display models. How long did it take them to steal 23 Macbook Pros, 14 iPhones, and 9 iPod Touches? Thirty-one seconds. Yes, there's surveillance video. More »
—>An Apple store in Ohio doesn't want to clutter up its elegant store layout with signage, so you have to rely on a color coded system to find the appropriate employee to ring up your purchase. It's like the Homeland Security Advisory System, retooled to measure how inconvenienced you'll be. More »
—>A man in Connecticut brought his computer to his local Apple Store for repair due to a software issue (likely a—gasp!—virus) but when he returned to pick it up, learned that the Mac Genius had reported him to the police after finding child pornography on the hard drive. More »
—>Apparently, Apple didn't reject the Google Voice application for iPhone. They "[continue] to study it." Yesterday, Apple, AT&T, and Google all turned in their responses to the FCC's questions as part of the investigation into the bannination of Google Voice from the iPhone App Store. More »
—>No matter how awesome the iPhone is at multimedia, gaming, or taking money out of your wallet and mailing it to AT&T and Apple, it still doesn't let you use multimedia messaging service (MMS)—you know, that thing where you send a photo to a friend over text message. Earlier this year AT&T finally said it would happen by the end of summer, but now a group of customers in Louisiana are tired of waiting. More »
—>Sometimes the way to get sweet consumer justice is a series of pushy calls on the phone with CSRs or even the EECB route. But other times, probably more often, a sugary sweet touch and some good luck will get you farther faster. More »
—>Apple may not feel like you're ready to take advantage of Google Voice, but luckily Jobs and his legion can't lock you out of every potential way to access the service. (Yet.) Here are three paths to GV you can use today, no permission needed from the Applelord. More »
—>I asked Apple this morning to replace my broken laptop now that they've reintroduced the anti-glare option on their 15" MacBook Pros. Apple agreed, and soon a new laptop will leave China destined for my apartment. This isn't the first laptop Apple sent me this month. It's the second. Here's why... More »
—>There's been a lot of talk online the past week about extending the principal of network neutrality to wireless networks, which may be partly why the FCC has asked Apple, Google, and AT&T to answer some questions about the rejected Google Voice iPhone app. Todd Barr at Bandwidth.com thinks that the reason may actually have to do with the concept of number portability. More »
Apple censored a dictionary app, forcing the developers to remove listings to "cock," "ass," and other words that make fifth graders giggle, before it allowed it to go up on the App Store. Ninjawords is now available (with those entries excised) but has a 17+ rating. [Engadget] More »
—>Reader Michael writes to let us know that the latest iPod shuffle, an mp3 player whose small size makes it an attractive exercise companion, tends to break when used as an exercise companion. More »
—>We thought that maybe exploding iPods were a 2008 phenomenon, but evidently not. An 11-year-old girl's iPod exploded in England, and Apple reportedly tried to get the entire family to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to get a refund. More »
—>Apple (and AT&T) may have finally pushed too far with this week's rejection of the Google Voice App from the iPhone App Store, for no reason other than it "duplicated functionality" already offered—for a price—by AT&T. According to mocoNews, the FCC has asked Apple and AT&T to provide answers about how apps are approved, why they're denied, and particularly how much say AT&T has over things iPhone-related. More »
—>Apple's not through with their blitz against jailbreaking, with this newly updated support doc that says, among other things, that the recent Visual Voicemail outages from AT&T were caused by—and happened to—hacked iPhones. More »
—>Will thought he was buying the newest MacBook Pro model—that's what it said on the box and on the receipt. After he'd set it up, he discovered it was a previous model, so he took it back to the glass box Apple Store on Fifth Ave in NYC to get the version he paid for. Now Apple wants him to pay $100 to transfer his data over to the new laptop. But hey, he shouldn't complain, because they're "waiving" the restocking fee! More »
—>You can download a mobile Google Voice application for Blackberry or Android, but not for the iPhone. Apple rejected Google's official application, and has been removing other apps using Google Voice functionality from the App Store. Now, why would they do such a thing? You know the answer. AT&T told them to. More »
—>If you spent about $150 to have the case of your laptop computer laser-engraved with a cool design and something went wrong, would you expect to be told to fill in the problem areas yourself with a permanent marker? That happened to Haje. He's sympathetic to the technical issues involved, but not happy with the end result. More »
—>Microsoft's series of "Laptop Hunters" ads are cute, realistic, and appeal to consumers at a time when our disposable income is limited. Apple doesn't seem to think they're so cute, though—the company's lawyers apparently tried to have the ads stopped. More »
—>We're working on an iPhone app for The Consumerist, along with finally getting a mobile version, mobile.consumerist.com, for the site. Our first iPhone app will be extremely basic. This 1.0 will have iPhone-optimized version of the latest posts, and you'll have a few drill-down categories to choose from (top stories, features, personal finance.... something else? You tell us). That's about it. You will not be able to make comments. 1.5 will have comments. 2.0 will be a from the ground up rewrite with all the bells and whistles. So, questions: What categories should be in the 1.0? What dream features do you want to see in the 2.0? Leave your thoughts in the comments. More »
—>Verizon announced it will limit handset exclusivity deals to 6 months, a bow to pleas by small wireless carriers, and in advance of possible Department of Justice action on its inquiries on the one-carrier deals for the iPhone, Pre and LG Voyager. In its announcement, Verizon noted 24 rural carriers had asked it to limit these anti-competitive deals. Yes, apparently there are that many small carriers still left. More »
—>Some guy in London fell for an online iPhone scam in January, so he paid $150 to emailfinder.com to track down the identity behind the Hotmail account of the person who scammed him. Now he's suing Kim, who is completely unrelated to this story (or was, at least), for $4,368 to cover the $1200 he lost on the iPhone scam plus travel expenses for him to show up in small claims court here in the U.S. More »
—>Don't install the iPhone app iDrive Lite if you value the privacy of your contact list. Avi Muchnick, one of the developers behind the free, consumer-friendly online graphics suite Aviary, used iDrive to backup his Gmail contact list when switching to a new phone. The next day, he awoke to discover that iDrive's parent company, Pro Softnet Corp, had spammed every single entry in his contact list without his permission. More »
Barnes & Noble's new iPhone app comes with a virtual coupon--there's a one-time-only code you show the in-store barista to receive a free cup of coffee. [MocoNews.net] More »
—>Because of an Apple technician's mistake, Gennadiy had two options for repairing his 2009 Macbook Pro: either pay $1240+tax to replace the logic board because Apple said water damage voided the warranty, or push the unseated cable back into place and prove that there was no water damage—which would void the warranty. Gennadiy took the second option and saved himself over $1300, but now has no warranty should something actually happen to the logic board that should be covered. More »
—>The iPhone 3G S does everything. It's a cell phone. It connects to the Internet! It's a compass and a GPS! And it can also function as a tiny space heater. More »
—>On Saturday, Kevin lost his iPhone in a bar in Chicago, and by lost we mean someone grabbed it within seconds of him leaving the bar, but no one had seen a thing when he ran back in to ask about it. Since he had the Find My iPhone service activated on it, and his friend had a Sprint 3G dongle on his laptop, they decided to see whether they could track it down. AT&T and Sprint: working together to fight crime! More »
—>How are Apple Stores doing with the much-anticipated iPhone 3G S launch? Apple fan on the ground Joseph reserved his phone online, queued up outside of his nearest Apple Store this morning at 6:30, and... hit a snag, since his reservation apparently isn't a reservation. More »
Apple has announced that they have stopped pre-orders for the iPhone 3G S, which comes out tomorrow "to make sure we have the new iPhone in stock at every Apple retail store,'' according to the Boston Globe. [Boston Globe] More »
—>Funny or Die has a pretty funny, nsfw parody of the current Microsoft "You find it, you keep it" commercials. Jake's in the market for a decent laptop that can meet his needs, which include a big screen, the ability to go online, and enough cash left over for some subscriptions to certain adult websites. It's basically what the real commercial would look like in a world without TV censors. More »
In preparation for the phone's launch on Friday, AT&T wrote today: "We've been listening to our customers. And since many of our iPhone 3G customers are early adopters and literally weeks shy of being upgrade eligible due to iPhone 3G S launching 11 months after iPhone 3G, we're extending the window of upgrade eligibility for a limited time." More »
"This is a recommendation," the technical support person told me. "If you decide not to go, it's okay but we're informing customers that service will not be up to par." More »
—>Another year, another iPhone. Next up to drive early adopters furious is the newly announced iPhone 3G S, which opens applications faster, goes easier on the battery, packs a sharper camera, records video, includes voice control and adds a compass that points to the inevitable reality that Apple will announce a fourth iPhone next year. More »
—>Arnie and his wife have a fever, and the only cure is more iPhones. A shiny new iPhone 3G S to replace the clunky old 3G iPhones they've been forced to use, to be precise. Frustrated that the cell phone business insists on subsidizing the gadgets by only offering a sane price to new customers, or customers willing to upgrade, Arnie called AT&T. That's when he stumbled on a solution that's almost hilarious in its simplicity. More »
—>Apple fans around the country are foaming at the mouths over the jacked-up pricing AT&T has announced for the upgraded iPhone. AT&T apparently can't afford to subsidize the phones for existing customers, because if you currently have an iPhone and more than 6 months left on your contract, you'll have to pay $417-$517 for the newer model (that includes an $18 "upgrade" fee). More »
—>To keep up with latest goings-on at the greatest consumer product _____fest (fill in the blank) in the world, Gizmodo has live-blog coverage of the Apple WWDC Keynote address. The magic-making kicks off at 1 eastern. [Gizmodo] (Photo: James Young Art) More »
—>Gethuman, the awesome website that lists shortcuts to help find your way past automated menu trees and reach live people, now has a free standalone version for iPhone and iPod Touch owners. [gethuman] More »
—>Our ex-stepbrothers at Gizmodo found a craigslist ad for a barely used iPhone, selling for significantly below list price. There's just one problem. More »
—>If you're sick of grocery store rewards cards clogging up your wallet, and you love whipping out your iPhone in public, have we've got an app for you. CardStar lets you punch in all your reward cards into your iPhone. At checkout, just click the CardStar icon, select the merchant from your saved list, and show the screen. They can scan the barcode right from the image. Usually $.99, the app is currently free for a limited time. A handy way for iPhone users to reduce clutter and fumbling for rewards cards when shopping. More »
—>Microsoft's Zune is like Rocky in his fight with Ivan Drago. After getting the crap thoroughly beaten out of it in front of the entire civilized world, the Zune just keeps stepping back into the ring for more punishment. More »
I woke up this morning to an email stating I had made two $50 gift card purchases [on iTunes Music Store]. I contacted my bank and apple, then did a google search and found that many others had the same thing happen to them. More »
—>Some PR person just sent us a notice about a new wallet-sized iPhone stand, which reminded us that there's an easy and free alternative, and it most probably works for a lot of other (fairly thin) media devices as well. More »
—>NIN front man Trent Reznor is angry at Apple for rejecting the new Nine Inch Nails iPhone app update because it contains "objectionable content." The objectionable content referenced is the song 'The Downward Spiral,' which you can buy on iTunes. Reznor posted the rejection letter on NIN's forums, and then launched into a rant about censorship — comparing Apple to Walmart. (NSFW language inside) More »
—>Well here's one way to say you think the Macbook Air hinge sucks... by stabbing it in the face with a kitchen knife! Ree! Ree! Ree! Ree! I dunno, maybe people who can't type also can't open and close their Macbooks properly. Just a thought. More »
—>A lot of readers sent us the story of a Florida teen who received the awesome birthday gift of some rocks and crumpled up Chinese newspapers inside a Nintendo DS box. After some fuss and the discovery that another customer had already returned the same box of rocks, Wal-Mart made the situation right. Reader Ryan found himself in a similar situation, but without the happy ending (yet!): a Texas Best Buy sold him a paving stone instead of a Macbook Pro. More »
—>We've posted before about security keys—those little digital keyfobs that generate expiring security codes over and over and make it incredibly hard for someone to gain unauthorized access to your account. They're a great idea, and now if you own an iPhone you can install a Verisign app that will work with Paypal and eBay, as well as about two dozen lesser known sites. It's probably the easiest step you can take to vastly improve security on those accounts. More »
All the outrage over Sling Media's iPhone app—which would have only worked with the latest Slingbox models—may have been moot. Boy Genius Report says they've received a tip that AT&T asked Apple to kill the app due to concerns about potential bandwidth drain. Update:JosephFinn points out that the tip is likely fake, as the IP address came from a prison. [IntoMobile] More »
—>Apple sold reader Melody the wrong AppleCare package, but instead of switching her to the proper coverage, they issued a refund and told her to re-purchase the warranty extension. They even gave her American Express transaction reference numbers so she could track the refund, but AmEx says the numbers are invalid and that they have no record of a refund posting. Melody's been out $195 since February, and thinks it's time for Apple to cough up her money. More »
—>When Sling Media finally released their iPhone app last week, they conveniently turned off access to older Slingbox devices in order to force customers to buy newer models. As a gesture—only a gesture, nothing more—of their gratitude toward existing customers who supported them by already buying Slingboxes, they offered a $50 credit toward the purchase of a newer model. More »
—>The iPhone blog says that AT&T is going to start contacting iPhone owners who aren't using an official iPhone data plan and force them to sign up for one. The crackdown supposedly starts tomorrow in the Atlanta and Austin markets, and expands nationwide by the end of the month. More »
—>Do you remember Millard? He was the angry customer who demanded that Woot send him black iPod headphones to match his black iPod, and claimed to have been misled by the company. Woot is selling black iPods today and wants to make it very clear—"in case your monitor can't display pictures, or you're black-white colorblind"—you will receive white earbuds with your iPod. Sorry, Millard, Woot is still refusing to cooperate by inventing a black version of the Apple product. More »
—>Do pricey, pretty computers have a dark side? Or will you choose a health care company that insures 70 million individuals nationwide? Who will feel your wrath? More »
—>An iPod repair shop, that we ripping Apple off for 9,000+ iPod shuffles. The feds charged Nicholas Woodman with jacking iPod shuffles from Apple by guessing shuffle serial numbers from a shuffle replacement site without actually ever buying the original shuffles himself. More »
—>AT&T has announced that starting next week, it will sell the iPhone 3G to current AT&T customers sans 2-year contract, possibly in an attempt to move inventory. Unfortunately, the conditions of the sale are such that it's not worth it unless you're determined to own a brand new, out-of-warranty (i.e. jailbroken) iPhone 3G that you intend to use on another network. (Note: our readers point out that even that route is far cheaper if you buy with contract and pay the ETF.) Otherwise, you'll still be locked to AT&T and you'll still have to buy the more expensive smartphone data plan, which doesn't include text messaging. For no-contract bragging rights, you'll have to pay $600 or $700 depending on the model. More »
—>Update: It turns out the special chips used in the headphone controls of the third generation Shuffle don't contain any DRM after all, so any attempts at reverse-engineering won't bring on the wrath of the DMCA. More »
Sure, the talking-menu feature of the new iPod Shuffle is kind of cool, but if you don't want to use the earbuds that come bundled with it, you're going to have to buy an adapter, and "assuming the adapter will cost between $20 and $30 like most other Apple accessories, you're looking at minimum $100 outlay for the new shuffle." [Engadget] More »
—>PC Mag has assembled a list of instructions on how to wipe your account from a long list of websites, including Classmates.com (you'll have to call), Windows Live ID (it's complicated), and Friendster (ha ha ha). In many cases, canceling is as straightforward as clicking a link and authorizing the cancellation, but it's nice to see all the phone numbers and tips collected in one spot. More »
A bunch of different technological options to help you eliminate cable — from Apple TV and the XBOX 360 to just hooking a computer to your flat screen. [CNET] More »
—>Ronny can't buy a new iPhone for the next 18 months, even though he's willing to fork over $499 for an unsubsidized model. Ronny swapped his original 8 GB iPhone for a 16 GB version within his first month of service, but recently lost the phone. Now, both Apple and AT&T are telling him that he's a jailbreaker and he can't have a new phone for 18 months—unless he's willing to get a new phone number. More »
—>James almost got cheated out of CS4, the suite of graphics software sold by Adobe, when he bought a new Macbook Pro recently. He kept pressing the issue though, and his persistence and level-headedness finally, after several near misses, convinced Apple to do the right thing and send him what he paid for. Congrats to James! More »
—>Apple claims that they can't replace reader MTW's MacBook battery because the laptop's case is chipped. The minor cosmetic damage doesn't affect the computer's functions and isn't even on the same side as the laptop's battery, which stopped holding a charge months after the case cracked. More »
—>Update: Mike writes back to say that after reading the comments below, he checked his purchase history and the album is indeed listed there. What's confusing is Mike didn't buy it through iTunes, but through Amazon, but he says that other people did have access to his account and may have purchased it without his knowledge. More »
[it] would have the right to claim statutory damages of up to $2,500 "per act of circumvention." People who jailbreak phones, might even be subject to criminal penalties of as long as five years, if they circumvented copyright for a financial gain. More »
Got the iPhone back now and went to the AT&T store and now activating it via iTunes. Phone seems to be working just the pictures in the camera roll were deleted along with recent calls. More »
—>Remember those ultra-compact USB adapters Apple recalled because they could electrocute people? Like most Apple products, they were cute and small, but apparently the "environmentally friendly" computer maker decided to ship the replacement chargers in surprisingly large cushioned boxes. More »
—>Reader Dan says he was walking home last night and got robbed at gunpoint, losing his iPhone, which he only got five days ago, in the process. He asks, "Any tips from you or readers? Can it be tracked using the onboard gps? This STINKS!" More »
—>The number of people gunning for some Apple/AT&T cash keeps increasing, with three new class action lawsuits filed over the past 8 days alone. In all three suits, the primary complaint is the same: that AT&T Mobility's 3G network isn't robust enough to deliver the type of experience promised by iPhone marketing. More »
—>Emailing a company about a product problem via their front-facing email address usually has about as much effect as wishing your way out of debt (just don't tell the producers of The Secret). But Steve emailed Panasonic and instead of getting nothing or a generic response back, he actually ended up sending a series of emails back and forth with a product engineer who solved his consumer conundrum. Amazing! Here's his story. More »
—>Apple has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle a class action suit brought by owners of the notoriously scratchy first-generation iPod Nanos. Under the agreement, owners of the scratch magnets will be entitled to either a $25 or $15 cash refund, depending on whether or not their Nano included a carrying case. More »
—>Yesterday, a magical new application appeared in the iPhone App Store. What did it do? Well, it allowed you to order burritos from Chipotle (for pick-up). From your iPhone. More »
—>Andrew sent us this picture of a CampusTechShop ad that he says is all over his college campus. The ad trumpets reduced prices on the previous edition of MacBook Pro, then illustrates it with a picture of the new MacBook Pro. More »
Is Apple up to its oldtricks again? More scandalous than your run-of-the-mill violation, it seems that Apple stores are now displaying a high-quality sign advertising their blatant ignorance of the Merchant Agreement. More »
We are so late to telling you this but felt obligated anyway: The $99 Walmart iPhone rumor is just that. That's too bad, it would've been really funny. [Engadget] More »
—>The popular personal-finance dashboard site Mint.com launched a free iPhone app. Now you can enjoy the ease and power of Mint anywhere your $99$197 Walmart phone goes. Screenshots inside... More »
—>Wanna know why your call to customer service went so poorly? Maybe because it was routed to an outsourced call center run by Teleperformance USA where, according to an insider, customer service goes to die... More »
—>Consumerist Flickr pool member shakerdesigns spotted this poster for the iPhone at his local Walmart. A recent leaked memo said that Walmart would begin selling the iPhone on Dec. 28th. More »
—>These are the ladybugs that infested Sam's Macbook, the ladybugs Apple said must be his fault. Now, here is the update to Sam's saga, and how he finally got justice from Apple. More »
—>UPDATED. Sam loves his Apple products, but their blaming him for the big ladybugs inside his Macbook Pro? It's enough to turn this fanboy into whatever is the clever name for opposite of a fanboy. More »
Walmart will sell iPhones by the end of December, says Bloomberg. According to an unnamed Walmart employee, the phone will cost the same as it does at AT&T stores, though there is also some speculation that a forthcoming 4GB model might retail for as low as $99. Try not to freak out. [Bloomberg] More »
—>According to Computerworld, Apple yanked a "controversial" support document from its website Tuesday, after it began a heated debate among the Apple faithful. What was the controversial advice? Apple suggested its users run anti-virus software. More »
—>There's some nice discounts this Black Friday on the usually deal-proof Macs, but who's got the better price? MacMall, or BestBuy? Going through the full discount list is a pain, so MacRumors has put together a handy comparison chart of the prices on the current models for you. The biggest difference is in the MacBook pros, which MacMall has at $200 off vs BestBuy's $100. More »
—>Apple Insider says Apple stores will be price matching other authorized retailers. The policy isn't new — but it's never been emphasized before and the Apple bloggers seem surprised that it exists. More »
—>After umpteen attempts to have his multiple MacBook Pro problems fixed, only to be told each time the laptop was working perfectly fine, Jordan wrote a polite email to Steve Jobs. He affirmed his Apple loyalty, laid out what happened to him, and asked for help. A couple of emails later and he was able to walk into an Apple store and swap his jalopy for one of the brand new MacBook Pros that just came out. You might analyze how the letter was written for clues to his success but really what it came down to was that he had gone in for repairs of the same problem more than three times, qualifying him for a refund or replacement under what is known as "lemon law," and he got his issue under the nose of the guy at the top. Or at least the assistant who opens his email. Same difference. Jordan's success story, inside... More »
So when you take your Mac to get repaired and they have to send it to their repair center, politely request that a service technician with the ID 31514 at the CTS, Apple Authorized Repair Center in Houston, Texas does not fix your Mac. More »
—>Inside, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses for over 100 different companies to inject your customer service complaints into their corporate executive offices, and get it well on the way to success. More »
Those of you with Macs will soon be able to use Netflix's "Watch Instantly" feature. Hooray! [CrunchGear] More »
—>Last week, Woot asked Consumerist readers what it should do about a customer who was irate that their black iPod came with white headphones, despite the fact that Apple does not make them. The post was notable for several reasons. One, I think it might have been the fist time we posted a complaint from a company. Two, with over 477 comments, I think we broke a new comment record on a single post. After carefully evaluating your responses, Woot has said they'll offer Millard a full refund and send a box with a pre-paid shipping label to send the iPod back in. This is acceptable to me. As I've said in the past, it's all about the money. Once you have your money back as a customer, there's nothing to complain about. More »
—>In what is probably the second-worst consumer complaint we've received, Millard is mad at deal-a-day site Woot because he bought a black iPod from them and it came with white headphones. He demands black headphones. Woot needs your help in solving this consumer crisis. More »
—>Wow, those iPhones really are amazing. Chris' iPhone can make a call from Nicaragua the same time it's incurring a data roaming charge in Mexico—all without leaving Chris' side in the U.S. Some skeptics will probably just say there's a problem with AT&T's records, or the phone's SIM card was cloned or something, but AT&T believes. That's why they want Chris to pay that bill each month it keeps happening. More »
—>Apple has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit prompted by PowerBook and iBook power adapters that could fray, break, or dazzle the eyes with spectacular bursts of dangerous sparks. Anyone whose power adapter failed within three years of purchase and then bought a replacement adapter is a part of the settlement. More »
Warner Brothers forgot to include the advertised iPod-compatible digital file on its Blu-ray copy of "Speed Racer." It's now offering an online trade, where owners of the disc can exchange their PlaysForSure authorization code for an iTunes store redemption code. (When filling out the form, for "Support Request Type" select "Authorization Code and Licenses".) [warnerbros] (Thanks to Sabler!)More »
—>We guess there's really no point at which you're "comfortable" enough to not be tempted by a FREE iPOD! OMG! Reader Jonathan forwarded this email from TD Ameritrade in which they tried to entice him to deposit either $75,000 or $50,000 in order to get himself a free iPod Touch. More »
—>Remember that game where your parents would tell you not to stick your fingers in electrical outlets and then you would and you'd get shocked? Well it's now a real-life app for iPhone 3G owners! Here's how to play: plug your iPhone 3G's ultra-compact USB power adapter into the wall. If the prongs break off and get stuck in the outlet creating a risk of electrocution, you win! Or lose. Probably the latter, which is why Apple recalled the devices on Friday. More »
—>The next phase of Microsoft's new advertising campaign launches today, and the company is taking some shots at Apple's ubiquitous "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" tv spots. The New York Times says that the new campaign will feature interesting, exciting people (like the dude in the shark cage above) embracing their "PCness." More »
—>Two Apple customer service representatives told reader Mark to blame his MacBook's four hard drive crashes on GarageBand, professional-grade software that his puny consumer-grade laptop 'can't handle.' Every MacBook comes with GarageBand pre-loaded as part of Apple's iLife suite. More »
—>We received an email from Guitar Center's Chief Marketing Officer this afternoon letting us know that the $100 markup on their iPods was a pricing mistake, and that they're automatically refunding the difference to anyone who bought at the wrong price as well as giving them $10 gift cards. More »
—>You don't have to believe everything customers say to you when you're a customer service rep. You don't even have to actually care. But if you can't stop yourself from slipping in phrases like "not my problem" when you're helping out a customer, maybe you need to try a different career. Like, say, parole officer. More »
—>Update: Guitar Center has fixed the pricing error and offered refunds. Quick, get out your throw-away cash and head to Guitar Center! Their website sells the iPod Classic and both sizes of the iPod Touch for $100 more than what you'll find pretty much everywhere else. (We guess there's extra rock-n-roll in them.) You know what makes us crazy? We bet people still buy them. More »
—>This chat transcript from "Yet Another Girl"'s blog is an example of how sometimes you can find exactly the answer you're looking for on a customer service chat. Unfortunately, in this case, you'll do all of the work yourself while the chat agent stares numbly at the screen, wondering how did I end up here? I don't even know what this "apple" thing is!More »
—>Elizabeth went out and bought a Mac after Dell twice sent Windows XP replacement CDs to her old address. After each failed delivery attempt, Elizabeth called Dell, which repeatedly promised that they'd get it right next time. One CSR even claimed that he personally called DHL to change the shipping address. (He didn't.) More »
—>Reader Anthony was robbed at knifepoint by a jerk with a 10" blade, but his real complaint is that he feels that AT&T is robbing him again. After he filed a police report and told AT&T that his new iPhone had been stolen, they told him that since he already bought an iPhone he no longer qualified for the subsidized price of $199. More »
—>WaMu's crack fraud department is at it again, according to reader Kristin. Someone broke into her iTunes account and bought a couple hundred dollars worth of iTunes gift cards with her debit card information. She disputed the charge and WaMu told her not to worry — they'd take care of it. Two months later, while on a trip to Chicago, WaMu reversed the credits, causing Kristin to become severely overdrawn. No amount of protesting will convince WaMu that she wasn't lying about the iTunes break-in. Why? Because she never responded to some mail they sent to her old address. More »
This Best Buy coupon for free Apple software for students isn't a very good deal after allyou can get educational discounts at the Apple store, and through September 15th you can get a free iPod Touch or Nano with your computer purchase. Our advice: skip Best Buy and go directly through Apple. (Thanks to Matt and yasth!)More »
—>In what should have been a no-brainer, Apple today agreed to replace any iPod Nanos that unexpectedly explode. The announcement came as a response to the Japanese government, which yesterday asked the computer-maker to "take some measures" to warn consumers of the potential danger of their little pocket rockets. Apple blames a single bad battery supplier for the spontaneous fireworks. More »
Good news: Apple is extending MobileMe subscriptions by an additional 60 days to make up for the recent problems with the service. The extension applies to all subscribers with an active account as of August 19th. Apple granted a 30 day extension a few weeks ago.[InformationWeek] More »
Good news for some of AT&T's business customers who don't live near a AT&T or Apple Store: if you're part of with AT&T's Premier Enterprise program, you can now buy your iPhone online. [PC World] More »
—>Reader D's first-gen iPod Nano was chugging power from his PC's USB port when suddenly he saw it "explode open and start shooting sparks and spewing smoke." Pictures inside, along with Apple's response. More »
Best Buy will start selling the iPhone on September 7th, making it the only retailer other than Apple and AT&T to offer the device. [Associated Press] More »
Here's an unverified walkthrough of the "I Am Rich" iPhone app. [TUAW] More »
—>Last week, a developer discovered that the iPhone has the capability to quietly connect to Apple's servers to check an application blacklist, and then disable any installed apps that are on the list. The story was quickly defused by blogs, but today the Wall Street Journal says Steve Jobs has confirmed that there really is an application "kill switch." More »
—>Apple couldn't repair Adrienne's 30GB iPod before she planned to leave for a cross-country trip, so they decided to give her a brand new 80GB iPod. And since it was a new iPod, they also waived the $70 repair fee. More »
Eight people bought the $999.99 "I Am Rich" iPhone app before Apple pulled it from their store this week, reports the Los Angeles Times. "Six people from the U.S., one from Germany and one from France dropped a grand for the gem in the first 24 hours it was available." The developer, Armin Heinrich, made $5,600 from those sales, while Apple made $2,400. I am currently developing an "I Am Now Richer" app to try to sell to Heinrich, since he's got some extra spending money. [Los Angeles Times] More »
Does your iPhone-for-the-masses make you feel poor and ordinary? You need the I Am Rich app, which was available for sale on Apple's app store for about a day (they removed it late yesterday afternoon, unfortunately). Priced at $999.99, it will place a big red jewel on your screen. Imagine how awesome you'll look if you put this on a Swarovski-encrusted 3G model$$$!!! [Technologizer via AppScout] More »
—>Reader Corey checked the 3G coverage map before buying a new iPhone, only to find out that the map was wrong. The story has something of a happy ending, however, because Corey says he's pleased with the $250 service credit AT&T offered. More »
—>Reader Nohreen says she bought an apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and it turned out to be rotten inside. When she called the store to complain, they told her it wasn't rotten, just brown from having been cut awhile ago. Nohreen said she'd bring the apple back to show them that it was actually rotten, but they told her not to waste her gas because there was nothing they could do about it. When she got to the store, rather than help her, she says the employees called security. More »
—>Reader Zach says that he heard that white iPhones were cracking, but he got one anyway because there was a longer wait for the black ones. When he got home, he noticed two small cracks in the back of the phone. More »
—>So there appears to be something of a shortage of iPhones this time around, and while it's probably good for "creating buzz" it's not so great for wooing busy business customers away from their Blackberries, according to reader James. You see, only the Apple store has iPhones, but only the AT&T store can activate them for James. More »
It's amazing that Apple doesn't recognize this situation. This is an airplane that's stuck on the runway for hours with no food or working bathroom. And the pilot doesn't come on the P.A. system to tell the customers what the problem is, what's being done to fix it, how much longer they might be stuck, and how he empathizes with their plight. Instead, he comes on once every three hours to repeat the same thing: "We apologize for the inconvenience." More »
—>Reader temporaryerror brings up an interesting point. Should AT&T and Apple be advertising the iPhone 3G as "twice as fast" in areas where there is no 3G coverage? He sent in the above advertisement from the local Wichita, KS newspaper. He says that the closest 3G network is 120 miles away in Topeka, and that the advertisement doesn't disclose this information. Is this ok? More »
—>Reader Nick doesn't want you to pay too much for Apple iPod headphones, so he's asked us to let you know that Best Buy is charging $49.99 for basic white iPod earbuds and they're only $29.99 at the Apple Store. Let it be known that Best Buy is not the best place to buy accessories. More »
—>Reader Michael is having a rough time with the iPhone. He says that two out of three of the iPhones purchased by his family were defective, and the third one wouldn't receive calls. Weirdly, this story has a happy ending, because Michael found some contact information on Consumerist that got his problem solved in 5 minutes. More »
—>Fine, fine, the iPhone is decent and all that, but here's a funny clip from "The Soup" that puts the lie to that whole "It's so much cheaper!" hype. And if you're not an iPhone owner and need even more reason to feel good about that, check out Wisebread's rant against people who stand in line for gadgets. More »
—>Reader Joshua wants to warn everyone that exchanging your defective-out-of-the-box iPhone 3G is a huge pain the butt. His girlfriend got her iPhone on launch day but quickly discovered that the speaker was broken. She brought it into the Apple store to have it checked out and an employee accidentally dropped it. At that point, Apple told them they'd just replace to the phone. That's where things got complicated. More »
—>As Consumerist's resident Apple fanboy, I spent the last few hours standing outside an AT&T store waiting to buy the iPhone 3G, then waiting for it to activate in iTunes. Here's what went down. More »
—>The first person in line at the 5th Ave Apple store in Manhattan was some kind of activist Daniel Bowman Simon, part of a group who camped out in front of The Cube for over a week, hoping to use it as an opportunity to bring exposure to issues of, "sustainability, affordable housing, energy security, and locally-grown food," who tried to bumrush the applauding Apple receiving line of Apple employees and penetrate The Cube with what appears to be a metal/aluminum-foil horse carrying an American flag. The world may never know now knows exactly what sort of brilliant political statement he was trying to make as he was quickly intercepted by burly security guards who jettisoned him away to make room for more obedient cult members. Video, inside... More »
—>Reports on the MacRumors forums and Gizmodo comments assert that some of the new Apple iPhone 3Gs look distinctly iJaundiced. Needless to say, the owners are pissed. Did you get one of these banana phones? Send an email with a pic to tips@consumerist.com or let us know in the comments. More »
—>Only the first lucky clutch of people in line today at AT&T stores will walk out with a new iPhone 3G in-hand. There were only 30 phones available in total at the the biggest AT&T store in Waterbury CT, at the Brass Mill Center, according to a store employee. Reporting from the line, reader Kevin says that everyone else was given an option to buy a slip of paper for $226.79 (see a scan of it posted inside), have the phone shipped from the warehouse to you, then you come back to the store to activate the phone. Customers will have to pay for the shipping charges for this favor. More »
—>When I heard that the iPhone activations were completely borked, I thought, man, that's what you get for partnering with the Death Star. But from what reader Justin heard from an ATT rep, oh-so-pristine Appple might actually be the one with blemishes. He writes, More »
—>Reader Brandon's Macbook had some cracks and stuck pixels, so he sent it in to be repaired. When he got it back the cracks were fixed, but someone had written on his screen with pen. So, naturally, he sent it back. This time, they lost it. Don't worry, there's a happy ending. More »
—>An Apple store insider has leaked to us what they say will be some limitations and barriers on buying the iPhone Apple and AT&T stores will apply to the new iPhone 3g that goes on sale this Friday: More »
—>Those of us who bought iPhones when they came out haven't been very popular over the last year. We've been viewed as impulse-buying fanboys who got suckered into paying to beta-test an incomplete product on an inferior network. Then Steve Jobs sold us out. Now our co-workers won't stop making fun of us. I bought my iPhone on June 29th, I still love it, and I can't wait to buy a new one next week. Inside, my reasons why. More »
—>Hey, Apple fanboys! Yeah, you, the ones who stood on line foaming at the mouth so you could be the first to buy those precious little pocket diamonds that didn't sell out. Your limited one-year warranty expires tomorrow, so break your phone while you can. As for the rest of us, let's look back at a year of the iPhone and remember the perils of being an early adopter... More »
—>Even at Apple where consistency practiced and preached, not all Apple Stores are created equal, just ask reader Adam. The Bluetooth capability on his Macbook Pro was malfunctioning and because he relies on his Macbook for work, he couldn't simply drop it off for a week to be repaired. Fortunately, Adam had a 1-week vacation ahead, so he left the Macbook at the Millenia Apple Store in Orlando, FL. who promised him that the repairs would be made before the end of his break. Adam returned to pick up the Macbook and discovered that not only had it not been fixed, nobody had even attempted to diagnose the problem. Adam could not afford to miss any work, so on a whim, he brought it to a different Apple Store which produced a dramatically different result. Adam's letter, inside... More »
—>Apple may have Al Gore on its board of directors, but that won't stop them from shipping teeny tiny remote controls in cartoonishly large boxes. More »
—>Apple's new 3G iPhone might seem like a bargain at $199: more features, 3G speeds, and $200 cheaper than the original model. Great, except it's not actually cheaper. The new $199 iPhone is actually $160 more than the $399 iPhone it replaces. More »
—>Whatever you do, don't download any fun 3rd party programs to the iPhones at the University Avenue Apple store in Palo Alto, California. You may be detained for 2 1/2 hours, then photographed and told that other Apple stores will be " on the lookout" for you. More »
After a successful pilot program, Macy's is putting fancy Japanese-style vending machines in 400 of its stores. They'll sell things like iPods and cameras. Looks like Macy's will have to add another list of things excluded from its not-very-valuable coupons. [Reuters] More »
—>Reader Katy, whose laptop had disappeared into the black hole that is the HP repair department, writes us with an update. HP sent her computer back, but it's still sort of broken. She's going to work with HP to get the laptop fixed under warranty (so she can give it to her brother), but she'd had enough and went out and bought a Macbook. More »
AT&T's one-iPhone-per-customer rule lasted only one day before the company went back to its three-per-customer policy. Apparently they found some more iPhones in the back. [Information Week] More »
—> As loyal readers already know, Apple doesn't accept cash for the iPhone — a policy they say is designed to discourage resellers from getting their grubby little hands on the precious cellphone. This policy does have a tendency to backfire every now and then when a legitimate customer wants to purchase an iPhone with cash. Meet Alex Palen— he was refused an iPhone because he doesn't have a credit or debit card and was escorted from the store when he asked another customer to accept cash in exchange for charging the phone to their card. More »
—>Picture this: The phones rings, and you check the caller ID and see your girlfriend's number. With great anticipation you answer the call, but then a gruff masculine "Hello" bellows from the ear piece. What the...? It sounds awkward but that's what happened to James. His girlfriend's iPhone was stolen a few weeks ago and the theft was reported to AT&T who had the phone deactivated. However, the new owner of the stolen iPhone had it reactivated and assumed the phone number of James' girlfriend, thus deactivating James' girlfriend's replacement phone. How could this happen? James' letter, inside... More »
My daughter and I ordered a book as a Mother's Day gift, and I was disappointed to learn it would ship late and miss the big day. I had waited until the last day of the promotion (April 30th at about 9:00 PM EST), so I didn't want to complain. Then this landed in my inbox.
—>Certain electronics retailers such as Apple and Sony offer engraving for laptops, cameras and MP3 players. It may seem like a nice service, but it really saves them lots of money. Why? Engraved products can't be returned just because you couldn't figure out how to use the product or because you realized that you spent too much on it and now have to eat peanut butter and corn tortilla sandwiches for a month to avoid defaulting on your student loan. More »
—>Reader Matt CC'd us on this sad email to Steve Jobs. It seems that some #$!@#$ at FedEx stole his Mother's Day gift right out of the box. Now he's asking Steve Jobs to help him get the stolen iPod replaced in time for Mother's Day. More »
—>Matt has a 1-year-old Macbook that was having some serious issues which included a dead power supply, overheating and some strange burn marks on the computer itself which, incidentally, was out of warranty. Matt's roommate David decided to draft a nicely written letter and fire it off to Steve Jobs at sjobs@apple.com. To David's delight, Steve Jobs took the letter on his iPhone and forwarded it to one of his assistants. Acute customer satisfaction ensued. David's letter inside... More »
It was a dark and stormy night, and the Consumerist team was hunkered down at HQ poring over leads. Suddenly, we heard a ruckus coming from the alley. Footsteps, followed by the sound of breaking glass and a cat crying out as if to say, "OMGWTF?" More »
I work in an IT dept at a tech company in Utah and we have about half Apple computers and half PCs. We had a 17" MacBook Pro with a bad hard drive, so I sent it in with AppleCare and got it back within a couple days. They sent it back with a new hard drive, a new battery, and a broken keyboard! There was tape covering the tab, caps lock, and shift keys and when I lifted it off, the caps lock key came with it! (see picture)...
—>Like any responsible computer user, Benny regularly backs up his data. Unfortunately for him, the three Seagate external hard drives he used failed, and he lost about $500 in iTunes purchases. Seagate wanted $1700 to recover the data. Fortunately, Apple saved the day. More »
Jeff says an Apple Genius gave his girlfriend back the wrong computer!When my girlfriend encountered problems turning on her laptop, she was frustrated with yet another problem. More »
—>A tech support supervisor, from what we figure to be Apple, has stepped forward to break down some behind-the-scenes workings with his underlings who sometimes make both his and consumer's lives difficult. For instance, one of the reasons you might be on hold so long is agents using fake work codes to avoid taking calls. Also, we know that metrics rule the call centers, but, in one of the confessions, he talks about how not only is it important to not go over your average handle time, you also can't go too far under. Just strive to be perfectly average, and you'll go far... More »
Apple's perpetually melting and fraying MagSafe adapters—apparently these things are made out of Styrofoam and rice paper—continue to cause trouble. More »
—> Anyone who has been on the receiving end of an Apple ad campaign in the past 10 years knows that they tend to play fast and loose with the truth in their ad copy. Their towers are the fastest, their laptop is the thinnest, their phone is the most advanced. With so many unchecked exaggerations, Apple sometimes comes across as the consumer electronics version of Donald Trump, augmented by killer industrial and UI designers. Now a law firm in California has filed a class-action suit against the company for misrepresenting its new 20-inch iMac models as being capable of producing millions of colors, when in fact they use a substandard el-cheapo screen that is nowhere near as capable as what's in the 24-inch models. More »
—>Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh was having problems with his Mac. A program called Time Machine wasn't restoring his emails properly and repeated calls to Apple Support were fruitless. Based on complaints in online forums, he wasn't the only one either. So finally he complained about it on-air and that caught Apple's attention enough to assign an engineer to go fix it (the guy had to delete the "null mail folder" and rebuild it in the internal directory with the terminal command). That's the power of leveraging your voice . But you don't need to have your own radio show, just deploy some of the technique that we described in "The Ultimate Consumerist Guide to Fighting Back" or in our interview with Ron Burley to get real customer satisfaction. More »
—>Matt's Officejet 6110 scans perfectly under Ubuntu, but won't play nice with Leopard. When Matt called HP for support, he was told that the company has no plans to issue new drivers so he should just buy a new printer. To soften the blow, the tech mentioned HP's trade-in program, which would give Matt a whopping $16 for his printer. More »
Heavens, another Macbook has exploded. Apple is sending him a new one. [Appeltell] More »
—> Our intern Alex's lemony MacBook Pro finally went out with a spectacular graphical display of what it looks like when a robot's brain dissolves. Fortunately, Apple made good on the promise they gave him last month when he asked about their replacement policy, and a new replacement MacBook Pro is on its way to him. They're also refunding a portion of his AppleCare. Is this just typical Apple follow-through or above and beyond treatment because Alex's story was posted on Consumerist? More »
Yes. You can use up to six cards when making a purchase at a retail Apple Store and up to four cards at the online Apple Store That's too bad for reader Rhys. Rhys, like Charlie, has 7 gift cards and no access to the Apple Store. More »
A traveler reports that the TSA freaked out over his new Macbook Air when he brought it through security. Apparently the guy manning the x-ray was alarmed at the alleged laptop's lack of a hard-drive and ports on the back. [Engadget] More »
I went into my nearest ATT store and there were two CSR's behind the counter- I asked for an 8gig Refurb iPhone thats being sold for $249 and the kid said sure and walked me over to the desk. The next words out of his mouth "What is your social security number?" No "How are you today?" "Thanks for coming in" No, apparently they just want my credit report to see if I am "worthy"
—>Reader Matthew bought a new MacBookPro and an iPod from Apple. The MacBook was ok but the iPod came with a scratch on the screen. He decided to try to exchange it for an undamaged iPod. He sent it back to Apple and instead of a new iPod he got his old one back with an additional scratch on it. More »
If you don't use your Juniper iTunes Rewards VISA (issued by Barclay's) for an entire year, they close the card and report to the credit agencies that you requested to close it. I've learned that when I called to inquire about a lower rate on 2/26, the agent canceled my account.
—>Reader Anjela writes in wondering if a certain employee of the Apple store has has a rare disorder that makes women invisible to him. That might explain why the employee spent the entire AirBook shopping excursion talking to her husband instead of Anjela—the actual customer. More »
—> Last week we pointed out how Apple artificially inflates the discount of its refurbished units by using the original introductory list price as a comparison, even if the price has since dropped and the true list price is now lower. Now a reader writes in to say he caught Toys R Us doing the same thing on sale prices of Playstation 3 bundles and 30 gig Zunes. Our question: is this legal? New York City's consumer protection law seems to imply that—at least for retailers doing business in NYC—it's not, unless you clearly indicate the trail of price reductions, something neither company is doing. More »
—> Erin writes, "I was searching for an iPod Nano on Google Products and this link came up!" That's one hell of a markup there, anonymous web store with no branding and an empty "Contact Us" page. Our favorite part: "NOT FOR RESALE"—don't even think about buying this and marking it up for your own store. More »
—>Circuit City lied to Ian about giving him a discounted iPod Touch, but now he has a satisfactory resolution. He writes:
After writing a number of emails to Circuit City and after a making few more (fruitless) calls, I tried something new and posted my story to their public online customer service forums. The forum manager responded very quickly and promised that someone would call me back to resolve things. I received two calls last Thursday from Circuit City staff who wanted to help fix the situation;
Last Thursday 2/14, I ordered a 32GB iPod touch from CircuitCity.com at $474 + tax for a total of about $514. After thinking about it for a bit, I logged back in and canceled the order - just a bit too steep for an iPod, you know? I figured I'd have to wait a while for the price to drop, and left it at that. Well, believe it or not, I received a call at work today from a Circuit City sales rep at corporate telling me he'd offer me the iPod at a discount, so CC could keep my business. I was baffled - nothing like this has ever happened to me before, but the price he gave me $420 + tax... was too good to pass up.
—> A reader noticed that Apple is selling refurbished 8gb iPhones for $349, and they're listing the original price as $599. "Save 42% off the original price," says the Apple Store. Gosh, that's a huge savings! Wait... well sure, the original original price was $599, but we all know that Apple knocked that down fairly quickly, and now a brand new 8 gb model sells for $399—which means actually you're only saving 12.5% off the Real World Price Right Now of a brand new iPhone, if you went and bought it today. More »
I wanted to inform consumerist that the manager from the Apple Store at Stonestown called me back to apologize about the incident and to invite me back to the store. She apologized for the employees making ID a requirement of purchase and that they were doing it to protect from fraud. She then mentioned that they understand they were not following the merchant agreements but will do so here on out. I will go back to make my purchase! More »
—> This poor guy is named Steve. Steve's Macbook keeps trying to light his house on fire, so Steve would like replacement. He's already sent the computer for repair several times, gotten it back, at which time it tried to light his house on fire again. More »
—>We received the following strangely awesome, if a bit strange, letter from a consumer who was not allowed to purchase something at the Apple store because he would not show ID. It was sent to Steve Jobs and William Rhodes (of Citibank.) Let's listen in: More »
—> Yesterday we noted that our intern Alex Chasick was told by an Apple Genius that Apple will not automatically replace a defective laptop after the third hardware failure. Alex followed our advice and called Apple's Executive Customer Service line for some official answers. Here's what he found out. More »
What's Apple's replacement policy for hardware failure? Our intern is having ongoing problems with his MacBook, and thought that after three large hardware failures in a row, Apple replaced the laptop—but "some dude at the genius bar just told me that was absolutely not true." Does anyone know the official Apple party line on this issue? More »
—>Some iPhone users are being told that they have to sign up for a new 2-year contract if they upgrade from the 8gb iPhone to the 16gb iPhone. Even though Apple's website and AT&T's internal official policy says this is not the case, some AT&T reps are insisting that customers have to extend their contract. Fortunately, they are completely misinformed. You just get your new iPhone, update your account through iTunes, and boom, you're good to go, no contract extension. More »
—> Joshua's MacBook was splitting along one side—you could push it back together, but after a few minutes it would start to separate again. When Joshua, who has Asperger syndrome, tried to get it repaired at his local Apple Store, he ran into all sorts of problems. First there was a two-hour wait to see an expert, then an assistant manager walked up and said, "I've seen you in here a lot with that laptop, what's wrong?" Joshua explained, and pointed out that he had a meeting to attend that evening and needed his laptop to take notes, so he was hoping to have it looked at in person.
"I'm sorry if I seem on edge or anything, I just.... I'm born with this"... The assistant manager then says "It's okay. It's the Monday before a full moon. There will be plenty more freaks like you before close". And tells me to calm down.
—> Dawn writes to tell us that she and her husband both received the $100 iPhone credits last fall, but when she tried to use them on December 4th she discovered one of the credits had a zero balance. An Apple CSR told her to go ahead and make her purchase without it, and the $100 would be credited immediately to her Visa. Unfortunately, she took his advice. More »
—>Zachariah no longer has to wonder about why AppleCare costs more in Canada ($199) than in the US ($169), he found a deal at L.A. Computer Company where he could get it for $119. They emailed him the agreement number, he registered the number online at Apple, and received his official AppleCare Protection Plan Certificate in the mail. So what's the solution to the mystery of why there was a pricing disparity even though there's parity between the dollar and the loony? We don't know for sure, but we're placing our money on that the prices were figured out when the dollar was worth more and they just haven't been readjusted since. More »
—>Here's a problem: Apple says they've sold 3.7 million iPhones. AT&T says they've activated 2 million iPhones. Just where the hell are the rest of the iPhones? More »
You know what, Apple has this titanium image like they have the awesomest customer service in the world, and sometimes you call and get the really great and quick ninja Apple Care reps, but sometimes when you call Apple Care you get what sounds like are the outsourced guys and they're very stupid and not helpful and difficult to understand. There, I said it. More »
—>Reader Jen was having a hard time using AT&T's website. She says, "It was very slow, I was asked to log in several times, the fonts unreadably small in places (and not just fine print, either)." More »
The dirty-sounding finance blog "Make Your Nut" works through the pros and cons of the latest Apple products, so that you can "make sure you enter into your purchases with eyes wide open." More »
—> Netflix has removed the monthly limits on all but its lowest-cost plan in an apparent attempt to position itself more competitively against Apple, which is expected to announce a downloadable movie rental service tomorrow. Now for as little as $8.99 per month you can watch as many movies on your PC as you can download. More »
Woman sues Apple for not letting iPods play WMA files. [Cnet] More »
Sony has agreed to sell its songs DRM-free on the Amazon MP3 store, completing the set—now all four big record companies are on board. It's amazing how a little iTunes competitiveness will bring a bunch of executives together. More »
—> Here's one reason to use an online service to store financial data: no buggy updates to deal with.* Intuit's December update for 2006 and 2007 versions of QuickBooks Pro on the Mac platform wiped the user's Desktop folder and anything stored there. The company released a patch, but it didn't work if you launched QuickBooks while connected to a wireless hotspot, oops. The latest patch, so far as we can tell, simply disables any further updates to the application—on January 3rd the company "began automatically feeding a patch to Mac QuickBooks users that permanently switches off the program's upgrade mechanism to prevent a repetition of a data disaster." In the meantime, since they can't offer a way to fix the deleted Desktop folders, they're offering rebates to users who buy a copy of the data recovery program Data Rescue II. More »
—>Joe Ellis arranged for Santa to deliver an iPod to his daughter for Christmas. Santa instead left an anti-capitalist rant. The iPod purchased from a Maryland Walmart contained a note written in ransom-letter caps reading:
RECLAIM YOUR MIND FROM THE MEDIA SHACKLES. READ A BOOK AND RESURRECT YOURSELF. More »
—>Reader Patrick sends the above screen grab with the comforting email subject line: "No Worries—Apple.com Can't Spell Either." More »
Apple has agreed to drop its lawsuit against Think Secret, a website that specializes in publishing in-house Apple rumors and leaks. In return, Think Secret has agreed to stop existing. However, this means the editor also gets to protect his sources. [Think Secret via Gizmodo] More »
My brother directed me to your site after I had a rather crappy time with the Apple Care people over the phone. Long story short, I sent my MacBook in to get fixed while I was at school in Pittsburgh and contacted them to have it redirected to my home in Canada once it was all done. Lo and behold, it got sent back to Pittsburgh even though I gave them plenty of information on how to contact me and strict instructions that it shouldn't go back. More »
—> Would you pay $36 a year to access Quicken on your iPhone? What the hell, why not, right? You already paid for the iPhone! That's probably what Intuit is hoping—and the zillion-dollar iPod accessories market proves there's a lot of "blue ocean" for businesses that want to fish in Apple waters. It launches the product as a web service on January 8th, 2008, with an iPhone-friendly flavor also available then. There are plans to roll out "tweaked" versions for other mobile devices at an unspecified point in the future. More »
—>Reader Christian has an iPhone that is activated on a pre-paid GoPhone plan with AT&T. The EDGE service has stopped working properly for quite a few GoPhone-style iPhone users in California and Christian isn't having much luck with AT&T's customer service: More »
—>A firm called Klausner Technologies has just announced that they are suing both Apple and AT&T for patent infringement over the iPhone's "visual voicemail" feature. Klausner Technologies has already sued VOIP provider Vonage and AOL/Time Warner for the same darn thing, and both companies chose to settle and license the technology from Klausner. More »
—>There seems to be a defect with the screens of certain iMacs, says MacNN. More and more users are reporting an issue where weird pink lines appear on the LCD and get progressively worse as time goes on. More »
—>Your local Apple Store is home to a mysterious tractor beam that pulls in unwitting shoppers who venture less than 25 feet from its storefront, says Apple Insider. An anylst from Piper Jaffray spent 6 hours monitoring traffic in front of various Apple Stores and found that shoppers were inexplicably drawn to the big glowing Apple. More »
—>Apple has a 10% restocking fee on opened non-defective products, but AT&T seems to think that this applies to iPhones that are defective right out of the box. More »
—>Here's a letter that just goes to show that customer service depends on which employee you get. Reader Cody works at Best Buy (in the Apple department, apparently) and his brother is getting the runaround at the Apple store. Is this the ultimate retail showdown? More »
—>Walter Mossberg wrote a guide for buying a Mac and we like the parts that say who should and who shouldn't get one. Mac vs PC debates are highly personal, often end in bloodshed, and usually make no sense, so it's nice to see a rational discussion of each system's attributes. In the end, it really matters what kind of user you are, and what your price point is... More »
—>"This year I moved in May 2007. My new housemates and I decided that we wanted to share wireless internet in our house. We order Qwest wireless the first week of June 2007. More »
—>Four benjamins will no longer get you an iPhone, now that Apple is requiring credit cards for all iPhone purchases. The new policy, which is billed as an anti-piracy initiative, also prevents customers from buying more than two iPhones per visit. Apple claims the policy went into effect this Thursday, however we received the following tip more than a week ago: More »
—> We owe Apple an apology, because it turns out they weren't kidding when they said that opening the iPhone up to 3rd party software was just asking for trouble. That's because the iPhone runs every single app as "root," which is computerese for "more power than Steve Jobs." It was this root access that made the Safari exploit possible back in July, and it can't be fixed without a complete redesign of the firmware. More »
—> Various sources are saying Apple has agreed to sell unlocked phones in France—because, well, French law says they have to—but our own Gizmodo says it's only rumor at this point: "Apple told us that the piece was based solely off of reading French Law, not from statements by Orange or Apple." More »
—> Yesterday's legal action in California against Apple over its use of phthalates may be the opening shot in a nation-wide battle between consumer advocates, health agencies, state and federal entities, and manufacturers of everything from teething rings to consumer electronics to sex toys. Although the ban (which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2009) is limited to California, "lawmakers in Texas, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, Maine, Connecticut and New York are expected to introduce similar legislation in the coming months, according to environmental and breast cancer groups that sponsored the California measure." More »
The Center for Environmental Health is taking legal action against Apple, because "the levels of phthalates (a group of chemical compounds... that increase flexibility) in the iPhone are in violation of California law." They say if the company doesn't agree to recall current iPhones, they will file suit. [Wired] More »
—>"This is Stephanie, I emailed you a couple of weeks ago about my MacBook's cracked screen, and how the manager at Apple in Chestnut Hill was basically the worst person ever."More »
—> A class-action lawsuit was filed on October 5th against the unholy duo of Apple and AT&T, charging that they intentionally broke unlocked headsets via the last firmware update, and conspired illegally to monopolize parts of the mobile phone market by preventing consumers from using any services other than those provided by the two companies. The suit charges the two companies, either jointly or separately, with six formal counts, including "alleged violations of the California Business and Profession's Code, The Cartwright Act, The Sherman Act, The Federal Trade Commission Act, The Communications Act of 1934, and The Telecommunications Act of 1996, as well as rules and policies established by the FCC." More »
—>The iPhone has a setting that makes it safe to use on an airplane. So-called "airplane mode" disables cell phone, radio, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth signals, thus allowing you to watch movies staring Jennifer Love Hewitt while flying through the air. More »
—>Jimm Lasser went to sleep with his PowerBook sitting underneath his bed, and woke to find it bursting into flames. From the pictures, it looks like there was a battery malfunction. More »
—>Melanie Ritter thought she was buying a video iPod from Target for her daughter's birthday, only to open the box and find rocks inside. Imagine how much more disappointed she was the second time this happened. More »
—> According to a Slate columnist, not only is it legal, but it's ethical and fun. (Fun?) "I did just throw down more than $400 for this little toy," he writes. "I'm no property-rights freak, but that iPhone is now my personal property, and that ought to stand for something." More »
Anthony is on his 5th iPhone. The screen is only viewable when held at an angle, as shown in the video he made. This sucks. Anthony has been in contact with various Apple store, and corporate representatives, including the direct underlings of Steve Jobs. They keep apologizing and sending him "new" iPhones, each of which still has the screen problem. More »
—>The debate continues about what effect wearing an iPod has when/if you are stuck by lightning. Some say the earbuds conduct the electricity away from the jogger's head. Other say that it directs it through his head. More »
Last Wendesday, I was sitting in my dorm room by myself, doing homework on my Macbook, which is less than two months old. After typing my essay for a while, I went on my bed to do some other homework. Nobody else was in the room at all during this time, just me. After about 10 minutes, I returned to my computer, opening it only to see that 1/3 of the screen was broken. More »
My girlfriend is a college student. She purchased a brand new iMac on Apple's website on August 7, the day the new iMacs came out, and got the free iPod Nano (after rebate) along with the deal. The rebate required both the UPC codes — which you would need to have received the products, right? More »
—>A reader reports that a Bellevue, WA AT&T store is trying to play it like the company-wide iPhone price drop is a "manager's special." When he called the regional manager, our reader was told the signs were the brainchild of the regional marketing department. More »
NBC makes many of its popular shows available online in streaming media, which means that fans can watch episodes on their computers. Under the new NBC service, called NBC Direct, consumers will be able to download, for no fee, NBC programs like "Heroes," "The Office" and "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on the night that they are broadcast and keep them for seven days. They would also be able to subscribe to shows, guaranteeing delivery each week. More »
I did it. I succumbed to the lure of an iPhone. I love Apple products, but I now get the distinct impression that they are forcing us to get into bed with the devil, also known as AT&T. After purchasing an iPhone (the 4GB leper version for $299) at an Apple Store, I took it home and attempted to get it working. More »
—>According to CNNMoney, Apple may be plotting an iTunes movie rental service that would allow iPod users to rent and watch a movie for 30 days without purchasing the entire film. Rumors place the rental fee at about $2.99. More »
—> We hate to say this, but in the interest of fairness we must: sometimes it really is the customer's fault. A man took his three iPhones out of the country, and now he's got a $4800 roaming bill because he didn't turn them off and they kept checking for email. Well, he didn't turn them off off. You know, there's standby off and off off. Or maybe you didn't know? It's all in the Apple iPhone User Guide—we just looked at it online and it's right there on page 14: how to put your phone in standby (which just turns off the screen) and how to shut it off completely. More »
In response to the announcement issued yesterday by Mr. Jobs, I would like to know how is it even reasonable to expect that pissed off customers WANT $100 towards more Apple gear? What good does $100 towards new stuff do, if I never plan to shop at Apple again as a result of this greedy stunt? I'm in the tech industry—one could reasonably expect that a new version and a lower price would happen around December, given the holidays and the fact that it's 6 months after the launch. But this week, and a 33% cut? That's outrageous, especially when the standard return policies for most smart retailers are 30, 60 or 90 days...not 14. Apple has just destroyed their brand in my eyes. More »
—> Early Adopter Syndrome can strike anyone—our fancy N95 is less than six months old and has just been kicked to the curb by Nokia for a new version that works with US 3G—so we sympathize with all of you who just shelled out $600 for that great iPod/so-so phone combo from Apple. The Unofficial Apple Weblog offers the following five suggestions on how to fix your little $200 problem. More »
We like watching ads for outdated technology. It reminds us not to spend tons on money on soon-to-be obsolete junk, and also makes us feel happy that technology is so much better than it was in 1984. More »
—>The New York Times is reporting that NBC will not renew its contract to provide content to Apple's iTunes service. A spokesperson from NBC confirmed the decision after an anonymous source leaked it to the Times but did not comment on why NBC was dropping iTunes. More »
AT&T yesterday decided to stop raping forests and stop sending customers several hundred-page long iPhone bills itemizing every single photo they accessed while web-browsing. The change was announced In a text message sent out to subscribers that read:
AT&T free msg: We are simplifying you paper bill, removing itemized detail. To view all detail go to att.com/mywirelesss. Still need full paper bill? Call 611
Tasty Blog Snack blogger Justine Ezarik, whose video of opening the box containing her 300 page bill received several million views, curtly thanked AT&T for the shift in a new video, above. She all but places her hands on her hips, bucks her head and says, "Thass right, girlfriend," but we're sure that's only because she doesn't want to damage the iPhone she's holding. More »
—>Reader Jonathan's iPhone just keeps breaking. The second time, rather than replacing it, they decided it would need to be repaired—and tried to charge him $30 for a rental phone. More »
—>Over at Blackberry Cool they're claiming that an AT&T insider told them AT&T had bullied RIM into crippling the Blackberry's GPS features so it wouldn't make the iPhone look bad in comparison. More »
AT&T experiencing coast-to-coast data service outages, reader Michael writes, with users unable to connect to EDGE via iPhone or use data via Blackberries. Reportedly, it should be fixed within 1-2 hours. (P) More »
—>Remember JD? 32 hours of tech support from Apple and AT&T couldn't coax his replacement iPhone into working with his prepaid SIM card. After we posted his story, representatives from both companies had a powwow and traced JD's problem back to mismatched IMEI numbers. Now JD's replacement iPhone works, and he has advice for anyone in a similar bind:
Received a call from an extremely helpful AT&T representative yesterday. She was informed of the situation by Apple, and worked with them to resolve it. Along with AT&T, I received a call from an Apple executive, who was also extremely helpful. Thanks to them both for getting to the bottom of this situation. More »
—>iPhone owners using prepaid SIM cards better take extra special care of their pocket trophies. According to Apple and AT&T, prepaid SIM cards are eternally wed without consent to one lucky iPhone, an important caveat reader JD discovered after spending 32 hours trying to activate his replacement iPhone. JD warns:
If you activated an iPhone with a new AT&T prepaid plan, you *must* keep using that iPhone. You *cannot* replace that iPhone with another iPhone. The only way to use a new iPhone with your prepaid account, is to *create a new account with a new phone number,* and have them move your balance over. Period. Apparently this is a "security feature" and the system was "designed that way," specifically for prepaid iPhone plans.
The discouraging verdict from both Apple and AT&T should make potential iPhone users think twice before using a prepaid SIM card to skirt the confines of a two year contract. JD's full story, after the jump. More »
—>Julie would really like to pay her mortgage, but she can't. Why not? Because when she tried to help her son buy a MacBook, Apple decided to debit $1517.27 from her account without permission. When she called to tell them they'd pulled the money from the wrong card, causing her account to over draft, they apologized and told her they'd fix it. Instead, they debited another $186 from Julie's account, and another $1517.27 from her son's account. More »
—>Unfortunately, Apple's design gurus didn't get to lovingly sculpt AT&T's billing system, so when the first iPhone users opened their bills this month, they got a surprise. Actually, pages upon pages of surprises. Every single image gets assessed a fee based on its kilobytes, and is then painstakingly itemized on your AT&T bill. More »
—>You'd think the country's largest ISP would embrace customers who use Firefox and Safari. Or maybe you wouldn't. Tech.Blorge blogger David says they "hate" Mac and Firefox. Strong words! More »
—>Coca-Cola has come out on top of the "Best Brands" Harris Poll for the first time ever. Sony, the leader for the past 7 years slipped to number 2. More »
—>We regularly receive emails praising Apple's customer support for the iTunes Store. Apple's standard, often proactive, response is to offer a flexible credit. Below is one story from reader Evan:
"I have read many horror stories online of the iTunes customer support department. I just wanted to share my excellent experience. I was attempting to use the Complete My Album feature, but I continued getting an error message. Here is an email thread from me to Apple."
When the friendly salesperson asked me why I wanted to return it, I answered honestly. "I can't afford it," I said. But that was not the whole story. [Salon.com] More »
—>Ars Technica is reporting that a there is a 7,500-computer (and growing) botnet infected by a Trojan called Aifone.A.More »
According to one report, by a guy who analyzes customer service phone calls for a living, the special Apple iPhone customer service line (1-877-419-4500, NOT the AT&T number) is really great. [The Customer Service Survey] More »
—>In case you're wondering why Consumerist isn't writing a bunch of posts on how to hack your iPhone to get it to work on "any network," here is why: More »
—>The usual cast and crew of operation greymarket are out of luck with the iPhone, according to the Boston Globe. Unlike Nintendo and their still-scarce Wii, Apple appears to be meeting demand. From the Boston Globe:
David Flashner thought he had it wired: Buy two iPhones last Friday when they first went on sale, keep one, and sell the other at a profit so big it would pay for most of the first one. More »
"We sell elaborate home networks and people view their homes or their kids with the babysitter when they are out to dinner. Because of the iPhone's large screen, it works fine with that application, and our customers want to put it on the network." Wait, you can watch your baby monitor on the iPhone? It's a brave new world. More »
—>Darin's iPhone was defective, so he tried to return it to the AT&T store where he purchased it. No dice. AT&T told him that Apple was responsible for the device. When Darin tried to exchange the phone with Apple, they told him he'd have to deal with AT&T for the first 14 days. More »
—> Did D.C. Mayor Adiran Fenty dispatch henchmen to retrieve an iPhone? An eagle-eyed tipster spotted a member of the Mayor's coterie dashing into a double-parked SUV with three bags outside the AT&T store on 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue.
By this point, more than a few people are asking questions, and after a guy behind me yells out "fix the schools first," the [Mayor's staffer] gives him the finger and sneers, "there's only 15 left."
—>John Street, the iPhone loving mayor of Philadelphia, has giving up the wait after a guy with a mohawk asked him, "How can you sit here with 200 murders in the city already?" The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on its Web site. More »
—>We could be standing on line outside an Apple Store waiting to get our grubby little hands on an iPhone. We are not, and we're ok with that. You too can resist the little charmer's curves and siren song ringtone by remembering the iPhone's imperfections: More »
—>Ahh, the pleasures of emailing Steve Jobs. Once again a reader writes in to tell us that after a warranty repair was denied, emailing Steve Jobs resulted in, uh, undenial. Undenial is not a word, but it is what happens when you email Steve Jobs. More »
—>NBC 10 in Philadelphia had some people camped out for an iPhone when what did they see? Wait, is that... the Mayor? It was:
Donning a white baseball hat and warmup suit — complete with an iPod strapped to his arm — a casual Philadelphia Mayor John Street patiently sat on a lawn chair on a South Philadelphia sidewalk, hoping to get his hands on the new Apple iPhone Friday morning. More »
—>If you're planning on buying an iPhone, make sure you won't have buyer's remorse because if you do, it'll cost you 10%. AT&T has released a PDF of "pre-purchase understandings" that read like warnings: More »
—>If you want to get an iPhone but you're stuck in a contract, here's six ways to escape your service plan without paying a $175 early termination fee: More »
—>By far the most common "Apple" complaint we get at Consumerist is about our readers being denied warranty repairs because of some sort of "damage". More »
—>You better frickin' like your full-price iPhone because if you don't, AT&T plans on charging you the full $175 early termination fee, even though the phone's cost isn't at all subsidized under a long-term-agreement. More »
Michael coulda tried calling back again later and getting a different rep, or emailing Steve Jobs, or filing a dispute with the BBB or AG, or any number of different options. Instead, this seems to have been his most personally satisfying option. More »
—>According to an article in PC World, only hours after Apple debuted its Safari browser for Windows, 8 bugs were found, one of which is so severe that it could let an attacker "grab complete control of the PC." More »
—>Don't go looking for the new iPhone at any ol' AT&T store come June 29th, it will only be available through Apple.com, Apple stores, and certain special AT&T outlets, according to an AT&T memo we received. More »
—>An Apple telesales rep tell us you can get them to knock $100 off your price when ordering over the phone just by playing a little hard to get:
If they make it obvious that they're purchasing but are a little resistant to it being "too expensive" by about $100 - sales representatives can take off $100 off an order (as long as it's purchased through the standard consumer store).
We're thinking this is more likely to work if it's a big-ticket item like a laptop. More »
—>In what is sure to launch another tiresome Mac/PC debate, the Journal of Consumer Research has released a study that shows familiarity to be the deciding factor when consumers are asked which product is superior:
"The costs associated with thinking about and using a particular product decrease as a function of the amount of experience a consumer has with it. Thus, repeated consumption or use of an incumbent product results in a (cognitive) switching cost that increases the probability that a consumer will continue to choose the incumbent over competing alternatives."
So, basically, people are too lazy to learn something new, even if it's easier to learn than what they already know, because, well, they already know it. More »
"Don't go to an Apple store," Jobs told me. "It will be a madhouse there. People will be lined up around the block, sleeping on the sidewalk to get one. Go to an AT&T/Cingular store. Most people don't know that they will be selling them too." Uh, they do now, Steve.
If you sleep on the sidewalk in order to buy a cellphone, you may want to consider getting professional help. —MEGHANN MARCO More »
—>It's a sad day for cheap vain people, the Apple Store has blocked MySpace. One can no longer hog the computers taking pursed-lipped self-portraits with PhotoBooth and uploading them to MySpace. Apparently, such people were clogging up the Macs for hours at a time. More »
—>Eric flew from Portland to Washington to give a presentation, but forgot to bring the DVI-VGA adaptor needed to connect his MacBook Pro to his client's LCD projector. Eric caught the mistake at the Portland airport, so he looked up the number of his hotel, the J.W. Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue, and asked for their help.
The operator was very patient with me as I quickly summarized my situation. She connected me with HD at the Marriott's Audio/Visual Department. I spoke with HD regarding my rookie Mac mistake. HD informed me that one of their staff would go out and purchase the cable for me.
Eric wasn't staying in the Presidential suite, nor was he a VIP, even though he was treated like one. The adaptor he found waiting for him at the front desk bore a J.W. Marriott sticker, and was lent to Eric free of charge. "I think their idea was that they probably needed that cable anyways and if they could help a customer out then it was a win-win situation." More »
—>When Charlie's iPod died, again, she took it to Best Buy, again, as it was under one of those extended warranties they push. What she got back in the mail was an even more messed up iPod. When she took it to the store, they were kinda jerks about it. After her complaint got posted here, Best Buy swooped in. More »
—>There's been a comment war boiling as Marriott, Will, and the hotel's internet access company (GTS) duke it out to discern the vulnerability redirecting Marirott internet using guests to a casino scam site. More »
—>This audio/video player designed by Consumerist Flickr pool member unleashedlive features a sliding control panel that hides under the playing screen, just like with a slider cellphone. The maker of this 3d rendering says it would use flash memory and be chargeable via the headphone jack. More »
—>Thinking of buying Gramps an iPod for his birthday? If he has a pacemaker, you might want to hold off according to a new study "presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a meeting of heart specialists on Thursday." A high school student? Yeah! More »
—>Consumerist alum Joel Johnson has a beef with Canon and their decision to treat him, the proud purchaser of Canon Digital Rebel XT, like he found the camera in a dumpster. More »
—>Charlie gave her 4th gen iPod to Geek Squad for warranty repair. They promised her a new iPod in return. Instead, she received an iPod with a sad face screen. When she shook it, its hard drive rattled around. There was a ding in the side. The back of the iPod was buffed shiny, so much so you couldn't hardly see the iPod logo. When she took it back to the store, she says they were kinda obnoxious to her. The iPod is sent away again, but her hopes are not high. More »
—>Happy Friday, here's a song we found on the internet that felt very fitting for our readers put in their iPod, "We Like Having These Things," a jagged post-punk paean to consumerism, by the band Numbers. More »
—>We have, on occasion, heard tales of people emailing Steve Jobs and magically, as if carried on the wings of angels, a new laptop appears at their door, along with 12 lbs of really good salami, a bubblegum machine, and one of those rare Star Wars posters that everyone wants. Apparently, there is a little bit of truth to the legend. Don't worry vegans, there's no salami. More »
Chris finally had to put a hold on his repair so that he could retrieve the disc from Apple before they installed the new one. Guess what he found.More »
The center pin from her power brick BROKE OFF in the computer. Now, Apple's infamous for power-cords that fray and break, but this is a totally new failure in my 18 years as a sysadmin. NEVER have I seen the pin of a power adapter break off in its computer. More »
—>Perhaps you recall Chris who had the "unrecoverable" hard drive that Apple wouldn't let him keep? Chris was concerned that Apple was incorrect, and that the disk might in fact be recoverable by someone, and so he wanted it back. He asked nicely. He offered money. Sadly, nothing worked. Apple's policy was to keep the disc. Chris could either get his new hard drive or his old one, but not both. More »
—>Following Apple's lead, Microsoft has announced that the Zune Marketplace will offer DRM-free downloads from EMI's catalogue. Microsoft also claims to be discussing similar arrangements with other music labels.
"The EMI announcement on Monday was not exclusive to Apple," said Katy Asher, a Microsoft spokeswoman on the Zune team, in an e-mail to the IDG News Service today. She said Microsoft has been talking with EMI and other record labels "for some time now" about offering unprotected music on its Zune players in an effort to meet the needs of its customers.
Microsoft has kept mum on the specifics. We don't yet how the price or quality of Microsoft's music will stack up against Apple's offering, nor do we know when the DRM-free music will be made available on the Zune Marketplace. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER More »
Hannah bought a refurbished Mac. 9 months later the hard drive died, so Hannah brought her Mac to the Apple Store to have the disk repaired under Apple's 1 year warranty. More »
—>The Wall Street Journal is reporting that EMI, a Big Four music label and RIAA member, will release "significant amounts of its catalogue" unencumbered by DRM. The announcement from EMI is expected at an 8 a.m. EST press conference in London, featuring Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Privately most labels rejected the idea out of hand, but EMI, the world's third-largest music company by sales, was already quietly exploring the idea of dropping DRM. EMI has struggled to overcome poor results and a laggard digital strategy, potentially contributing to its willingness to take a bold stance on DRM.
EMI will make the DRM-free portions of its catalogue available for download via iTunes. We wonder how the RIAA will react. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER More »
—>Until yesterday, iTunes users who bought a single song, and later decided they wanted the whole album, ended up paying for the same song twice. Not anymore! More »
—>Vocal Laboratories, a company that helps other companies improve customer service by surveying customer calls, is working on project to improve tech support at Apple, Dell, Gateway, and HP, and you can participate. More »
—>Apple is sending Michael AppleCare warranties as fast as they're churning out iPods. So far, he has received 27 warranties.
So i was wondering if anyone has run into the same apple care protection plan problem I did. Recently, I've been receiving certificates for items I didn't even purchase, and just today, I received 27 of them in the mail. I called up Apple and they also thought it was pretty interesting. They said they're going to look into it, so it's now a matter of waiting.
Either there's a bug in the Apple, or Michael is buying way too many Apple products in a misguided attempt to buoy AAPL's stock price. Probably the former. More »
Saks, whose flagship is down the street, generates sales of $362 per square foot a year. Best Buy (Charts) stores turn $930 - tops for electronics retailers - while Tiffany & Co. (Charts) takes in $2,666.
Fortune also says that if Apple sells its goal of 10 million iPhones in 2008, Apple stores will make as much as Best Buy overall, in a fraction of the space. More »
—>Remember Charlie? She couldn't buy a computer from Apple because they wouldn't accept more than 4 gift cards in one transaction over the phone or on the website. Charlie lives 3 hours away from the nearest Apple store, and the product she wanted to buy wasn't available in the store anyway. Hardly worth a 6 hour commute! More »
—>We recently posted a story in which an Apple customer was having difficulty buying an Apple computer with 8 gift cards that could not be combined or used together without visiting an Apple store 3 hours away, despite the fact that Apple's website says there is no limit to the amount of gift cards that can be used when calling 1-800-MY-APPLE. More »
So I called 1-800-My-Apple to speak with someone who could maybe help me. The first person I spoke to, after putting me on hold two or three times to speak to supervisors, tried to sell me a printer and speakers, saying that I could use four gift cards, plus a credit card to buy the computer, and use up the remaining cards for my accessories. I was confused and upset, and before I became rude thanked him for his time, and ended the phone call. More »
The 26-year-old has been living in his truck for nearly 19 months, skirting rules against sleeping in vehicles while otherwise living the life of a mainstream student. What started out as a way to save some cash has turned into a journey of self-reliance and independence. More »
Bulletin Boards came into being back in 1978 as a way for local computer club members to exchange messages with each other and to share programs by phone. Today there are over 300 computerized bulletin boards in the United States, and you don't have to belong to a computer club to use one." Wow, really? Hey look, someone just typed letters so that it looks like a naked person!—MEGHANN MARCO More »
Despite holdings of almost $1.5 trillion, Bank of America, the largest bank in America, won't sync with users of Quicken for Mac. Reader Philip, who spent $65 on Quicken, writes to tell us how Intuit's website advertises such compatibility. More »
Apple has concluded that if it licenses FairPlay to others, it can no longer guarantee to protect the music it licenses from the big four music companies.More »
It seems that with legal challenges to Apple's iTunes DRM flying at him left and right, Steve Jobs just can't ignore it any longer. He's penned an open letter addressing the state of DRM, and it contains some interesting news: More »
Eric Savitz at Barron's took a look through the transcripts of the call that CNBC's Jim Cramer claimed contained a vow by Cingular to offer free service for 18 months to Verizon customers who switched for the iPhone. What did he find? Nothing. Zip. More »
Steve Job's keynote speech at Macworld has sent a flood of questions to our tipline asking for help switching to Cingular, the only carrier with the much-anticipated iPhone. The iPhone will ship in June, so you have several months to get ready for the switch, if that's what you're determined to do. Your immediate goal should be to get yourself on a month-to-month contract. More »
Has Apple done this? Have they placed "unneeded and unjustifiable" restrictions on iTunes music? Have these restrictions kept you from or convinced you not to use iTunes? Let's hear about it in the comments. The lawsuit seeks to "an injunction that would force Apple to make the iPod compatible with other online music and video purchased elsewhere." What do you think? —MEGHANN MARCO More »
USA Today has an analysis of the supposed iTunes meltdown that was widely reported at the beginning of the month. The author thinks the trouble isn't with iTunes, it's with DRM. "Since iPods went on sale people are consistently buying about 20 iTunes per iPod. There's been a small uptick to 23 lately, but that's it." More »
—>Apple is trying to set things right with customers who complained after they bought a "South Park Season Pass" that was only good for half the season. According to MacNN, "Comedy Central had decided to 'split' the season into two halves for $11.99 each, confusing many customers who thought they were purchasing the entire South Park season." Apple changed the name of the download to reflect the two halfs of the season, and is offering customers who purchased the first half under the confusing title the opportunity to download part B for free. Let us know how that turns out. —MEGHANN MARCO More »
They even have next day repair and data recovery. Because a broken iPod deserves a second chance. Sniff. Does anyone have any non-repair ideas for broken iPod fun? Hockey puck?—MEGHANN MARCO More »
—>A Comcast customer's Powerbook exploded after a Comcast tech plugged coax, connected to her computer through her modem, to an electrical wire. More »
—>Are brand-name items any better than no-name ones? It's a question that shoppers have been asking themselves since before the markets were super. DigitalFAQ.com has endeavored to enlighten us as to the ways of the blank DVD. Where do they come from? Who makes them? Why are they purple? More »
—>Get free iTunes downloads every time you rent directly from AVIS. 1-4 days = 5 tracks, 5+ days = 10 tracks. More Than Points tells us how it's done: More »
—>Lisa's story of iPod repair frustration has more tangles than that pair of 1st gen earbuds you've abandoned in the bottom of your "big" purse. More »
—>The Chicago Sun-Times does not like the Zune. At all. In much the same way as we delight in reading all the really nasty movie reviews excerpted on Metacritic, we really enjoyed this particular write up of the potentially ill-fated Zune. Here are some choice zingers: More »
—>ZDnet is reporting that Microsoft's iPod-killa is experiencing a slow start. ZDnet was unable to find the mp3 player at most retailers, and experienced mixed reviews at a local Best Buy. More »
According to Reuters, "Airline passengers will soon be able to connect their iPods to in-flight entertainment systems and watch their favorite videos without fear of running out of battery power while traveling on any of six major carriers, iPod maker Apple Computer Inc. said on Tuesday. More »
They try to test the heat using a remote thermometer (like the one mentioned in today's Morning Deals) but the temp is so high, the instrument gives an error code. This means the temperature was over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. More »
CRMLowdown sifted through countless customer service surveys, studies, and real-life experiences to come up with a pretty damn impressive list of the best/worst companies for customer service. More »
—>It seems that iTunes 7 breaks older iPods, and no one at Apple believes it. We believe it. Here's the deal. You have a slightly older iPod, a Nano, or a Shuffle. You update iTunes. Your hardware stops working. Apple doesn't give a shit, and they tell you it's time to buy a new iPod. The general feeling seems to be that if your iPod is sort of old, it broke on its own. Very suspicious. More »
My wife just (six weeks later) got her new battery from Apple for her Powerbook G4. The instructions on the printed materials that came with the new battery stated that the old battery had to be drained prior returning. Suggested ways to do this: play a dvd, play a CD or play the Chess game computer vs. computer.
It's bad enough that the laptop started to burn on Adrian's bed while he was in it...(Yummy, we love posting pictures of flamed laptop bits)... but then he got the added bonus of being forced to use Chinese Apple Support. See, he's in Shanghai and Apple China has jurisdiction. Unfortunately, what they don't also have is people who speak English. That's but one sliver of his long and windy road... he's got a real doozy of a complaint letter, inside.
—>Brian W. is befuddled. He got a strange gift from Comcast in the mail the other day. For a change, it wasn't a picture of a naked Comcast tech, flabbily draped across a faux tiger skin rug, holding a heart-shaped box of candies before his genitals. More »
Virgin Atlantic becomes the latest airline to limit laptop use on board, thanks to the threat of exploding batteries. Qantas and Korean Air already have imposed restrictions. More »
Gayer Mechanic Wales first brought to our attention some oddities in the iTunes back to school playlists. Now he points out those oddities have been removed. See the original and revised versions below.—> More »
—>Somehow, owners of the new Macbooks got over greasy geek besmirching. They even learned to live with non-beveled corners. Now, after 1-2 months of ownership, a new culprit raises its fell head. It's called, "Random Shutdown Syndrome" or "RSS" and it's even got its own blog. There's even a couple of YouTube videos. More »
—>As a pimply pubescent, one of my favorite comics was Marvel's What If... For those far less dorky than me, the concept was essentially to spin alternate universes where the epopees of Marvel Comics characters had spinned in entirely different directions. "What if Wolverine's Claws Were John Holmes Phalluses?" one issue might cry, then set about to answer that very question. More »
—>Last week, a Dublin man grew so frustrated with Apple not sending him a replacement iMac that he threatened to walk across Ireland. He bet that he could strap his Mac to his back and reach Cork, the closest Apple repair center, faster than they could arrange pickup of his broken Apple. More »
—>In response to allegation of iPod Cities — massive Chinese sweatshops of hundreds of thousands of employees, toiling away in squalor — Apple put together an independent audit team to take a look at conditions and see if it was as bad as everyone feared. More »
—>People on their third or fourth iPod well know how prone the device is to breaking. If you neglected to opt for a replacement plan, instead of smashing the pod with a brick, give Matt Bremmer a call. Treehugger pointed us to his ipod refurb services and we think it's fantastic stuff. More »
Via Jkrew. However, there does seem to be an inverse-relationship between the product values and boringness level. Most of the ad is preoccupied with showing us the target audience for the mp3 player. Their target is everyone. Try and figure out the titles on the director's sheet when they were casting for type. We've started a few for you. More »
—>Even as sales of Dell PCs plummet, Michael Dell has started spraying crazy man spittle out of his mouth when it comes to Apple, claiming that Apple's share numbers don't even make them competitors to Dell. This is disingenuous: world-wide, this is certainly true, but in the U.S., Apple comes in fourth place, and had a 15.4 percent growth per year compared to Dell's 6.3% growth. More »
Whilst browsing the Apple forum, looking to find a solution for why my MagSafe connector wouldn't actually charge my MacBook Pro anymore (solution? "Buy a new one!" Thanks, Apple chuckleheads.) I came across this remarkable cry for fumigatory technical support and the accompanying video illustrating his problem: insects living inside his monitor. More »
• For some reason, we get a chuckle over the screen saying, "File System NAND Start." It also rhymes with, "Gotta go K-Mart." [Tim Ellsworth] "Don't Buy Any Audiovox products" More »
—>While dumping ten thousand pennies upon a counter says 'Hobo Joe' no matter how you look at it, it is better sometimes than walking around with a huge wad of small bills. More »
—>Dells spontaneously combust. MacBooks melt scrotums. If reports are to be believed, ether company's laptop is hot enough to cauterize lopped off limbs. But which one is hotter? More »
—>I love my MacBook Pro: it's damned hot. And by 'damned hot', I mean that not only does it cause vacuous hipster chicks to spontaneously become impregnated when they see me walking by with it tucked under my arm, but I also mean that it's fortunate that such divine conception happens, because after months of use, my loins look like someone fired a laser cannon at the crotch of a Ken doll. More »
—>One of the blogs I've been following recently after my experience at the Apple 'Genius' bar with a smug doofus who told me I'd have to return my $2,000 laptop because he couldn't figure out how to turn a screwdriver counterclockwise is ungenius, the chronicles of an ex-Genius detailing life behind the Bar. I haven't linked it before now because it's never really as incriminating as I'd like. More »
—>The sleek samurai sword of our generation, an instant indicator of class and station, the ultimate indignity is not to be fired but to have to give up your company iPod. More »
—>Our good friend Vincent Ferrari — the shameless self-promoter who recorded the AOL Cancellation call, tipped us, then tipped everyone else on the Internet before we could even get Boing Boinged (but we totally adore him anyway) — sent us word that he's done a few more cancellation calls, this time for credit cards, with far better results. And by better results, we mean worse from the perspective of pure entertainment. But good service is what matters, right? More »
—>While we're subversively busy this morning giving our TSA lurkers more bullet-points for cool swag they can justify confiscating from us as dangerous weapons (we imagine a common determinant in their thought process is: "Wouldn't I look just darling in that passenger's swank rhinestone belt and Gucci stilettos?") let's add the iPod Nano to the list! More »
—>As you can easily imagine, breaking labor laws in China is a bit hard to do as an employer. However, Foxconn managed to do just that by forcing the workers in the Apple iPod factories to work up to 80 extra hours per month. Under local law, laborers can only be forced to work 36 extra hours. More »
—>With the meaty heel of a palm resounding against the center of your forehead with a leathery slap, this might strike many of you as particularly astounding advice, but we think it needs to be said: please, please do not mail your $400 iPod to some random Internet stranger proclaiming himself to be an iPod Mechanic. Especially if there isn't even a phone number on the website. More »
—>We definitely love you guys, but it's not all snuggles all the time here at The Consumerist. If you send us something, we're not afraid to post it and say when you're being a jerk. We don't want to lose you as a reader... and as much of a jerk as you may or may not have been, we can nine times out of ten understand your frustration. But we also want you guys to be reasonable, polite, responsible consumers, and that means the occasional light slap. More »
—>Our friends at Defective Design aren't just cramming their pallid flesh into hazmat suits and getting into stand-offs with bemused Cambridge cops in their fight against DRM. Now they are organizing a massive telephone campaign, coordinating on their site an effort to have as many consumers as they can call up the RIAA and tell them that DRM just plain blows. Although hopefully a hell of a lot more eloquently than that. More »
Here's another version of the DRM protest involving hazmat suits and the San Fran Apple store. It's got less Talking Heads, more people speaking about (or, heads talking...) about why DRM is bad. If you don't know why it is, watch. If you do and would like to have your beliefs affirmed, watch. If you like sweaty geeks, watch. All we know is DRM prevented us from easily transmogrifying our sister into the next Grandmaster Flash, so now we're totally mad against it, even more than we were madly before. More »
—>If Chinese sweatshops or locking yourself into an anti-competitive DRM format aren't enough reasons to stop you from buying songs from iTunes, at least take pity on polka's favorite rockin' freak: Weird Al Yankovic says he makes a lot less money if you buy a song from iTunes than if you buy one of his CDs. More »
Sometimes Apples have worms in them. Appledefects.com is a new blog dedicated to dissecting these worms. A recent one takes the cake. When the blog's author complained about his Macbook running at 203 degrees fahrenheit, Apple told him, "the Macbook is a notebook, not a laptop, refer to your manual." Which means that according to official documentation, More »
—>What do these things have in common? The thighs of a cheap harlot. The armpit stains saturating a large Italian man's undershirt. The Cheetos-dusted palms of a role-playing gamer. A used piece of toilet paper. A three-week old Macbook. More »
—>This morning we're going to be doing some hating on Apple. Might as well just warn you now. So if you're one of those smug idiot Apple zealots who were the main reason why I put off buying a Mac for as long as I did, you might want to avert your eyes. Because Steve Jobs isn't God, iTunes DRM sucks and, oh yeah: iPods are made in Chinese sweatshops. More »
e nerds who stormed the nation's Apple Stores last Friday, wrote us in response to our recent post, calling our attention to a write-up he did of Defective Design's protest at Boston's Cambridge Side Galleria. The fuzz seemed pretty cool with the whole thing: More »
We somehow missed news of this, but there was a nationwide protest at various Apple Stores on Friday, trying to educate people about the dangers of DRM. The primary danger being, of course, the fact that it's bad for consumers because it locks you in to a single competitor... if you put your head in the microwave and then decide to switch from an iPod to a Creative Zen, you need to repurchase all your iTunes songs. Ironically enough, this protest was held the same day I decided to give my aged mother my old Dell DJ and invest in an iPod myself. Unfortunately, I went to Best Buy, so I didn't run into any of the guys at the Boston Apple store; otherwise, we might have had some of that first-hand content Ben's always telling me I should be trying to find. More »
—>As I wrote a few weeks ago, I recently bought myself a beautiful new MacBook Pro. I love the thing: it is the most beautiful computer I have ever owned. Nevertheless, Apple didn't make it easy for me to give them two thousand dollars. Between that and the smug jackasses working the Genius Bars whom you practically have to beg to just try to fix your computers, I love my Apple just as much as I want to insert a catheter up one of those Geniuses' urethras and then force him to jump up and down on a trampoline. More »
Here's an ad explaining how the crazy hooking up an iPod nano to your Nike running shoe works. Pretty f'n cool. It seems like your nano will speak to you and tell you how far you've run, how far you have to go, how long you ran, etc. You can then redock your nano and track all your progress on the computer. More »
The world reacted to the news that George Bush was a no-good music pirate with an apathetic yawn; more interesting, perhaps, was the opalescent baby skull iPod Apple had custom designed him for his birthday. But would you be surprised if Hilary Clinton — that saintly paragon of virtues and family values who personally tops my surprisingly short list of people I'd love to slap — was also a music pirate? More »
—>Poor Guy Goma! For a brief moment, that Congoese crackerjack who expertly bullshitted his way through a BBC interview on the Apple Records vs. Apple Computers judgment when he was mistaken for Guy Kewney looked like he was well on his way to television stardom. We personally envisioned a syndicated call-in show where Guy Goma fielded questions about subjects on which he knew absolutely nothing. While the real Guy Kewney fumed and sputtered, Guy Goma became a star, dreaming of capitalizing on his sudden fame to find work. More »
—>Gothamgal purchased an iPod from Best Buy, along with the product replacement plan. Times passes, product needs replacing. Best Buy says, "no problem, bring it on down." More »
—>Could patent law be any more absurd? Perhaps we're on the wrong end of it, but it seems that the only tangible result of modern patent law is a string of nuisance lawsuits in which one company attempts to rob consumers of a product they enjoy by suing a company that has made an ostensibly similar competing device. Re: Blackberry. But now, Creative vs. Apple. More »
—>Earlier we noted how the BBC mistakenly interviewed a French-Algerian taxi driver on his views about Apple iTunes downloads on national television, thinking he was Guy Kewney, editor of newswireless.net. More »
—>Guy Kewney, editor of newswireless.net, describes himself on his blog as "fair-haired, blue-eyed, prominent-nosed, and with the sort of pale skin that makes my dermatologist wince each time I complain about an itchy mole." That's him to the right, looking like every philosophy professor we ever had. More »
—>One problem with DRM in general is that it is an industry concept that takes-as-read the consumerist fallacy that you don't actually own things you buy, you just license them. Perhaps this is the natural evolution of consumerism now that products like media are, if not less tangible, at least a bit more ethereal. Still, DRM gives all the power to the companies... and companies prove time and time again that they can't be trusted. More »
According to this piece by the Daring Fireball blog dissecting an AP article on the recent rumors that Macs are susceptible to viruses, sometimes journalism is fluffy and insipid. More »
Thanks to Reader Sten S. for pointing out that we're not the first guys to notice that the Soho Store is a total scam. Apparently, the Soho bilkers have been common knowledge to the hipster elite on the official Apple forums for sometime. Verdict as of two months ago? Same as it is today. Total scam.More »
Last Friday, we wrote about the online "Soho Store" offering some obscene discounts on iPods (10 60gb video iPods for $2699!, an over $1000 discount off MSRP). We just thought it was too good a deal to be true. More »
Normally, unless we were feeling really lazy, we wouldn't post two ads right after one another but we just got this hot ad sent to us and we wanted to scoop it to you quick-styles. More »
The RIAA and the DRM Nazis could have a new target besides small families, single mothers and MIT students. How about the President of the United States? From BoingBoing: More »
—>"It plays on iPod!" "You can play it on iPod!" "Put your Real Audio files on your iPod!" Enticed by a dizzying maelstrom of assurances and come ons, Ogilvy PR director John Bell bought an iPod and tried to port his Real Audio collection to his new, glistening white brick. Try as he might, he couldn't get the Real Audio files to play on his iPod. 92 steps and four hours later, after following tech help from Real Networks and driving to the Apple store, he still can't get it to play. More »
Liberte, Egalite, no DRM? The French are voting on legislation that would restrict iTunes and its ilk from from limiting upon which devices the music can be played or how the songs can be shared. [Photo from recent student demonstrations outside the Sorbonne, just imagine the mattress represents a giant iPod and we're good to go.] More »
Not Safe For Work, this Apple iPod spoof is. It was only a matter of time before someone applied the Apple shadow dancer effect to hardcore porn movies. More »
—>With all the furor over DRM lately, CNet asked itself the simple question, "How does DRM affect battery life on your iPod?" As you might expect, the answer is — badly. More »
—>A couple weeks ago, we posted a video that has been taking the Internet by storm: What If Microsoft Designed The iPod Box? At the time, we wondered about the funny guys who'd so perfectly hoisted Microsoft's petard. More »
—>Like we said earlier today, we absolutely love free. Complaints start when we start paying, when we enter a contract with a company and — time and time again, almost invariably — they forget about our contracts and start lumping us up in with the faceless aggregate. But there's no lapsed service, no patronizing Customer Service exchanges when things are free — free is consumerist utopia. More »
We don't have an iPod. We have a first-generation Dell DJ. Compared to the design of the opalescent obelisk ubiquitously clutched in every hipster's hand, the Dell DJ is striking. It looks exactly as if Soviet super-scientists invented a time machine, traveled to the future, copped on to the inherently socialist nature of the music trading scene, and — traveling back to their own era — attempted to make their own mp3 player out of a two-inch plate of Soviet-grade titanium tank plating. Fifty years later, Dell.ru found about a million of these in an abandoned Muscovite silo, dusted them off, formatted "Lenin's Greatest Hits" off the hard drive and sold them as is, to idiots like probably-not-you but definitely-royal-'we'. More »
This has been going around lately, but is directly indicative of the cluelessness of corporate branding philosophies that we at the Consumerist so love to rail against. More »
—>Amazon.com announced plans to take on iTunes and iPod as early as this summer. It will launch its own Internet music service as well as sell its own branded portable music players. More »
—>New York City's newest Apple store, currently under construction on Fifth Avenue and set to open in May, is not only going to be one of the larger Apple retail stores in the world; it's also apparently going to be open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This all night Mac house will be slinging iPods and Macbooks to jittery, bleary-eyed addicts in the heart of Manhattan, even as innocent citizens sleep nearby—at least until the East Side neighborhood associations start to complain. More »
• Aeropostale is running a clearance sale on clothing for both men and women. You could even get a stuff bear, though only your psychiatrist knows why you'd want one. More »
Wanted to share a tip for you guys regarding the iTunes 1 billionth song download contest. Apple has made this deliberately confusing so I poured over the official rules to see what the skinny was. More »
—>An early-adopter of an Apple iMac Core Duo reported 'video-tearing' issues with his new baby and set up a website to document his troubles. Fortunately, after doing some troubleshooting, he's discovered that Apple sent out the new iMacs with two different versions of Mac OS X, one of which has the video issues and one which does not. While he still hasn't resolved the issue to his satisfaction—the Genius Bar doesn't have the latest builds of OS X?—it does appear that the issue, while frustrating, can be fixed in software. More »
—>Upon being purchased an iPod by his daughter, Alaskan / octogenarian Senator Ted Stevens suddenly came around on the concept of fair use. So taking their cue from Senator Stevens' conversion, iPaction.org has started a campaign to buy every senator who has a say in legislation affecting technology a brand new video iPod. The theory is that a brand-new iPod loaded with "public domain content, Creative Commons content, and audio messages about the importance of balanced copyright policy" is going to sway our lawmakers into a more lenient view of consumers' media rights than the RIAA-propaganda they are currently being lobby-fed. More »
—>Owners of the last generation of 'high-resolution' Apple Powerbooks are reporting major audio issues that cause an echo or looping effect to occur when playing sound. That's a real problem for a platform used heavily by musicians and video artists, so one would expect Apple to fix the problem as soon as possible. More »
Although we don't intend to make this a regular feature just yet, we spotted a rash of Consumeristy links over at Digg that we thought we'd pass on. More »
There's one good thing to come out of this Apple/The Postal Service flap: It looks like The Postal Service's Such Great Heights is dominating the iTunes Video store today. At $2 a download, hopefully they're getting a little money out of the whole deal. (Thanks, ifdu400!) More »
—>We're a bit behind on this story, but we figured we'd get our finger on it before it got away from us. Apple straight-up ripped off the video for The Postal Service's song Such Great Heights to promote its use of Intel chips in its new Macs. (The Postal Service is a band, not our U.S. Mail.) Both videos were directed by the same two people, which makes it unquestionably clear that Apple and their ad agency, TBWA\Chiat Day, intended to clone the video shot-for-shot from the beginning. More »
So, the Apple iPod Settlement website FAQ said there would be a result by September 20th 2005, but the front page now says that on December 22nd 2005 the settlement is final and it's just a case of the Settlement Administrator moving forward with "claims administration and claims fulfillment." More »
We've figured out the Apple Store Genius Bar: All the good service techs work in Ohio. That's the conclusion we've reached from Daniel H. Steinberg's heaps of praise over at O'Reilly's Mac Dev Center.My machine initially came up registered to another user. More »
I ordered an iBook G4 on January 27th, 2005 - since then I've shipped it back four times now for various 'fixes.' I'm willing to admit that laptops have a higher fail-rate then desktops, which is why I'm willing to look past the first two times I had to go to an Apple store to have it sent out - once for the crashed hard drive and logic board in february, and three days after I got it back to get the logic board replaced again. I think, at least, everytime I got it back it seems they just kept replacing everything. More »
—>We don't mind it when software dials back home to its creator company—we mind when it does so without asking. Apparently the newest version of iTunes (6.0.2) includes a 'Mini-Store' pane which sends information about the current song you are listening to back to Apple (via a company called 'Omniture') so they can push suggested albums or songs based on your existing collection. Readers of Boing Boing have determined that turning off the Mini-Store does deactivate the behavior, but it's something of which you should be aware. More »
The reader complaints here on The Consumerist can be a bit murky at times, but if everything in Michael G's story is as he reports then there's no reason not to blacklist this company from your shopping selections. We'll put his whole complaint about Omni Technologies after the jump, but we'd like to excerpt one bit from it here just to highlight the absolute insanity of their responses.
After two weeks of waiting for the RAM to arrive, I called them back and spoke to a Mr. Grant. He gave me some BS about that memory still being manufactured...
RAM for computers (a Mac in this case) is manufactured by a very small set of companies, all of whom buy the actual memory chips from companies like Samsung and Hynix Semiconductor—not podunk companies who can't figure out how to put text on a website without using Photoshop. In fact, in a shocking bit of journalistic fervor, we called them and asked. They don't make the chips nor sticks of memory themselves, they told us. So what they were trying to say, when they said the chips were being manufactured, were that they were out of stock. More »
—>The Apple Store in Soho (Manhattan) is a favorite of ours, but only because we enjoy running our greasy thumbs across the once-immaculate products on display. The Genius Bar—Apple's haughty name for their customer service desk—we avoid with extreme prejudice; We'd rather mail our faulty products back to Apple than wait in a line for hours to talk to a service tech—especially when their service can be so uneven. More »
—>It's bad when purchased electronics don't work—it's even worse when they kill one's precious iPod. Eric Mortensen had a suspiciously bad run of luck with NewerTech's RoadTrip! FM transmitter for the iPod not once, but three times. The first one took a dive and killed his iPod, as well, probably because it plugs into the dock port of the MP3 player into his car's power outlet. More »
—>We've heard many times that Apple Powerbooks are finicky about RAM (and that may be true), but it would appear that for owners of 15-inch Powerbooks, it might not be the memory that has the problem after all. A law firm is investigating claims that a fairly recent version of Mac OS X corrupted the firmware in the memory controller inside Apple Powerbooks, rendering the lower of two memory slots unusable. More »
—>While we stand by our conviction that customer service agents are often lack-witted bobbins designed to unravel our will to complain, we also acknowledge that some customers are slobbering, batshit animals. And since we can't record ourselves calling in and being a prick, because we are always the most gentle of breezes, we're glad that some folks doing old-school technical support for Apple for the foresight to record customers plotzing out over their Apple II's. More »
• We're unsure how the NYC transit strike can make us late to work when we work from home, but by god we've managed to do it. In celebration, have a full-blown computer for $250, after multiple rebates. Slickdeals has the details. More »
• We have been informed that Express's Annual $20 off all jeans sale begins today, and according to their website, that is totally true. However, we have also been informed that this sale "historically never includes the ones embellished with $100's worth of rhinstones on the ass." More »
• Enjoy yourself some Dell Game, wherein you may be creeped out by an overzealous elf and click to win prizes. Of course, you're probably going to win bupkiss, but when you play the 'Pick a Stocking' game you'll receive a coupon code in consolation. And you can play until the end of the Holidays. More »
