If you’re looking for an iPhone 5, do you want to pay an extra $450 now, or an extra $1000 over the next two years? Buying an unlocked phone and using a no-contract carrier can give you sticker shock initially, but you can save quite a bit of money in the long run. Our number-crunching colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports looked into it, and found that if you can pay for your new phone itself out of pocket, going unlocked and contract-free is a much better deal. [More]
Report: Virgin Mobile To Offer Prepaid iPhone Service
By June 6, 2012
Days after Leap Wireless announced it would be the first prepaid carrier in the U.S. to offer the iPhone, Sprint’s Virgin Mobile division is set to throw its hat into the iPhone ring. [More]
Woman Returns Lost iPhone, Is Rewarded With Beating
By May 21, 2012
The 53-year-old woman in Fredericksburg, Va. was trying to perform a good deed. She found an iPhone near a convenience store, and contacted the owner to give it back. They agreed to meet up outside of a restaurant, and the phone’s owner promised a reward. Then things went horribly wrong: according to police, the phone’s owner took the phone back, handed over the reward, then attacked her from behind while she was walking away. [More]
Man Sues AT&T For Throttling His iPhone Service — And Wins!
By February 24, 2012
This could be the start of something interesting. An AT&T customer in California was less than thrilled by the Death Star’s decision to throttle his iPhone service even though he was on an unlimited data plan. So he went down to small claims court and came out victorious. [More]
3 Hidden Tricks For iPhones And iPads
By December 29, 2011
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]
New iPhone Causes Price Drop In Older Models
By October 5, 2011
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]
It's Finally Here: White iPhone Goes On Sale Tomorrow
By April 27, 2011
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]
AT&T Rep: Our Service Is So Terrible In Houston Because It's So Popular
By March 30, 2011
Reader Chris is an AT&T Wireless customer with an iPhone, and has noticed a marked decline in the quality of his phone calls at both work and home. That’s not unusual, especially for customers who live in large cities like he does. His real complaint is about AT&T’s attitude toward their declining service. A customer service representative told him that this is just what happens when a service becomes more popular, and he should try buying a 3G Microcell to see whether that improves his service. Chris doesn’t agree that he should pay more for his mobile phone service because it’s becoming worse. [More]
Starbucks Recommends iPhone App Users Enable Password Lock
By February 10, 2011
Reached for comment about concerns that people could steal your Starbucks Reward card by taking a screenshot of it as it appears on the iPhone app, a Starbucks spokesperson told Consumerist, “We definitely want our customers to have a good experience with mobile payment. We take security seriously.” They also recommended customers take additional safety measures and offered a solution for anyone who had their card stolen. [More]
Crooks Can Make You Pay For Their Starbucks With Simple Screengrab
By February 10, 2011
Researchers have discovered a security flaw in the new Starbucks Rewards Card iPhone app that could let someone else rack up a bunch of free coffees on your dime. All someone has to do is take a picture of your barcode and then they can use it to buy all the delicious black swill they want, draining your account to the last drop. [More]
Pix Of Where The Chinese iPhone Worker-Drones Sleep
By November 4, 2010
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]
Budget-Boosting iPhone Apps
By August 10, 2010
Money Highway paved a road to savings by rounding up 75 money-saving iPhone apps. [More]
iPhones Help Cops Solve Crimes By Capturing Everything You Type, Do
By August 7, 2010
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]
Pitcher Diagnoses Own Appendicitis Via iPhone
By May 13, 2010
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]
How To Polish A Scratched iPhone
By March 9, 2010
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]
Apple Says They're Investigating Stolen iPhone Claim
By January 6, 2010
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.
Dry Out A Wet Cellphone
By December 21, 2009
Tragedy! Your phone got wet and now it won’t turn on! What to do, what to do?! Well, there’s actually several things you can do to draw out the moisture and rescue your phone from a watery grave: [More]
Skullcandy Lifetime Warranty Means You'll Wait Your Lifetime For A Replacement
By July 31, 2009
There is a guy at Skullcandy named Joe, and he is in charge of their warranty fulfillment program. He is overworked. Why, just on this one warranty replacement story, he’s had to deal with the same customer over and over and over, and the customer still hasn’t gotten a replacement earbud set for the one that broke last November. Wentao writes, “I am also moving out of the country in 10 days, so I will probably never see the headphones I paid for ever again.”
