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]
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Don't Worry About What The iPad Costs, You Can't Afford The Apps
By 3.30.10
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]
Apple Sends You A Check For A HD You Replaced Yourself
By 3.30.10
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]
Report: iPhones For Verizon, Sprint Coming As Early As September
By 3.30.10
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]
The Story Behind The Man Who Designed Apple's Glass Cube Store
By 3.29.10
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]
iPhone Won't Make Calls Or Send Texts? Try Disabling 3G
By 3.29.10
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]
Apple Moves Ship Date For Some iPads To April 12
By 3.29.10
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 Allowing People To Buy iPhones Without A Contract
By 3.25.10
Gizmodo, citing internal Apple documentation, says that the company is allowing customers to buy iPhones without an AT&T contract. [More]
Apple Now Lets You Give iPhone Apps As Gifts
By 3.23.10
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]
Amazon Releases Kindle For Mac
By 3.18.10
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]
Some iPad Accessories Won't Be Available Until Weeks After Ship Date
By 3.17.10
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]
Rhapsody Announces New iPhone Feature With Video iPhone Users Can't See
By 3.15.10
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]
iPads With Dead Batteries Will Be Replaced For $99 Fee
By 3.15.10
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]
Apple Has Given Me 5 Broken Hard Drives In 3 Months
By 3.15.10
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]
Track Free And Cheap Games For Your iPhone Or Touch
By 3.15.10
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]
iPad Pre-Orders Now Open
By 3.12.10
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]
Law & Order: SVU Star Belzer Denies Attack On Apple Store Employee
By 3.11.10
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]
How To Polish A Scratched iPhone
By 3.9.10
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]
