Five employees working at an official iPhone distributor in China have been arrested after exploiting Apple’s returns policy by exchanging fake iPhone parts for real ones. The group sent 121 fake iPhone 4S BAND parts to have them exchanged for real ones worth around CN¥400,000 ($64,117), which they then used to build and sell fake iPhones.
With so much interest in Apple’s unreleased iOS devices, the Cupertino has had a difficult time trying to prevent leaks of late. We saw numerous components for recent iPads, the iPhone 5, and the iPad mini ahead of their official unveilings, and now we’re beginning to see parts believed to be from Apple’s next generation of devices.
The vibration motor and switches pictured above are reportedly destined for Apple’s rumored low-cost iPhone, which could launch sometime this year.
T-Mobile USA has announced a new iPhone trade-in program ahead of the carrier’s official iPhone launch on Friday. Customers who trade in their old iPhone 4 or 4S will see the $99 down payment for a 16GB iPhone 5 dropped to $0, plus they’ll receive up to $120 additional credit.
With five days to go, the MiDock Kickstarter project has just been funded for it’s £7,000 asking price, and with good reason. This brushed aluminum, glass bead blasted, anodized metal unibody iPhone 5 dock looks like it could have come out of the design work of Apple itself.
For the £34 (a bit over $50) asking price, you can get any of the colors of MiDock now as a reward for pledging to the Kickstarter project.
Despite all its problems with the ‘iPhone’ trademark in Brazil, Apple is trying to get its devices in as many Brazilian hands as possible by slashing prices on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
Apple has been getting pounded by the Chinese press lately for its warranty policies service and not talking to the press whenever they want a statement (welcome to Apple news my friends). Hoping to end the onslaught from the government-supported press, Apple issued an apology letter to Chinese customers signed by Tim Cook.
The letter, which was written in Chinese and posted to Apple’s website, said that Tim Cook and the rest of the company have been reflecting on the feedback regarding its warranty policies and apologizes the poor communication that has made customers so angry.
A “confidential presentation” that outlines the upcoming product plans for a manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China, suggests the iPhone 5S could launch in June this year. Most rumors have suggested the device wouldn’t arrive until this fall, around 12 months after the iPhone 5, but an accessory manufacturer with direct links to Foxconn is confident it’ll be here much earlier.
It’s only taken just under six years, but T-Mobile has finally reached a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone. The iPhone 5 will be one of the first devices available on T-Mobile’s new LTE network, launched today, and it’ll be available to purchase for a $99 up-front fee starting April 12.
Add microscopes to the list of things your iPhone can replace. A group of scientist visiting Tanzania were able to convert their iPhone 4S into a microscope using nothing by a $7 lens, some double sided tape, and a torch.
After macgyvering the iPhone 4S into a microscope, the scientest then used it to take pictures of stool samples to determine the presences of eggs in some schoolchildren. Amazingly, the iPhone picked up 70 percent of the infections.
With analysts openly chattering about how Cupertino needs to take a few lessons from Samsung on how to innovate in the smartphone market, a reality check: during the last quarter of 2012, the iPhone 5 was the best selling smartphone in the world. And the second best-selling smartphone? The iPhone 4S, edging the Galaxy S3 out by over 2 million units.
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