budget

Whether you’re commuting, working out or just enjoying your favorite music, there’s a pair of earbuds on our list of best budget earbuds for less than $100 that can meet your needs without (much) compromise.

Today’s budget-friendly earbuds offer impressive features once reserved for premium models — excellent sound quality, active noise cancellation, long battery life and companion apps for customization.

And can you believe it? Even an Apple product made our list of best budget earbuds (when it’s on sale).

Saving money is one of the most important things you can do, and one of the most difficult. We’re told to invest our money in a 401k, the stock market or, by some dubious sources, in cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, each is a risk (some more than others); what really helps is being able to watch and predict the course of your personal finances.

Whether it’s its new heartwarming Christmas ad or its giant iPhone 7 billboards, Apple frequently leads the way on both quality and quantity for its advertising.

But according to Apple’s most recent 10-K annual report, recently filed with the SEC, it’s no longer revealing what it spends to get to this point.

Following a change to VAT (value added tax) legislation in the United Kingdom, there have been a lot of reports suggesting that Apple customers in the U.K. may soon have to pay more when buying from iTunes and the App Store.

As it turns out, those reports are likely incorrect.

You see, Apple has been charging Brits 23% VAT on digital content until now — but the U.K. VAT rate is only 20%.

It’s not uncommon that we see accessories for new Apple devices before they’ve even been announced — we covered the first cases for the iPhone 5C earlier this week. But they usually come from no-name manufacturers in China who are scrambling to get their products out there before anyone else, even if it means building them from rumored specifications.

It is uncommon that we see premature releases from big brands, however. But Spigen SGP has already made its first iPhone 5C cases and screen protectors available to order on Amazon.

Planning to get the new “iPhone 5C” when it goes on sale this fall? Well, you’ll want a good case to protect its smooth, plastic back from getting all scratched up, and Amazon already has you covered. Elago Design has begun taking pre-orders for its $24.99 slim fit case, which will ship on August 23.

We’ve seen lots of pictures of budget iPhone parts in recent weeks, but these images from case maker Tactus show us what the device will look like when it’s fully assembled — complete with a display, a camera and flash, buttons, and a Lightning connector.

Since Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, smartphones have really taken off , and more than 1 billion people worldwide now own one. Last year alone, smartphones generated $293.9 billion in sales, but the cost of the average smartphone has begun falling.

More than half of cellphone owners in the U.S. and other developed markets already own a smartphone, and those in emerging markets such as China and India aren’t able to pay for high-end devices like the iPhone. As a result, cheaper options are becoming increasingly popular.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek has today claimed that Apple’s iPhone 5S will enter mass production this month ahead of its release in late September or early October. Misek also claims that Apple has already begun producing its low-cost iPhone, which he believes will cost $300-$400 without a carrier subsidy.

We already have a pretty good idea of what Apple’s rumored low-cost iPhone will look like, thanks to a number of images which purportedly show the handset’s plastic rear casings on the production line. And today yet more have surfaced, this time showing off potential blue and white models.

Apple is expected to announce a new low-cost iPhone later this year in an effort to compete with rivals like Samsung in emerging markets. Reports have suggested that to keep costs low, the Cupertino company will give it a plastic form factor similar to that of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

And now that plastic shell appears to have been leaked for the first time.

Apple is expected to launch a new low-cost iPhone later this year, but as long as you’re willing to buy an older model, you can already bag an Apple smartphone for as little as 50p a day.

British retailer Carphone Warehouse will offer the iPhone 4 on a two-year contract for just £17 a month from tomorrow, May 10, with no upfront cost. It will be the cheapest iPhone tariff available in the United Kingdom.

Remember that fifth-generation iPad mould that we reported on earlier this week? Well, its source has now obtained what is believed to be the casing for Apple’s rumored low-cost iPhone.

It’s made of polycarbonate plastic just like the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS, and it will reportedly pack a 3.5-inch display like previous iPhones — yet it’s both taller and wider than the iPhone 4S.  It may also get its grand unveiling this October.

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.

France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard says that budget smartphone buyers are threatening sales of Apple’s pricey iPhone. Consumers are becoming more frugal due to the state of the economy, particularly in Europe, Richard told Bloomberg Businessweek, and so they’re turning to cheaper options when it’s time to get a new cellphone.

China Times is reporting this morning that Apple is going to save costs on a budget iPhone for emerging markets by using a 28nm Snapdragon SoC which has Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G all on the same chip, but wouldn’t support LTE.

Interesting theory, but it’s not going to happen.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, reportedly shot down suggestions that the Cupertino company will launch a low-cost iPhone later this year during an interview with a Chinese newspaper earlier this week. According to the report, Schiller said that the budget devices will “never be the future of Apple products.”

Reuters was one of the first media outlets to cover the report, but in an interesting move, it has this morning pulled its piece after “substantial changes” were made to the original article. Could this mean Schiller didn’t really say those things?

Digitimes has today published one of its more questionable rumors regarding Apple’s upcoming low-cost iPhone. Citing sources in the Cupertino company’s supply chain, it claims the cheaper device — believed to be called the “iPhone mini” by one analyst — will make its debut later this year, aimed at China and other emerging markets.

But it won’t be smaller to cut costs. Instead it’ll boast a larger screen to meet the “prevailing trend for the adoption of 5-inch displays.”

Following earlier rumors that claimed Amazon is gearing up to launch a smartphone that will rival Apple’s iPhone, The Wall Street Journal has confirmed with sources that the retail giant is currently testing the device with its suppliers, and that it could enter production as early as the end of this year.

Following recent speculation that has suggested Apple may release a “budget” iPhone at its October 4 event, that will have minimal storage and will rely on streaming content from the cloud, the Cupertino company has gone ahead and taken over the iCloudiPhone.com domain name. But does it really mean anything?

Earlier this week, a report surfaced claiming that Apple is currently working on a more affordable model of its iPhone 4, which is set to launch alongside the iPhone 5 later this year. The device will reportedly be aimed at those looking to purchase an iPhone with a tight budget, and will have just 8GB of storage in order to keep costs down.

This got us thinking: how would Apple bring down the price of an iPhone 4 to appeal to low-cost subscribers? How exactly would they make an iPhone 4 that would cost $50 or so with a two year contract? We’ve been speaking to Miroslav Djuric of iFixit — a popular online repair shop that produces how-to repair guides and tear-downs — to try and find out, and we think we know how Apple would do it. Here’s how.

Further information surrounding that rumored ‘budget iPhone’ continues to surface as we approach the launch of the fifth-generation device, and according to two sources for Reuters, it could be in the form of a cheaper 8GB iPhone 4. Surely that gets your mouth watering?

City commissioners in a Florida town approved iPads for themselves to save money on paper costs despite budget problems.

The expense of $2,916 was approved for four iPads despite a cash crunch. Last year, Coral Springs dipped into reserves for $4.8 million plus raised fees and property taxes to carry on.