When you walk into an Apple Store — the minimalist design, the Macbook screens tilted just so, the approachable, encyclopedic sales staff — you might be forgiven for being a little bit speechless.

It’s not unlike walking into a Porsche or Mercedes dealership — you don’t expect to find bargain bins full of junk. The presentation is, in fact, as important as the product, and once inside, you’re going to hand over your money to get both.

Even though Apple stores have become tourist attractions in their own right where folks come from countries like Sweden and Brazil to purchase these great products at prices lower than at home, savvy customers might someday shun those stunning glass facades and signature spiral staircases for cheaper prices found elsewhere.

A new report by DealNews shows that Apple products are getting deeper discounts sooner in a product lifecycle than ever before, begging the question: is the Apple Store the best place to buy your gear?

This little baby launched its Kickstarter on April 1st, but as it’s still there a few days later (and as Brian from Pad&Quill says it’s legit) it’s time for a write-up. The Micro Field Bag is a miniaturized version of the Field Bag, the heavy monster I reviewed a few weeks back. It’s tiny, cute, and built for the iPhone.

Apple is awarded a lot of patents, many of which it never does much more than sit on top of. After all, in the high stakes (and highly litigious) world of mobile, it’s better to patent a potential innovation than let a potential enemy do so.

Even so, today was a banner day for Apple. In just a single day, Apple was granted a whopping fifty-one different patents, ranging from older products like the unibody MacBook Pro to some much wilder stuff, like a possible 3D Apple TV remote control system.

BlackBerry has announced that it will not renew the T-Mobile (U.S.) license to sell its products when it expires on April 25 — ending a decade-plus relationship between the two companies.

“BlackBerry has had a positive relationship with T-Mobile for many years. Regretfully, at this time, our strategies are not complementary and we must act in the best interest of our BlackBerry customers,” said BlackBerry CEO John Chen in a statement.

Apple may be moving ahead with its larger 5.5 inch iPhone, but according to a new report it’s running into a few problems along the way.

Reuters reports that while Apple is set to begin mass producing displays for its 4.7-inch iPhone as early as May, the eagerly anticipated 5.5-inch version is suffering supply chain issues relating to the production of in-cell technology for the larger screens.

Ultrakam is a video-shooting app that uses more of the iPhone’s pixels than the stock camera app to capture something like 2K video from the iPhone 5, 5S and compatible iPads. Yup, 2K video on your iPhone, and a lot more besides.

Pad&Quill is at it again, this time with a low-profile rear-shell style case for the iPhone 5/S. While calling anything from Brian Holmes’s P&Q “minimal” would be a stretch, the Traveler Case gets pretty close. It is also gorgeous to look at, and would surely be just as lovely for the hands. It looks like the kind of case you couldn’t stop fingering.

This morning’s gallery of iPhone 6 renderings had us drooling for an iPhone 6 but a set of leaked images claiming to originate from Apple supplier Foxconn might be our first glimpse of Cupertino’s next handset, or at least a phase of its development process.

The Weibo account they were posted on claims they’re straight from the Foxconn production floor, but seems how all the April Fools jokes are coming out today, we advise take pairing this with a hearty serving of skepticism.

Here’s another pic:

Based upon leaked schematics discovered by Macotakara of the forthcoming 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch variants of the iPhone 6, Nowherelse teamed up with concept designer extraordinaire Martin Hajek to create what may be the most plausible look at what Jony Ive’s next iPhone design would look like yet.

All the proportions here are perfect: althougb it features a larger profile, a super thin design, and an edge-to-edge display, the design still features a beautiful internal symmetry that seems worthy of Apple. There are some changes: the edges are curved, more organic, and the volume buttons have been unified into a single rocker, but otherwise, it looks like an evolution of the current iPhone 5s. Which is exactly what the iPhone 6 would look like.

Check out more images below. What do you think? Could this be the iPhone 6?

A bumper is a great option for folks who don’t care for cases, but are clumsy enough that they need some protection for their iPhone. And the brand-new Grovemade wooden bumpers not only offer protection but look great too. Also, they have names that you’ll want to lollop around your tongue, over and over.