iPhone 4s - page 2

Nothing makes Microsoft happier than seeing an iPhone user ditch their device for a Windows Phone smartphone. In fact, the company will even buy your iPhone off you if you promise to make the switch.

Starting this Friday, you’ll be able to take your old iPhone 4s or iPhone 5 into select Microsoft stores across the U.S. and Canada and receive a minimum of $200 in-store credit for a new Windows Phone device. The move comes weeks after Microsoft kicked off an iPad trade-in program to encourage consumers to switch to its Surface tablet.

Well look at that! Just one day after Apple announces that it’s going to replace the iPhone 5 model with not one, but two new iPhone models, the iPHone 5c and the iPhone 5s, RadioShack has jumped into the fray with a new trade-in program.

Cult of Mac got an email today from the electronics retailer, which said it wanted to share the current trade-in values, as well as discounted prices, for older model iPhones. All you need to do is visit RadioShack’s Trade and Save website to check on the value of your own device, and then bring it in to the nearest RadioShack (or send it in via an online process) for trading.

Apple has confirmed to CNBC that a new iPhone trade-in program will be available in Apple Stores across the United States today — less than two weeks before the Cupertino company is set to announce the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.

Customers will be able to exchange their old Apple smartphone for a gift card, which can then be redeemed against a new device with a new two-year contract.

A new video on the iPhone 5C has been posted by Taiwan Apple Daily, showcasing the durability and scratch resistance of the Apple’s unreleased device, along with some measurements.

The video shows an iPhone 5C rear shell being placed into a plastic bag filled with coins and a car key. After a good shaking, the iPhone 5C part comes away unscratched. At one point they even bust out a key to scratch the surface directly, but leave behind no visible scars.

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.

Apple may be forced to reduce its iPhone 5S orders for the fourth quarter of 2013 due to supply constraints affecting the handset’s rumored fingerprint sensor and LCD driver chips. Both components were expected to enter production in late June or early July, but that’s now been pushed back into late July, according to industry sources.

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.

There’s a new hacked carrier update available for iPhones running on AT&T, which delivers HD Voice, support for Release 7 HSDPA speeds on the iPhone 4S, and a number of other improvements. As always, you don’t even need a jailbroken iPhone to install it.

Best Buy has today begun a new nine-day deal that gives you $150 when you trade-in any working iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. That’s enough to cover the cost of a brand new 16GB iPhone 5 on a two-year contract with a $50 instant rebate, which means there couldn’t be a better time to upgrade.

Looking for a cheaper way to upgrade to the iPhone 5 without having to pay the full price? Best Buy announced this morning that it is relaunching its  program that allows customers to trade-in an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S to get a “free” iPhone 5.

The trade-in program is set to launch this Friday, June 21st, and will run for 9 days. Customers can bring in a working model iPhone 4 or 4S and get up to $150 in credit back, which can then be used to purchase a 16GB iPhone 5 for $149.99.

We’ve already told you why you probably shouldn’t install the new iOS 7 beta; it’s not just that the icons suck, but there are good reasons why beta releases should be avoided if you’re not a developer — particularly if you plan to use them on your primary device.

But if you went ahead and did it anyway, and now you’re looking for a way back, look no further. Despite what Apple says, iOS 7 can be downgraded to iOS 6 — and it’s pretty simple. Here’s how to do it in just two steps.

The iPhone 5’s call speaker is pretty good, but there are times when it could be a little louder — like when you’re in a crowded place. As always, the jailbreak community has a solution to that problem. It’s called Volume Amplifier, and it’s a new tweak that promises to amplify your iPhone’s call speaker volume by 200%.

Best Buy is set to knock $50 off the iPhone for a four-week promotion that starts this Sunday, AllThingsD reports. The discount will apply to the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S, and the iPhone 5 when bought with a two-year contract on AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon.

If you drop your iPhone and you don’t have it covered by AppleCare or another insurance plan, it’s almost always cheaper to have it repaired by a third-party than it is to have Apple do it. Unless you have an iPhone 5.

Apple’s tight control over iPhone 5 components means that they’re so hard to get hold of, repair costs remain high — even with third-party services. Some have even been unable to offer iPhone 5 repairs because they cannot obtain the parts.

Virgin Mobile has slashed 15% off both the 8GB iPhone 4 and the 16GB iPhone 4S on one of its prepaid Beyond Talk Unlimited data plans. The deal will get you a new iPhone — without a contract commitment — for less than $300.

Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, has long been Apple’s biggest manufacturing partner, with around 60-70% of its revenue coming from the Cupertino company. But local rival Pegatron is hoping to change that.

By offering Apple more competitive prices and sacrificing its profit margins, Pegatron appears to be securing iPhone and iPad assembly orders that would have normally gone straight to Foxconn.

Mother’s Day is in just a few days, and if your way of saying “I love you” is gadgetry, then T-Mobile thinks they have the perfect gift for you by heavily promoting its deal to get an iPhone for $0 down.

The deal has been running since April 12th, when the carrier rebranded itself as “The Uncarrier”. T-Mobile will ramp up the promotion by displaying prominent ads Mother’s Day iPhone 5 ads in the top 20 markets, along with 3 National ads in USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times.

One enterprising soul over on the Apple boards at Reddit has taken a bunch of comparison photos from the Camera+ app website and put them together to show just how far the iPhone camera has come, with the same image taken with the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G and 3GS, the iPhone 4 and 4s, and then the iPhone 5.

The difference between the first and last photos is stunning, but there’s an initial ratio of improvement between two models of the iPhone that’s simply stunning.

Samsung loves bashing its competitors, and it often does so in advertisements for new Galaxy products. So it’s no surprise that the Korean company has programmed its S Voice assistant to bash the iPhone. Ask it if it’s ever used Apple’s popular smartphone and S Voice delivers a scolding response.

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.

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.