BoyGeniusReport posts

Well, most of us here at TUAW are pretty sure this is a fake. A compelling fake, mind you, but an utter fabrication. Why?

First reason -- Apple almost never discounts their products, other than selling refurbished equipment on the cheap. That's part of the reason that the company is so successful and has the highest margins in the personal electronics and computing world. Discounts of "up to 25% on all Macs" are an Apple fanboy's most exciting dream (next to the iTablet, of course), but we doubt if the Cupertino Kids would discount anything more than 5%.

Reason two -- Apple Stores are, for the most part, hugely popular anyway. Apple doesn't need to drag in customers on Black Friday by enticing them with wicked discounts. Let's face it, most of the Apple Stores are going to be packed on November 27th, so why would Apple want to create traffic jams and general hysteria by doing something like this? Hell, most of the Apple retail employees would probably quit during Black Friday, leaving the company in the lurch for the rest of the holiday season.

Number three -- Historical precedence shows that Apple usually provides discounts on Black Friday, but not as big as BGR is indicating. In 2006, Apple provided free shipping to shoppers at the online store. Last year, Best Buy discounted up to US$150 on Macs and Apple matched that, but there was no steenkin' 25% discount.

And finally, reason number four -- Apple's probably not going to send out anything with that much blank space at the top of it. They're too picky about design. They don't want someone to have to scroll down through an email to read the discounts, even if there is an Apple logo floating around at the top of the email.

How sure are we that this isn't going to happen? Well, if it actually happens the way Boy Genius Report says it will, I'll wear a Boy Genius Report baseball cap (provided by BGR, of course) for four hours at Macworld Expo 2010 and give you guys some free advertising. TUAW readers -- what do you think about the discounts? Are they going to happen or not?

Yesterday's Boy Genius Report post citing the top ten deficiencies of the iPhone (no copy & paste, no video recording, and more) has generated more than 100 responses, some suggesting a fix for many failings (jailbreak the phone) and others hopping on the Blackberry or Palm Pre bandwagons in the hope that competition for the iPhone will spur more software innovation from Apple. While the App Store may be the hottest thing since that soldering iron you accidentally left turned on that ignited your Dad's workbench (and that's why you're not allowed in the garage anymore), even the sneakiest third-party developers can't effectively replace what Apple has failed to provide.

Given the sense of pent-up frustration from some (but not all) iPhone 3G owners over a laundry list of things the phone doesn't do, or doesn't do well, here's your chance to cheer or castigate Apple in the hopes of a brighter day to come. Vote in our poll and comment below with your top priorities for improvements -- or, if you're a happy camper, your favorite feature of today's iPhone.



[via Smoking Apples/Twitter]

Whither the cheap, low-capacity Walmart iPhone? MacRumors' Arnold Kim now anticipates that Walmart will be offering 8GB iPhones for $197, with no mention of smaller capacities or lower prices. The price is two bucks cheaper than at an AT&T retail store.

MacBlogz's Aviv Hadar mentioned late last week that their sources at AT&T said a 4GB model was "simply not true."

The original story, from BoyGeniusReport, was treated with a heavy dose of skepticism even from them, as the source wasn't one of their usual fonts of reliable information.

In related news, the San Jose Mercury News notes that Bay Area Walmart stores may begin carrying iPhone handsets before Christmas, citing employees and managers at those stores.

Otherwise, expect the devices to go on sale December 28.

[Via MacDailyNews.]

Your source for all iPhone-slash-Walmart news, BoyGeniusReport, has a whopper for you: Walmart might offer the 4GB iPhone for $99 when they start selling the handsets after Christmas.

Even they're skeptical, though: Their tipster isn't one of their regulars, and so they can't say with any certainty that it will come to pass.

The discount makes sense, in a way. Selling the low-end iPhone at a ridiculous price will turn it into the new Motorola RAZR. Apple would love everyone in the country to own one, I'm sure. It's not clear who will eat the discount, though -- Apple, AT&T, or Walmart -- but my guess is that it's mostly Apple. Apple has other revenue streams for the iPhone, such as the App Store and iTunes, and AT&T still has its spendy two-year contract. If this is what Apple needs to do to make this the ubiquitous handset to have, then it may be worth the cost to them.

On the other hand, as many commenters at BGR have pointed out, with ubiquity comes rejection. Suddenly, the iPhone isn't the cool status symbol to have anymore. This doesn't bother me one bit, but to some people -- for whatever reason -- it's important to them. (I have special names for those people.) Nevertheless -- will it impact sales? How much is the "hip" coefficient driving purchases?

In any event, consider this one of those situations where the Internet is writing checks that Walmart's butt might not be able to cash. But pretty sweet if it does.

The Boy Genius Report claims that they received a report saying Walmart may become the second independent retailer in the U.S. to carry the iPhone.

The big box retailer is expected to begin selling the iPhone about two weeks before Black Friday, on November 15. Walmart already carries a range of cases and accessories for iPhones, and sells a variety of iPods.

Radio Shack was also rumored to carry the handset, but its unclear if negotiations stalled, or the news about Walmart is just stealing its thunder, as BGR speculates.

Best Buy already carries the iPhone 3G, which you must activate before leaving the store. It stands to reason that Walmart will employ a similar process.

[Via AppleInsider.]

BoyGeniusReport (BGR) somehow managed to get their hands on the new iPhone 3G a little earlier than anyone else. They have uploaded several high-quality pictures to show the comparisons between the 1st generation iPhone and the iPhone 3G.

In addition, Paul Thurrott posted some iPhone 2.0 firmware upgrade screenshots to show the upgrade process and some of the new iTunes 7.7 and iPhone 2.0 features.

[via MacRumors]