TUAW reader Matt Daughtry tipped us off about this refurb AT&T iPhone deal for just $249 with free shipping. Much as I tried to buy one, the awful AT&T web design just would not let me add one to my cart and check out. If you have better luck and can leave some how-to tips in the comments, I'll greatly appreciate it. $249 for an 8GB iPhone is a terrific deal, especially for everyone who now needs a spare development unit.
Update: Mystery solved, iPhone purchased. I ended up having to clear my cookies because my existing login as a GoPhone customer was interfering with the purchase. Took an hour on the phone with AT&T and them saying: "But we can't sell to you, you're a GOPHONE customer!" while I begged them to ignore that fact since there was nothing on the site that said the purchase was not available for GoPhone users.
Anticipating a wave of happy new iPhone owners, AT&T will extend store hours across the US on Boxing Day[1]. The idea is this: After receiving their sparkly new iPhone under the tree, consumers will head over to the AT&T stores to buy unnecessary and overpriced accessories in a post-Christmas wave of spending.
TUAW recommends that you accessorize your new iPhone in moderation. The dollar store is a great resource to pick up inexpensive soft cases and socks.
Update: For the literal minded, this is the kind of sock I am talking about: It is marketed as an iPod sock but fits the iPhone as well. Cost: $1 at my local Dollar Tree. It's an excellent value works well in pockets and handbags where keys and other such items threaten the integrity of the iPhone's screen.
Here we are in the thick of the holiday shopping season, and no matter your faith or creed you know that the kids, tweens and teens in your life will be expecting something nicely wrapped. What can you give them that will help get them going on the Macintosh Way or enhance their iPod educational options? Read on for a brief and subjective list; for more, you can check out Apple's kid-specific section of the Macintosh Product Guide or check out our Education and Gaming categories.
With the iPod Touch set to debut any second, I've been getting a lot of mail and phone calls asking: "Which should I buy? The iPhone or the Touch?" Here's a quick reference to help you make your decision.
Cost. At $299, the iPod Touch costs $100 less than the $399 iPhone. If you're looking for the least expensive entry point, your choices are the 8GB Touch or a refurbished 4GB iPhone. The Touch has double the memory for the same price.
Form Factor. The iPhone is bigger and heavier than the Touch. It weighs in at 4.8 ounces and 11.6 mm depth versus the Touch's slim 4.2 ounces and 8mm thickness. Not a huge difference to be sure but those extra 4 mm definitely feel different in the hand.
Built-ins. The iPhone offers a built-in microphone, speakers and 2.0 megapixel camera. The Touch does not. You can't snap a photo and email it on the go with the Touch the way you do with iPhone.
Contract-free use. The iPhone is designed to be used with a monthly service fee. The Touch is contract-free out of the box. The iPhone requires activation through semi-nefarious hacking before it can be used without a contract and/or phone service.
Hackability. The Touch is probably just as hackable as the iPhone but the iPhone is a known quantity.
EDGE. Surfing on the Touch is a WiFi-only prospect. The US iPhone offers EDGE for when you're away from WiFi hotspots. Even with EDGE, though, coverage is spotty.
This is yet another moment where I wish I was cool enough to get Erica's iPhone screenshot utility working, because this is pretty impressive: visiting Amazon.com in MobileSafari on an iPhone will display a small alert at the top of the page, prompting you to visit their new beta iPhone portal. The customized site is pretty slick and offers a healthy array of navigation options. The top of the page has a search box, with side-scrolling image thumbnails of the top selling music albums just below. Next in line is a pull down menu of top selling products across what looks like the entirety of Amazon's category selections, including Baby, DVD, Electronics, Health, etc. Next is a big fat 'iPhone beta site feedback' button - a great idea if I do say so myself - and finally, a list of links for the basics such as signing into your account, viewing your shopping cart and the Help section.
For a beta site it's a nice first offering, but I am a bit more surprised by the fact that Amazon - the King Kong of online retail - has introduced a shopping and searching portal specifically for the iPhone. Could they have started a trend, inspiring other retailers to make it easier than ever for you to spend money with one of the most expensive gadgets you've ever bought? Only time will tell.
[Update: Thanks to commenters reminding me about iPhoney, I was able to snap an actual screenshot of the site on an iPhone.]
Akoo International announced plans to develop a web site optimized for the iPhone's Safari browser that will allow customers to use their iPhones to control in-store media displays. Presumably, store displays will announce their m-Venue URL and invite visitors to whip out their iPhones and take part. NikoDrakoulis, Akoo CEO, calls this "real-time consumer-to-brand interactivity."
Done well, this may provide an amusing way to pass the time as one's spouse takes his or her time shopping. Done poorly, this will distract customers from actually purchasing products and will tick off the waiting spouses and children as the iPhone user plays with his or her toy. This press release suggests that restaurants and sports bars would be a great place to install these displays. TUAW could never imagine fights breaking out over which iPhone user gets to control the channel.
The word that there might be as many as 9000 switchers a day got us thinking: maybe all those switchers could use some tips on how to save a few bucks while hopping the fence to white, black and aluminum pastures. Sure, Apple typically doesn't offer much in the way of excitement when it comes to zany blow-out sales on their products, but who says you have to buy your Apple stuff from Apple? There are plenty of resellers who offer some great deals to lure customers away from Apple's shiny stores, and discount watching sites can help you jump on time-sensitive sales. If you take our tips to heart, we guarantee both you and your credit card will sleep better at night with your next (or first) Mac purchase.
Last night, I took my eldest daughter and headed over to Target to replace our dying handvac. While there, we did our usual end-cap promenade to see what items had received the red-tag blessing of clearance. I was surprised to find several dozen iLamps marked down by 75%, apparently left over from the Christmas rush.
Other than the iLamps and a number of extremely ugly iPod cases, there were not a lot of iPod-related bargains to be found and the main (non-clearance) iPod section had been picked clean. Those of you who take pleasure in such things will be tickled to note that the Zune section remained in almost pristine pre-Christmas condition. If you're in need of an iLamp (and at that price, who isn't?), you may want to call ahead to check availability at your local store before you rush-on over to experience red sticker madness.
So where were the iPods in this gift guide? Absent: not an iPod was featured, not even a Shuffle. There is another DMP from another vendor, in a fetching shade of brown, listed as a gift for The Office's Jim Halpert... but this is the Unofficial Apple Weblog, and we don't need to mentionthat productagain. (Today, anyway.)
Update 11:28 am: As noted by several readers, the Jim Halpert (not Halpern) character on The Office already uses an iPod. So, that "other" music player, really not such a great gift for him.
Besides being snarky and asking why Microsoft bothered in the first place, I've been thinking about the more significant aspects of the Zune, such as what it means (and could mean) to the market and the culture of the industry. There is a lot to be said about the fact that Microsoft is paying a record label tax on every device sold and the terrifying precedent that sets, as well as the IP-trampling and DRM-wrapping Wi-Fi sharing feature. Through all this I realized that Microsoft *could* have a great product on their hands - if they got to working on some true innovation (instead of - at best - an unpolished gimmick), and cleaned out the criticism todo list. It wouldn't be easy, especially in light of the uphill battle that seems to be getting steeper by the week, but it could theoretically be done, and we all would be better off if it happened (remember: competition is good for you and me). After the break, I've listed a a few fundamental elements and features that could propel the Zune not simply into the position of a justifiable contender to the DAP throne, but that of a truly innovative and culturally significant product like the iPod has become.
Let's suppose that your significant other is on Santa's 'nice' list, and you want his/her shiny new iPod to keep glistening all through the new year; you'll probably want a case to go with it. If you like black rubber (and really, who doesn't?), but the recycled look bothers you as much as it does Laurie, perhaps the Speck ToughSkin is the case for you; it offers a good balance between glamour and SPF (scratch protection factor). We covered it last year.
Amazon is promoting a deal for the ToughSkin that goes something like this: buy a 30 GB black iPod, get a free case (a $25 value). It's the perfect gift idea for the slightly klutzy music fan in your life.
The Kansas City Star points out that prices have dropped on many consumer electronics this shopping season. Case in point? The updated and redesigned iPod Nano is selling for far under Christmas 2005 prices. Take the 4G model. In 2005, you'd spend $249. This year? $199. That's a 20% price drop right there.
Willing to buy a refurb? $149 and free shipping--at least for now. Refurb iPods are flying out of the Apple store as fast as they're being posted. If you're looking for a refurb, be vigilant. Keep checking the inventory on a daily (or even hourly) basis.
The Star article states that American consumers may spend as much as $21 billion on gadgets during the end-of-the-year shopping season.
One of my favorite things about the web is how it enables anyone, with even the slightest bit of effort, to become an educated consumer. Whenever I make a significant purchase (new camera, phone, etc), my first stops are sites like PriceGrabber, which allow you to search for things using specific criteria such as megapixels for cameras, carrier availability for phones, or speed for computers. This helps me get an idea of what my options are. The added benefit of these sites is the fact that they provide pricing quotes from hundreds of stores around the web, as well as ratings and customer reviews for those stores.
While on the topic of smart internet shopping, lets take a peek at the new Earthlink Shopping widget. While it doesn't allow for the refined searching interface that I enjoy so very much, it does make it quick and easy to check prices on things. The widget searches eBay, shopping.com, and amazon.com for your search term, and displays the results in familiar search engine form. Earthlink Shopping also displays store and product ratings when available.
The Jack of All Widgets widget could perhaps be better named as the Jack of All Searches. It allows quick access to what I would guess is around 50 different searches and services, including Amazon, gas prices, people searches, package tracking (including the only widget I know of that searches the USPS), lyrics, weather and more. It's description page at Apple's download site says it starts up Safari to display search results, but with my experience it simply starts your default browser.
The Jack of All Widgets widget is freeware and available from Apple's download page.
This is yet another moment where I wish I was cool enough to get 
The word that there might be as many as 
Last night, I took my eldest daughter and headed over to Target to replace our dying handvac. While there, we did our usual end-cap promenade to see what items had received the red-tag blessing of clearance. I was surprised to find several dozen iLamps marked down by 75%, apparently left over from the Christmas rush. 
My old buddies at 
Besides being snarky and asking 
Let's suppose that your significant other is on 
The Kansas City Star 
One of my favorite things about the web is how it enables anyone, with even the slightest bit of effort, to become an educated consumer. Whenever I make a significant purchase (new camera, phone, etc), my first stops are sites like 
The Jack of All Widgets widget could perhaps be better named as the Jack of All Searches. It allows quick access to what I would guess is around 50 different searches and services, including Amazon, gas prices, people searches, package tracking (including the only widget I know of that searches the USPS), lyrics, weather and more. It's description page at Apple's download site says it starts up Safari to display search results, but with my experience it simply starts your default browser.
