iPhones keep their resale value on online auction sites much longer than Samsung’s flagship Galaxy efforts, a study reveals.

Analysis from Piper Jaffray, which collated eBay prices for second-hand Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2 models as well as used iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 kits, found that the value of an iPhone falls at less than half the rate of a high-end Samsung Galaxy handset.

Perhaps reflecting the fact that iPhones’ arguably superior build quality makes them a better bet when buying an older phone, the study found that over an eight-week period the iPhone 5 lost 11.2 per cent of its value. In the same time, the Samsung Galaxy S3 lost 13.7 per cent.

The sharpest rate of decline noted, however, was for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which dropped by 15 per cent, with consumers’ relative unwillingness to pay top dollar possibly influenced by speculation that a new edition of the Note will land in Q3.

Conversely, the ageing iPhone 4S performed best and lost just seven per cent of its value.

Report author Gene Munster stated: "The key takeaway from eight weeks of data is that the iPhone is holding slightly more of its value compared to the top two Galaxy phones.”

Prices of the iPhone 5 are likely to continue to hold up well until September when Apple is set to debut a new version of its all-conquering smartie.

Around this time, eBay is typically flooded with current-gen iPhones for sale as would-be upgraders look to offload their handsets on later adopters and bargain-hunters.

Source:

Apple Insider

Read More »

Rumours that Apple will debut at least two new smartphones this year gathered pace today, after a Chinese source claimed to have seen the forthcoming devices.

Posting on micro blogging service, Sina Tech, Old Yao claims his friend at one of Apple’s Chinese parts suppliers has laid eyes on the new edition of the standard-sized iPhone, AKA the iPhone 5S, and the phablet-sized iPhone 6.

According to said insider, the iPhone 5S isn’t too different from the current-gen model in the looks stakes. That tallies with other recent reports suggesting that improvements that the next-generation handset brings will be largely restricted to the phone’s internals.

The iPhone 6, meanwhile, is a different matter and is purportedly longer – Yao claims it packs a five-inch screen - and wider than the iPhone 5, but is also thinner.

Although that’s not a terribly concrete description, it’s sure to add to the clamour of tech voices forecasting that Apple’s 2013 product portfolio will include a tablet-smartphone hybrid aimed at seeing off the challenge from the Samsung’s Note range.

Still, before you get too excited, it’s worth remembering that we can’t set too much store in Old Yao’s claims, given that it’s been hard to verify what kind of industry credentials he’s got. If indeed, he’s got any at all.

Either way, given the Samsung Galaxy Note and Note 2’s huge sales, it seems likely that demand for an Apple phablet would be huge. And with a putative spec sheet that takes in a super HD camera, 128GB of storage and Near Field Communications, it’s not hard to see why.

Via:

CNET
Read More »

Walmart last week announced the availability of iPhone 5 on a Straight Talk no-contract plan with unlimited voice, text and data, but like most so-called unlimited plans, this one too has a limit. For $45 a month, you can use up to 2GB of data, which these days isn't a whole lot. Stream a movie on your shiny new iPhone? Not likely.

However, Walmart has made it easier to buy an iPhone 5 off-contract by offering $25-a-month financing on the purchase of a phone as long as you use a Walmart credit card. Only a few prepaid providers offer the newest iPhone (Cricket ; C Spire, a regional provider in the South), and you'll pay $649 up front for the phone. At Walmart, you have the option to buy the phone outright or put it on your card with no interest fee.

It's no secret that carriers use the term "unlimited" to describe plans that indeed include what the industry calls a soft data cap. That means when you use your data allotment, the service slows data speeds to a crawl. Technically, data is unlimited, but it's so slow that it's unusable.

For the majority of smartphone users, 2GB of data is often enough as long as a reliable Wi-Fi connection is available. Streaming video can quickly eat up data, but if you watch a movie over Wi-Fi, it won't count against your data allotment. Read more…

Read More »

AT&T's prepaid GoPhone brand will now support the iPhone 5 and other LTE/HSPA+ devices.

Although iPhone users have been able to sign up for voice service using GoPhone, this is the first time AT&T is opening access to the data network for those customers. This is also the first time the company has offered LTE support for its prepaid GoPhone SIMs.

AT&T offers three service plans that support the iPhone and other LTE/HSPA+ devices, but only the $65 a month plan includes data (1GB a month).

Users can also purchase individual data packages that run $5 a month for 50MB, $15 a month for 200MB and $25 a month for 1GB. Read more…

Read More »