The Apple announcement!

This morning, at 10:00 AM Pacific time, Tim Cook took to the stage at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino.

Over almost 2 hours, we were introduced to two new models of iPhone, a new service in ApplePay and the Apple Watch. A lot of rumors were confirmed, some were seen to be false (bye easy to type iWatch) and a raft of new services not foreseen were revealed.

The live stream was not the best thing anyone’s ever seen, far from it actually, from consistent pauses and breakdowns in the streaming video, to the addition of a lovely Chinese translator (we’re assuming?) cutting in over Tim Cook’s sentences. It seemed to work itself out after about 40 minutes thank goodness, but not before Twitter was set on fire annihilating Apple for being unable to use simple streaming technology.

But, it worked itself out. Shout out to the guys over at MacRumors for live blogging so we could understand anything we missed! We were introduced to the two models of the iPhone 6 – the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. They are, as rumored, a 4.7 inch model and 5.5 inch model respectively. They both have a bunch of updates and improvements and we’ll delve into them in a little bit in our detailed iPhone 6 blog post.

We had confirmation of NFC capabilities with ApplePay, aiming to make payment transactions in a bunch of online and in-store retailers all over the US simpler and more secure.

Then; One more thing!

Those magic words that we haven’t heard in a while! That one more thing? Nope, not the iWatch. Natch. It’s the Apple Watch. And it’s so very pretty! And functional! And innovative, and useful. We’ll be going into far more detail in our Apple Watch blog post coming soon. But all you need to know for right now? There are two sizes and three models – the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Sport, and the Apple watch Edition. They’ll be coming in early 2015, they’re highly customizable, they start at $349, and you’ll probably want one.

Tim Cook ended the event with a performance by U2 and the announcement of their new Album ‘Songs of Innocence’. And Apple just made the album free to all half a billion iTunes users!

We’ll be bringing you the details of both models of the iPhone 6, Apple Pay and Apple Watch shortly.

Photos courtesy of 9to5mac.com

A Special Announcement!

We’ve been busy! We have another special announcement to make!

Following our announcement last week that we will be offering customer payments in Bitcoin, and to celebrate the release of the iPhone 6, we are very proud to announce that we will be rolling out ANOTHER new payment option in the very near future.

Coming in the next few weeks, if you choose to sell your iPhone to us, you will be able to be paid via Check, Paypal, Bitcoin OR you can donate your entire payment to any charity of your choice in the United States.

If you’re thinking of upgrading to an iPhone 6 model, or just have an old/broken/water damaged iPhone in a drawer somewhere, why not use that opportunity to turn your old iPhone into something wonderful? Simply get a quote from us here, receive your pre-paid box in the mail, place your device in the box and send it off. Designate the charity of your choice and our President, Ryan Wallace, will personally donate the quoted amount to that charity. 

We want to give you guys not only the best service we can, but also assist in helping turn unused, old or broken technology into something good in the world. Technology is good, Kindness and giving is good, new iPhones are good, good customer service is good! It’s all good!

To find a list of United States Charities, go here! 

We’ll be letting you know exactly when the charity payment option will be available in the next couple of weeks! We also might just have another special announcement up our sleeve, and we’ll be keeping you in the know with iPhone 6 AND iWatch rundowns, so keep an eye on us!

Image courtesy of http://www.aha-soft.com/

What to expect from the iWatch?

The much anticipated iWatch is said to be revealed alongside the two models of the new iPhone 6 this coming September 9th, which is in 4 days, 19 hours, 40 minutes, but who’s counting? We’re very, very excited.

But why should we be excited? What should we expect from the iWatch?

Check out our earlier article alongside this one to see who Apple have hired purportedly for the creation of the iWatch, and what that might mean for the technological features we can expect.

The iWatch will most likely have a range of health related capabilities from fitness tracking to sleep recording, heart monitoring and medication monitoring, among many others. There are reports that alongside the iPhone 6, the iWatch will also have NFC support allowing for mobile payments.

The watch is likely be able to be used as a standalone device but will be best used alongside and in coordination with an iPhone. There is a good chance that the iWatch will have a curved and flexible screen and… drumroll please… wireless charging. We certainly hope that rumor is true, because that would be, um, amazing.

We should expect a price point of around $400, but that’s a fairly wide shot in the dark at this stage. In fact, some reports are coming in that the price may not even be mentioned on September 9th when the iWatch is announced, as it won’t have been finalized yet. Further reports speculate that there will be a range of pricing based on differing model features.

Most of the people with secret sauces are saying that we, unfortunately, won’t see the iWatch shipped until early 2015. We still have a sliver of hope that we could see it in time for Christmas, but the chances are looking  a little slim.

This is the first time in a while that Apple has released a completely new product, and it feels like it’s going to be a really nice, really useful tech device. AND REALLY BRAND SPANKING INNOVATION – Y ! YEAH!

We’re excited. If you couldn’t tell.

iWatch mock up photo by Brett Jordan Via www.adr-studio.it/site/?p=269 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Apple Media event on September 9th is confirmed!

Thanks to the lovely guys over at The Loop, we have for you the official invitation to the upcoming Apple media event – confirming that a big announcement will be made by Apple on September 9th.

The event is highly anticipated and expected to be unveiling two new models of the iPhone 6 and their new wearable tech product, currently referred to as the iWatch.

The invitations carry the tagline “Wish we could say more.”

The event will take place at 10:00 AM Pacific Time at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino.

The Flint center hasn’t been used by Apple for a long time, but is the same location where Steve Jobs introduced the original Mac 30 years ago and holds a lot more people than the usual venues Apple uses for it’s announcements. Apple seems to be building a huge, highly guarded structure on the campus in preparation for the announcement on the 9th.

We sense something major coming this way…

It hasn’t been confirmed if Apple will be streaming the event or not ( we hope so) but we will keep you up to date to everything we know when we know it!

11 days 15 hours 35 minutes until the unveiling!

iWatch very likely to be unveiled September 9Th!

Exciting Apple rumors have intensified today amongst those who have previously proven to be in the know, as well as others, leading many to believe that the long awaited and highly anticipated iWatch will indeed be unveiled alongside the new iPhone on September 9th.

Say Wahhhhhhat?

That’s right. The guys over at Re/Code and many others are saying that come September 9th, the world will be shown 2 new iPhones and – One more thing – The iWatch.

It is believed that although the iPhone will then be released to the public roughly 10 days later, the iWatch won’t be available until later this year or even early 2015 ( we personally think that it will be available in time for Christmas shopping, but we’ve been wrong before).

Click here to see what to expect from the iWatch, and stay tuned for more rumors as we hear them about the upcoming iPhone 6 models AND the iWatch!

iWatch mock up photo by Brett Jordan Via www.adr-studio.it/site/?p=269 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Changes in California smartphone laws

A new law, State Sen. Mark Leno’s Smartphone Theft Prevention Act (Senate Bill 962), was signed into California law on Monday indicating a change that will hopefully prevent the massive amounts of cell-phone theft that has been plaguing the state.

After July 1st, 2015, every smartphone sold in in California must by law be equipped with default theft deterrent technology that will render the phone useless to the thief if stolen, eradicating the incentive to steal smartphones almost completely (unless said thief knows a super great place to sell smartphone parts) as well as the violence that comes along with such robberies.

The law dictates that every smartphone sold in California (online or in store) no matter where it was manufactured, must come with a default kill switch that when activated, will remotely turn off the phone and erase it’s contents, being able to withstand a hard reset or operating system downgrade, henceforth making it useless. There must also be the ability to turn it back on by the owner of the phone if the phone was found to be misplaced instead of stolen.

Authorized users also will have the opportunity  to opt out and turn the kill switch feature off, which, just like the iCloud lock, you will have to remember to do if you are selling or giving your smartphone away!

So, good news? Well, we think it’s awesome news that people are trying and succeeding in changing technology laws in an effort to enhance public safety, certainly. But will this effort decrease the amount of robberies in California? We can only hope, and wait and see.

iPhone Antidote can now pay you in Bitcoin!

In an industry first and JUST in time for the release of the iPhone 6, we are very pleased to announce that we can now pay you in BITCOIN for your stinky old iPhone!

This is the perfect time of year to sell you old, broken, or water damaged iPhone so that you can get some cash to go right ahead and get the shiny new iPhone 6! Either of them! Or both of them! (The iPhone 6, if you haven’t been following, is believed to be coming in two sizes – 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch.) The new iPhone will be announced on September 9th and is believed to be released the following 19th September which is sooooo sooooooon.

Which is why we got our butts into gear and got to work so that we could offer the wildest range of payment options in the tech buyback industry! 

If you sell your iPhone to us, you can now be paid via Check, PayPal or the crypto-currency Bitcoin.

Bitcoin originally started as a peer-to-peer payment system in 2009, and although unregulated by a central bank or entity, Bitcoin is now beginning to be accepted widely in the commercial marketplace, from pizza here in San Francisco, to flights in Europe, electronics at TigerDirect, furniture at Overstock.com and even in the real estate market.  

Bitcoin is an especially good payment option for our customers here at iPhone Antidote since the payments are INSTANT and completely irreversible. You don’t need to wait for the check to clear or for the PayPal funds to be available and once the funds are in your account, they’re staying there.

Sweet, right?

We want to give you guys the best service possible, which means keeping up with the innovations of the tech arena and giving you the best payment options, just in time for the release of the new iPhone! Because we LOVE you guys!

EVEN BETTER is that you will get a $10 bonus when you enter in the promo code ‘bitcoin10’ and choose bitcoin as your payment method. This offer is for a limited time only, but will continue over the MOST IMPORTANT time, i.e., the release of the new iPhone. Get in on this deal before September 30th, 2014.

To find out more about Bitcoin, go here!  And to start the process of selling your iPhone to us, click on over here! Get an instant quote, prepaid mailer to your door and MONEY in your hot little hands in days!

Accessory of the day

Ever get worried that you’re spending too much time with your eyes on your phone in the car? Yes, we all know that it is against the law as well as sensibility to hold or do anything with your phone when you’re driving. That’s what our trusty sidekicks are for, right? ( The one’s with the capes not the technology).

Sometimes though, especially when you’re alone in the car, it is very tempting if you’re expecting or receiving an important call or a message to sneak a peek. Alongside that, we have our NAV systems, which whilst legal and a lot safer, still keep your eyes away from where it really should be.

Road safety is SUPER important and any technology that supports that is a good one in our books! And so we come to our Accessory of the day  – future edition. The Navdy.

Currently only available for Pre-order, it’s a device that sits on the dash in front of your steering wheel with a Head-Up Display (HUD) which  projects information as if it’s floating six feet in front of you.  It connects to your phone and is controlled by both by voice and touchless gesture control. It’s a NAV system and a way to interact with your phone ( phone calls, Messages, music)  without needing to look away from the road.  It looks, well, ultra cool.

Check out the preview video here. You can Pre-order right now and for the next 14 days for $299.  After that the price will bounce back up to $499. The device will ship early 2015.

Deal of the day! MacBook Edition

A while back we told you guys about an excellent deal for the Macbook Air, and we’re about to tell you about another one! It’s not quiiiite as good, but it’s still pretty stellar! Like stars, ye see? And if you’re a student with an .edu email address, ( or are somehow able to get an .edu email address, because those things *can* happen…) you can get an even starrier price!

Start with going down to any post office and asking them for their ‘movers’ coupon book. Inside you’ll find a Best Buy coupon for 10% off any single purchase.

Jump with glee!

Head on down to Best Buy, and check out their current sale on Macbook Air’s for $850 ( down from $1000).

Use the 10% movers book coupon to take the price down to $765.

IF you have an .edu address, go here to sign up to get a further $100 discount on the Macbook.

And ( after tax) that’s it! Congratulations, you Dealmaking Macbook Air owning human, you!

Definitive indication there will be two models of the iPhone 6!

So, the rumor mill has been spinning off it’s wheels lately  ( do mills have wheels? Sure they do.) regarding Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6 release, which is expected to be announced early september.

Most people believe that there will actually be two versions of the iPhone 6 – differentiated by size. One is said to be 4.7 inch whilst the other will be a pretty massive 5.5 inch.  Speculation is rife as to if this will come to fruition, if those are the correct specifications, and if the’ll they be released concurrently.

BUT WAIT! Now we seem to have something pretty definitive ( probably) with a recent announcement from Takorn Tantasith, who is the Secretary General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) in Thailand.

Uh, what does he have to do with anything? Well the NBTC needed to approve Apple’s application to distribute two iPhone 6 models in Thailand. Which they did, and according to government regulations, these approvals had to be announced publicly. Which is also what they did.

On August 5th, Apple reportedly filed the import application and on August 8th they received certification of equipment and a written approval notice  for two iPhones with model numbers A1586 and A1524. The approval was then announced and was also mentioned in a tweet by Nakorn Tantasith. 

Details on the iPhone 6 handsets referenced in the documents are, unfortunately, sealed. Bummer hummer. Guess we’ll just have to wait like patient little Appler’s!