With the expected release Tuesday of the next iPhone, some owners of the current version of Apple Inc.’s hit phone won’t sit home and grumble. They’ll sell, then upgrade.

Smartphones and other tech gear that are rendered obsolete by the latest version, or just get a little old, certainly are far too valuable to stash in a drawer and forget about. In fact, with an iPhone, you might be able to sell it for nearly the price you paid. But you have to know how to play the “recommerce” game to get top dollar.

Recommerce isn’t just for iPhones but for many of today’s tech gadgets, from BlackBerry phones to Xbox gaming consoles to laptop and tablet computers. Some consumers are seeking cash, while others just want a “green” way to dispose of their electronics.

“The very worst thing you can do from an economic and an ecological perspective is stick it in your drawer and later throw it in your trash,” said Joe McKeown, vice president of marketing and communication for phone buyback site, ReCellular.com. “It’s the right thing to do for your pocketbook and the environment.”

Used iPhones are an extreme case because they are always in high demand.

Like the price of a stock, price quotes for used iPhones fluctuate on websites that buy gadgets from consumers. Prices vary more on product-launch days like Tuesday. The difference Tuesday between selling in the morning and evening can be real money.

“We anticipate this will be the biggest event in recommerce to date,” said Kristina Kennedy, spokeswoman for Gazelle.com, which buys used electronics. Shortly after Apple announced Tuesday’s news conference about the iPhone, Gazelle’s traffic spiked. There was a period where people were locking in a price to sell their old iPhones at the rate of one every 10 seconds on the site, Kennedy said.

Compared with the launch of iPhone 4, traffic at ReCellular.com in recent days is double, McKeown said.

A survey by mobile advertising network InMobi released last week showed that 41 percent of current mobile phone users in North America plan to buy an iPhone 5 — before there was even confirmation an iPhone 5 existed.

“People just want to have the latest and greatest,” Kennedy said. “When they’re on a plane and the person sits down next to them, they want them to notice they have the iPhone 5, not the iPhone 4. There’s sort of a badge of honor that comes for the hard-core Apple enthusiasts with having the newest one.”

Many buy-back sites resell used phones — on eBay, for example — although, ReCellular.com buys and sells used phones on its own site. Consumers can check those websites if they’re in the market to buy used iPhones.

If you want to sell using a gadget buyback website, resale prices on iPhones are typically high the morning of Apple’s announcement of a new model. So, lock in a price by mid-day, Kennedy suggests. “After that, we do expect the pricing to drop very quickly,” she said. On Gazelle and some other sites, you can lock in a price and ship the phone weeks later, giving you time to buy your new phone and transfer service to it.

Owners of iPhones might be shocked to know you can sell your phone and get back most of what you paid. That’s because U.S. wireless carriers usually sell phones for less than cost and make up for it with the price of the service plan. For example, many consumers paid $299 for their 32-gigabyte iPhone 4, which retails for at least twice that. One buyback site, Cellitused.com, on Monday was offering $232 for one in good condition, and $290 for one in like-new condition, according to price aggregator uSell.com.

Upgraders can use the money to defray the cost of a new iPhone or help pay early termination fees if they will be jumping to a new wireless carrier before their contract expires. Some gadget buyers pay cash, while some store-sponsored buying programs pay in store credit.

Rob Brandenburg, 39, of Chicago is planning to upgrade from his current iPhone 4, which he says seems sluggish and “quirky” lately. “Right now, I’m having a lot of speed issues,” he said. Instead of selling his iPhone 4, he’ll pass it to his wife and probably sell her previous-generation iPhone, the 3GS, he said.

He said he would probably sell the older iPhone to a friend or use an online marketplace, such as eBay or Craigslist — or maybe he’ll just ask around. “I’ve sold a couple of them just by word-of-mouth,” he said.

Here are three primary ways to sell your iPhone or other used tech gear.

– Sell to a gadget buyback website. Selling to one of these sites can be a low-hassle option, but you might not get top dollar. Gazelle.com, for example, concentrates on being simple and fast. After you accept its offer, it will send you a box with prepaid shipping. Or you can go to a FedEx store, and personnel there will package it for free. Usually payment is issued within a week of your device arriving, Gazelle says on its website.

USell.com is an aggregator, searching prices on three different buyback sites. And ReCellular.com is among the oldest sites for selling and buying used phones. It touts 20 years in business and recirculating some 50 million phones.

– Sell it yourself. You’re likely to get a higher price for your gadget if you find your own buyer. Often that means using word-of-mouth or such online tools as eBay or Craigslist. But it can be a hassle to create an advertisement, respond to potential buyers and package and ship the item yourself. EBay has an Instant Sale section where it offers fixed payouts via PayPal.

– Retailer buybacks. Some gadget upgraders might prefer to deal with a known retailer. Electronics retailer Best Buy will give cash or store credit for trade-ins. A 32-gigabyte iPhone 4 in good condition yields $181 in cash or $279 as a Best Buy gift card. Amazon.com on Monday was offering $274 for the same trade-in. Its payout comes in the form of an Amazon.com gift card.

A word of caution: before selling, be sure to erase all your private data on such devices as computers and phones. Many devices have an option in their settings to wipe all data and restore the gadget to factory defaults. Some used-gadget buyers also say they will securely erase your data.

[Thanks: http://www.csmonitor.com]

1. Apple started out with the classic iPods, that used FireWire 400, using a power adapter called the “Apple iPod Power Adapter.” It’s model number A1003, and the output is 12 watts (12 volts x 1 amp). It’s about 6 cm. on a side, and should be used with older iPods that use FireWire 400. It looks like this.

(Original) Apple iPod Power Adapter (FireWire 400) 12W

2. The next generation of chargers, arrived when the iPods went 100 percent USB. It was called “iPod USB Power Adapter.” It’s slightly smaller than the original adapter above, being about 4.5 cm. square. The model number is A1205, and it puts out 5 watts (5 volts x 1 amp.) It’s suitable for all USB iPods and the iPhone. (It shipped with the original iPhone.) If you bought several early iPods and worked your way up through the iPhones, you probably have a few of these laying around.

iPod USB Power Adapter 5W

3. When Apple came out with the iPad in April, 2010, its larger capacity battery called for a charger with more power. It ships with the “10W USB Power Adapter” model number A1357. It’s output is 10.7 watts (5.1 volts x 2.1 amps) Unfortunately, it looks just like #2.

10W USB Power Adapter (looks just like #2) 10.7W

If you try to use the old 5 watt adapter (#2 above) with an iPad, it will work, but it’ll charge the iPad much more slowly when it’s idle and perhaps not much at all when in active use. So if you have any “#2” type chargers laying around, it’s probably a good idea to mark them as 5W so you don’t accidentally try to use it with an iPad.

Recently, we bought one of these 10W adaprers for my wife at an Apple store so she could charge her iPad at work. It’s clearly marked as 10W in the product name. When you buy that product, you also get the optional extension cable that replaces the built-in power prong. Here’s a photo (Apple.)

4. Starting with the iPhone 3G, Apple started shipping iPhones with the “Ultracompact USB Power Adapter,” although it’s too small to actually print that text on it. The model number is A1265, and it’s about 2.8 x 2.5 cm and outputs 5 watts (5 volts x 1 amp.) Being as small as it is, it naturally suggests that you should only use it with iPod touch and iPhones.

Ultracompact USB Power Adapter 5W

In September, 2008, Apple discovered that some of these Ultracompact adapters had a defect that could lead to the prongs snapping off and offered to replace them free of charge. The replacement adapters have a small green dot next to the prongs.

It’s important to note that you can use the 10W charger (#3) to charge an iPhone. Even though it’s over capacity, both #3 and #4 chargers output 5V, and the iPhone will only take as much current as it needs to charge. There’s no risk of damaging your iPhone. See my comment above about the other way around.

The type printed on the sides of these power adapters is incredibly small; it’s almost impossible to read. I am 20/15 at 12 inches, and I needed a lighted magnifying glass to read the ultra-fine print, output and model numbers. So, as I mentioned above, a permanent marker and a code, 5W or 10W, for some of your #2 and #3 chargers is a good idea.

Nowadays, all iPads ship with #3 and all iPhones ship with #4. (The iPod touch comes with the USB Dock Connector cable but no power adapter.) So there shouldn’t be any confusion moving forward.

Thank goodness.

[Thanks: http://www.macobserver.com]

Quora for iPhone retains most of the functionality of its desktop web version. Users can browse their activity feed, view questions, follow questions, vote on answers, add answers and add questions. It also includes a notifications feed, search functionality and the ability to manage your profile and view others. Quora has also added a shuffle feature that pulls up a random question from anywhere on the site.

Quora co-founder Charlie Cheever told Mashable that the app was designed with the consumption experience in mind. People don’t want to write long answers on their iPhones, he said, but Quora has given users the ability to add them if, say, they’re on a long train ride.

The big new feature Quora is introducing in its iPhone app is a “nearby” tab that lets users find questions related to their location. For example, I’m able to use the app to see questions people have asked about Russian Hill, my neighborhood in San Francisco. This nearby content will grow exponentially as more people use the iPhone app to create questions about local institutions and neighborhoods.

The app is missing a key feature though: the ability to take a photo and turn it into a question. The iPhone is ideal for asking a question through a photo. Asking the community to identify a plant or animal via an iPhone photo makes a lot of sense. For its part, Quora says this feature is coming.

Co-founded by Cheever and former Facebook CTO Adam D’Angelo, Quora was a darling of the technology world in 2010 and early 2011, but eventually lost the spotlight. Since then, the company has been focused on improving its technology and diversifying its content. The company points to food, filmmaking and even law enforcement as recent areas of expansion, though Quora declined to reveal any stats about the site’s growth (one thing it did reveal, though: New York, not San Francisco, is its largest and most active city).

For now that’s fine, but eventually Quora will have to find a way to market its content to the public. The content has retained its high quality though — its greatest advantage against mainstays such as Yahoo Answer and Answers.com

What do you think of Quora’s iPhone app? Do you use Quora?

[Thanks: http://mashable.com]

Chinese police have arrested five people in Shanghai for making and selling fake versions of Apple’s iPhone, according to a report.

Those arrested were part of an organised gang that bought components for the phones from Guangdong in southern China and assembled them in rented apartments in Shanghai, police said in the Shanghai Daily.

About 200 fake iPhones were found.

The cost of making one fake iPhone, which used some genuine parts, was around 2,000 yuan (£200). It was sold on unauthorised markets and on the internet for around 4,000 yuan, a few hundred yuan cheaper than the real iPhone, the newspaper said.

The fake iPhones were said to have the same functions as the genuine phones but a shorter battery life.

“It’s really hard for customers to distinguish the fake ones from the genuine ones,” an officer was quoted as saying.

Officials from Apple could not be reached for comment.

China is often criticised for violating intellectual property rights. Pirated consumer goods of all kinds can be easily found in shops.

Among fake versions of the iPhone being sold in Chinese markets and on the internet are “hiPhone 5″ phones, based on leaked images of Apple’ssoon-to-launch iPhone 5.

A US blogger sparked a media storm in July after she posted pictures of an elaborate fake Apple Store in Kunming selling genuine but unauthorised iPhones, Macbooks and other Apple products.

[Thanks: http://www.guardian.co.uk]

Apple could release a midrange iPhone in addition to the iPhone 5, itself rumored to debut in coming weeks. If that comes to pass, it’ll mark a new phase in Apple’s mobile strategy: the moment when it stopped battling Android in a more general way, and decided to ram Google’s operating system head-on.

According to a recent report in AllThingsD, Apple CEO Tim Cook will take to the stage Oct. 4 to introduce the new iPhone. That report stemmed from unnamed “sources close to the information.” For months, rumors have circulated that Apple plans to unveil the high-end device, which will supposedly include the upgraded A5 processor and other next-generation hardware, in October.

Even as rumors circulated about Oct. 4, a number of other publications reported that former Vice President Al Gore, a member of Apple’s board of directors, told a conference audience of “new iPhones coming out next month.”

Gore’s comments refueled rumors that Apple plans on releasing a line of lower-cost iPhones to complement the iPhone 5, with an eye toward combating midmarket Android devices.

That hardware will run iOS 5, a significant update to Apple’s mobile operating system. It includes boosted interoperability with Twitter, a new feature called Newsstand that consolidates e-periodical subscriptions, and a Reminders app, among other features. Apple is also launching its iCloud service, which will sync user content and push it to various devices via the cloud.

If it comes to pass, cheaper iPhones with more powerful hardware will counter the Android devices currently flooding the low- to mid-price smartphone market, even as the iPhone 5 goes toe-to-toe against premium Android devices such as Samsung’s Galaxy S II.

Although Apple continues to dominate much of the general conversation about smartphones, Android has managed to rapidly eat up a healthy portion of the market over the past two years. One reason for the latter’s success stems from its presence on multiple networks, something Apple might counter by rolling out the iPhone on additional carriers in the United States.

Rumors have flown fast and furious in recent weeks about a possible iOS appearance on Sprint. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has estimated that giving Sprint the iPhone would boost the device’s overall sales by 6 million units. A Sprint iPhone would also leave T-Mobile as the only U.S. carrier without an Apple phone in its device portfolio, although the latter’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, has offered the iPhone for years in Germany (and is allowing customers to preorder the iPhone 5, although without any mention of a release date or device specs).

T-Mobile might not prove so lucky, though, particularly if its announced acquisition by AT&T ends up blocked by federal regulators. “We are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year,” T-Mobile CMO Cole Brodman is quoted as saying in a transcript of a company town hall, itself reported on the blog TmoNews (which bills itself as “The Unofficial T-Mobile Blog”). The posting was quickly picked up by other blogs, including the Apple-centric 9to5Mac.

Between improved (and cheaper) hardware, an upgraded operating system, and a possible midrange device and new carrier, it seems that Apple is moving to intensify that competition with Android.

[Thanks: http://www.eweek.com]

Former US Vice President Al Gore has taken time out from saving the world, and getting conned out of elections, to suggest there may be more than one new iPhone coming next month.

Global warming activist Gore, who is also an Apple board member, confirmed that new iPhones will be coming in October. That’s plural, not singular.

The Next Web site is reporting that Gore told a leadership conference in South Africa: “Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug.”

It remains unclear whether Gore meant that there would be multiple models or many of the same new model. The source, Stuff Magazine South Africa’s Editor Toby Shapshak, says Gore did not clarify.
Clearly plural

Later on Twitter, Shapshak followed up by saying “I clearly heard “iPhones”. I recorded it. Double checked. Clearly plural but could be millions of one model.”

Speculation has been rife that Apple is targeting the pre-pay market with a scaled-back iPhone 4S model, which may launch alongside the long-awaited iPhone 5.

Regardless of how many iPhones will be launched, Gore’s slip of the tongue is the first public confirmation from anyone connected with Apple that the company will launch new devices in October.

Earlier today we reported on leaks that point to an October 4th launch event with Tim Cook taking the stage in San Francisco.

[Thanks: http://www.techradar.com]

Analyst Mark Moskowitz with JP Morgan said on Monday that the next “iPhone 5″ will be a “world phone” with both GSM and CDMA cellular support, but no support for 4G, and a “lighter, thinner form factor.”

He also indicated the iPhone 5 would be accompanied by another device aimed at downscaled markets.

“A second device based on the current iPhone 4 but with some minor improvements could target the midrange and focus on China,” Moskowitz told clients. “As for the current iPhone 4, we expect it to subsume 3GS as the lower-end offering.”

The “research” reignites debate as to whether the consumer electronics giant will launch a new flagship and use the current iPhone 4 as the low-end offering, and create a new device.

But for Moskowitz, a new, cheaper device makes sense, as it allows it to tap into the massive China market without the premium shock.

“If penetrated, China Mobile and China Telecom with approximately 600 million and 100 million subscribers, alongside Sprint and T-Mobile USA with 52 million and 33 million subscribers, stand to have an effect tantamount to the big increase in the number of carriers exhibited in the June quarter,” he said. “We would expect such a big bang if Apple introduces two new iPhones this fall and penetrates the untapped U.S. and China carriers.”

As for the rumored iPad 3, the analyst shot that down, echoing the course of others on Wall Street that say given the current dominance of the iPad 2, there would be little reason to upgrade now.

“The other tablet entrants have stumbled,” Moskowitz wrote. “Offerings by MMI and RIM have been the latest disappointments. Also, we had the opportunity to demo Sony’s tablet before its launch. We were not impressed.”

Indeed, the same analyst noted last week that Motorola Mobility’s “Xoom” tablet had “not exhibited much in the way of meaningful market penetration” and that Research in Motion said it shipped only 200,000 “PlayBook” tablets in the August-ending fiscal Q2, fewer than analysts were expecting.

In comparison, Apple shipped over nine million tablets, and is projected to command over 60 percent of the tablet market in 2012.

[Thanks: http://www.ibtimes.com]

And word also has it that October will be when we see this baby enter the smartphone market. Yes, Steve Jobs may have disappeared from Apple’s helm, but all other signs seem promising for this multi-faceted and somewhat beloved company.

Meanwhile, standing on the other side, we have the upcoming release of the deliciously-named Android Ice Cream Sandwich Nexus Prime & Thunderbolt from Android. That sounds great, doesn’t it? Enough to make you pull out your credit card and preorder it right now?

Well, wait. The iPhone seems to have the upper hand against all possible competitors, new or already available en masse on the market.

How is this possible? The iPhone has a layer of secrecy around it that makes Fort Knox look like Wal-Mart.

One reason is the fact that the iPhone 5 was a much delayed release. Don’t you remember? The date’s been up in the air for as much as it’s been talked about. There’s even the possibility that it might come out as late as this November or December. Which would make sense, as the holiday hype would only add to the iPhone’s momentum.

And Apple, reportedly to the website TruthDive, is expected to sell some 25 million iPhones by the end of 2011. About 35% of the consumers on the prowl for a new smartphone will be taking an iPhone home with them, they go on to say.

Also, take this into account:  the iPhone 5 surpassed its June/July launch date (yes, early this summer and now fall is here). A lot of current iPhone owners have had their contracts up for renewal for a considerable amount of time. These people are just salivating at the idea of the iPhone hitting their nearest Best Buy.

Combine that with the incredible fact that iPhone 5 is going to launch (at the same time) on both Verizon as well as AT&T, along with the possibility of Sprint. That gives the iPhone (slimmer and more convenient to carry this time) a definite fighting edge.

Sure, the Android might brandish near field communication (NFC) capability, 4G LTE, an open-source system, 3D display, etc, but don’t rule out the iPhone. Odds are the end of this year will prove to be good to dear old Apple, if they happen to play their cards right.

“I can’t wait to get my hands on a new iphone,” one of my friends said, when pressed about the topic. “Yeah sure, Androids are nice, but an iphone is an iphone!” And thus Apple fever is about at epidemic rates.

[Thanks: http://www.forbes.com]

Now, the whole tech world is buzzing about the lost prototype incident and the upcoming iPhone 5 - as if there isn’t already enough hype generated by constant rumors surrounding its release date.

Last year, Apple also reportedly misplaced an iPhone 4 prototype. Back then, it was obtained by tech publication Gizmodo, which then wrote a widely-read article on the device and generated hype for its official release.

The pattern of losing iPhone prototypes, and the resulting effect of generating hype for the devices, has raised some suspicion.

“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me,” say the Apple conspiracy theorists, who believe the company is deliberately misplacing prototype iPhones in order to generate free publicity and hype.

However, I seriously doubt that Apple is stupid enough to go that far.

It’s plausible that the Apple PR mastermind would plant photos, rumors, and details. Had their actions been different, it’s even plausible that Apple would purposely misplace an iPhone 5 prototype.

What’s not plausible, however, is leading U.S. police forces to ransack an American citizen’s residence to look for a lost iPhone 5 prototype weeks before the public knew it was missing.

Apple isn’t stupid.

It knows that stringing the police along in a fake iPhone 5 prototype chase is blatantly illegal and carries serious criminal consequences. Moreover, it would look extreme bad to the public and consumers if Apple knowingly and purposely searched the home of an innocent individual.

The risks are simply too great and the rewards are limited. Plus, Apple isn’t in desperate need of more hype for the iPhone 5.

There is already a considerate buzz and speculation surrounding the iPhone 5; the constant rumors, planted by Apple or originating from elsewhere, seem to do a fine job.

Even without any rumors, Apple would still enjoy rampant lust for its products, particularly for the highly-anticipated iPhone 5.

Last year, when an iPhone 4 prototype was mysteriously sold to tech publication Gizmodo, one can make a plausible argument that Apple did it on purpose. (However, Gizmodo gives a detailed account of how an Apple engineer legitimately may have lost the iPhone 4 prototype and how it ended in the publication’s possession).

This year, however, the actions of contacting the police to ransack an individual’s house before the public even knew a prototype was missing simply don’t point to an elaborate publicity stunt.

Instead, it points a corporation urgently trying to recover a prototype that was misplaced at a tequila lounge by a possibly intoxicated Apple employee.

[Thanks: http://www.ibtimes.com]

In addition, CNET reported that Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar told investors the next iPhone version could represent close to 25 percent of iPhone sales volume during the fourth quarter.

The new, fifth version is expected to launch in October, according to media reports. The iPhone 4 will make up the rest of the iPhone sales.

There have been conflicting news reports whether the iPhone 5 will feature extensive changes from the fourth version, CNET said.

Apple (News - Alert) may introduce both an upgraded iPhone 5 and a less expensive iPhone 4, CNET adds.

Kumar predicts the new iPhone will be an “upgrade” but “not a complete redesign,” CNET said. In addition, he predicts the iPhone 4 would be less expensive. A redesigned iPhone could then be launched during 2012, Kumar adds. The “cheaper” iPhone 4, if it appears, may have just 8 GB of memory instead of the 16 and 32 GB versions, according to Gigaom.

During the second quarter, Apple sold 18.65 million iPhones and it sold 20.34 million iPhones during the third quarter. Gigaom predicts there will be “voracious demand” for the new iPhone.

There also been a flood of interest in the features that could be found on the iPhone 5. For instance, it may feature a panel that is smaller than 4 inches, according to media reports cited by TechZone 360.

In the TechZone 360 report, DigiTimes said earlier news reports suggest the device would feature a 4.2-inch panel. But “sources from upstream panel suppliers have recently revealed that the iPhone 5’s panel size will still be less than 4-inch(es),” DigiTimes said. It is also being reported that the back of the iPhone 5 will be metal rather than reinforced glass.

[Thanks: http://www.tmcnet.com]