Here’s how much you’ll pay to protect that Apple Watch
Scores of you – an obscene number, maybe – have already pre-ordered your Apple Watch. Perhaps you even sauntered into a well-appointed Apple Store-within-a-store for some valuable shopping advice before you took the plunge. Regardless, after you’ve made up your mind about which fancy wrist-computer will be yours in several weeks, you might want to take a look at how much Apple wants to protect it for you.
The standard AppleCare+ plan will set you back $49 or $69 for the more pedestrian Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch, respectively. Pulling the trigger on these things will extend your wearable’s warranty to two years and grant you up to two accidental damage claims (which you’ll still have to pay $79 for). Meanwhile, prepare to give your credit card some serious exercise if you want your Apple Watch Edition to stand the test of time — AppleCare extends its warranty from two years to three, and those two accidental damage repairs will come after you pay a whopping $1,000 service fee plus taxes. That might sound just a little insane, but really: Once you’re spending upwards of $10,000 on one of these things, what’s another few thousand or so to cover you in case it slips through your decrepit butler’s butterfingers?
Oh, and since your teensy wrist-screen is functionally useless on its own, Apple’s got a trio of plans that’ll cover both your Watch and your iPhone too… as long as your phone is less than six months old and in pristine condition. Each expanded plan’ll cost you $100 more than its less-helpful counterpart (so $149, $169 and $1,600 for the Sport, Watch and Edition) and it grants you two repairs for your ailing iPhone if you it drop on the ground because you’re so engrossed in your Watch. trydocument.getElementById(“fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-500245″).style.display=”none”;catch(e)
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Filed under: Mobile
Source: Apple Store
[DEAL] – Amazon has the leather Moto 360 for $179 and the metal Moto 360 for $229
For those of you that have yet to get on the wearable bandwagon and are looking to jump in while keeping your wallet relatively intact, Amazon has your back. Today the online retailer is selling both the metal and leather Moto 360 watches for deeply discounted prices.
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, $179 will net you the leather-wristband Moto 360 and $229 will score you a metal-clad version. While the Moto 360 has been surpassed by newer Android Wear devices it remained the smartwatch to beat when it first came out and even though there may be newer options, the Moto 360 is still a decent Android Wear device and one hard to pass up with the deep discounts Amazon has them for.
Come comment on this article: [DEAL] – Amazon has the leather Moto 360 for $179 and the metal Moto 360 for $229
Apple Watch Pre-Orders Hit eBay With Asking Prices Up to $2,000 [iOS Blog]
As Apple Watch pre-orders went live early this morning, it was inevitable that Apple’s first foray into wearable tech would become a mainstay on the eBay scalper circuit. Searching around the popular reseller’s website this morning, MacRumors has seen prices ranging from the expected $1000 range to over $2000 for the more popular models of the Watch.
Specifically, both the 38mm and 42mm Stainless Steel Space Black Link Bracelet option, which retail for $1049 and $1099 respectively, have hit a $4200 combined price point on eBay. Both the Space Black models in the Sport and Watch collections turned out to be popular options for customers, being some of the first to see shipping times slip to June and beyond.
This particular listing is selling both case sizes, meaning the price for each is about $2100, doubling their retail prices. Perhaps most intriguing is that the seller wasn’t even able to get in on the initial estimate of a 4-6 week dispatch time, with the potential buyer not receiving the Watches until June. The listing remains up, however, suggesting demand is likely scant at this price.
Less drastically, but still notable, is a $949 price tag for the Stainless Steel White Sport Band Watch, which cost those up and at-the-ready this morning $599. That premium eBay price tag is for a 4/24-5/8 initial delivery date, which is one of only a few listings actually stating a possible April 24 shipping date.
A 42mm Stainless Steel Milanese Loop is going for $1599, while a 42mm Stainless Steel Link Bracelet is listed for $3200. Both are set for what appears to be a 4-6 week dispatch period.
The Sport models are popping up around the site, too, with about a $200 to $300 premium over their traditional retail price. A handful of the Watches on eBay today have a disconnect between their premium price point and estimated shipping date, so it still remains most sensible to pre-order from the Apple Online Store as soon as possible for those who have yet to do so. While the models listed here are some of the more extreme cases, even the lowest cost eBay listings are easily a few hundred dollars over Apple’s retail price. And many of these are also listing prices, not actual bids, meaning demand may not meet these sellers’ hopes.
Which Apple Watch did you get?
Apple Watch is now available for pre-order, so the question becomes — which one did you pre-order?
I went with the 42mm Space Black Apple Watch. 4-6 weeks delivery though. My mother and sister both went space gray Apple Watch Sport. Looks like 3-5 weeks delivery for them. Depending on the case and band you chose, and how fast you chose it, you might be getting yours on April 24… or sometime thereafter.
So, vote in the poll to the left to let me know which case you went with, and add your details, including shipping estimate below, including any extra bands you might have picked up. (I added a black sport band and a Milanese, because.)
Samsung’s latest Galaxy S6 ad stars James Corden fighting against his alter-ego
Samsung has teamed up with comedian James Corden to promote the new Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. While running an ad for the smartphones, Corden has to battle hipster director alter-ego “Wilf” who wants to focus more on the looks rather than features and functionality.
The Microsoft Comfort Headset is surprisingly good for 15 Euros
Microsoft announced the Comfort Headset a while ago but it’s taken some time to get our ears on it. So now we’ve got one, what’s it like?
The Comfort Headset is a low-cost pair of earbuds designed for, well, comfort, while still offering a good quality sound. There’s a choice of black, white or orange. They’re a little different to look at compared to most ‘regular’ earbuds, but that does make a difference when you’re wearing them.
Loco Music Player for Windows Phone– playlist oriented and full of features
Loco Music Player is a Windows Phone app that makes it easy to create and manage song playlists from your music files. While you can play individual songs from the app’s music library, Loco’s strength rests with playlists.
Playlists can be created based on artists, albums or individual songs. You also has SD card support, gesture based playback controls, OneDrive integration and album art. The clean appearance helps round off Loco Music Player’s appeal.
Lumia 635 is now available in cyan at EE
Are you craving a Windows Phone in cyan? EE may have the perfect solution for you in the form of a cyan Lumia 635, which is now available on the UK network. The color variant has been available through US carrier Boost Mobile since November of last year.
KETI’s ultra-thin OLED is a precursor to foldable smartphones
Researchers at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) have announced the world’s most flexible, ultra-thin OLED electrode material, which can be folded at an angle thinner than a strand of hair (0.1mm), leading the way towards ultra-flexible displays. Flexible OLED technology is the secret behind Samsung’s Galaxy Edge smartphones and LG’s G Flex range, which has opened up new ergonomic designs for mobile products.
The new technology was created by fusing silver nano wire with a colorless polyimide in the OLED panel, rather than using Indium tin oxide, which easily cracks when bent. Previously, silver nano wires had not been used in flexible OLED displays because they produce a rough surface. This problem was solved by placing the wire in the polymer substrate and then smoothing the surface using plasma irradiation. Previously the maximum curve radius of flexible OLED was around 5mm, so this is a substantial improvement.
“With this OLED electrode material, smartphones can be rolled and fully folded like paper,” – Korea Electronics Technology Institute
The technology has already undergone some rather rigorous testing. Researchers say that the material can survive 100,000 folds before breaking, which would allow users to open up an ultra-foldable smartphone 100 times a day for two years consistently before breaking.
Furthermore, the OLED has excellent performance properties. The transmission of visible light reaches 90 percent and sheet resistance reached 8 ohm/sq, handily above the industry criteria of 85 percent transmission and 15 ohm resistance to be classed as a foldable material.
“We are currently discussing mass production with major chemical material manufacturers in Korea, expecting that a fully-foldable smartphone will be available on a commercial scale within two years to come.”
KETI anticipates that this breakthrough could lead to the first commercially available foldable smartphone within just two years. However, we have no idea what such a device would look like or how it would function, and wearables or electronic paper seem like more suitable uses for this technology in the near future.
We are still waiting on major breakthroughs in other areas of flexible electronics before we can talk about a competitor to today’s high-end devices. Even so, this is a promising step forward for ultra-flexible electronics.
All six Star Wars movies are now available for purchase from Google Play
Star Wars fans are in for a treat today as the original trilogy and the prequels are now available in HD as digital downloads from Google Play.
AIVAnet 