Technology, Iphone 4 | featured news

Apple has reportedly given the okay to its retail stores to price-match iPhones sold by other, authorized sellers. Citing an unnamed source, MacRumors reported Thursday that Apple stores will price-match the iPhone 4 to as low as $49.99 and the iPhone 4S to as low as $149.99, posting a document that says customers can ask for savings of nearly $50.

Asian suppliers to Apple Inc have begun manufacturing a lower-priced version of its hot-selling iPhone 4 with a smaller 8 gigabyte flash drive, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

How is it that a company that's been making electronics in white for at least a decade can't produce an iPhone 4 in that color?

It seems more than a little odd to us that Apple hasn't bothered to make FaceTime compatible with its own longstanding desktop video chat service, iChat, but we've at least supposed that it's an inevitability with whatever upcoming Mac OS X update or software bundle that Apple deems appropriate. Now Mac4Ever, who was spot on with a pile of rumors last year, but hasn't succeeded with its recent prediction of an iLife '11 launch in August, is saying that Apple is prepping FaceTime both for Mac and PC.

Apple said it is ending its offer to give away free cases to iPhone 4 owners after Sept. 30, stating that the antenna-design issue "is even smaller than we originally thought."

Mark Papermaster, the Apple executive in charge of hardware for the iPhone, left the company.

One of the key points at Apple's recent press conference to discuss the iPhone 4's antenna, was that the problem is not unique to the iPhone 4. To highlight this, Apple showed videos of the problem on smartphones by rival companies. Those videos were then posted to a special antenna page on Apple's website.

Apple on Tuesday reported a $3.25 billion profit for its fiscal third quarter of 2010.

Apple's competitors are displeased at having their products singled out by Steve Jobs during Friday's press conference.

Apple Inc appears to be deliberately distorting the issues surrounding the iPhone 4's antenna design by asserting that Research In Motion's BlackBerry has similar reception problems, RIM said.