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Tag: apples

  • Scammer Sells Online iPhone-Shopper Two ‘Apples’

    Scammer Sells Online iPhone-Shopper Two ‘Apples’

    Someone basically pulled the ol’ “Oh, so you want a new Apple for Christmas” dad trick on an unsuspecting online shopper in Brisbane, Australia last week.

    According to police, a 21-year-old woman was shocked to find that the two new Apple iPhones that she bought from a woman she met on an online classifieds site were actually just apples in boxes.

    Apparently, the woman put an ad on Gumtree looking for two new iPhones. When a seller contacted her, the two women met at a local McDonald’s. The buyer paid around $1,500 AUD (a little over $1,300 U.S.) and received what appeared to be two iPhones in their original boxes.

    But when she got home, she discovered that the Apples she had bought were actually just apples.

    “Don’t stay away because most people are doing the right thing, but be smart about what you buy,” said constable Jess Hopkin. “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. It’s really just common sense.”

    These kinds of scams happen all the time, and it’s not just on “shady” websites. Gumtree, the online classifieds site at the heart of this case, surely wouldn’t fall into that category. Not only is Gumtree owned by eBay, but it’s a biggest local classifieds site in both the U.K. and Australia. Gumtree services over 60 cities in 6 countries.

    The point is, you gotta watch out for this stuff. Next time you meet someone at a McDonald’s and hand over $1,300 bucks for two small boxes – you might want to check inside the boxes before you walk away. Just a suggestion.

    [Cult of Mac via Herald Sun]

  • Arsenic in Apple Juice Limits Proposed by FDA

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today confirmed the safety of apple juice in the U.S. while also proposing limits on how much arsenic should be allowed in the beverage.

    The FDA has proposed a limit of 10 parts per billion for inorganic arsenic in apple juice – the same level the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set for arsenic in drinking water. This “action level” would be used when considering an enforcement action against apple juice that exceeds it. The agency stated the proposal was made to provide guidance to the apple juice industry.

    “While the levels of arsenic in apple juice are very low, the FDA is proposing an action level to help prevent public exposure to the occasional lots of apple juice with arsenic levels above those permitted in drinking water,” said Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at the FDA.

    Though arsenic is commonly absorbed by plants, some forms of the element are known to be carcinogenic. The FDA stated that it has been testing apple juice for arsenic for 20 years and, with a few exceptions, has always found that samples of the juice are low in arsenic. Last year, 100% of the apple juice sample tested by the FDA were below the 10 parts per billion level for inorganic arsenic.

  • Facebook Gifts Adds iTunes Gift Cards to Its Options

    Earlier this month, at an event in NYC, Facebook announced a bunch of new retail partners for their new ecommerce initiative, Gifts. Those included the likes of babyGap, Fab, Brookstone, Dean & Deluca,L’Occitane, Lindt, ProFlowers, Random House, Inc. and even digital partners like Hulu Plus, Pandora, and Rdio.

    Today, Facebook is announcing another big-time partner: Apple’s iTunes. Starting today, you can give digital iTunes gift cards to your friends through the Facebook Gifts platform.

    When you give an iTunes Gift, you’ll have to ability to recommend albums, artists, tracks, movies, or anything else available on iTunes. The iTunes Gifts come in denominations of $10, $15, $25, and $50.

    Facebook also recently announced the ability to give gifts of charity through the platform.

    Facebook has been slowly rolling Gifts out to users. With every Gifts-related announcement, Facebook has said that it is continuing to roll out to more users. Along with the iTunes partnership announcement, Facebook seems to have rolled Gifts out to more users today. I just got the ability to give a gift on my personal profile. You can give a gift by heading to the official Gifts page or by selecting the Gifts icon on users’ Timelines:

    Facebook tells me that Gifts is already available to tens of million of U.S. users, and that they will continue the rollout over the coming weeks.

  • iPad 3 Desired By Nearly One-Third Of Mobile Users

    We are less than a week from the expected launch of the iPad 3. Apple has sent out invitations to the event, and it’s set to take place at 10 am local time in San Francisco. Anyone who’s spent any time on the internet in the past few months knows that there is considerable buzz about the device – and a new study suggests that nearly one-third of North American mobile users plan on purchasing the new tablet.

    Mobile ad network InMobi found that 29% of survey respondents say they’re going to buy the iPad 3 when it comes out. Out of that pool, 54% say that the iPad 3 is going to be their first tablet.

    Out of those that plan on buying the iPad 3, it’s all about speed. It’s the most-wanted feature, with 57% of people saying they want faster processing speed. 47% said that longer battery life is important to them and 46% are most excited about that high-res retain display.

    “Nearly one-third of respondents are planning to buy the iPad 3, and 44% would only consider the iPad if purchasing a tablet. Interestingly, 65% of those who intend to buy an iPad 3 would consider buying an iPad or iPad 2 at a reduced price instead, indicating that whether or not consumers purchase an iPad 3 versus an older model, the excitement around the iPad 3 release will likely increase iPad penetration in the tablet market,” said InMobi VP Anne Frisbie.

    Indeed, the price point seems to be an issue with the survey respondents. Half of them said that they were willing to pay over $500 for the new device. If that price point jumps to over $599, however, 57% said that they would opt for on older version. Another thing that might push buyers into an older model of the iPad is the fact that some retailers have begun to drop the price of the iPad 2 in the weeks leading up to the big iPad 3 launch.

    It also looks like people want an iPad a lot more than other tablets. 44% said that they wouldn’t even consider another tablet other than the iPad. But of those who said they might look elsewhere, 27% said they would look at the Samsung Galaxy and only 14% said they would think about a Kindle Fire.

    Another survey published last week said that 53% of current Kindle Fire users plan on buying the iPad 3 when it comes out.

  • iPhone 5 Rumor: Is Sprint Preparing For Release?

    When it comes to iPhone 5 rumors, they seem to fall into three categories. First, release date. The latest in that department put the launch in early October. Second, specifications. Recent rumors suggest the new device might be thinner and wider than its predecessors.

    Lastly, carrier rumors. The biggest one of this season is that Sprint will be getting the iPhone 5 whenever it finally launches.

    This rumor falls into the latter category. According to a source quoted by Beatweek, Sprint is busy installing network repeaters in Apple retail stores. It looks like they might be gearing up for an imminent launch.

    Now there’s evidence that Apple is beefing up Sprint signal quality at its own stores so that would-be iPhone 5 buyers will be able to put the device through its paces on the Sprint network in quantity while still in the store.

    According to the source (a resident of Austin, Texas), “One thing I can tell you is that the electrical contractor that I work for is contracted to install Sprint ‘repeaters’ at The Domain. There is a Apple Store at The Domain. One of the ‘repeaters’ is to be installed INSIDE the Apple Store. There is to be a total of 5 ‘repeaters.’”

    This rumor adds more fuel to the “Sprint iPhone 5” fire, as it is one of a few substantial hints at the upcoming release that we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks.

    Near the end of August, the WSJ cited sources who said Sprint will definitely start selling the iPhone 5 sometime in the middle of October.

    About a week later, an internal memo surfaced from top management asking employees at Sprint dealers to “not speculate about sprint getting the iPhone 5.” The memo told employees that they should respond to customer questions about the new device with a “no comment.”

    And yesterday, a leaked document from Best Buy surfaced showing that they expect the iPhone 5 to launch on Sprint during the first week of October.

    Sprint would be the last piece of the carrier puzzle for Apple. If the iPhone 5 launches on Sprint, that means that the device will be available with all three top carriers.