Buyer's Guide: Deals on iPad Air 2, iPhone 6, Original iPad Air, iOS Apps, and More [iOS Blog]

As we head into Thanksgiving and its accompanying Black Friday shopping holiday, retailers are beginning to offer significant discounts on products in an attempt to lure shoppers ahead of the Black Friday event. Walmart and Best Buy, for example, are offering pre-Black Friday deals, and several retailers are also offering some decent discounts on Macs and older iPads.

iPhone

Walmart is selling the 16GB iPhone 6 for $179 with a two-year contract, which is $20 off Apple's standard price, but it will also include a $75 Walmart gift card. A similar $75 gift card deal is available for the iPhone 5s, priced at $79 with a two-year contract. iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s purchases made with AT&T Next or Verizon Edge will require $0 down from qualified customers and will include the gift card.

iPad Air 2

Walmart is selling the new 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad Air 2 for $489, with a $100 Walmart gift card included in the purchase, essentially dropping the price to $389 for frequent Walmart shoppers.

Original iPad Air

Best Buy is discounting all of its original iPad Air stock by $80 to $100 its standard pricing, dropping the price of the entry-level 16GB WiFi-only iPad Air to $319.99. Higher-capacity WiFi-only models are discounted by up to $85, while some cellular models are discounted by as much as $100. For example the 32GB WiFi + Cellular iPad Air from AT&T is available for $479.99. Best Buy's sale on iPads will last through the weekend.





- iPad Air WiFi-only Silver 16GB - $319.99

- iPad Air WiFi-only Space Gray 16GB - $319.99

- iPad Air WiFi-only Silver 32GB - $369.99

- iPad Air WiFi-only Space Gray 32GB - $369.99

- iPad Air WiFi-only Silver 64GB - $414.99

- iPad Air WiFi-only Space Gray 64GB - $414.99

- iPad Air WiFi-only Silver 128GB - $612.99

- iPad Air WiFi-only Silver 128GB - $612.99



- iPad Air Cellular Silver 64GB (AT&T) - $529.99

- iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 64GB (AT&T) - $529.99

- iPad Air Cellular Silver 64GB (Verizon) - $529.99

- iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 64GB (Verizon) - $529.99

- iPad Air Cellular Silver 128GB (AT&T) - $729.99

- iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 128GB (AT&T) - $729.99

- iPad Air Cellular Silver 128GB (Verizon) - $729.99

- iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 128GB (Verizon) - $729.99

iPad mini 2

Best Buy is also offering up to $100 off its remaining stock of higher-capacity WiFi and Cellular iPad mini 2 stock.



- iPad mini 2 WiFi-only Silver 64GB - $395.99

- iPad mini 2 WiFi-only Space Gray 64GB - $395.99

- iPad mini 2 WiFi-only Silver 128GB - $494.99

- iPad mini 2 WiFi-only Space Gray 128GB - $494.99





- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Silver 64GB - $476.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular ATT Space Gray 64GB - $502.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular Verizon Silver 64GB - $476.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular Verizon Space Gray 64GB - $502.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Space Gray 128GB - $629.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular Verizon Silver 128GB - $629.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular Verizon Space Gray 128GB - $597.99

2014 Retina iMac

The 27-inch 3.5GHz/8GB/1TB iMac with 5K Retina display is available from Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo, and MacMall for $2,449, which is a discount of $50 off Apple's regular price.





These sites also have the Retina iMac in stock, while Apple's site lists shipping estimates of two to three weeks for the machine.

2014 Mac mini

The 2014 1.4GHz/4GB/500GB Mac mini is available for $449 from Amazon and B&H Photo, a $50 discount off of Apple's price.

2014 Retina MacBook Pro

We're seeing the lowest prices we've seen so far on a few models of the 2014 Retina MacBook Pro, including a couple of 13-inch models and one 15-inch model.



- 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/128GB (Adorama) (B&H Photo) - $1,199.99 ($100 off)

- 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB (Best Buy) (B&H Photo) - $1,349.99 ($150 off)

- 15-inch 2.2GHz16GB RAM/256GB storage (Best Buy) (B&H Photo) - $1,799.99 ($200 off)

2013 Retina MacBook Pro

- 13-inch 2.4GHz/4GB/128GB (B&H Photo) - $1,069 ($230 off)

- 13-inch 2.4GHz/8GB/256GB (B&H Photo) - $1,149 ($350 off)

- 15-inch 2.0GHz/8GB/256GB (B&H Photo) - $1,499 ($500 off)

- 15-inch 2.3GHz/16GB/512GB (B&H Photo) - $1,999.99 ($599 off)

iOS Apps and Games

Many app developers have begun discounting their iOS apps and games ahead of Thanksgiving. Popular apps available at a discount include GoodReader ($4.99 --> $0.99), iA Writer ($4.99 --> $0.99), and Living Earth Clock & Weather ($2.99 --> $1.99).



A full list of discounted apps can be found over at our sister site AppShopper , and our other sister site TouchArcade has created a list of games that are on sale. Titles discounted include Blek, Badland , Osmos , Real Racing 2 , 9mm , and more.



Things for iPad and iPhone can be downloaded for free this week as Things was named Apple's App of the Week.

Apple Accessories

Skype prepaid cards can be purchased for 30% off at Best Buy, and Best Buy is also selling the older Solo HD Drenched Beats by Dr. Dre headphones for $99.99 for a limited time, a discount of $70.



Best Buy has the iHome AirPlay Speaker System for $49.99, a discount of $250, and it's also selling the Marshall Stanmore Active Bluetooth Stereo Speaker for $339, down from $399. The Stanmore speaker is Wirecutter's top pick for home Bluetooth speakers.





The Belkin Stylus + Pen can be purchased for $7.99 from Groupon, a discount of $22. Staples is selling the Apple TV for $79, a discount of $20. The Sony RDP-XF300 Portable Bluetooth Dock can be purchased for $139.99 from Woot, $110 off its original price and $10 off Amazon's price.





Groupon has previous-generation Beats by Dre Mixr DJ-style headphones for $199, down from $249, and it's also selling Beats by Dre Tour in-ear headphones for $114.99, down from $149.95.



A free copy of Wreck It Ralph can be downloaded from Disney Movies Anywhere when you join the Disney Movies Anywhere Service and connect an account to iTunes.



For the next few weeks, Target will be offering 10 percent off all of the items on a child's wish list. Parents need to download the Target Wish List app and have kids create a wish list of products that will then be available at a 10 percent discount. Apple products are excluded, but Apple accessories such as cases are included.



Make sure to check out our deals posts each week for the latest products that are available at low prices, and keep an eye on our Black Friday roundup , which we are updating on a regular basis with all of the Black Friday discounts we find on popular Apple products.



MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:52PM, November 21

Verizon Responds to FCC's Concerns Over Unlimited Data Throttling, Says Plan is Legal [iOS Blog]

Verizon Wireless today wrote a response letter to the FCC's concerns over its plan to throttle its grandfathered unlimited data customers during peak usage times, insisting that its upcoming usage restrictions are permitted under current law.



Penned by Verizon's SVP of Federal Regulatory Affairs, Kathleen Grillo, the letter (via The Verge ) also points towards the unlimited data restrictions imposed by other carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, which Verizon says are more draconian than its own throttling plans.

More importantly, Verizon also hammers on the fact that every other major wireless provider in the United States -- AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile -- has already implemented some form of data throttling or "network optimization" as it's often called. Verizon goes a step further and says its competitors often have "less tailored" policies that can impact customers regardless of network congestion.

Verizon goes on to emphasize the limited conditions under which its customers will experience LTE throttling, stating slowdowns will occur only at "particular cell sites experiencing unusually high demand" and noting that throttling will end when cell sites become less congested.



According to Verizon's website, throttling will also be limited to the top five percent of customers and only those who have completed their two-year contracts will be affected. As of July, Verizon's top five percent of users consisted of customers who used 4.7GB or more of data during the month.



Verizon's letter is in response to a strongly-worded letter sent last week by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, which stated he was "deeply troubled" by Verizon's throttling plans. In the missive, Wheeler sent Verizon a series of questions asking the company to explain its rationale for treating customers differently based on data plan type and asking whether the policy was justified under the FCC's Open Internet rules.



Verizon plans to begin throttling its high-usage LTE customers accessing congested network cells beginning on October 1, and it is unclear if the FCC will take steps to prevent the throttling.



As noted in Verizon's letter, several other carriers have implemented LTE usage restrictions for customers on grandfathered unlimited plans in an effort to encourage users to switch to pay-by-usage tiered data plans, but the FCC has intervened in Verizon's case due to Verizon's use of Upper C Block spectrum that is subjected to a open platform rule.

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Posted in 2014 at 09:52PM, August 04