So now we know that Apple Pay and Google Wallet have been disabled at stores such as Walmart, CVS and RiteAid because these retailers have banded together to make their own mobile payments platform called CurrentC. While these merchants no doubt think that CurrentC will be a winner for them, the truth is it will probably be about as successful as mobile carriers' failed attempts to build their own mobile payment systems, if not less so.
The iPhone 6 is far from being official, but numerous leaks have revealed many details about the upcoming Apple smartphone. Maybe too many – and that’s what seems to be the subliminal message of a short video that’s currently making the rounds of YouTube, having an “Is this the new iPhone 6?” extremely catchy title.
With the increasing number of mobile devices that can be wirelessly charged, it’s no surprise that more companies are thinking about how they can incorporate this technology in their products. Starbucks has recently announced that all its stores across the U.S. will offer customers wireless charging areas, but what if that’s not enough? One fashion designer, working together with Microsoft, has come up with a pair of pants for men that will wirelessly charge phones, Business Insider reports.
The launch of the iPhone 6 is still months away but that doesn't mean you can't get some incredible deals on the iPhone 5s. Case in point: MacRumors points out that RadioShack is now selling the iPhone 5s for just $99 with a two-year contract from Verizon, AT&T or Sprint, which happens to be one of the lowest prices we've ever seen for Apple's latest flagship phone. The new price for the 5s at RadioShack is the same on-contract price that Apple originally charged for the iPhone 5c, so now it looks like interested buyers now have even less reason to pick up a 5c than they did before. What makes this deal even better is that MacRumors says that you can get $100 off the iPhone 5s at RadioShack if you trade in your iPhone 4s, which means that you can basically get the device for free as long as you're willing to swallow a two-year service agreement.
Bad news, Amazon customers: the cost of Amazon Prime goes up next week. After batting around the idea of increasing the annual cost of its Prime subscription service by as much as $40, Amazon finally settled on a slightly lower figure. As of next week, Amazon Prime will cost $99 per year instead of $79.
The company is encouraging customers to sign up for Prime within the next seven days in order to lock in their first year of service at the current $79 rate.
HTC may unveil its next flagship device later than expected, @evleaks revealed in a recent tweet, without actually revealing a clear announcement or launch date for the handset. “Starting to look like a late March, NYC launch for HTC M8,” the trusted leaker wrote on Twitter.
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Walmart and CVS are insane for blocking Apple Pay