Buying Guide: iPhone 6 deals: how to save big on the new iPhone this holiday season

The first iPhone 6 deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday are days away, so if you've waited this long to buy Apple's new phone, you might as well wait for all the sales.

Black Friday starts on November 28, the day after Thanksgiving, but the smartphone is on sale at a number of US retailers hours before then. It's never too early to start saving.

Best Buy, Walmart and Target are among the stores ready to discount the iPhone 6. Even Amazon third-party sellers are getting in on the action. The iPhone 6 Plus deals are going to be harder to find.

That's why we put together a comprehensive Black Friday and Cyber Monday list to give you a heads-up on the best iPhone 6 deals in the coming days.

iPhone 6 is less than two months old and yet Best Buy sales are already halving the price ... sort of. It's going to be just $99 for the iPhone 6 16GB model if you turn in an old iPhone.

This deal requires the standard two-year activation and only applies to carriers AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. T-Mobile customers have to shop elsewhere given its no contract policy.

It also mandates that you trade in a working iPhone, which will earn you a minimum of $100. This is a good discount only if you have already planned to trade-up.

The iPhone 6 without a contract is rather expensive at $699, so stick with the $99 discount if your cell phone plan allows you to upgrade by Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Best Buy opens its doors on Thursday at 5 p.m. and closes them at 1 a.m. Black Friday tickets will be handed out two hours before it re-opens at 8 a.m. to keep the crowded line orderly.

iPhone 6 deals at Walmart are simply an excellent value for your dollar. The retailer is offering the entry-level 16GB model iPhone 6 for $179 with a $75 gift card, a nice stocking stuffer.

That theoretically brings the total iPhone 6 price down to $104 on Black Friday right up until Cyber Monday starts. We're willing to feel guilty shopping at Walmart with those prices.

Walmart warns that its iPhone 6 deal is valid all weekend long, but only "while supplies last." It also requires a two-year activation, so it's limited to AT&T, Verizon and Sprint again.

Trade-ins of old iPhones at Walmart start at $200, though its Black Friday flyer has ultra-fine print and may require a newer Apple phone trying to make the exchange. Seller beware.

Walmart's Black Friday deals on iPhone 6 begin at 6 a.m the morning after Thanksgiving.

Black Friday iPhone 6 deals at Target make the most sense if you want anything other than the space-deprived 16GB model. It's offering discounts on all GB sizes.

This includes Apple's full lineup with 64GB and a whopping 128GB. Other retailers like Best Buy and Walmart are simply advertising the base model.

On sale, the iPhone 6 starts at $180 and comes with a $30 gift card. You're essentially paying $150 for the iPhone 6. That discount travels all the way up to the bigger sizes.

Sam's Club, surprisingly, has a meaningful iPhone 6 discount that halves the price as doesn't require a trade-in credit to make it happen.

The Walmart-owned US wholesaler is giving in-store shoppers a chance to buy the iPhone 6 for $99 for 16GB, $199 for 64GB and $299 for 128GB on Black Friday weekend.

Of course, Sam's Club isn't for John Q. Public. You have to be a paid member of the retailer to make these tempting purchases.

Amazon doesn't sell Apple's phone directly, but the online retailer is hosting a variety of deals from third-party sellers, all fighting to sell you an unlocked iPhone 6.

Yes, this is one of the best places to score an iPhone 6 without a contract, though please read the fine print as the condition can vary from seller to seller.

Also note that these prices technically aren't limited to Black Friday or Cyber Monday. It's just that, right now, the competition is the fiercest among iPhone merchants.

There are bound to be more retailers with the iPhone 6 on sale. Apple Stores typically update with deep discounts at midnight Black Friday.

We'll continue to watch over the prices to surface the best iPhone 6 deals all the way up to Cyber Monday on December 1.

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Review: Updated: iPhone 6 Plus

A 5.5-inch iPhone. It's something which will send a shudder down the spines of a collective of die-hard Apple fans, a handset some thought we'd never see from the Cupertino-based outfit.

Yet here I am, staring down the barrel of the biggest iPhone in history - the iPhone 6 Plus.

It arrived alongside the iPhone 6 - Apple's new flagship smartphone - which measures 4.7 inches, making it more welcoming to a wider array of palms than the supersized iPhone 6 Plus.

Many of you, especially those of an Android persuasion, may be wondering what all the fuss is about. After all the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 turned up with a 5.5-inch display over two years ago.

Take a moment to glance at the history of the iPhone though, and you'll see why the iPhone 6 Plus is such a big deal.

Previously Apple has only dealt in two screen sizes - a 3.5-inch display graced the first five generations of iPhone, and just three have had the pleasure of a larger 4-inch display.

5.5 inches then is a huge leap forward for Apple, moving its iPhone range into the uncharted waters of the phablet market currently dominated by Samsung and other Android devices.

Apple is looking to reach a previously untapped audience of smartphone users - those who demand a large screen, with 'productivity' the main buzzword being thrown around. A key market for the iPhone 6 Plus is Asia, where general consensus seems to be bigger = better when it comes to smartphone screens.

In terms of specs and design there isn't a huge amount of difference between the iPhone 6 Plus and the iPhone 6 - apart from the obvious size.

The iPhone 6 Plus does boast a couple of unique features however. It's the first iPhone to pack a full HD display, plus its bigger body means it houses a larger battery than its 4.7-inch brother.

Both sport A8 64-bit processors, 1GB of RAM, M8 motion coprocessors and 8MP rear facing cameras - but the snapper on the iPhone 6 Plus benefits from OIS (optical image stabilisation) while the iPhone 6 makes do with EIS (electronic image stabilisation).

As with all Apple products the iPhone 6 Plus doesn't come cheap, and you may want to brace yourself because it's one of the most expensive handsets around.

SIM-free the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus carries a lofty price tag of $749, £619, AU$999 - and that's just the start.

Apple has ditched the 32GB variant for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with the next storage level coming in at 64GB, and for the 5.5-inch iPhone that equals $849, £699, AU$1129.

The good news for storage fans is that Apple has finally introduced a 128GB model - which may quieten those whining about the lack of a microSD slot - but it will cost you a small fortune. $949, £789, AU$1249 to be exact.

That makes the iPhone 6 Plus comfortably more expensive than rival phablets including the LG G3, OnePlus One, Nokia Lumia 1520 and I suspect the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 when it goes on sale too, if not on a par.

It's big, it's expensive and it's likely to play second fiddle to the iPhone 6 - so is the iPhone 6 Plus worth considering? Read on to find out.

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In depth: 12 iPhone battery life tips and tricks

The frustration of a dead battery will be familiar to every iPhone owner. But what can you do to avoid it, other than use your phone less?

Apple is good at squeezing maximum performance out of the hardware in the iPhone and that's one of the reasons that the iPhone's battery is comparatively small. The first iPhone had a 1400mAh battery, and seven years later the iPhone 6 has a 1810mAh battery, although the iPhone 6 Plus has a whopping 2910mAh offering.

Many of the current Android flagships have batteries rated over 3000mAh, but then they have much bigger displays - the 6 Plus aside, of course. But that doesn't mean we still don't struggle to keep our iPhones going for longer, no matter how big the battery pack.

Until the next big leap in battery or charging technology comes along, we'll have to rely on smarts to get the most out of our iPhones. Here are a few simple tips you can follow to get a whole lot more juice from your Apple smartphone.

The biggest culprit for rapid battery drain is often a weak signal, but there isn't a great deal you can do about that. If you're in an area with a poor signal then you might consider switching Airplane mode on, which stops the constant searching that sucks the life from your phone.

You should also always use Wi-Fi instead of cellular data whenever possible too, as that offers a more stable connection and will stop all that battery-abusing searching for a signal.

Some apps will spam you with pointless news. How many of the notifications you get do you actually want to see? In most cases, very few.

Every one of them is sucking down some battery life, so cut them off at the source. Go to settings > notification centre and tap on any apps you don't want notifications from. Then choose 'none' under the alert style, and turn 'badge icon' and 'sounds' off.

Use WiFi wherever possible, turn off notifications and check your settings

Your display is costly to power, so you want it to shut down quickly when you aren't using it.

Go to Settings > General > Auto-lock and see if you can live with a shorter time before the screen auto-locks.

You should also head to Settings > Wallpaper & brightness and turn 'Auto-brightness' off to save some battery. Set the brightness as low as you can and only adjust it up when needed and you'll save a decent chunk of power – although this might mean you can't always see your phone screen in direct sunlight.

You don't need dynamic backgrounds and parallax, '3D' effects. They're fun but they're munching your power. Pick a static image or a favourite photo in Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness, then choose 'Wallpaper' and turn 'Reduce Motion' on in Settings > General > Accessibility.

People imagine that swiping apps closed in the multitasking menu is saving power, but you really need to be taking a look in Settings > General > Background App refresh to really make a difference.

Allowing apps to refresh themselves like this is a big drain on your battery. Go down the list and turn off everything you don't need - Facebook in particular can drain your battery really quickly. These apps still refresh when you actually load them up, which is a lot more efficient for your battery.

Stop background refreshing, get your email manually and check your location settings

There's some argument about the benefits of push email (arriving when sent) versus fetch (the phone checks at pre-agreed intervals), and it really depends on how much email you get and how often you have it syncing.

Push should only send from the server when a mail comes in, and it will be more power efficient than checking every five minutes with fetch, but if you get a lot of email then push could drain the battery faster than fetch with a slower refresh time of an hour.

Assuming you're only going to check your email once every couple of hours, getting it manually is going to save you power over both options… but you'll have to actually remember to do it!

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Microsoft releases new iPhone and iPad Office apps, Android incoming

Taking advantage of the increased screen size

Microsoft has released new powered-up versions of its Office apps for iPhone and iPad, covering Word, Powerpoint and Excel, and a preview for the upcoming Android versions is starting imminently.

Until now, the Microsoft Office apps available for iPhones were pretty weak, but Microsoft has updated them to offer the same sort of experience iPad users have enjoyed to date.

This upgrade clearly slots in well with the introduction of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which give you a bit more screen space in which to navigate those super-exciting Excel spreadsheets.

The iPad apps have been updated too, but the changes seem to be subtler.

Android owners don't get left out, but you'll probably have a bit longer to wait. You can sign up for the Android Office app preview programme, but if you're not accepted you'll have to wait until the full launch in 2015.

The Android version is designed to work with Android tablets rather than phones, requiring something with a 7-10.1-inch screen running Android KitKat. Have a Nexus 9? You're out of luck.

iOS versions are much less picky, simply requiring iOS 7.0 or newer. These apps are free to use, and let you both create and edit documents. However, there are not-so-micro transactions built-in that let you sign up to an Office 365 subscription too.

An Office 365 subscription starts at $6.99/£5.99 a month, and that gets you full desktop access on up to five computers.

With 40 million copies of the iPad Office downloaded already, Microsoft is clearly hoping to leverage these free apps to bring a few people back into the Office fold.

"Office applications are what people want to use to get things done" claims Microsoft corporate vice president John Case.

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The painstaking process of gold-plating an iPhone 6 (pictures)

What to do before you install iOS 8

Check out these important tips and tricks to bolster your iPhone's privacy.

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Boost Mobile is getting the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cheaper than Apple

This could be your excuse

This shouldn't come as a surprise, since Boost Mobile also carried the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, but the Sprint-owned carrier will begin selling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on October 17.

The nice surprise in this news is that Boost Mobile is selling the new iPhones at a significant discount compared with Apple's official prices (and other carriers).

In fact, Boost Mobile customers can get the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus contract-free for $100 off Apple's prices.

Boost is charging $550, $650, and $750 for the 16, 64, and 128GB iPhone 6, respectively.

Meanwhile the same sizes of the iPhone 6 Plus will cost $650, $750, and $850.

If you've been waiting for an excuse to buy the new iPhone, this might be it.

Via Phone Scoop

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Opinion: From Apple to Android then Apple again: why I swapped the HTC One M8 for an iPhone 6

A few months ago, in the midst of switching carriers and desperately needing to upgrade my two-year-old iPhone 4S, I decided to make the leap to an Android phone.

After a long period of deliberating different devices, I picked the HTC One M8 - TechRadar's pick for one of the best Android handsets around. At first I was hesitant about making the switch, but I was excited to see the experiment through with the hope of moving over to Androids permanently.

Fast forward to the Apple launch where I found myself waiting for the new iPhone 6 to arrive in the mail where afterwards, I realized I would never go Android again. Here's why I went crawling back to the land of Apple.

The other smartphone always looks nicer from afar

The grass always looks greener on the other side. As part of the Apple camp I always longed for the freedom Android users had with customizing everything.

Everyone's iPhone home screen pretty much looks the same. Other than changing your background and moving around the app tiles, iOS offers few ways to customize your phone. The one advantage of keeping things homogenous on iOS made the interface feel much more fluid and snappier compared to Android.

Prior to my HTC One M8, I dabbled with owning a first-generation Nexus 7 tablet. I had no problems switching back and forth between my two devices despite the two different platforms. Looking through the Google Play Store, I could find almost every app I would use on my iPhone. Adding in the greater amount of freedom on Android made it alluring enough for me to switch.

With my mind made up, I decided to get my first Android smartphone with plans to fully assimilate myself into Google's ecosystem.

Android wins the compeltely customizable competition

Like a honeymoon, my first month with the HTC One M8 was amazing. The hardware by itself was a major step up from my old iPhone with a better screen, more power under the hood and amazing stereo speakers. It was simply a flat upgrade across the board save for some issues with the camera, which I'll get into later.

I had more fun using Android than I ever did with my tablet. I spent hours arranging every screen on my phone to my exact liking. As silly as it sounds, it was liberating to be able to move around your app tiles the way you see fit instead of having everything bumped off to the upper right on iOS.

Google Now was perhaps the most surprisingly useful tool on Android. Unlike Siri, which is pretty much a voice-controlled computer, Google Now would intelligently prompt me with directions and restaurant suggestions all on its own.

Android L will finally bring lockscreen notifications

I started to feel less excited as I spent more time with Android thanks to the increasingly obvious flaws. My biggest gripe was the lack of notifications on the lockscreen (a feature that will reportedly come to Android L).

I quickly fixed the issue by downloading a third party app called SlideLock, but then another problem cropped up with the tiny virtual space bar on the stock Sense 6 keyboard. Again I solved my nitpicking issue by installing a custom keyboard. In time, I replaced the default launcher, swapped Gmail with Dropbox's Mailbox, and practically replaced every stock application with a better third-party solution.

"Don't like what comes stock with Android? Just replace it," a fellow Android-using friend once told me; this seems to be the mindset behind Android, which makes it so amazingly customizable. Yet, at the same time it's an admission that Android on its own lacks the same level of polish compared to iOS.

You can call iOS drab and restrictive, but Apple knows how to make a good-looking and intuitive interface. The Cupertino company opening up to the concept of custom keyboards could be the first step towards a more customizable iOS interface.

Apple holds onto its lead in the apps race

Apple isn't just leading in better UI design, it's still the top platform for apps. iOS users have access to a few more apps not available on Android - like Facebook's Paper, Tweetbot and Yahoo News Digest. On top of this, Apple's mobile OS also often gets first dibs on applications that have or eventually will make it to Android - such as Lightroom Mobile and Instagram's Hyperlapse.

Apps simply come to iOS first with Android being an afterthought for most developers. This is true of gaming as well. Despite Android being used as the backbone for gaming devices like Nvidia's Shield Tablet and the MadCatz Mojo, games are just as big as a part of iOS. Case in point, Hearthstone has still yet to arrive in the Google Play Store when it has been available for iPad since April.

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Apple iPhone 6 teardown: Design changes make device easier to repair

Bill Detwiler cracks open the iPhone 6, explores the internal hardware, and explains how Apple made the phone easier to repair.

With its larger screen and rounded edges, the iPhone 6 is a dramatic departure from the exterior design that Apple introduced with the iPhone 4. But along with the outside changes, Apple also made lots of tweaks on the inside, which make the iPhone 6 faster, able to store more data, and easier to open and repair.

Unlike the similar-looking iPhone 5 and 5S, there's no mistaking the iPhone 6 for one of Apple's previous handsets. Its 4.7-inch display is larger than anything Apple has released before, its case is much thinner, and the rounded edges give it a distinctive look.

Bill Detwiler/TechRepublic

For more information on the iPhone 6, including performance and battery life benchmark tests, check out Scott Stein's full CNET review.

Unfortunately, many of the iPhone 6's design changes are also hidden within the device and are only visible once you crack it open.

For more teardown images of the iPhone 6, check out the full Cracking Open gallery on TechRepublic.

Relocated Home button cable makes repairs easier: Cracking open the iPhone 6 is actually easier than opening previous iPhones. You'll still need to remove the two Pentalobe screws along the bottom edge with a special screwdriver, but Apple relocated the ribbon cable on the Home button, which means you no longer need to worry about tearing it when popping open the front panel.

Bill Detwiler/TechRepublic

Interior design very similar with lots of small changes: The overall hardware layout is the same as on the iPhone 5S. Inside the case, there's a speaker and Lightning connector assembly at the bottom, battery along the left side, main circuit board along the right, and the camera assembly at the top. Attached to the front panel are the display, front camera and sensors, earpiece speaker and the Home button. Despite these big similarities, there are lots of small changes. A new metal plate and attached cable sit behind the screen. The vibration motor was moved from the top of the device to the bottom. The power button has been relocated from the top to the right side. There's a small, removable component connected to the upper-left corner of the main logic board, which appears to be an antenna. And these are just some of the more noticeable changes.Redesigned system board: The main system board is similar in general shape to the boards in previous iPhones, but it has a larger section that runs horizontally across the top of the phone. Unfortunately, the shields that cover the iPhone 6's motherboard are soldered in place -- obscuring our view of the new A8 processor, M8 motion tracking chip and most of the other chips. As I wanted to put this phone back together in working order, I left the shields in place during our teardown.

Bill Detwiler/TechRepublic

Higher capacity battery: The iPhone 6 has a 3.82V, 1,810mAh, 6.91Wh battery, compared to the iPhone 5S' 3.8V, 5.92Wh, 1,560mAh battery and the iPhone 5's 3.8V, 5.45Wh, 1,440mAh unit. iSight camera covered with metal bracket: During our teardown of the iPhone 5S, we discovered that the rear-facing camera was covered with a thin, rubber flap. Apple replaced this flap with a metal cover on the iPhone 6.New vibration motor: On the iPhone 5S, Apple used a rotating-mass vibration motor. On the iPhone 6, the company switched to a linear-actuator vibration motor.More storage available: Although the entry-level iPhone 6 still comes with a measly 16GB of storage, the top-end model has twice the storage capacity (128GB) of the iPhone 5S (64GB).

Bill Detwiler/TechRepublic

There's nothing revolutionary about the iPhone 6, but Apple definitely took a big leap forward with its design and construction -- a bigger screen, new body and lots of new or relocated components. I'm also glad they made the phone easier to open and repair.

For more teardown images of the iPhone 6, check out the full Cracking Open gallery on TechRepublic.

Bill Detwiler Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention. See full bio

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Staples to offer iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus

The iPhone 6 (left) and the iPhone 6 Plus. CNET

Staples is now officially on the list of retailers that will sell the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus starting Friday.

Announcing the news Thursday, the company said that both new smartphones will be available in limited supply at 250 Staples stores tomorrow. Staples added that the new iPhones can be preordered at any one of Staples' 900 locations. Staples is selling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in store only, and an iPhone store locator will be available on Staples.com beginning Friday.

That adds Staples to the range of retailers selling the new phones, including Apple itself, the four major US carriers, Best Buy, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Target and Walmart.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been available for preorder since September 12 and racked up a record 4 million preorders in the first 24 hours.

Staples is dangling a couple of deals to try to get iPhone 6 buyers to its stores.

Customers who trade in a qualifying smartphone can earn at least $50 in the form of a gift card, which can be used to help pay for the new iPhone. For example, an iPhone 5 in good condition can score a trade-in value as high as $280. In a deal that sounds less enticing, customers can also earn at least $30 when they trade in a qualifying laptop.

Verizon subscribers who trade in their old model iPhone can receive a Staples gift card for $200. That card would then be used to buy the new iPhone 6, which starts at $199 with the usual two-year agreement.

The retailer also offers as much as 5 percent back in Staples Rewards for customers who buy tech products.

Staples didn't indicate how easy or difficult it might be to score an iPhone at one of its stores starting Friday. The retailer first began selling Apple's smartphone in store with the iPhone 5S. As expected, demand for the new iPhones has outstripped supply. Apple's website shows a wait time of seven to 10 business days for online orders of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and a wait of three to four weeks for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.

Staples customers should call their local store before dropping by to make sure the iPhone 6 model they want is actually available.

Update, 11:05 a.m. PT: Adds more details on buying the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at Staples.

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Apple iPhone 6 goes on sale around the world

First buyers celebrate their purchase at the flagship Sydney Apple Store. Nic Healey/CNET

As the world turns and the sun rises on Friday, September 19, Apple stores are opening their doors as the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus go on sale across 115 countries around the globe.

This year's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are most noted for the new scaled up sizes of 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch respectively, giving Apple attractive new options for fans of the larger handsets so common in the Android phone market. Both models include the new 64-bit A8 processor, an improved 8-megapixel rear camera, better battery life and an NFC chip that, at launch, will be used exclusively by the Apple Pay payment service, which launches in the US in October.

The iPhone 6 is available in silver, gold and space gray in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB sizes, with respective contract-free prices of $649, $749, and $849 in the US; £539, £619, and £699 in the UK; and AU$869, AU$999, and AU$1,129 in Australia. The iPhone 6 Plus is available in the same colours and capacities, priced at $749, $849, and $999 in the US; £619, £699, and £789 in the UK; and AU$999, AU$1,129, and AU$1,259 in Australia. US contract prices start from $199.

Demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was so high when preorders began last Friday that Apple's online store and various carriers couldn't keep up. Outages plagued the Apple Store site for more than two hours after the iPhones became available for presale at midnight PT. Despite the outages, customers scooped up the devices at a rapid clip. Within hours all iPhone 6 Plus models were on a three to four week delivery delay, while most iPhone 6 models were available in seven to 10 days. Apple later announced record preorders of over four million iPhones. Despite these intensive preorders, Apple said all models will have some stock available in stores for launch day.

Check out launch scenes from CNET's reporters around the world:

SYDNEY -- First in line for the world's first on sale timezone is Salvatore Gerace, who has been in line since before the Apple announcement event last week. He admits he is here as a PR stunt for his new app and will be giving away the phone as a prize to promote his company.

The queues in Sydney are the strongest seen since the iPhone 3G (Australia's first iPhone), and estimates put the number in the queue just before opening at over 1200. Apple has been using iPads to help customers in the queue prepare their orders prior to the 8.00am opening time.

Others in the Sydney queue include Claudius Stocker, a backpacker in the line at number 30, having only arrived a day previously. While he's clearly an Apple fan -- "they do everything better than the other manufacturers", he assures us -- he's also here to make money.

"I am also shooting a documentary," he says before co-opting a friend to film us filming him. Rather candily, he admits that he'll be "selling my iPhone 6 as soon as stocks run low -- I am a poor backpacker and this is almost a few days work for me!"

Further down the line are Rafael and Eduardo, both Brazilian. "We came over from Brazil just for this!" They've queued since lunchtime Thursday but are a clearly excited enough about their trip that even sleeping out overnight feels like an adventure. Rafael plans on getting the iPhone 6, while Eduardo is keen on the Plus. "It might be too big, but I want to try it myself to find out."

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Deployment strategies for the iPhone 6 in the enterprise

The iPhone 6 is set to arrive next week, with a bigger screen (and a phablet version, by all accounts) and a brand new operating system called iOS 8 that (finally) has better security options and device management tools.

With any new launch, from Apple or any other popular smartphone company, there's an excitement about the event among company employees and a feeling of dread among the IT staff. Which technical problems might occur with enterprise-grade apps? Will end-users experience technical glitches on the Wi-Fi network? Could there be new security challenges with the email encryption? The issues are not just related to employee acceptance but the policies, infrastructure, and device management related to the deployment.

Here are six strategies for success to help specifically with the new iPhone 6 launch to make sure you have the pieces in place for a successful deployment in the enterprise.

Apart from the debate about allowing employees to bring their own device versus providing corporate-approved smartphones, the iPhone 6 will show up in the enterprise, will attach to corporate networks, and will be used for daily productivity in the workplace. The IT industry has learned to deal with the reality of BYOD and found ways to work with that reality.

With the iPhone 6, there's always an initial influx as employees purchase the device almost right away. Preparing departments for the launch, training IT staff on what to do about any potential pitfalls, and evaluating security issues are all important strategies. In some ways, a new smartphone launch presents a good opportunity to re-educate everyone.

Lysa Myers, a researcher with security firm ESET, says one of the best approaches to deployment is to prep users about security issues prior to launch, even if all of the details about form and function are not known. (At least IT admins know a lot about iOS 8 features, which promises to offer better encryption for apps like the Calendar and Mail client.)

"Employees and IT should update software as promptly as possible, encrypt sensitive data in files sent across the network, backup important files, and enable security features within the operating system (especially related to remote wipe and auto-lock)," she advises. "You may wish to limit apps to an approved list to minimise the possibility of employees installing leaky apps."

Of course, the time to create use policies is not after the device becomes available online and at the Apple store. Because the iPhone 6 is often seen primarily as a consumer device, one that people purchase on their own and then use at work, it's critical to develop policies now.

"By establishing policies, you can determine what needs to be done and you'll have something to point to when employees have questions," says Myers. "In creating the policy, you want to assess potential risks and address them. And once this is taken care of, you can have a list of tasks ready to go when the new phone is released."

Once IT knows more about the actual device, it's important to tweak policies for the specific features available. Nicholas Lee, the senior director of end user services at Fujitsu America, an information and communications technology company, says the policies should be as specific as possible when it comes to employee usage. There should be information about user responsibility for the device, parameters for mobile carriers, liabilities and limitations imposed for the iPhone 6, a knowledge base, and end-user training available shortly after launch.

Policy and device management should be an ongoing part of your deployment strategy, not just something you do at the launch of the new device. As you learn more about the encryption features, new apps for business, and any hardware features, the launch strategy should be adjusted accordingly. One example of this from the iPhone 5/5s launch; IT had to learn quickly about the new fingerprint reader and its capabilities as an added security benefit.

A robust MDM tool is a vital aspect of your mobile strategy

One critical aspect of deployment for any new smartphone is to use a robust MDM (Mobile Device Management) tool, one that enforces your policies and allows IT to track the devices within the enterprise. "Having a proper MDM solution will ensure you maintain the standard level of security and policy control over the devices," says Lee. "As new features are enabled via the MDM console, you can assess whether they add value or risk to your corporate strategy."

These features typically pertain to the approved business apps on the device, data retention policies, Wi-Fi access from the device when it is not being used on a mobile network, and other data and network issues related to that smartphone model specifically.

Lee noted one final thought about Apple iPhone 6 deployment strategies: Be careful about any surprises. For example, when the iPhone 5 launched, many IT admins tasked with developing deployment strategies and policies were surprised to find out about the new Lightning port. This meant the device connected to computers using a non-standard connection. Although the actual impact proved negligible (the device still connects over USB), it wasn't an expected change.

With the iPhone 6, there is still no clear indication about whether it will have brand new software and hardware features never seen before in IT, and that's one of the great challenges when it comes to Apple devices – the company does tend to invent new tech enhancements. Being aware of the potential for innovation is key – and then reacting accordingly with the policies.

Image Credit: Apple

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Phone network opens up iPhone 6 pre-orders, outs Apple secrets early

China Mobile don't play by the rules

Someone had to go too far and spoil the party: China Mobile has reportedly opened-up pre-orders for the iPhone 6, seemingly confirming Apple's next phone will come in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch varieties.

Invites for the 9 September launch of the iPhone 6 have already been sent out, but China Mobile has reportedly jumped the gun by launching a pre-order campaign for the new phone, according to China Daily.

It's the Beijing branch of China Mobile that launched the contentious campaign, which asks prospective buyers to choose between 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch versions of the phone.

While we haven't been able to locate the web page for the pre-order, we're told that it doesn't also spill the beans about when the two phones will actually start shipping.

A China Daily source suggests we'll see iPhone 6s start to arrive by mid-month, although this is merely the standard for Apple launches. Once an Apple device is unveiled, you can be sure it'll be available within a couple of weeks.

The pre-order campaign has apparently attracted 33,000 orders as of Tuesday 2 September, even though it's only available in Beijing, and is for a phone that doesn't officially exist yet.

While we have not heard of any Apple reaction to this early leaking of the iPhone 6's core design specs, you can bet if it happened in the UK we wouldn't be looking at slapped wrists – more like cut off hands.

These long-rumoured specs come as no surprise, but we're still none the wiser as to whether the reported production issues for the larger 5.5-inch iPhone will result in a staggered release, or limited availability of the large iPhone.

via Mac Rumors

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In Depth: Rendered to perfection: here's how the iPhone 6 should look

OK, we all know the iPhone 6 is nearly here. But ever since the iPhone 5S was another yawn-fest on the design front, the rumor mill has been churning out its own renders and concepts - be them based on dummy models or just artists frustrations with current design.

Whether close to the likely reality or not they all gives us a detailed, relatively complete look at how the iPhone 6 might turn out and highlight various possible aspects of the phone in the process, reflecting the rumours of a big screen, a curved design and more.

So to keep you going in the coming days and weeks until Tim Cook takes the stage, here are the best concepts and renders for you to look through - let us know which of them you think will be most likely to show up in Cupertino, and which you wish would!

Never ones to turn down a challenge, we created our own iPhone 6 concept. As you can see from the above image we envisaged it with a true edge-to-edge, bezel-free display and a super-slim 5.5mm thick build.

While the bottom edge is blurred here, you might also notice that there's no home button, leaving the front of the phone sleek and symmetrical.

In reality we'd be very surprised if Apple ditched the home button, especially as implementing Touch ID without one could be tricky, but the rest of this concept isn't a million miles away from the rumours we've been hearing.

It's thought for example that the iPhone 6 will be slim, though not quite that slim, with whispers pointing to 7mm for the 4.7-inch model and 6.7mm for the 5.5-inch iPhone '6L'.

It's also expected that the new iPhone will have a curved design, a little like in the image above and while we're not expecting a bezel-free display it is likely that the bezels will be smaller this time around.

We'd be more than happy if this concept did come true though, as it would make the iPhone 6 the slimmest smartphone on the planet and the first to do away with bezels, leaving the competition to play catch-up.

Credit: Martin Hajek /iPhoneClub.nl

Martin Hajek is one of the more prolific iPhone 6 renderers around and he's put forward more than one possible design for it. The actual iPhone 6 is unlikely to look much like the concept above, which Hajek created in collaboration with iPhoneclub.nl.

Although this concept has rounded edges the overall design is rather more rectangular than the latest dummies and leaks suggest. It also lacks the two-tone rear shell that the iPhone has become known for and the screen is essentially bezel free, much like in our own concept.

But while we doubt the iPhone 6 will look like this there's no reason why it couldn't. The design doesn't seem all that out there and it's certainly stylish enough to be an Apple product - if a bit square.

Credit: Michael Shanks

Here we have a somewhat less convincing image. In fact that's an understatement, we'd eat our hats if the iPhone 6 looked like this. We'd eat all the hats. And then eat hat soup with the leftovers for a while.

This concept was devised by Michael Shanks and features a wraparound screen. It's not a total fantasy, as Apple has actually filed a patent for wraparound displays but we're not expecting to see one on the iPhone 6.

We may however be in for a slightly curved screen, allowing it to arc almost imperceptibly into the chassis. If Apple did release a phone with a wraparound display that could be a real game-changer, or it could just be a gimmick, but if nothing else it might make it possible to read notifications at more angles, which is surely a good thing.

Credit: Nickolay Lamm

Speaking of curved screens, here's one from Nickolay Lamm. Not only is it curved but it ditches the home button and would apparently be capable of creating an illusion of depth perception, to mimic a 3D experience in line with Apple's patent.

The shape seems like it would be a little unwieldy, especially when held to your ear, but we like the idea of there being nothing but screen on the front and the curves allow for a larger screen without increasing the phone's footprint.

Could you hold it? Probably not. Who wants to do that though?

Credit: Martin Hajek

The image above is another concept by Martin Hajek, or rather two concepts, as the handset on the left is an iPhone 6 while the one on the right is an iPhone 6C.

We're not expecting an iPhone 6C, though that hasn't stopped one store from advertising screen protectors for it and fundamentally this doesn't look a million miles from the iPhone 5C, just less chunky and with a relocated home button and smaller bezels to accommodate a larger screen.

The iPhone 6 concept isn't vastly different from Hajek's other concept that we discussed above, albeit this time it has a slightly more rounded design, more in line with what we're expecting to see.

Credit: mornray886

This render from mornray886 was briefly believed to be an actual iPhone 6 photo, before it was revealed to be a render.

It's no wonder people were fooled (the screen smudges are a nice touch), but looking purely at the design it's certainly close to what we've seen in actual leaks, with a slim, curved build.

Credit: thinkbym

Here's an interesting one. The cut-out corners look nothing like anything we've seen from Apple and this concept doesn't appear to be based on any iPhone 6 rumours, so much as just an intriguing idea designer thinkbym had for the handset.

It's intriguing because those odd corners serve a purpose, with each one being home to a touch sensor for volume, home and power, so there's no need for buttons at all. It's a nice idea and sensors in place of buttons could definitely be a change for the better, but we're not entirely convinced by the retro-futuristic shape.

Credit: Schoolpost

There's been talk of transparent displays coming to phones for a while, so it's no wonder that a transparent iPhone 6 concept has been created, in this case by Schoolpost.

There are any number of potential advantages to a transparent screen, such as the possibility of having one app open on one side and then flipping it over and having another displayed on the other.

But there are any number of obstacles preventing them appearing too, not least the fact that components are currently hidden behind the screen, so these would need to be shrunk dramatically for it to be practical.

The iPhone 6 won't have a transparent display and nor will any other mainstream handset in the near future, but the first company to really crack it (in a usable way) is likely to be onto a very big thing.

Credit: Lewi Hussey

Thanks to LG and Samsung, curved phones like the one in the render above from Lewi Hussey are a reality. The LG G Flex and Samsung Galaxy Round have curved screens and not only do they look good but they allow for a bigger display while minimising the amount of space taken up.

But as yet they haven't caught on and we're not convinced that they're much more than a gimmick, so we can't see Apple going down this road. If it did though it's one of very few companies which might actually be able to make them popular - but could even Cook's Crew convince the world that it's a good idea? We're not sure.

Credit: Mark Pellin

We'll finish with a convincing one. This render from Mark Pellin and shared by 9to5Mac is pretty much how we expect the iPhone 6 to look, based as it is on the dummy units that we've been seeing.

It mirrors the most prevalent rumours and leaks, with a slim, curved design, the power button on the side and an overall look that's pretty much identical to what we've seen in leaks.

So take a good look, because we wouldn't be at all surprised if this, essentially, is the iPhone 6.

It's not as imaginative and innovative as some of the other concepts we've looked at, but it's stylish without being showy and looks like an Apple product, but one with a new design and more curved ethos, which is exactly what the iPhone 6 needs to be.

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T-Mobile drops iPhone 5S by $48, iPhone 5C by $50

Delete your photos by mistake?

Whether you've deleted everything on your memory card or there's been a data corruption, here's a way to recover those photos.

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iPhone 6 release could drive the most old iPhone trade-ins ever

There's gold in them thar phones! CNET

It's widely believed that Apple will introduce the iPhone 6 at a September 9 media event in San Francisco, making it prime-time for trading in current and older Apple smartphones. Plenty of big and small online names are already jostling to offer the best deal to take your old iPhone off your hands, and now eBay is sweetening the pot even more.

A representative for eBay tells me that the auction site will be offering a $100 coupon to US sellers who are unable to sell their old iPhone between September 1 and October 24.

Currently, a used iPhone 5s can fetch $500 or more on eBay. The site notes that after the iPhone 5s and 5c became available last year, the average selling price for used iPhones (including the iPhone 4, iPhone 4s and iPhone 5) was around $280. eBay also says that the number of iPhone listings continues to increase with each new generation release.

Trade-in site NextWorth is also expecting to see a boom in its business with the release of the iPhone 6. The company anticipates double the trade-in volume in the coming weeks as compared to last year's launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c. Nextworth's historical data shows a 105 percent increase in trades when Apple introduces a brand new "numbered" model, versus the less dramatic changes that typically accompany an "s" version. (To be fair, the introduction of Siri in the iPhone 4s was perhaps a bigger deal than the iPhone 5).

Nextworth has a partnership with Target that allows people to trade in their old iPhones in exchange for a Target gift card. At the moment, you can hand over an old iPhone 5s in exchange for up to $259 so long as it's fully functional without a cracked screen.

Glyde.com, a kind of peer-to-peer hybrid of eBay and Nextworth (it helps facilitate price, shipping and money movements between individual buyers and sellers), also told me it has seen iPhone-related traffic more than double from last year's lead-up to the iPhone 5s and 5c launch.

If you're hoping to get the most for your old iPhone, there's no time like the present, especially this year with so many other used iPhones hitting the digital streets. Glyde currently suggests a sales price of $413 for a used Verizon 64GB iPhone 5s, which is down from a price of $487 the site was suggesting just a week ago.

View the original article here

Checkbook (for iPhone)

Pros Straightforward ledger for personal finance. Good selection of tools. Can add and edit spending/income categories.

Cons No budgeting tools. No interest rate calculators or advice for reducing payments. Cannot sync info across devices. Homely design. Bottom Line If you're looking for an iPhone app to manually reconcile your checkbook and other financial accounts, the free Checkbook is a straightforward option. It won't wow you with amazing features or design, but it will help you keep an eye on your income and expenses.

By Jill Duffy

Despite all the benefits of using cloud-based personal finance apps, such as syncing information across devices and pulling data directly from financial institutions, some people still prefer a more old-fashioned and manual approach to managing their money. Checkbook (free; $2.99 for Pro version) is an iPhone app that caters to this crowd. It's a straightforward app, with no account signup and no integrations with your banking data, that lets you add income and expense line items either as they occur, or on specific dates.

What you don't get from offline finance apps such as Checkbook are the conveniences of automated expense logging and having those expenses appear on all your various devices (tablet, smartphone, online account, etc.). Checkbook comes with all the right tools for basic money management, though it doesn't have anything to help you create budgets or savings plans. If you think of it like an electronic checkbook ledger that you can use for all your accounts, it will live up to your expectations.

When you download Checkbook, the app first asks you to create some accounts. Accounts can be checking accounts, credit cards, or whatever you want. The app asks for the starting balance in each account, and that's pretty much all the setup you have to do.

From there, you simply log expenses and income either as they occur or on specific dates that they will occur. You might also log past expenses and income that haven't cleared with your financial institution yet. You should not, however, log transactions that have already occurred (that is to say, back data from previous weeks and months) because Checkbook asks for your starting balance at the present. Without this back data, you won't be able to get a historical look at where and how you've spent your money.

The Mint iPhone app (our Editors' Choice), on the other hand, is a more-sophisticated system that automatically pulls information from several months back to help you understand your existing spending habits. That's not Checkbook's game, though.

Checkbook gives you ample tools for classifying your expenses and income. If a classification doesn't exist, you can add it. And if the preexisting list of options is filled with irrelevant choices, you can delete those.

The app has a feature, too, for recurring expenses. If you pay your rent once a month, you can set up an automatic entry for the first of each month. If you get paid every two weeks, you can establish an automatic income entry for that as well. You can't, however, set up a payment for twice a month (a lot of people get paid on the 15th and last day of the month), which is a minor feature I'd like to see added.

Other great features in Checkbook include the ability to export data (CSV, QIF, HTML) and select your currency. (One of Mint's shortcomings is that it's only supported in the U.S.) And thank goodness you can optionally add a passcode to this app. All personal finance apps should have a passcode option, and users should turn it on. While most personal finance apps don't directly store any account information that would allow a hacker to get at your funds, you still wouldn't want anyone to learn where you bank, where you shop, how often you withdraw money, and so forth.

I don't want to get hung up too much on Checkbook's visual design but it's kind of homely. I'm a big believer in the concept that good-looking apps are better to use than ugly ones because we enjoy using them. Checkbook isn't hideous, but a fresh coat of paint would go a long way toward improving the overall experience.

Mint, our Editors' Choice among iPhone apps for personal finance, simply goes above and beyond what most other apps offer. Mint automatically tracks all your income and expenditures by connecting directly (and safely) to your financial accounts, and then it adds a great set of tools for correcting or adjusting your line items as needed. But if you'd rather not connect an app to financial institutions directly and instead want to manually reconcile your accounts, Checkbook is very good option.

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Mophie Space Pack (for iPhone 5/5s)

Pros Extends iPhone's battery life considerably. Adds extra media storage. Well-designed app.

Cons Adds bulk and weight to iPhone. Extra storage is separate from internal storage. Pricey. Bottom Line If you need more storage space on your iPhone for media as well as extra battery life, Mophie's Space Pack is the case to buy.

By Antonio Villas-Boas

Mophie's Space Pack for iPhone 5/5s is basically the Juice Pack Plus with a nifty trick: There's flash memory inside. Until now, there has been no other way to expand your iPhone's built-in storage, so if you've ever felt the need for extra space for pictures, movies, music, or documents, keep reading. At $149.95 for the base 16GB model, with over eight hours of extra battery life, it's just $30 more than the regular Juice Pack Plus. Not everyone will want the extra bulk and cost in order to get both of these features, of course. But if this describes you, this is the case to get; it's our new Editors' Choice for iPhone battery cases.

Design
At 5.66 by 2.57 by 0.63, and weighing in at 2.8 ounces, Mophie's Space Pack is marginally smaller, yet heavier, than the Juice Pack Plus. Yet, it is generally larger than battery cases with smaller batteries with capacities in the same 1,700mAh range, like the Mophie Juice Pack Air. The rubberized plastic that covers the case is pleasing to look at and touch, and you can get one in all black, all white, all gold or red with a black border. The Space Pack's border is plastic compared with the Juice Pack Plus's rubber border, so it doesn't have quite as much grip.

Like most battery cases, the Space Pack comes in two sections. At the back of the bottom section, you'll find a metallic-silver button that, when pressed, indicates how much charge is left in the case via the four adjacent LEDs. The button is also used to connect the case's extra storage to the phone and the Space app, which I'll get to in a moment. A Power switch lets you activate the case's charging feature.

Features and Performance
If you've bought a 16GB iPhone and wish you had sprung for a higher-capacity version, Mophie's Space Pack is your salvation. With this case, you get the choice between 16GB ($149.99) and 32GB ($179.99) of built-in extra storage capacity; the company said a 64GB model will be available in late July for $249.99. All Space Packs work like any USB flash drive: You transfer documents and media from your computer onto the case's flash memory, which your computer recognizes as a separate storage device. You can't install apps on the Space Pack's storage à la Android, though.

Your stored data in the case streams over the built-in Lightning connector to your iPhone. But there's no way to browse through the files stored in the case with a file explorer in iOS 7, or otherwise access them from the iPhone's native apps. It's a separate storage space entirely; instead, you have to use Mophie's free Space app to access them. Fortunately, the app looks good and is well designed; it automatically categorizes your stored files into Photos, Videos, Music, Documents, and "Other Files" folders, and you can play or share files from the app itself. Alas, the Space Pack won't magically let you play media files that the iPhone isn't normally compatible with.

The Space Pack's other purpose is to give your iPhone extra battery life with its 1,700mAh battery. Mophie claims it'll give you an additional eight hours of talk-time. Indeed, this claim is validated by our battery test; the Space Pack gave a completely drained iPhone 5s on Verizon a whopping 8 hours, 18 minutes of extra talk time with LTE enabled, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned off. That's one hour, 21 minutes more battery life than the 1,700mAh Juice Pack Air gave an iPhone 5. The Space Pack even added more talk-time than the 2,100mAh Juice Pack Plus (7 hours, 23 minutes) and Unu's 2,300mAh DX Protective Battery Case (7 hours, 53 minutes).

Conclusion
Mophie's Space Pack adds more battery life to your iPhone than any other battery case we've tested in the 1,700mAh range so far, and it even encroaches on cases with larger 2,100mAh battery. It's also good at adding storage to your phone, and solves the problem in a way no other vendor has tried. Even so, the price might be a bit steep for some, and not everyone will like dividing their media into two separate storage bins even despite the extra space. If you don't need the latter and just want extended battery life, the Editors' Choice Unu DX and the Phonesuit Elite Battery Case for iPhone 5/5s are about the same size, but much less expensive.

View the original article here

LearnVest (for iPhone)

LearnVest.com began as a personal finance education website for women. These days, it's less gender-specific, and much more interactive, especially if you download the company's free iPhone app (also available for Android), which is simply called LearnVest. The LearnVest app is a well-designed, comprehensive solution for monitoring your money, creating budgets, prioritizing your financial goals, and educating yourself about personal finance. It's easy to use largely because it connects directly to your accounts—savings, checking, credit cards, investment, you name it—and automatically pulls every line item of your income and expense history.

The LearnVest app is extremely similar to the Mint mobile app, which is our Editors' Choice. One difference is that Mint offers a few features that LearnVest omits, which are absolutely essential for managing multi-person finances. These include (1) the ability to exclude a transaction from your accounting and (2) to split an expense. I'll explain in more detail below how those features work, but the point is, LearnVest is almost as good as Mint, just not quite.

Setting Up LearnVest
When you download and install LearnVest on your iPhone, the app will walk you through the setup process quickly. It could take anywhere from two to 15 minutes, depending on how many financial accounts you have and how much customization you want.

Early in the setup process, LearnVest tells you to create a passcode, which is a good thing. Even though none of your bank account information is directly stored on the app, you should still protect all the data regarding your net worth, spending habits, and related information.

You start by selecting up to three financial topics of interest from a short list. They include: Budget Better, Buy a House, Retire, Deal With Loans, Invest Wisely, Pay Off Credit Cards, Save More, and Earn More. You'll also see a quick house ad asking if you'd like to set up an appointment to speak with a LearnVest advisor. LearnVest makes its money through financial planning advisement, but you don't have to partake in it to use the free app.

Now to the meaty part: You have to authenticate the app to access data from your online financial accounts. It's all secure, and as I mentioned, none of your account information is stored in the app directly. If you're hyper secure and don't want to give a personal finance app direct access to your accounts, there are alternatives, including Dollarbird and Checkbook. Those two apps require manual entry and are less convenient to use. But if you really want a personal finance app that's totally disconnected from your actual bank accounts, they are decent options.

Like Mint, LearnVest finds all your transactions and account balances, both current and historical up to three months back, to give you a picture of your net worth as well as insights into where you typically spend your money.

Also similar to Mint, LearnVest automatically classifies the transactions into categories such as Groceries, Bills, Restaurants and Bars, Personal Care, and so forth. If it can't make a good guess as to the correct category, it leaves it unclassified. You then have the opportunity to go through the list, item by item, and classify them all correctly.

One annoyance with classifying expenses is that LearnVest doesn't learn from its mistakes. If I correct an expense made at Parrot Coffee from Restaurant and Bars to Groceries, I want LearnVest to offer to make the same change to all other transactions made at the same establishment. If LearnVest sees $800 incoming on the same day every month that it wrongly classifies as income, and I correct it to Transfer, I want it to learn to correctly classify it as such in the future. Mint doesn't offer to automatically reclassify similar transactions either. To the best of my knowledge, no mobile personal financial app does this yet.

Digging In
As you dig into your spending and earnings, you can see charts and graphs showing how much money you spend in different categories and what percent of your total spending any given category comprises. LearnVest lays out all this information in very easy-to-read formats.

I'd like to see LearnVest get some of the nitty-gritty details right because as it stands, there are two features missing that I think are important. One is the ability to exclude a transaction from your accounting. Let's say I'm shopping with my imaginary daughter, and she wants to buy an item. I tell her she has to pay for it herself. I buy it with my credit card, and she gives me cash. It's a zero-sum transaction for me, but LearnVest records it as a deficit. I could balance the transaction by adding a manual cash income line item (which you can do for expenses, too), but it would be simpler to just exclude it. Mint gives you that option, but LearnVest does not.

Mint also gives you the ability to split a transaction. Say I withdraw $100 from the ATM, and $60 goes to dinner at a restaurant, but $40 goes to gas for my imaginary car. To keep track of my budgeting accurately, I would want to split that ATM transaction and record the two amounts separately. You can't do that in the LearnVest mobile app, although you can if you log into the LearnVest website, where all your mobile information is also available. Splits are especially common in multi-member households.

Extras
LearnVest lets you set budgets for different spending categories, as I mentioned, as well as create priorities. Priorities could be saving for a home renovation, paying off debt, saving more for retirement, or whatever else. It's a rather simple tool. You write down your goal, decide which account you'll use to help you reach that goal, set a date, and let LearnVest figure out how much you need to save per month while taking into account how much money you already have toward that end.

LearnVest doesn't have bill-pay reminders, but an app called Check was created just for that purpose, and seeing as it's also free, there's no reason not to use it in addition to LearnVest (or Mint for that matter).

LearnVest's roots are in education about personal finance, so the app contains a reading section where you can brush up on all your economic interests. These are straightforward articles with basic explanations and principles of personal finance. You might read about how to get started investing, for example, or how to get out of credit card debt.

For deeper and more personalized guidance, you can set up an appointment through the app to speak with a live advisor on the phone. Sure, you'll probably face some upselling for LearnVest's full financial services, but the prompt to make that phone call isn't pushy, which I like.

A Real Competitor to Mint
LearnVest's mobile app is the first real competitor to Mint I've tested, though it doesn't quite nudge Mint from its Editors' Choice perch because Mint adds a few key features that LearnVest doesn't yet have. It's still a very good personal finance and budgeting app, with a great design, an intuitive interface, and helpful reading material.

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BillGuard (for iPhone)

Pros Easy connection to credit card issuers. Provides details about transactions. Uses crowdsourcing to flag often-reported merchants. Automated contact with financial institutions. Reports on gray charges and data breaches.

Cons Navigation sometimes awkward. Analytics not particularly enlightening. Bottom Line BillGuard flags merchants on your credit card statements who frequently charge consumers for products or services they've either forgotten about or they didn't know they were requesting.

By Kathy Yakal

If everyone went over their credit card statements with a fine-tooth comb and reported any questionable or unwanted charges immediately, there wouldn't be much need for an iPhone app like BillGuard. But not everyone does. I know I don't. BillGuard, described by its developer as a "personal finance security service," is a smart, useful, innovative iPhone app (also available on Android) that's simple—almost fun—to set up and use. It displays your credit card charges as they occur, flagging any that have been frequently reported by members of its network as questionable or unauthorized. You can either confirm that those charges are authorized or ask BillGuard, via a simple automated reporting system, to contact the merchant on your behalf.

Used conscientiously, it can help you nip those pesky unwanted charges in the bud—and save you some money and aggravation.

Gray Charges and Security Breaches
BillGuard doesn't promote itself as an identity theft-prevention tool, though it can work like one if you check it regularly. Rather, its mission is to help you avoid "gray charges," unwanted hits on your credit cards. Maybe you signed up for something and forgot about it. Or maybe the merchant used misleading, deceptive language or hid a recurring charge in fine print that you're unlikely to have seen. BillGuard claims that U.S. cardholders spend $14.3 billion in gray charges annually, so it's a good idea to keep an eye out for them.

If you follow financial news, you know that last year there were numerous data breaches at major corporations like Target. In response, BillGuard has added a watchdog feature to alert you via email and phone when these occur, in case you don't hear about it quickly.

A Familiar Routine
BillGuard requires a passcode when you first download the app and set up an account. That's a good thing. You should always protect information related to your finances, including what you purchase and where you shop. Once you've signed in, you only have to enter the four-digit passcode to get back in instead of typing your sometimes-unwieldy login credentials. I like this.

The setup works the same way as any other application that connects directly to your financial institutions (like Mint or LearnVest). You select your card issuer from the list supplied or search for it if it doesn't appear. Enter the user name and password you use to access your account online, and BillGuard takes a few minutes to set up the connection, showing you a helpful instructional video while you're waiting. The company used to charge $9.99 if you wanted to track more than two accounts, but thankfully, that's no longer the case. The service and app are free to use.

BillGuard's home page is a dashboard that displays a small window and four navigational buttons. Your total credit card debt incurred so far in the current month appears in the window, along with your balance.

The four icons bring you to four different types of content: Inbox (transactions from merchants that the crowd has reported as a potential problem); All (all transactions); Analytics (a line graph illustrating the current month's transactions); and Savings (online coupons that may lower your expenses based on your spending).

Help with Transactions
BillGuard makes good use of the iPhone's navigational tools, though you can't always return to the dashboard with a single action. On the home page, there are icons in the upper-right and upper-left corners. One opens your utilities menu, and the other lets you add another card. As you move deeper into the app, you use navigational buttons like the back arrow and Cancel to reverse directions.

You can do one of two things when you're viewing a list of transactions. Tapping on a line item provides additional details about the merchant and transaction, calling up a green check mark and orange push pin buttons. Clicking the check mark turns the transaction green in your list, signifying that it's an authorized charge. You can also simply swipe it to the right.

Tap the push pin, and another small window of options opens. If you click the Help Me Recognize This button, BillGuard provides links that let you ask a friend about it via email or text message. You can also start a search in Google from that point to try and figure out what the charge is. The Report/Contact Merchant button takes you to the Report Charge window, where you can select your problem from a list that includes Stolen Card, Forgotten Charge, and Hidden Fee. You'll be able to enter text expanding on that, and then you can authorize BillGuard to contact the merchant for you.

A Simple, Friendly Solution
Personal finance management applications are just getting started when they connect to your financial institution and download transactions. They have many other features. BillGuard is much less complex, but it's still very smart, in a couple of ways. First, it draws on the experience of other consumers to let you know when what you're experiencing with a particular merchant is widespread. And second, it has isolated one element of personal finance that can get lost in the noise of more robust applications. BillGuard provides a quick and easy solution to one clearly-defined problem–gray charges. Which are you more likely to do, pore over your printed or downloaded credit card statement, or pull out your iPhone and spend a minute or two with a cool app? BillGuard is one personal finance app I'm going leave on my iPhone long after I've finished testing it.

View the original article here

Seidio Innocell Plus for iPhone 5/5s

Pros Thinner and shorter than competing battery cases in the 2,000mAh range. Attractive, thin design.

Cons Case doesn't offer much protection for the phone. Doesn't add as much battery life as the competition. Headphone extender not included. Bottom Line Seidio's Innocell Plus doesn't add too much bulk, but adds extra battery life to your iPhone. You can find cases that add more juice for around the same price, though.

By Antonio Villas-Boas

There isn't much variety in battery case design apart from PhoneSuit's Elite, which has a rounded bottom. For a case to stand out, it must be sleeker, slimmer, and more powerful than the others. Seidio's attractive Innocell Plus ($69.95) is generally a little smaller than battery cases in the 2,000mAh range, but it adds less battery life to your iPhone as a result, and it won't let you use headphones with connectors wider than Apple's EarPods. By no means is it an underperformer, but other battery cases offer more battery life for around the same price, like the aforementioned Elite or the Editors' Choice uNu DX, which offers excellent value.

Design and Features
Seidio's Innocell Plus is coated in a pleasing rubberized finish, and at 5.45 by 2.5 by 0.6 inches (HWD), it's slightly shorter and thinner than Mophie's Juice Pack Plus. Weighing in at 2.56 ounces, the Innocell is also a hair lighter.

On the back panel towards the bottom, you'll find a button that turns charging on and off when it's pressed for a couple seconds. When simply tapped, it indicates how much charge is remaining in the case with four blue LEDs that flank the button. At the front, also towards the bottom, there are two port holes to let sound out from your iPhone's speakers, and let sound into the microphone.

On the underside, you'll find a standard micro USB port to charge the case and phone with the included micro USB cable. Your phone will charge first, and the case will follow once your iPhone's battery is topped off. You can sync your iPhone through the micro USB connection.

Also at the bottom is a port hole for your iPhone's 3.5mm audio jack, but you can't connect most headphones with wide connectors, and you can forget about angled connectors. Most battery case manufacturers include a 3.5mm extender with their cases, but there isn't one included here. 

For review, I received the Innocell Plus Combo package, which comes with a holster for your iPhone 5/5s and lists at $79.95, and you can get the Innocell Plus without the holster for $69.95. Instead of a holster, I would rather have seen a headphone extender.

The case comprises two pieces: The back contains the battery and Lightning connector, and the front fits over and around your iPhone and snaps onto the back. The front section came off quite easily when I dropped the phone from a height of three feet during testing, so it's unlikely that it would protect your iPhone further than the initial impact.

I was pleased to find the Innocell doesn't have the lip that protects an iPhone's screen if it's placed face-down, since it adds bulk and gets in the way of tapping items on the very edges of the screen. The trade-off is less protection for the screen; it's a matter of personal preference.

Performance and Conclusion
The 2,000mAh battery added 6 hours, 45 minutes of extra talk time to a completely drained iPhone 5s with LTE enabled, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned off. (The company claims that the battery's performance will increase after five or six full charges.) Mophie's Juice Pack Plus has a slightly larger 2,100mAh battery and added 7 hours, 23 minutes of extra talk time in the same test. With a similar 2,100mAh battery, uNu's DX case lasted 7 hours, 53 minutes. But most impressively, PhoneSuit's Elite added 10 hours, 20 minutes of battery life, also with its 2,100mAh battery.

The results speak for themselves. The Innocell Plus is a good-looking, reasonably slim option. But if you're looking to maximize your iPhone's battery life, uNu's DX adds more juice for just $10 more. PhoneSuit's Elite for iPhone 5/5s is also a good choice, but it doesn't come with a headphone extender, and is slightly pricier at $99.99. If your iPhone happens to be running out of battery as well as storage space, take a look at Mophie's Space Pack, which adds more than eight hours of battery life and additional storage space for your media.

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