Appletell

Even though the iPhone 3G launch didn’t go as smoothly as Apple had hoped, they still managed to sell over 1 million of the phones. Now that most Apple and AT&T stores are currently out of stock (and have lines forming for what little they do have), some people are really cashing in for their iPhone 3Gs on eBay, generally at least quadrupling their money.

The average 8GB iPhone is going for about $800-$900, while most of the 16GB models are going for well over $1,000, with one even topping two grand. And, as if paying these outrageous prices is not enough for the buyers, they are going to have to hack them unless they found an “unlocked” version due to Apple and AT&T’s new in-store-only activation policy.

So my personal advice to you is that if you managed to get your hands on an iPhone 3G on launch weekend, sell it now and buy four or five of them when they come back into stock. I know that I won’t convince anybody to actually do that, but it is the smart thing to do if you’re willing to wait a little bit to get your new iPhone anyway. But I don’t blame you if you can’t tear yourself away. I doubt I would be able to.

Via [Macworld]

This post is part one of a seven part series covering the iPhone applications and games announced at the WWDC Keynote on Monday, June 9th.

The first group to demo an app was iPhone App Lab. Their app was aptly named Auctions. It is certified by both Apple and eBay, and is available for free in the App store in iPhone 2.0.

The eBay application provides iPhone users with an easy way to buy and sell in the world’s largest online auction base, and Safari is no longer needed. From your iPhone, you can bid on items, check your watch list, check bid status and view item details, including photos of the listing. I think this is a decent app, but not really worth paying for, so it’s a good thing it will be free.

For more on the new iPhone apps revealed at WWDC, follow the links below.

  • Auctions
  • Push Notification Service
  • Typepad
  • Mobile News
  • Band
  • Modality and MIMVista
  • At Bat

Today at WWDC, after the iPhone 2.0 demo, they demoed many many apps created using the iPhone SDK.

The first App demoed is by Sega. It’s Super Monkey Ball. Hey, we saw this already. But today they’re showing us the last level. Out of a whopping 100. Super Monkey Ball will be $9.99 at the launch of the App Store.

The second app is by eBay. Easy access to search, at a glance stats for eBay whether you’re a buyer or a seller. By the sound of it, this is basically just a native web-app… Not really sure what the practicality of having a native eBay app is, but Apple likes it. eBay app will be free on the app store at launch.

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For the first time in Apple’s history, an Apple program is the target of a Phishing scam.  Recently, thousands of iTunes users have received fraudulent emails, asking them for personal information including credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden name, and more.  Andrew Lochart of Proofpoint, inc. expressed his surprise with the attempt.  “We’ve gotten used to seeing the usual companies and brands attacked,” he said, “like PayPal, eBay and Citibank. But we’ve never seen Apple as the target”.  For Apple, the Phishing attempt should in a way come as a complement, as Phishers would never bother with a small-time site.  Apple’s recent success in both the music industry and computer industry can be blamed as the reason for the attack.

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Just after Mac clone maker Psystar was able to start shipping some products, another cloner, chris555, has put two machines up for purchase on Ebay.  These machines, which are currently at a $549.99 “Buy It Now” price with $50.00 for shipping, look a lot like the ones from Psystar.  According to the description, they “Run the award winning Mac OS 10.5 on this custom-built desktop computer for hundreds less than a computer direct from Apple.” Here are the specs from the Ebay posting:

Pre-installed Mac OS 10.5 Leopard with over 300+ new features
2.4Ghz Genuine Intel Core 2 Duo Dual-core processor
2GB DDR2 RAM
250GB 7200RPM Serial ATA hard drive
Intel Integrated 3D Graphics
DVD burner
Keyboard & mouse
Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
Three USB 2.0 ports

Again, there has been no reported response from Apple yet even though their lawyers are usually quick to respond to this sort of stuff.  I find it extremely strange that Apple is allowing people to sell their products for a fraction of the price while potentially breaking some of Apple’s legal documents.  Although these devices will never match the look and feel of a real Mac, if allowed to get out of control, they would possibly harm the company.  It will be interesting to see what happens with this.  Let us know if you purchase one!

A few days ago I posted about the “World’s Second Unlocked iPhone” which was being sold on eBay. The bids eventually escalated to about 1 billion dollars, though they were most likely fraudulent. eBay ended the auction early, and no winners were chosen. So you must be wondering what happened to this piece of Apple history? 

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There are a few different places to get a cheap iPhone these days, like Apple’s very own refurb store. Though what do you do if you want to travel in a whole different direction? Where do you go to get yourself an expensive iPhone? The most expensive iPhone selling right now is probably this one on eBay.

Of course this iPhone is no run-of-the-mill iPhone. It’s not a hand-grenade or condiment dispenser, but “The World’s Second Unlocked iPhone.” If you want this piece of Apple history in your collection, it costs a mere $99,999,999.00. That number again is ninety-nine million nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety-nine dollars. The owner claims that you just pop in a SIM card of your choice, and the iPhone is good to go. When an update comes and locks the phone once again, the files to re-unlock the phone are included.

So if you have got 100-million lying around and you have absolutely no clue how you should spend it, this might be the auction for you.

Note: If you are really interested in buying the phone, the seller asks that you contact him on his blog. He is pretty sure that most of the bids are fraudulent, and will not be honored. 

There are a few people in this world who aren’t the brightest bulbs, and many of those can be found on eBay. Appletell reader Sam sent us a link from an eBay auction he came across today, for what was said to be an 8GB iPhone. Well, anyone with a little common sense and know how of the iPhone would have realized that this auction was not real.

The “Iphone” (pictured) was sold for $520 to some poor sap who will open the package in the mail only to realize he didn’t buy an iPhone. The phone appears to be some sort of Asian knockoff of the iPhone, a very bad knockoff at that. The saddest part of this auction is that there were over 30 bids on the device.

Auction [eBay]

If you’re terribly fond of old-school Apple memorabilia, this will surely interest you. Mac Resource, an Apple reseller based in Huntsville Alabama, has an auction over at eBay for a six foot-high neon Apple sign. The logo was manufactured from heavy duty wielded aluminum and contains seven neon tubes (representing the old Apple logo colors).

The company is moving the business to a new building, and besides, that logo is way too old for it’s time. The people who actually made the sign have agreed to crate it up and ship it anywhere within the United States. Looks great on a huge wall, or together with your collection of Mac hardware.

Bid [eBay]