3 Reasons You Shouldn't Buy an iPhone 5C From Walmart for 97 Cents

To be fair, Walmart is far from the only retailer trying to trap you into a mobile phone contract with low prices. It's just one of the most pervasive. Walmart, along with Costco and Target, account for 12% of all cellphone sales in the U.S. Walmart is particularly popular with families, which is why Sprint recently chose the retailer as the launchpad for its family-oriented Custom plans.

A free (or nearly free) iPhone — one of the current models — sounds like a great deal, and it would be... if this were 2013. Or even early 2014. But right now, you're way better off skipping Walmart's cheapo iPhone. Here's why:

1. You can already get it for $0.

Yep, 97 cents is a great deal. You know what's a better deal? No cents. You can buy the iPhone 5C right now — with no contract — from T-Mobile for $0 down. In fact, you can do the same at AT&T, Verizon and Sprint under their various programs.

The big catch? To get those deals, you have to pay for the phone with incremental payments every month, which are usually about $25 to $35. But at least those payments stop after two years, whereas a new contract — which the Walmart deal requires — would mean your phone's true cost ($549 for the iPhone 5C) is built into the rates you pay, which don't automatically cease when the contract expires.

Either way, they get your money. And if you really want the iPhone 5C with a contract, Sprint actually already offers it for $0. At least you'll save nearly a buck.

2. It's really just a colorful iPhone 5.

The reason the iPhone 5C exists at all is because Apple wanted to offer the previous year's model (as it always does) as a "step-down" version of the iPhone for budget-conscious consumers, but it also wanted to build it cheaper so it would still produce decent profit margins.It might not have been the most impactful part of Apple's iPhone strategy, but it did succeed in packaging "last year's tech" — namely the iPhone 5.

You may be thinking "I don't need the latest and greatest," and you're right, you don't. But you also don't want to be too far behind either, and two years is a dog's age in mobile. Both platform makers and app developers design for the most recent hardware, and adapt their experiences for older models.

Just ask anyone running iOS 7 on an iPhone 4 what the experience is like. Even the iPhone 4S struggles to deal with an iOS 7 world, and that, in terms of the "tech gap," is basically the equivalent of what you'll have if you settle for the iPhone 5C now. For two years.

3. Everyone is going to discount it in a couple of weeks.

If you haven't heard, Apple is planning an event for early September. Even absent the report about the unconfirmed Sept. 9 event, Apple is always poised to unveil a new iPhone in the fall. When the new models arrive, it changes pricing for the previous models.

The Walmart discount is really just a harbinger of what's going to happen to all iPhones right then. When the iPhone 6, iPhone 6L or whatever the new models are called get here, you won't be able to throw a Bluetooth earpiece in a wireless store without hitting a discounted iPhone 5C. Apple and its retail partners need to clear out inventory to make room for the new models, and the most surefire way to do that is to cut prices.

If you're dead-set on signing a wireless contract to buy a two-year-old phone (see No. 2 above) for no money down, then just hold out a couple of weeks and you won't need to do it at Walmart.

CyberPOWER Raven X6

The market for gaming notebooks has been expanding at the speed of light in recent times. While there are countless options available from companies like Razer, Origin, Dell, ASUS, Eurocom or MSI, new models just keep coming out.

The trouble is that they seem to be bounding pretty much the same specs. Which could be a good thing if you’re driven to choose a gaming laptop based on looks or customization options.

CyberPOWER is another manufacturer of gaming system solutions which is teasing gaming enthusiasts with a new model as of this week.

The notebook is called the Raven X6 and the producing company calls it “sleek and mean” and capable of handling whatever task you throw at it. 

The Raven X6 excels at gaming, but it can easily be converted in an all-purpose notebook. For example, the existence of the HD webcam and dual digital microphones implies that the lappy can be used for video chatting and teleconferencing purposes.

The Raven arrives with a 15.6-inch display with full HD resolution, but if you want to go bigger in screen size (maybe a 17-incher), there are possibilities available on the market like the Eurocom X7.

CyberPower Raven is a new Gaming laptop 

Under the hood lies a 4th-generation Intel Core i7-4710HQ mobile processor working in concert with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M GPU. 

While this is not half bad, more demanding users might want to push things all the way up to 880M in the graphics department, but if that’s the case, then you’ll need to be looking somewhere else. 

The MSI GT Dominator Pro takes advantage of the NVIDIA GeForce 870M/880M GPU and the Razer Blade ships out with the GTX 870M card.

Going back to the Raven, the laptop boasts 8GB of RAM, which is in league with what is being offered on the market today.

Like any gaming system, the Raven abounds of different ports including 2 USB 3.0s, HDMI out, 4-in-1 media card reader and more. Also, the laptop comes with a backlit keyboard that makes gaming during the late hours of the night possible.

CyberPOWER says the notebook is customizable with options covering a variety of storage possibilities (including mSATA SSDs), gaming memory and OS-s. 

The base model includes 8GB of RAM, 1TB 7200RPM HDD, Microsoft Windows 8.1 as default operating system. All of this can be yours for the price of $1,199 / €895.

This is a good place to remind you that Acer also launched a similar gaming notebook, in the form of the Acer Aspire V Nitro which comes with FHD display, Haswell and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M.

Windows 9 unveiling set for September 30

Microsoft's Windows 9, the successor to the widely panned Windows 8, could be shown off at the end of next month, according to a new report.

Microsoft is planning to hold a special press event on September 30 to show off Windows 9, The Verge is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the company's plans. The date is currently "tentative," according to the report.

It's not yet clear whether Windows 9 will actually be known as Windows 9. The operating system is currently code-named Windows Threshold, though it's highly likely that Microsoft will keep its numbering scheme with the next platform.

Last week, CNET sister site ZDNet reported that Microsoft is planning to launch a "technology preview" of Threshold at the end of September or early October. The report from Mary Jo Foley indicated that users would be able to try out the operating system, but would need to have software updates automatically downloaded to the platform each month.

Whenever Threshold makes an appearance, it's expected to come with a wide range of improvements, including a "mini" Smart Menu, separate windows for Metro-style applications running on the desktop, and support for virtual desktops.

According to The Verge's sources, Microsoft will be showcasing some of those improvements and new features at the event on September 30. The operating system should launch as a beta preview soon thereafter.

In a statement to CNET, Microsoft was succinct in its response to the news, saying only that it has "nothing to share" at this point.
Via~CNET

OMG!!! Walmart Slashes iPhone 5C Price to 97 Cents

Walmart has drastically cut the prices of the iPhone 5C and 5S, suggesting an upcoming debut of the iPhone 6 (which, granted, Apple hasn't even announced yet).

The iPhone 5S (16GB) has been reduced from $99 to $79, and the iPhone 5C (16GB, in any color) has been reduced from $29 to just 97 cents. The new prices are available with the purchase a two-year contract from AT&T, U.S. Cellular, Sprint or Verizon; the offer is good only in stores, not on online orders.

Stores tend to slash the prices of their existing iPhone stock before a new model is released; this price drop adds credibility to rumors that the new iPhone 6 will launch Sept. 9.

Still, sales on Apple products are rare, in part because the company limits how its retail partners can price its products. Walmart is one of the only retailers that can get away with selling Apple products below Apple's manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP).

Public excitement about the iPhone 6 has reached fever pitch. The new smartphone is rumored to have a reversible USB lightning cable as well as alarger screen.