AT&T Smartly Becomes The First US Carrier To Sell Pebble Smartwatch
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AT&T Becomes Exclusive Carrier Home Of Pebble Smartwatch (AT&T)
In a sign of trends to come, AT&T has entered a deal to sell the customizable Pebble Smartwatch, the device which gained prominence through its massively successful kickstarter campaign. In our Smartwatch Forecast (for BII subscribers only), we felt the greatest success for smartwatches would come as complimentary accessories to smartphones. The Pebble will cost $150 at AT&T stores and through their online shop. Read >
The iPhone 5S Costs $199 To Build, And 5C costs $173, According To Teardown (All Things Digital)
A new report from research firm IHS, and shared with All Things Digital, found that the new iPhone 5S costs about $199 to build after the analysts tore down the 5S and priced it according to its individual parts. The lower-cost iPhone 5C model was pegged at $173 to build. Analysts even went so far as to say they are almost the same phone except for the fingerprint scanner and processor on the 5S. Fewer technical variations between the devices will lead to greater overall profitability on Apple's device manufacturing. Also, many speculated the 5C replaced the existing iPhone 5 to increase Apple's margins on sales of the similarly-tiered devices. Last year, IHS pegged the iPhone 5's cost to build at $205. Read >
China Leads In Sales Of iPhone 5S, Not 5C (Localytics)
Localytics compiled a country-by-country breakdown that compares sales of the iPhone 5S and 5C about 72 hours after launch. China, where many felt 5C would succeed, is actually leading the pack in high-end 5S sales. The United States and the U.K., on the other hand, had the two lowest proportions for sales of the iPhone 5S. Read >
Braintree Will Help PayPal Democratize Payments (Payments Source)
Sean Sposito at Payments Source comments on how acquiring Braintree would be an extremely shrewd move for the payments industry leader, PayPal. Above all else, Braintree has software sets that e-commerce and other transaction-based companies can use without undergoing the regulatory burden of becoming a payments company. Read >
Unsecure iMessage App Surfaces On Android (9 to 5 Mac)
An unofficial version of Apple's messaging service iMessage appeared as an app on Android. 9 To 5 Mac believes the developer may be collecting Apple IDs and passwords for nefarious purposes. Though it is unofficial, it again shows the extreme popularity of and growing demand for messaging apps across all platforms. Read >
Twitter Will Send Push Notifications To Mobile Devices About Popular Tweets (The Verge)
Twitter is dusting off its somewhat dormant MagicRecs account to send personalized notifications to Twitter app users on mobile devices. The notifications will make users aware of a popular tweet or on other activity of people they follow. Read >
Infographic: State Of Mobile 2013 (AF-Studio.pl And Super Monitoring)
