Apple was a company that could do no wrong. Phones that dropped every other call… Location tracking scandals… Antennagate… A CEO who constantly parked his $130,000 sports car diagonally in handicapped spaces… Apple didn’t have to roll with the punches, the company would simply laugh at the punches or toss the press and public a few crumbs if need be. A week or even a day later, all was forgiven and Apple would continue on its path, making terrific products and mopping up industry...

VIZIO on Monday evening announced that its affordable 8-inch VIZIO Tablet is now available from numerous retailers nationwide. The Gingerbread-powered device is VIZIO’s first foray into the tablet space, and while the slate’s specs aren’t cutting edge, it’s unsubsidized $299 price tag makes it a great option for tablet buyers on a budget. Spec highlights include an 8-inch 1024 x 768-pixel display, Android 2.3.2 Gingerbread, 2GB of storage and support for up to 32GB of removable storag...

Apple has quietly launched a new entry-level iMac that targets education. The new model features a 21.5-inch display like the current base iMac, but the specs are dialed down in order to push pricing to a slightly more attainable starting point. Highlights include a 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 dual-core processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 250GB hard drive and an AMD Radeon HD 6750 GPU. Pricing starts at $999, 11% higher than the last iMac aimed at the education market, and the new model is available immediately to educati...

While the Daytona 500 kicks off a race to the top each year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Nokia 500 is a race to the bottom. Nokia on Monday announced a new Symbian-powered smartphone that will aggressively attack emerging markets and smartphone users on a budget. The €150 ($217) Nokia 500 costs about what most popular smartphones do after subsidies, and it features specs we’re not used to seeing on entry-level devices. Highlights include a 1GHz processor, a 3.2-inch 640 x 360-pixel touchscree...

In a note to investors on Monday, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi said that Apple is looking to expand its smartphone market share by addressing the cost of its handsets. Apple doesn’t want its products to be “just for the rich,” Apple COO Tim Cook reportedly told Sacconaghi in a meeting, a possible indication that the company is looking to offer a less expensive iPhone option or even work with carriers to offer better rates. Cook is also said to have told the analyst that Apple will be d...

Ahead of any official announcement, Samsung has published images and information surrounding its upcoming Android-powered Gem smartphone. The Samsung Gem is thought to be launching soon with regional carrier Cellular South, which currently has six Android phones in its portfolio ranging from the $49.99 HTC Hero 6250 to the $199.99 Samsung Galaxy S Showcase. While pricing for the Samsung Gem has not yet been revealed, it is expected to land among the mid-range Android phones in the carrier’s catalog. The...

Need a last minute present for… yourself? If you’ve had your eye on HTC’s EVO 4G from Sprint for a while, your patience may have finally paid off. RadioShack is guaranteeing customers a $100 trade in on their old mobile device when purchasing an EVO and opening a new line or signing a new 2-year contract. The exact verbiage of the deal is as follows:Trade up to HTC EVO 4G for only $99Starting Sunday, December 19, through December 25, RadioShack will be helping both new and upgrade customer...

As Verizon Wireless continues to expand its Android lineup beyond DROID-branded devices, we’re seeing some nice inexpensive options from Big Red… and it doesn’t get any less expensive than free. We’ve known for some time that the LG Vortex — a CDMA version of the T-Mobile Optimus T — was on its way to to Verizon. Now, we have official confirmation of the Vortex’s imminent launch thanks to an appearance on the Verizon website above a “coming soon” label. What’...

If you’re planning to pick up a G2 from T-Mobile, listen up. RadioShack has used Twitter to let you know they will be carrying the G-Deuce for $149.99 — a full $50 less than T-Mobile — with a 2-year contract. The G2 will sport a MSM7230 Snapdragon processor running at 800 MHz, 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and 720p video recording, 4 GB internal memory, 8 GB micro-SD card preinstalled, and dedicated quick-keys. The handset will also run an un-skinned, unmolested version of An...

It looks like our pals over at Mobile-review are at it again and they almost managed to slip this one by us. Buried amongst some other handsets in a recent Sammy-centric post, Mobile-review shows off a shiny upcoming Samsung handset that stuffs a whole lot of sexy into a tiny little package. Despite some hands-on pictures, little is revealed about the S5600 for the time being so we don’t have much to go on specs-wise. We know it will be a feature phone making use of Sammy’s TouchWiz UI and plastic...

No, the LG VX5500 likely won’t top many BGR reader holiday wish lists but as we near the holiday shopping season it’s good to see Verizon getting off to some kind of start. As early as this week, Big Red will push forth the update to LG’s VX5400 – a budget clam shell for those in the market for a new basic workhorse. Considering the price, $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate, the VX5500 is definitely a fair dumb phone option if Verizon is your carrier of choice. EVDO, five hours of talk ...