MacRumors

During its iPhone event that took place on September 10, Apple handed out a number of iPhone 5c review units to various publications. The embargo on reviews has just been lifted, which means a slew of sites are posting reactions to Apple’s colorful new phone lineup. We’ve gathered some interesting excerpts below to highlight the general reaction to the release.

David Pogue, The New York Times

The budget model, the new iPhone 5C, comes in five colors ($100 for the 16-gigabyte model with a two-year contract, $550 without). It’s essentially identical to last year’s iPhone 5, except that its back and sides are a single piece of plastic instead of metal and glass.Actually, “plastic” isn’t quite fair. The 5C’s case is polycarbonate, lacquered like a glossy piano. Better yet, its back edges are curved for the first time since the iPhones of 2008. You can tell by touch which way it’s facing in your pocket.

It’s a terrific phone. The price is right. It will sell like hot cakes; the new iPhones go on sale Friday. But just sheathing last year’s phone in shiny plastic isn’t a stunning advance.

Jim Dalrymple, The Loop

There is absolutely no give to this phone at all. It doesn’t bend or buckle anywhere in the casing, which is what you want, obviously. It feels as solid as the 5s.

The iPhone 5c doesn’t actually feel like plastic. It’s strange when you first pick it up, but it almost feels like ceramic or a similar material that is glossy and hard. The manufacturing process that Apple used to make this phone and the metal reinforcement it used in the plastic casing certainly worked on making this phone tough.

Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch

To date, Apple’s choice of materials has been one of its prime differentiating factors, at least from an aesthetics point of view, vs. the Android crop of competitors. So does dipping back into a polycarbonate shell threaten the image Apple has tried so hard to cultivate?

The answer is a resounding ‘No.’ Apple notes that the iPhone 5c is actually polycarbonate because it wanted to get the colors just right, and doing so in metal just wasn’t feasible. Further, it points out that there’s a steel frame (which doubles as an antenna) girding that polycarbonate shell, which results in a phone that feels sturdy in the hand, without the flex or perceived fragility of other plastic device designs.

Lauren Goode, AllThingsD

The iPhone 5C has the same A6 processor and the same 4-inch Retina display as the iPhone 5. Colors on the 5C’s display look warmer.

It’s just slightly thicker and heavier than the iPhone 5. And while the 5C isn’t as refined-looking as the iPhone 5 or the new 5S, it isn’t a tacky plastic phone, either. I’ve tested plastic phones before, including the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the new Moto X from Motorola, and this phone feels more solid in the hand.

Myriam Joire, Engadget

We’re not going to lie. The iPhone 5c is gorgeous – we’d even argue that it’s the most beautiful iPhone since the 4 and 4s. It instantly makes the iPhone 5 and 5s look staid in comparison.

Sure, we prefer materials like aluminum and glass over plastic, and we appreciate the intricate craftsmanship that goes into building the iPhone 5 and 5s, but still, we can’t help it – the 5c just triggers some reptilian part of our brains that screams, “OMG, color!”

Other reviews:

Anand Shimpi, AnandTech
Edward Baig, USA Today
Stuart Miles, Pocket-Lint
Luke Peters, T3
Scott Stein, CNET

Apple’s iPhone 5c is currently available for pre-order and will begin shipping on September 20.

The Obama administration has filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission asking that all wireless carriers be required to unlock all mobile devices, reports The Washington Post. The move comes several months after The White House backed a "We the People" petition that successfully garnered more than 100,000 signatures calling for cell phone unlocking to be made legal.

The "We the People" petition was started following an October ruling by the Library of Congress' Copyright Office that ended an exemption within the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that formerly allowed cell phone unlocking. It became illegal for U.S. mobile phone users to unlock newly purchased cell phones without express permission from their cell phone carriers on January 26, 2013.

According to Tuesday's petition from The White House's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, permitting unlocked devices, including both smartphones and tablets, would increase both competition and consumer choice.

"Americans should be able to use their mobile devices on whatever networks they choose and have their devices unlocked without hassle," said Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary of the NTIA.

The FCC reportedly began investigating whether or not the cell phone unlocking ban results in harmful effects for consumers in March, though no news has surfaced on the issue since then.

At this time, it remains illegal for individuals to unlock cell phones purchased after January 26, 2013 in the United States. Carriers are still permitted to unlock devices, however, and unlocked devices can also be purchased at unsubsidized prices from a number of carriers.

iCloud.com has received a makeover with new icons and design inspired by iOS 7, after previously rolling out to beta customers back in August. The background wallpaper mirrors the dynamic, slowly changing wallpaper offered in iOS 7 as well.

The site is using new icons for Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Reminders and Find My iPhone; while iWork for iCloud is still using the older-style iWork for iOS icons.

The apps -- with the exception of iWork -- have all received extensive redesigns as well, using lighter pastel colors and slimmer fonts.

iPhone 5s inventories are said to be very limited at launch, according to reports from several different publications sourcing employees at Apple Retail Stores and cellular carriers.

One source told AllThingsD that an unnamed carrier will have "grotesquely unavailable inventory" and another said they were disappointed with the shipments of the phone from Apple. BGR likewise said 5s supply would be "severely constrained".

9to5Mac's Mark Gurman claims three of four units shipped to Apple Stores will be the new Space Gray color -- gold and silver options will be more difficult to come by -- while phones meant for AT&T's network will be more plentiful than those for Verizon. He also says 16GB and 32GB models will be in greater supply than 64GB units.

A survey from earlier this year showed that the 16GB and 32GB models were far more popular than the 64GB version, with nearly 90% of iPhones purchased being the lower two capacities.

Finally, Gurman says Apple will be updating its Apple Store iOS app to show the in-stock status of various iPhone models at their local Apple Retail Stores.

Burberry today released the full 15-minute video of its Spring/Summer 2014 fashion show shot entirely with Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5s, following several images and short clips that were shared on its Instagram feed earlier this week.

First announced last Thursday, the partnership between Apple and Burberry was designed to showcase the improved camera capabilities of the iPhone 5s through a series of videos and photos taken by the fashion house.

In an interview with Pocket-Lint, Burberry’s chief creative officer Christoper Bailey revealed that the runway show, along with billboards and imagery for Burberry stores, were captured with 14 iPhone 5s devices.

Nine phones were used to shoot the show itself, with three on a moving rail cam following models, one on the roof, and another outside on a jimmy rig to grab celebrity snapshots. According to Bailey, it was Jony Ive who initiated the partnership for Apple, and the quality of the camera that prompted Burberry to use the device.

I’ve known Jony [Ive] for a long time and he is a mate of mine and it is something that organically grew. It wasn’t some strategic plan that we had to do it. Also the dates just worked out. They [Apple] announced the phone on the 10th, our event was on the 16th, it goes on sale on the 20th.

Today we've been capturing all our content on the new phone. It's mainly because of the quality. We streamed the show live. We weren't using cumbersome cameras that needed to be controlled by 7 people, but this tiny phone instead. Using the iPhone we streamed it to millions of people around the world. It's remarkable.

Apple's iPhone 5s, available in three colors, will be available for purchase online at 12:01 AM Pacific Time on Friday, September 20 and will be in retail stores beginning at 8:00 AM.

Apple is hiring a number of musical experts to program its iTunes Match stations, according to a report from CNET. The human touch on the music stations stands in stark contrast to the algorithm-driven methodology that is used by Pandora, the current leader in streaming music.

Pandora uses algorithms and user feedback to determine what songs should be played, whereas Apple will have humans programming its wide variety of stations.

Apple has been staffing up and is looking to hire a range radio music programmers. These are people with deep knowledge in genres such Latin, metal and alternative music who will be responsible for selecting and promoting songs out of the thousands of new releases each month. Apple has also been trying to poach people from the labels themselves.

CNET also says Apple has been working with major music labels to promote "heat seekers", acts that labels believe are on the verge of breaking out, but haven't quite made it to that point.

Apple has always had a human touch on the iTunes Store, with editors reportedly choosing what albums and tracks to feature based on sales and personal preference, rather than a 'pay-to-play' system. The company uses a similar methodology on the App Store with its Staff Favorites and Editor's Choice sections. iTunes Radio also features celebrity Guest DJs, including Katy Perry and Jared Leto at launch, as well as exclusive content -- the Katy Perry station, for example, includes an unreleased track from her new album.

The ad-supported iTunes Radio is included free with iOS 7, launching tomorrow. Subscribers to Apple's $25/year iTunes Match service, however, will hear no ads and will be able to skip an unlimited number of songs.

As Apple prepares to begin selling the new iPhone 5s and lower-cost iPhone 5c this Friday, September 20, the first publicly-revealed unboxing photos of both devices have surfaced, depicting the specific packaging layout and content of each device.

Italian technology website HDblog.it [Google Translate] has shared a set of unboxing photos of both devices showing various details about each packaging, citing a source at Chinese carrier China Unicom who posted the photos to Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo. The first set of photos show the iPhone 5s box from various angles, revealing it to be consistent with previous unconfirmed photos of its packaging.

Another photo also shows the assorted colors of iPhone 5c devices in their plastic shells. Additionally, the website has posted what appears to be the first unboxing video of the lower-cost iPhone 5c, with the blue colored device being removed from its packaging and revealing the package contents of Apple’s EarPods headphones, a Lightning cable, and a USB wall charger.

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Apple has begun allowing users on legacy versions of iOS to download the latest version of apps that are backwards compatible with their devices, as highlighted by a user on Reddit (via The Next Web). Specifically, when a user tries to download an app that is not compatible with his or her version of iOS from the App Store , Apple offers the user the option to download an older version of the app that is compatible with the device.

The move comes as Apple is set to release iOS 7 tomorrow, with the new operating system featuring a complete redesign along with a number of new features including an overhaul of multitasking, a new universal settings window known as Control Center, and changes to the Notification Center. With all of the changes coming in iOS 7, some developers are redesigning their apps to be compatible with only iOS 7, and Apple's new system offers one way for users who have yet to upgrade to iOS 7 to continue using apps while also providing reminders that they are not running the most current version of iOS.

iOS 7 will be avaliable for free and will be compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, fifth-generation iPod touch, iPad 2, iPad with Retina Display (third- and fourth-generation), and the iPad mini, along with Apple’s new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s.

Apple has launched a new ad for the iPhone 5c called "Plastic Perfected," focusing on the bright colors and the polycarbonate material of Apple's new iPhones. The ad, which features the catchy song "Rill Rill" from Sleigh Bells and no dialogue, depicts liquid in various colors morphing into the iPhone 5c.

The ad is similar to earlier iPhone 5c marketing materials, including a video for the iPhone 5c that debuted during the company's September 10 iPhone event, which also had a heavy focus on the materials and construction of the phone.

Apple's iPhone 5c became available for pre-orders last Friday, and as of today, several carrier-specific models of the device are still in stock, though several unlocked models of the device are now experiencing slight shortages with an expected delivery date of September 25.

The iPhone 5c can currently be pre-ordered from Apple's website and is priced at $99 for the 16GB version and $199 for the 32GB version with a two-year carrier contract. The device, along with the iPhone 5s, will be available in stores on Friday, September 20.