MacRumors

T-Mobile announced that it will carry the iPhone 5 this morning at its "Uncarrier" event in New York City, alongside new pricing plans. Though the iPhone 5 is not a new device, several media outlets went hands-on with the device after the event to test out the phone's speeds, pricing, and feature set.

Gizmodo tested the iPhone 5's HD voice feature, which takes advantage of the wideband audio on the iPhone 5 to deliver better sound quality. On a T-Mobile iPhone-to-iPhone call, the difference was notable.

Calling from one T-Mobile iPhone to another, my caller's voice came through loud and clear. You know how sometimes cell-to-cell voice calls can sound a little fragmented? Like little bits of sounds are being dropped? This didn't have that. It was a much more natural sounded call. It was a bit richer, and definitely fuller. I wouldn't say it was like night and day, but it's definitely a noticeable improvement.

Engadget went hands on to test the T-Mobile LTE speeds of the Note II, the HTC One, and the iPhone 5, finding that T-Mobile's LTE network performed well.

Finally, we tested two separate iPhone 5s and, interestingly, saw different speeds. The first averaged 26Mbps down, the second 18 – despite being tested at the same time. [Upload] speeds hovered around 10Mbps and pings were always very good, typically under 50ms.

So, as ever numbers vary widely from test to test, but the network can certainly deliver some impressive numbers on average.

Engadget also clarified what happens if users buy an "Uncarrier" phone and then cancel service. As it turns out, a purchased T-Mobile iPhone must be bought out, but users also have the option of continuing to make monthly payments or trading it in for another device. When trading it in, T-Mobile will provide "fair market credit" for the phone.

Feature wise, T-Mobile phones typically ship with WiFi calling, which is designed to allow users to make and receive calls from a T-Mobile phone on any WiFi hotspot in the world. As Engadget points out, that feature will not be included when the iPhone 5 initially launches, but may be included in the future.

With T-Mobile's new UnCarrier plan, the total cost of the 16GB iPhone 5 is $579, with an upfront fee of $99 plus 24 monthly payments of $20. When payments are complete, the phone can be unlocked. In comparison, a fully unlocked iPhone directly from Apple costs $649.

T-Mobile's iPhone 5 will be in stores on April 12th and can be pre-ordered online beginning on April 5th.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has something of a mixed track record predicting Apple product releases, having expected an Apple television set for several years now. Regardless, in a research note today, Munster predicted an iPhone 5S will be released in June, and a low-cost iPhone in September.

He believes the 5S will have incremental upgrades with a faster processor, better camera, and "an outside chance" that the device will gain an NFC chip as part of a digital wallet initiative. He also notes that some kind of biometric security feature is a possibility, but believes that is more likely in a future iPhone 6.

Regarding the lower-cost iPhone, Munster writes:

We continue to believe Apple will have a cheaper phone product to address the emerging markets. In recent public comments, Tim Cook noted that the original iPod cost $399 and eventually the company released a $49 iPod Shuffle which addressed a broader market. We believe Apple will likely introduce a cheaper device in the September quarter.

Earlier this year, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo -- who has a very good track record in recent years -- also predicted an iPhone 5S in June or July, with a lower-cost iPhone around the same time.

T-Mobile, the only major U.S. cellular carrier to not sell the iPhone, will begin carrying the device on April 12th. The carrier will sell the phone under its new 'Uncarrier' policies as T-Mobile attempts to differentiate itself from other cellular networks with new 'customer-friendly' rate plans.

New iPhone customers will be able to purchase the 16GB iPhone 5 for $100 down, plus 24 monthly payments of $20. After the payments are finished, customers will see their monthly bills drop. On traditional subsidized plans from AT&T or Verizon, users pay $199 up front, and then see a subsidy payment invisibly built into their monthly plans. However, if the customer goes longer than two years without purchasing a new phone, the carrier continues to collect subsidy repayments as pure profit.

"This is an important day for people who love their iPhone but can’t stand the pain other carriers put them through to own one," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile USA. "We feel their pain. I’ve felt the pain. So we’re rewriting the rules of wireless to provide a radically simple, affordable iPhone 5 experience — on an extremely powerful network."

Notably, T-Mobile says it will be the only U.S. carrier to support the 'Wideband Audio' feature of the iPhone 5, calling it 'HD Voice'.

T-Mobile is also offering the iPhone 4S for $70 down and $20 per month for 24 months, and the iPhone 4 for $15 down and $15 per month for 24 months.

The carrier will charge a base rate of $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and 3G data, plus 500MB of 4G data. Customers can add 2GB of 4G data for $10/month per line, or $20/month for unlimited 4G. Additional lines have a base rate of $30/month for the first, and $10/month for each additional. The company officially rolled out 4G LTE service today in Baltimore; Houston; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington, D.C.

Customers can pre-order the iPhone 5 beginning April 5.

The Economic Times reports (via iPhone Hacks) that Apple is tripling the size of its reseller network in India by 2015, growing to 200 stores.

These franchisees, who did not wish to be named, told ET that they have been asked to scale up operations in the country as the Cupertino-based company plans to grow aggressively in the country. In addition to increasing the number of Apple exclusive stores, called Apple Premium Resellers, that are owned and managed by 17 franchisees, the company also plans to expand its presence in multi-brand stores, they said.

Some of these plans are said to have been discussed during last month's Mumbai visit of Hugeues Asseman, Apple's vicepresident (sales) for Europe, Middle-East, India, and Africa. Asseman met key trade partners and franchisee owners to take stock of the company's India business and to outline the company's expansion plans.

We first noticed Apple's expansion plans almost exactly one year ago after the company posted a job listing seeking a new national manager for the Apple Premium Reseller (APR) program in India, with the listing describing a "significant growth plan for the future".

Today's report also indicates that Apple has still been unable to find a way to open its own retail stores in India, given regulations requiring such single-brand stores to source 30% of their products from within the country.

Currently, the US company does not manufacture any of its products in India and the 30% sourcing clause could, therefore, deter it from opening self-owned stores. But it has asked its franchisees to upgrade Apple exclusive stores in India to global specifications, including designing, lay-outs, fit-outs, and is even sending its global suppliers to fit those stores. These outlets will have a lot of glass decor, which Apple uses at its company-owned stores in the US. The cost of refitting and redesigning each store is expected to be more than Rs 1 crore, which the company will reimburse the franchisee owners over a year, an Apple Premium Reseller franchisee said.

Late last year, Apple brought on two new distribution companies to assist with the company's iPhone business in India, an effort that resulted in a tripling of sales.

Apple has also been working to expand its content ecosystem in India, launching music and movies in the iTunes Store back in December and complementing that move with a February debut for the Apple TV.

CNET reports that T-Mobile will finally announce plans to sell the iPhone at tomorrow's "Uncarrier" event in New York City.

T-Mobile, which is the only one of the four major U.S. carriers that does not currently offer the iPhone, originally confirmed that it would begin selling Apple products at some point in 2013.

The iPhone is critical to T-Mobile's plans to re-make itself as the "different" carrier. It will be the marquee product illustrating its new no-contract, no subsidy rules, where a customer pays a small fee upfront and pays a monthly charge on top of the service plan to cover the phone costs.

The carrier, which currently supports more than two million iPhones, is also said to be preparing to officially unveil its LTE network at tomorrow's event. iPhone pricing and availability has yet to be announced, though CNET's source notes that the phone will not be immediately available for purchase.

Apple today launched a new promotion for U.S. customers, providing free next day shipping on all of its iPhone models. While Apple typically provides free shipping for all orders over $50, the promotion also includes the iPhone 4, which is free with a two year contract.

The shipping promotion comes shortly after Apple released a new "Why You'll Love an iPhone" advertising campaign via email and the web and a secondary email advertisement that highlighted Apple’s 9th consecutive J.D. Power Smartphone Satisfaction Rankings win. Apple's advertising push follows the introduction of Samsung's Galaxy S 4 phone.

Potential customers are limited to purchasing two iPhones with the newly released shipping offer, which is available immediately. Though no specific holiday is associated with the promotion, it does come a week before the Easter holiday.

Last month, Chevrolet announced that its 2013 Sonic and Spark had become the first cars to offer support for Siri's "Eyes Free" mode. The feature integrates Apple's personal assistant with the vehicle's entertainment system, allowing the driver to access information while keeping his or her eyes on the road.

Chevrolet has now begun a national advertising campaign touting the feature on the 2013 Sonic, launching a new television ad called "Buttons".

Chevrolet is not the only company to be making plans to support Siri's Eyes Free mode, with Honda working to roll out the feature to the Accord as well as the Acura RDX and ILX. Hyundai has also publicly stated that it will be bringing Eyes Free support to some of its vehicles, while Apple also highlighted partnerships with BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, and Chrysler at its introduction of the feature alongside iOS 6.

A year ago, it was revealed that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration was reexamining regulations regarding the use of digital devices like the iPad or Amazon Kindle during taxi, takeoff and landing of commercial aircraft.

Today, The New York Times reports that the industry group working with the FAA to study the issue hopes to loosen restrictions by the end of the year. However, there are still details to work out regarding what devices will be acceptable during flight and what 'airplane mode' means.

According to people who work with an industry working group that the Federal Aviation Administration set up last year to study the use of portable electronics on planes, the agency hopes to announce by the end of this year that it will relax the rules for reading devices during takeoff and landing. The change would not include cellphones.

One member of the group and an official of the F.A.A., both of whom asked for anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly about internal discussions, said the agency was under tremendous pressure to let people use reading devices on planes, or to provide solid scientific evidence why they cannot.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) promised at the end of last year to introduce legislation to force the FAA to loosen its restrictions if it doesn't choose to do so on its own. The senator was particularly frustrated because airline pilots can use iPads in the cockpit in all phases of flight, while customers are restricted to seemingly arbitrary altitude limits.

The Verge reports that the first volume of Mari Yamazaki's manga adaption of Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography has launched in Japan, appearing in the May issue of the girl-focused Kiss anthology.

The first thing you'll notice in these opening pages is that Yamazaki has pulled off the artwork beautifully; far from the spiky-haired caricatures that may come to mind when you think of manga, Jobs has been brought to life in a semi-realistic monochrome style that is never off-putting, but stays in the Japanese manga tradition.

The Verge summarizes this first volume as including fifteen pages of Steve Jobs trying to convince Walter Isaacson to write his biography before jumping into Jobs' childhood and moving through to his college years.

Once Jobs is of college age, Yamazaki swiftly transforms him into the type of character any schoolgirl reader could fall in love with. In one memorable two-page spread, Jobs goes from accepting a bribe of $5 and candy from his influential teacher Imogene Hill, to replying "Sure!" when encouraged to try LSD by a long-haired peer in college corridors.

The first volume ends as Jobs meets Steve Wozniak for the first time, setting the stage for their partnership and the formation of Apple.

Yahoo has also posted a preview of the first volume showing Jobs and Isaacson discussing the possibility of a Steve Jobs biography.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has acquired indoor location company WifiSLAM, paying around $20 million for the firm. Apple has confirmed the purchase, but declined to offer any details on its plans for the acquisition.

The two-year-old startup has developed ways for mobile apps to detect a phone user’s location in a building using Wi-Fi signals. It has been offering the technology to application developers for indoor mapping and new types of retail and social networking apps. The company has a handful of employees, and its co-founders include former Google software engineering intern Joseph Huang.

Apple has been beefing up its location expertise over the past several years through acquisitions, including small firms such as Placebase, Poly9, and C3 Technologies. With its purchase of WifiSLAM, Apple seems to be adding a new focus on indoor location tracking.

The cornerstone of Apple's mapping effort so far has been its Maps app in iOS 6, which replaced Google as the default mapping application on iOS devices. Apple's Maps app has, however, suffered from significant criticism and the company has been working hard to improve its mapping products.

The Verge is reporting that the Apple ID login system has been compromised and passwords can be reset using only the user's email address and date of birth. Users who have activated the new two-step verification process are not affected by the hack.

We've been made aware of a step-by-step tutorial (which remains available as of this writing) that explains in detail how to take advantage of the vulnerability. The exploit involves pasting in a modified URL while answering the DOB security question on Apple's iForgot page. It's a process just about anyone could manage, and The Verge has confirmed the glaring security hole firsthand.

Out of concerns for user security, The Verge did not share any information about how to perform the hack, and Apple has not publicly commented on the issue.

Users who attempted to activate two-step verification but are put into a three-day waiting period are vulnerable to the attack, and concerned users can log into their Apple ID accounts and change their birthdate to something less easily guessed.

The two-step verification system for Apple ID accounts was introduced yesterday and is supposed to provide users with a login sequence that is nearly impossible to hack for someone without physical access to the user's devices.

Update 1:29 PM: Apple has taken its iForgot password reset system offline.

Update 8:48 PM: Apple's iForgot system is active once again, and iMore has confirmed that the issue has been fixed.

As noted by The Guardian, Apple today rolled out a new "Offers In-App Purchases" disclosure directly underneath the Buy/Free button for App Store apps supporting the feature. The addition helps make clear to potential purchasers that free or even paid apps may require additional purchases in order to unlock the apps' full functionality or for other benefits such as acquiring in-game currency.

The new tagline is currently only appearing in the desktop version of the App Store that sits within iTunes. For now, it's not shown in the iOS App Store app, nor does it appear on webpages for iOS apps.

Apple confirmed to The Guardian that the message is a new addition to the App Store. Its location – directly below the icon and "Free" button on each app's page – makes it even easier for people to identify that an app uses in-app purchases (IAP) before downloading it.

Apple just recently settled a lawsuit over the issue of children being able to make unauthorized in-app purchases sometimes totaling as much as thousands of dollars. With today's move, Apple is clearly attempting to make it even more clear to users before they download or purchase an app whether it includes In-App Purchase content.

The report notes that Apple could easily use the new disclosure to deploy a filter that would allow parents to restrict their children's downloads to only free apps with no In-App Purchase content, but the company has not yet taken that step.

Update: The notifications are now on the iOS App Store as well.