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Walmart just announced that it will offer the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 on Straight Talk’s no-contract unlimited plans.

Over 2,000 Walmart stores and Walmart.com will make the smartphones available starting Jan. 11, 2013, and the retailer will also provide customers with “no interest fixed-monthly payments special financing” for only $25 a month via a Walmart Credit Card.

9to5Mac reviewed the iPhone on Straight Talk over the summer when it began to launch on a few notable U.S. prepaid carriers. At the time, there were a few downsides to using an unofficial carrier, such as the lack of visual voicemail, but the benefits and price far outweighed the downsides.

Straight Talk, which is exclusive to Walmart, can save consumers roughly $950a year when they switch from traditional unlimited plans that are on-contract. According to Walmart’s announcement, the 16GB iPhone 5 will be available on Straight Talk in either black or white for $649, while the 8GB iPhone 4 will be available in either black or white for $449.

Check out the press release below for prices on Straight Talk’s no-contract plans.

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A new Wall Street Journal report claimed Apple is working on a less-expensive iPhone that should début by late 2013.

The report, which cited “people briefed on the matter,” asserted that Apple has explored such a device for years, and even the Wall Street Journal has made very similar claims over the years, but the plan has apparently now advanced. A less expensive version of the flagship device could launch later this year:

The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body, one of the people said. One possibility Apple has considered is lowering the cost of the device by using a different shell made of polycarbonate plastic. Many other parts could remain the same or be recycled from older iPhone models.

The Wall Street Journal said Apple could still drop the idea, but the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has mulled a less-expensive version and drafted a plan since at least 2009 to “grab market share and hook people on the brand.” Apple even developed designs in mid-2010 that resembled the iPhone 5 with a more price-effective back, the report said, but the company decided to discount older iPhone models instead of developing a new product.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjeO2Q0aYhw

T-Mobile executives apparently had much to say during their 2013 Citi Global Conference in Las Vegas today.

According to TmoNews, T-Mobile CEO John Legere claimed this afternoon that his company now sees roughly 100,000 new iPhone activations every month. T-Mobile currently serves 1.9 million iPhones via the Bring-Your-Own-Device setup, he also asserted, even though the carrier cited 1.7 million in December.

TmoNews further reported that CTO Neville Ray “dropped word” during the conference that T-Mobile would deploy its first LTE market in “two to three weeks” in Las Vegas:

Given the importance of Las Vegas with events like the Consumer Electronics Show, it’s not surprising that “Sin City” will be the first market to get the green light. If you recall, Las Vegas was one of the first markets to showcase HSPA+, HSPA+ 42Mbps and the network modernization project back during Apple’s WorldWide Developers Conference.

T-Mobile will probably have more tidbits to add during its T-Mobile invite-only press event in Las Vegas at 5:30 p.m. PST tonight. 9to5Mac is live at CES 2013, and we will update this post when more information is available.

A live audio webcast of the Citi Global Conference will be available around 5 p.m. EST at Veracast. A portion of the webcast where Legere discussed iPhone numbers on T-Mobile is above.

Two updates to this story are below.

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9to5Mac reviewed Aereo—the New York City-only service that streams over-the-air local TV to any Mac, iOS, or PC device running Safari for $8 a month—last March and hoped the service would expand soon, and, although it is almost a year later, the company just announced it would indeed launch in 22 new cities in 2013.

The news was first made public on the service’s website and at a conference in Las Vegas, and the company further revealed the expansion is funded by a $38 million B round:

Aereo also today announced that it has closed on a $38 million Series B round of financing, led by existing investors IAC and Highland Capital Partners. Previous investors from Aereo’s Series A funding round, including FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital, High Line Venture Partners, and select individuals, also participated in this second round of financing.

The decidedly MacGyver tech behind Aereo relies on fingertip-sized TV antennas in data centers that allow servers to live-stream channels with high-definition reception through a speedy Internet connection. Aereo also works with Apple TV via iTunes’ AirPlay and a source iOS device, and even Roku-lovers can use the Aereo channel through set-top boxes. The service flaunts 40 hours of DVR storage space and an HTML 5 experience. That’s right, no apps—nor cords, cables, and boxes; hence the startup’s “It’s TV made simple” badge.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5jUBKMkg_M&feature=player_embedded]

Amid a flurry of CES 2013 product announcements this week, iPhone5Mod decided to join the crowd and launch a Translucent Mod Kit for iPhone 5.

The $39.90 kit comes in one of seven colors and includes the nine parts needed to transform the iPhone 5 into a translucent smartphone on the rear and sides, with even the SIM card slot, mute switch button, power button, and Lightning port slot made transparent too, but it does not change the front of the device.

iPhone5Mod said the entire setup is “scratch-proof and anti-fingerprint with highly visible see-through panels which made everything inside the powerful Apple iPhone 5 visible from the outside.”

Customers can further purchase every color variation of detachable top and bottom panels in a bundle for $169, but those who order in the first 48 hours will get them all as part of the basic $40 kit. After the promotion ends, folks will need to buy each color separately or as a bundle.

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Credit: Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Apple CEO Tim Cook is apparently visiting China today for the second time since replacing Steve Jobs as chief executive in 2011.

According to a statement on the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website, Cook met with Head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei to “exchange views on the development of China’s information and communications industry, global mobile communications, the development of smart devices and trends in innovation.”

The Wall Street Journal noted Cook could have visited to closely examine manufacturing practices, sales, and even the number of stores in China:

While the purpose behind Mr. Cook isn’t clear, he should find no shortage of things to talk about. Mr. Cook’s visit comes amid greater scrutiny of Apple’s manufacturing practices in China and as China becomes Apple’s No. 2 market for sales. Apple opened three additional retail stores in mainland China last year, bringing its total number of stores in China to eight.

Cook last visited China in March 2012 to tour a Foxconn factory that assembled iPhones, but the CEO mostly visited in response to The New York Times’ iEconomy stories. He specifically met with Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang to talk intellectual property and the country’s government.

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9to5Mac has once again scoured the App Store for all the latest app launches, price drops, noteworthy news, and updates, and we have compiled everything in a roundup below. Check it out, but keep coming back as we continually refresh the list throughout the day.

News

1. Netflix | Free
Netflix and Warner Bros. Television Group today announced a licensing agreement today that allows U.S. Netflix members to get access to eight shows, as well as potential future shows, produced by Warner Bros:

Among the shows coming to Netflix next year will be “Revolution,” a drama for NBC from J.J. Abrams ‘ Bad Robot Productions set in a post-apocalyptic America which ranks as the #1 new series of the 2012–13 television season; “Political Animals,” the USA Network miniseries with Sigourney Weaver in a Golden Globe– and Screen Actors Guild Award–nominated role as a former First Lady serving as Secretary of State; “Longmire,” A&E’s top-rated Western mystery series based on the novels by best-selling author Craig Johnson ; and “666 Park Avenue,” the ABC supernatural thriller starring Terry O’Quinn and Vanessa Williams.

Get all the details in Netflix’s press release.

More apps and updates are below.

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Apple revealed this morning that nearly 20 billions apps were downloaded in 2012, excluding re-downloads and updates, bringing the total number of App Store downloads to 40 billion.

The announcement also noted a record-breaking 2 billion downloads during the month of December. Furthermore, there are more than 500 million active App Store accounts, over 775,000 apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users worldwide, including roughly 300,000 native iPad apps, and customers in about 155 countries around the globe can find apps in 23 refined categories like games, business, news, etc.

“It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community,” said Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue. “Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.”

Apple singled out Imangi Studios and its game Temple Run, as the popular app has experienced more than 75 million downloads total. Backflip Studios and Supercell, another two development studios, even saw $100 million combined for the apps DragonVale and Clash of Clans.

9to5Mac first mentioned in March 2012, when the number of downloaded apps hit 25 billion, that the App Store would pass 40 billion downloads within one year. Therefore, when looking at acceleration, the average iOS app download rate is now more than 50 million per day (chart below via Asymco).

Get the press release below for more details.

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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency protects the nation’s borders, keeps terrorists and their weapons out of the country, and it seizes counterfeit goods—like more than $635,000 worth of fake Apple products found in Alaska this week.

CBP announced on Thursday that it conducted a routine search in Anchorage on a Chinese plane headed toward several United States locations. The goods onboard looked like iPhone 5 Lightning connector cables and adapters (that’s a lot of $2 fakes!), and they even sported Apple logos and Underwriters Laboratories trademark icons.

CBP did not name the Chinese manufacturer behind the shipment, but the agency promptly destroyed the fakes. CBP spokesperson Frank Falcon said they were low-grade knock-offs and were clear counterfeits, according to the Alaska Dispatch, as they were sealed in “cardboard blister packs that were sub-standard compared to Apple’s trademark white packaging.”

Credit: CBP

A similar seizure, but this time worth millions of dollars, occurred in North Texas last July. Like the Alaska shipment, the counterfeit Apple cases came from China. The goods had a total value of more than $4 million, a local CBS new station reported.

“We intercepted 281 cartons that contained cell phone cases that included a paper insert that infringed on the Apple Inc. trademark,” said CBP spokesperson Yolanda Choates. “The importer would ship these cases out and a consumer would look at the case and see the Apple logo and just assume that it was an Apple product.”

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9to5Mac has once again scoured the App Store for all the latest app launches, price drops, noteworthy news, and updates, and we have compiled everything in a roundup below. Check it out, but keep coming back as we continually refresh the list throughout the day.

New

1. Izik | Free
Izik recently launch as a tablet-optimized app that allows users to browse the Web in a “fun and playful manner.” The app’s description gives the following example:

Type in the name of your favorite band, TV show, sports team, city, recipe – really anything – and izik will produce an image-rich page filled with quality content for you to explore.Content on izik is presented in various categories to allow for minimal typing and to provide context to results. Look up “Jennifer Lopez” and see results under the categories of Lyrics, Gossip, and Perfume. Search for “Lincoln” and see not only movie times, but also sites organized under Reviews, History, and Cars — all accessible with a tap of your fingertip.

There is a free Android version, too. Check out the promo video above for more details.

Updates

1. Madden NFL 12 | 99 cents
Version 1.0.8 brought a Touchdown Challenge that allows users to lead their offense on a two-minute drive for the game winning touchdown. It also included multiplayer mode for challenging a friend via local Bluetooth and improved gameplay.

2. Calendars by Readdle – Universal | $6.99
Version 3.5.1 fixed displaying times in some countries and the ability to create new events with default reminders. The update also brought stability improvements.

3. NexStop -NYC Subway| $1.99
Version 2.3 added support for realtime arrival times on “the 1,2,3,4,5,6 lines and Grand Central Shuttle”, and the app updated with the latest MTA schedule data and maps.

More apps, updates, and deals are below.

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9to5Mac has once again scoured the App Store for all the latest app launches, price drops, noteworthy news, and updates, and we have compiled everything in a roundup below. Check it out, but keep coming back as we continually refresh the list throughout the day.

News

1. Rovio | Rovio App Store Hub
The brains behind the popular Angry Birds Franchise, as well as Bad Piggies and Amazing Alex, just announced via a blog post that Angry Birds saw over 30 million downloads during Christmas week—with 8 million of them being on Christmas Day alone:

Wow, what a year! We released four critically-acclaimed bestselling mobile games, developed two top-rated Facebook games, and reached more than a billion downloads — all before our 3rd “Birdday”! Angry Birds Star Wars and Bad Piggies in particular have dominated the app charts, with Angry Birds Star Wars holding the #1 position on the US iPhone chart ever since its release! To top it all off, we had 30 million downloads during Christmas week (December 22-29) and, on Christmas Day, over 8 million downloads in 24 hours alone!

Check out the infographic above for more details.

Updates

1. Words With Friends – Universal | $2.99
Version 5.70 is now live and features the ability to play with non-Facebook-connected users. The changelog also includes enhanced support for iPhone 5 and the opportunity to post challenges to Facebook friends’ walls. The usual, yet unspecified, bug fixes and improvements are also present.

2. Snapseed – Universal | Free
This popular Google-owned photo app pushed out version 1.5.1, but the update only features a fixed issue in which opening images from camera roll could cause a crash, general bug fixes, and improvements.

3. Scribblenauts Remix – Universal | 99 cents
Version 2.7 landed yesterday and brought the ability to revert back to the original playground and icon. The changelog also boasts minor bug fixes.

More apps, updates, and deals are below.

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