Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Friday:
Unlocked iPhone 4S Makes T-Mobile Users Smile in November: Buck up, T-Mobile customer, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is still thinking about you. Although the new iPhone 4S is only officially supported by AT&T (NYSE:T), Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Sprint (NYSE:S) here in the U.S., Apple will release an unlocked version of the model later this year. A Friday report at Apple Insider said starting in November, consumers will be able to purchase the unlocked phones for between $649 and $849, depending on the amount of onboard memory. However, the unlocked phones can’t be used with Sprint or Verizon’s CDMA networks — only GSM networks like those used by AT&T and T-Mobile. T-Mobile claims that 1 million iPhone users already use unlocked devices on its network.
Apple Drops Toshiba for SanDisk in New iPods: Apple quietly announced a new iPod Nano media player during its Tuesday press conference. The new compact player isn’t spectacularly different than its predecessor, with the exception of its innards. A report at iFixit (via 9 to 5 Mac) found that the Toshiba-made flash memory storage used in previous iPod Nanos had been replaced by flash drives made by SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK). This means little to consumers, but investors that follow the ebb and flow of where Apple buys its components know the switch to SanDisk for these flash drives marks a shift in where Apple’s funds are directed. DigiTimes reported in September that Apple was shifting its sourcing of NAND flash memory to Japanese manufacturers like Toshiba rather than Korea-based Samsung (PINK:SSNLF), which it relied on in the past.
iPhone 5 Overseen by Jobs: Steve Jobs’ death will not fully close his career with Apple. The iPhone 5 expected to release in 2012 will be one of the last devices from the Cupertino, Calif.-based company overseen by the visionary technologist. According to a Thursday Reuters report (via Mac Rumors), Jobs’ role in the creation of the next iPhone was confirmed by Softbank (PINK:SFTBF) president Masayoshi Son. The telecom president said in an interview that Jobs’ work will “come out to the world” even after his death.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.
