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Talk of the day: Still want an IPhone? You could save $100

By Times Wires
Published August 23, 2007

Apple Inc. started offering used iPhones at a discount on its online store, less than two months after the combination mobile phone and music player went on sale. Consumers willing to buy a refurbished version pay $100 less than the regular price: A used 4-gigabyte model sells for $399, and the 8-gigabyte version costs $499. Apple also offers refurbished units of its other products. Apple's goal is to sell 1-million mobile phones by the end of September, adding to the 270,000 sold in the last two days of last quarter after the iPhone's U.S. debut on June 29. The iPhone, which combines a mobile handset with Apple's iPod music player, requires a two-year service contract with AT&T Inc.

GM juices up its plan for Volt debut

General Motors Corp. may build as many as 60,000 of its Volt electric cars for their inaugural year on the market, four times the sales of Toyota Motor Corp.'s hybrid Prius in its U.S. debut, people with knowledge of GM's plans said. Production at that level may allow GM to sell the plug-in Volt for less than $30,000, they said. The discussions show the Detroit automaker, racked by losses and U.S. sales declines, believes an affordable electric car will help spur a revival, the people said. Toyota's Prius can be bought for $22,175. A high-volume debut for the Volt, designed to go 40 miles without recharging, would lend credence to GM chief executive Rick Wagoner's strategy of using technological advances to gain ground on Toyota. GM product chief Bob Lutz has said he wants to sell the first Volt by late 2010, and expects to have prototypes ready for testing early next year.

No bull: Spanish TV drops live fights

State-run Spanish television has quietly yanked live coverage of bullfighting from its programming, ending a decades-old tradition of showcasing the national pastime out of concern that the deadly duel between matador and beast is too violent for children. Television Espanola's first broadcast in 1948 was a bullfight in Madrid. But for the first time in the network's history, none of its channels have shown live fights this season, only taped highlights on a late-night program for aficionados. In practical terms, the decision by the Socialist government is largely symbolic. Of the hundreds of bullfights during the March-October season, state-run TV only tended to broadcast about a dozen. Pay TV channels and stations owned by regional governments are full of live bullfights. Still, many in the bullfighting world are livid over what they see as a slight to Spanish culture.

Chrysler revival focused on family

The first of Chrysler's next-generation minivans rolled off an assembly line Tuesday, a critical launch for the automaker as it tries to remain the dominant player in the minivan segment and struggles to return to profitability. Chrysler LLC president Tom LaSorda said the next-generation minivans have 35 new or revised features, including second-row seats that swivel 180 degrees so passengers can sit around a table. The company spent $1.4-billion on the redesign.

[Last modified August 23, 2007, 00:29:46]