Chinese merchants are offering a cheap alternative to the gold iPhone 5s, and the new marketing technique seems to be working. Online stores like taobao.com are selling $2 gold stickers that transform any iPhone into a gold iPhone. The Wall Street Journal reports that "thousands of the stickers have been sold" in China, where " the color gold symbolizes wealth."

Merchants have been advertising the stickers as an affordable alternative to buying an entirely new phone. One ads reads: “Dear, you don’t need to sell your kidney for the new iPhone. Instead of paying 5288 yuan, you only need to spend 35 yuan to make your iPhone 5 look like a golden iPhone 5s in seconds.”

A 16GB iPhone 5s is around $863.84 in China, because mobile phones are not subsidized by cellular providers like they are in the US.

iOS 7 users can grab the recently released 7.0.2 update using iTunes or over-the-air (OTA). The firmware update from Apple includes a security fix that plugs holes which allow someone to bypass the lock screen passcode. The vulnerability was first disclosed by Jose Rodriguez on YouTube. Although it may be difficult to reproduce, the bug made it possible to bypass the passcode with a sequence of inputs.

The steps involve accessing the Control Center from the lock screen, then opening the alarm clock application. After this, holding down the sleep/wake button until the iPhone displays slide to power off leads to the next step. Touching the Cancel button and quickly double pressing the home button launches the app switcher without a passcode. Obviously, this provides access to any running or recently opened apps with no passcode entry required.

After much confusion surrounding the final season of Breaking Bad, Apple began sending out emails offering Season Pass buyers a refund. Here's the email:

Dear Customer

We apologize for any confusion the naming of “Season 5″ and “The Final Season” of Breaking Bad might have caused you. While the names of the seasons and episodes associated with them were not chosen by iTunes, we’d like to offer you “The Final Season” on us by providing you with the iTunes code below in the amount of $22.99. This credit can also be used for any other content on the iTunes Store. Thank you for your purchase.

The confusion began when AMC split the final season into two parts, and Apple titled the first 8 episodes as "Season 5″. This led iTunes users to believe they were buying a Season Pass to all 16 episodes for $21.99, when it reality it only included the first half of the final season. Apple's second mistake was not removing their boilerplate text that promised: “This Season Pass includes all current and future episodes of Breaking Bad, Season 5.”

Looking for a way to protect your new iPhone 5s or 5c with a little style? Check out the new Retro Game Cases offered by PureGear.

For $29.99, you can choose from one of three cases with an old school maze-style game built into the design. Unlike the games found in the App Store, these simple throwbacks won’t take up any room on your phone’s memory. Simply attach the case and get started. Each of the three versions offers a different nostalgic experience.

If you haven't already done so, there is still time to trade-in your older iPhone model and upgrade to an iPhone 5s... Especially if you're holding out for the elusive gold edition. Some trade-in services such as NextWorth and Gazelle are still offering around $200 for used iPhone 4S models in working condition. "Working condition" normally means the phone powers on, does not have a cracked display and has zero water damage.

You can even trade in your phone and have money left over for a new model if you're still locked into a carrier contract. For example, NextWorth is offering up to $323 for a used 64GB iPhone 5. That's enough money to pay off AT&T's early termination fee on a one year contract with around $120 left over to put towards a new iPhone.