I flew to San Francisco Monday afternoon–once again marking Sept. 11 by getting on a plane, which strikes me as an appropriate way to honor the day–for the Mobile World Congress Americas trade show, then returned Thursday afternoon. That yielded one story I’ve filed that hasn’t yet been posted, another I need to finish, and ideas and sources for a few others farther in the future.

9/11/2017: Reminder: You don’t have to buy your next iPhone from a carrier, USA Today

My first part of this week’s new-iPhone feeding frenzy was this post reminding readers that Apple provides an installment-payment option like that of most carriers–except that Apple’s gives you a device that isn’t locked to any one carrier.

9/12/2017: Apple’s big announcements, WTOP

I shared my thoughts about Apple’s phone and smart-watch news via Skype from the MWCA press room; for once, the Internet-calling gods smiled upon me.

9/12/2017: Highlights: Apple unveils $999 iPhone X, new Face ID technology, Fox 5 News

I jumped on Skype a second time to discuss Apple’s new smartphones with WTTG’s Marina Marraco.

9/13/2017: Cellphone carriers are shining up their iPhone trade-in deals, USA Today

I wrote my USAT column earlier than usual to offer some advice about the incentives the carriers are throwing out to get people to upgrade from an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus–something you probably shouldn’t do, whereas owners of older models can profit from taking advantage of some generous trade-in deals.

9/13/2017: Connecting the Unconnected, Mobile World Congress Americas

About three weeks ago, I got an unexpected invitation from a Mozilla Foundation publicist: Would I like to interview executive chairwoman Mitchell Baker onstage at MWCA about that non-profit’s research into which strategies work to get people online in developing countries? I said that sounded like a great conversation, and it was. The MWCA organizers haven’t posted the full video yet, but you can watch an excerpt on Mozilla’s blog and in the embed below.

9/15/2017: Hit the Perfect Pitch: How to Fine-Tune your Story to the Media, Business Wire

With a handful of other journalists, I answered questions from area publicists about what makes an effective pitch (hint: your follow-up e-mail should never consist of “any interest?”) and heard out a handful.