iPhone 6 Preorder Day- A Crashing Success
Posted: September 12, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Google, GoPro, HTC, iPhone 6, Tiiny Leave a commentApple’s site was plagued with heavy traffic and crashing early Friday morning, and it looks like the larger iPhone 6 Plus is sold out in preorders for now. Recode.net says Verizon is now quoting mid-October delivery for the phablet, with AT&T saying 35-42 days, the best in 2 years.
There are several apps for ephemeral texts, but Tiiny, with 2 I’s, lets you share little photos that vanish in 24 hours. Techcrunch.com says the founder is from Google Ventures.
The GoPro camera may be about to get a competitor…according to gigaom.com, HTC may show one October 8th that can connect to a smartphone by either WiFi or Bluetooth.
A Preemptive Strike at Apple Watch From LG
Posted: September 10, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, G Watch, Google Play, LG, Microsoft, Prime Instant Video, Xbox One Leave a commentAnother tech company makes a preemptive strike at the yet to be released Apple Watch. 9to5google.com says LG has cut the price of the G Watch temporarily to $180 at Google Play.
Prime Instant Video from Amazon is now available on Android phones in the US, Britain, and Germany, according to techcrunch.com. You have to update their app, and download their video player to use it, though.
Microsoft has begun quietly replacing some excessively noisy Xbox One systems. Geek.com says this is after months of complaints on their official forums.
The Hot Moto 360…Will iWatch Bury It?
Posted: September 9, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentWith everyone covering the Apple event, here are a few other things that are going on.
AT&T officially announced that it will join Verizon in selling Motorola’s Moto 360 smart watch in stores and online, according to 9to5google.com. It will have to be back in stock…the 360 sold out in 3 hours last week after introduction. The big question now is: will the iWatch avalanche bury it? At least Moto has until early next year to ramp up their sales!
Theverge.com reports that Jawbone has opened up its fitness tracking on the Up24 fitness wearable. It will now accept data from Fitbit, Android Wear, and Apple’s HealthKit.
In a year and a half, the phablet has gone from insignificant to 6% of all mobile users. Flurry.com says that medium sized phones still dominate mobile, with 67% of the market, though.
Like Samsung, Moto Tries to Get Out Front of Apple
Posted: September 5, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Hard Drive, IBM, Moto 360, Moto Hint, Motorola, Racetrack Memory Leave a commentMotorola’s Moto 360 smart watch, easily the best looking one so far, is out at $250, with a claimed all day battery life. According to bgr.com, it has to be charged twice a day, though. It is a great looking watch, with styling cues taken from the expensive Mont Blanc Timewalker watches. The watch is already sold out online, but should be restocked, and will be in stores like Best Buy on the 14th.
Also from Motorola is a huge upgrade to the venerable Bluetooth headset. Moto says it’s an ‘earable,’ as it fits entirely in the ear like an earbud. Theverge.com reports the in-ear Moto Hint will not only handle phone calls, but getting directions, quick voice searches, hearing texts, and more. It’s $149, and out this fall.
IBM is working hard to kill the hard drive they invented. Engadget.com says their magnetic ‘racetrack memory’ will increase storage by a power of 100, be faster, and never wear out. Think of a tiny series of magnets, built one atomic layer at a time. A big bonus…it’s cheaper to produce than hard drives or flash memory. No word on how soon it will be in our hands.
Google Joining Mozilla in Emerging Smartphone Markets
Posted: September 2, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android One, Android Wear, Asus, Google, YouTube, ZenWatch Leave a commentGoogle is jumping into the hot emerging markets for smartphones. Businessinsider.com says on the 15th, they’ll roll out Android One in India. It has a 4.5 inch screen, dual SIM cards and is under $100.
According to 9to5google.com, The Asus ZenWatch, which goes on sale in October, will ship for under $200. It runs Android Wear, and is aimed at the LG G watch and Samsung Gear Live.
Thenextweb.com reports that YouTube has quietly launched a fan funding feature. Think it as a virtual ‘tip jar’ for content providers. Out of a $10 donation, the artist gets $9.29 after Google’s cut.
The September 9 Apple Event & More
Posted: August 28, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Dyson, iPhone 6, iWatch, LG, Samsung, Twitter Leave a commentThe expected invite is out to the tech press…with the usual Apple cryptic slant…
it gives the widely expected date of September 9th, and then ‘Wish we could say more.’ Apple is building a huge 3 story structure next to the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, which was, as pointed out by macrumors.com and others, the location where Steve Jobs showed the original Mac 30 years ago.
With all the buzz that Apple will show the iWatch along with the iPhone 6 September 9th, both Samsung and LG have unveiled more smart watches now. 9to5mac.com says LG has revealed the G Watch R, and Samsung it’s Gear S. Bgr.com notes that the Gear S has virtually identical specs to Apple’s iPhone 4S!
Ever wonder if your tweets are getting noticed? Cnet.com reports that Twitter has rolled out analytics to everyone that used to be only or advertisers and verified users. Click the gear at the top for more info. This reporter had a huge spike in impressions last Sunday, after the Napa 6.0 earthquake.
Dyson has been teasing a secret gadget they’re working on with a YouTube video. Theverge.com says it’s probably a robot vacuum cleaner. Early this year, Dyson put 8 million in a lab that helps robots understand the world around them.
Thinner Apple Laptops Coming
Posted: August 27, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Dropbox, Electric Busses, Inductive Charging, Macbook, Retina Leave a commentAccording to macrumors.com, Apple will launch a thinner Macbook by the end of the year or early 2015. The 13 inch non-retina Macbook Pro will be retired at that point.
Dropbox just announced that Dropbox Pro is being consolidated from 3 price tiers to just one. Thenextweb.com reports that it’s $9.99 a month for a massive 1 TB of storage, plus remote wipe and password protected guest files.
Engadget.com says London is trying out inductive charging stations at bus stops for their electric and hybrid busses. If it works well, it could be huge. Imagine San Francisco streets without the overhead wires currently there for electric busses.
More Fingerprint Fun from Samsung
Posted: August 26, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will be rolled out next week. 9to5google.com says it will feature the fingerprint sensor from the Galaxy S5. There are a couple new features with the sensor, including using it to launch apps right from the lock screen.
Arstechnica.com reports that Microsoft has dropped the price by $100 on the Surface 2 RT tablet through September 27 or while supplies last. It’s not clear if it’s to make way for a new model, or if the Surface 2 RT will be dropped.
Google has added native Microsoft Office editing to its iOS productivity apps, and Launched Slides for iOS. Techcrunch.com says the productivity suite can now open, edit, and save Microsoft apps on iOS, Android, Chrome, and on the web.
iPhone Bargains?
Posted: August 21, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, iPhone, Microsoft, Twitter, Walmart, Windows 9 Leave a commentIf you don’t have to have the latest and greatest, Walmart has dropped prices on the 16 gig iPhone 5C to 97 cents, and the 5S to $79. 9to5mac.com says it’s only temporary, clearing inventory before the iPhone 6 launches, and is for all carriers but T-Mobile.
Microsoft will hold an event to roll out Windows 9 on September 30th, according to theverge.com. It will replace the widely panned Windows 8, and bring back a mini start menu and remove the Charms bar.
Twitter for iOS has a new feature. Thenextweb.com says you can now watch a video in a mini player window while continuing to scroll through your news feed. It only applies to videos that use Twitter’s in-app video player, though.
A Great Smartphone Gets Windows
Posted: August 19, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Cortana, Facebook, HTC, Microsoft, Norton, Symantec, Verizon, Windows Leave a commentIt’s one of the best smartphones around right now, and tech crunch.com says Verizon will start selling an exclusive HTC One M8 running Windows instead of Android. It will include Microsoft’s Windows Phone personal assistant, Cortana.
Symantec is trimming the Norton line to a single security suite. Cnet.com reports that Norton Security drops September 23rd, and will combine their antivirus and internet security products. You can register up to 3 devices across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. It will retail for about 80 bucks, but expect to see it discounted.
Thenextweb.com says Facebook is testing out adding stickers to newsfeed comments like people presently can drop into private messages. Prepare to either be delighted or annoyed!
clarkreid 
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