When Will Apple Watch Be Here?

If you were planning to blow your Christmas money on an Apple Watch, well Happy Valentine’s Day! Macrumors.com cites a report from the Information saying the Apple wearable won’t be out until Valentine’s Day or later. Maybe your Valentine will buy you one!

We told you about the Sherlybox months ago, now there’s Wedg…no ‘e,’ another private cloud device. Techcrunch.com says Wedg is in a crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo, trying to raise about $220,000.

Just another good reason to make your car payment on time…NYtimes.com reports that lenders are installing remote start interrupt devices on cars bought by subprime borrowers…some 25% of new auto loans. With GPS, they can track you, too.


iPhone 6 Getting Conquest Sales from Android

You may have heard Apple sold a record number of iPhone 6’s (10 million since Friday and over the weekend), but here’s something that flew under the radar…bgr.com says that the week the new Apple phones were announced, trade-in site gazelle saw Android trade-ins triple!

Techcrunch.com reports that the Windows 9 preview that was expected for the Microsoft event September 30th may not actually be released now until October. No word on what the holdup is.

The next Google Nexus 9 tablet could be beautiful. Gigaom.com says the 64 bit Android tablet will be made for them by HTC, makers of the gorgeous HTC One (M8). It’s likely to replace the $400 Nexus 10, which has been built by Samsung.


Preorders Starting for the Granddaddy of Phablets

Samsung’s newest Galaxy Note 4, the one that started the phablet craze, goes on sale October 17th. Preorders start tomorrow. Gigaom.com says no word yet if it will be joined by the Galaxy Note Edge, with that small right edge display.

U-2’s Bono has let it slip that Apple is working on a new digital music format with them. Macrumors.com reports that features of the new format will help musicians to sell more of their music.

Theverge.com says that…along with yesterday’s Kindle announcements, Amazon announced Family Library. It lets household members share Books, apps, Prime Instant videos, audiobooks, and games — but no music, movies, or TV shows.


Super Clear Voice Over LTE is Here

Verizon is starting to turn on HD voice and video calling. Bgr.com says if you ordered a shiny new iPhone 6, you’ll be able to use voice over LTE calling for much better voice and video call quality.

It’s not just Google & Amazon chasing drones. Businessinsider.com reports that Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Air, and all, has put money into 3D Robotics, the drone company started by ex-Wired Editor Chris Anderson.

Worldwide smartphone shipments will hit 1.2 billion this year, according to Juniper Research. Cnet.com says out of that, Apple and Samsung will account for nearly half!


iPhone 6 Preorder Day- A Crashing Success

Apple’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

Another 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?

With 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

Motorola’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

Google 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

The 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.