New Moto Droid Doubles Down On A Monster Battery

Bgr.com says the Motorola Droid Turbo will be unveiled next week on Verizon. It has the specs you’d expect from a flagship smartphone, and appears a bit thick. The turbo has a 3900 milliamp/hour battery…more than TWICE the power of an iPhone 6!

Speaking of Apple, primary supplier Foxconn is angling to build future iPhone displays, and get a bigger piece of the ‘Apple pie’. 9to5mac.com reports they’re in discussions to build a new factory and take the business from Sharp, LG, and Samsung.

The auto world rolls on towards the self-driving car. According to engadget.com, Ford will introduce smart braking to some 2015 European models. The option uses cameras and radar to effect stops and avoid crashes.


Microsoft Smartwatch Out Soon, Will Work With Multiple OS’s

According to geekwire.com, Microsoft plans to release it’s own health tracking smart watch in the next few weeks. It will be unique in that it will be able to work not only on Windows, but on iOS and Android. It will also talk with Microsoft’s X Box One.

If you really, really like your books on an e-reader and not a tablet, Amazon has just dropped the Kindle Voyage. Arstechnica.com reports that it’s sharp and crisp, can last 30 days on a charge, but priced from $199 to $289!

Apple is pressing to get Beats Music prices down to $5 a month. 9to5mac.com says Apple wants to keep the Beats Music Service brand, but the pricing matches what the best iTunes customers spend a year on music. No date has been set for the relaunch.


New Nexus’ from Google…and Android Lollypop

Google has stopped selling the Nexus 5, 7, and 10, which tips their hand that rumored new smart devices are on the way. The Nexus 6 packs a 6 inch screen, and is available for preorder later this month. Geek.com notes that the latest version of Android is Android L, which stands for Lollypop!

With Apple’s event tomorrow, macrumors.com says KGI Securities predicts initial iPad Air 2 supplies will be tight, the iPad Mini will just be a minor upgrade, and the expected 27 inch Retina iMac will ship before the end of the year.

Amazon has integrated their Cloud Drive with Amazon Instant Video. You can store up to 5 gigs of your pictures, videos, documents, etc for free, according to thenextweb.com.


Santa Could Leave Your VR Headset Under the Tree

9to5google.com has picked up on a report from GForGames that Samsung will release it’s Gear VR virtual reality headset in December, possibly December 1st. It will sell for less than $200, and pairs with the Galaxy Note 4.

Adobe has introduced Premiere Clip, a streamlined video editor for iPhone and the iPad. It’s intended for anyone, not just pros. Theverge.com says it syncs back to the desktop version for easier touching up later.

iOS 8 is now on 45% of Apple’s devices according to cnet.com. By comparison, iOS 7 was at 70% at this point, based on analytics from Mixpanel, which tracks mobile app usage. Of course, Apple has never released two smartphones at once, either, one of which has about a month’s backlog.


Intel Will Have An iOS Smartwatch Out Before Apple Does

There’s another smart watch running iOS, and this one’s from Intel owned Basis. 9to5mac.com says the Peak focuses on health and fitness applications. It’s $199, and out in November. It won’t have email or phone capabilities.

Speaking of iOS, code has showed up in the beta version of 8.1 that indicates iPads are coming with fingerprint readers, Touch ID, and Apple Pay. Engadget.com reports that it’s for in app purchases…nothing about NFC is showing up for iPads.

Google’s next smartphone, code named Shamu, will apparently be 5.9 inches, and run version 5 of Android. Bgr.com says it will be called Nexus 6, not Nexus X, and there’s no sign of a smaller sized model so far.


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.


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.


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.


Thinner Apple Laptops Coming

According 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.