Weekly Refresh: iPhone 6/6Plus, Facebook Follies, Google Buyouts And More – Sept 8-13

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From the new iPhone 6/6 Plus to Google buyouts and a few new product reviews, we’ve covered a lot over the past week here at Techaeris. Here’s a quick recap of some of the stories we covered in our Weekly Refresh.

Tech

Google Glass Explorer Edition was finally made available via the Google Play Store. The wearable tech will still set you back $1500 though, so if you want a pair you’ll have to dig deep!

iPhone-6-iPhone-6-Plus-Photos-8
iPhone 6/iPhone 6 Plus

We started the week off with more iPhone 6 leak videos, took our best guess as to what to expect, saw the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and Apple Watch announced along with Apple Pay and finally Alex Hernandez took a look at the hits and misses of the new devices.

The Moto 360 released this week as well – from all accounts the latest wearable Android Wear from Motorola is a big miss!

Brydge announced the BrydgeAir bluetooth keyboard/case for the iPad Air. It’s not out yet but you can pre-order it from their website. Check out what sets this apart from other cases on the market.

As if there aren’t enough companies enticing you to buy stuff on the Internet, Twitter is testing a “buy button” associated with tweets in your Twitter feed.

iPhone6-Battery-Energi-Sliding-Power-Case-by-TYLT
iPhone 6 battery case by TYLT

Just ahead of the iPhone 6 announcement, TYLT announced a new battery case and glass screen protector for the phones.

After all the fanfare of the Apple Keynote, the company quietly introduced new iCloud pricing. Google Drive and Dropbox are still cheaper however, and Apple has to deal with perception issues with the recent iCloud photo scandal.

Just the latest device in the wearable watch market, there’s been a lot of talk about the Apple Watch. See what we think about the as of yet unavailable device.

We participated in Internet Slowdown Day – if you missed it, you definitely need to read up on what it was and why it was so important.

Russian hackers released a huge list of over 5 million Gmail and Yandex email accounts and passwords. While these are older accounts, it’s still a good idea to change passwords and enable two-factor authentication if you haven’t already.

google-hangouts
Google Hangouts added free calling this week

Google’s messaging service, Hangouts, was updated this week to add free calls for all Hangout users. Calls made to other Hangout users are completely free, as are Hangout to Hangout voice calls.

Oops! The rumored HTC Nexus 9 may be all but confirmed. Nvidia let slip the confirmation when they included mention of the new tablet in a legal document they released in their recent lawsuit against Qualcomm and Samsung.

Windows-9-Start-Menu
The Start Menu returns to Windows 9

Not a lot of fans for Microsoft’s Windows 8.x. Rumors place Windows 9 preview at the end of the month, and earlier this week a video leaked of some of the supposed changes coming to the new OS.

What do you do if you can’t buy up a company your interested in? If you’re Facebook and have been recently shunned by Snapchat, why not just rip off the features you want?

Mobile

In a revolving round of connect/disconnect, Google re-connected the Disconnect app to the Google Play store then shortly after disconnected Disconnect yet again

Intel is jumping on board with the wearables market and will be trying to get their chips into future wearable devices.

Facebook-Messenger
Facebook Messenger has some interesting permission requirements

We must be doing something right! We reported on some permission issues with the new Facebook Messenger app for iOS. Apparently Facebook didn’t like what we had to say so sent us a statement regarding our piece.

Shortly after the Apple Watch was announced, LG cut the price of the LG G Watch by $50 for a couple weeks. One of the first Android Wear devices, the G Watch can be yours for $179 if you act soon.

HTC let slip that they will be releasing a smartwatch early next year.

T-Mobile released their iPhone 6 prices ahead of the pre-order date. The latest from Apple ain’t exactly cheap!

Reviews

Alex Hernandez took a look at the Syncable-Duo USB to microUSB and Lightning connector charging and syncing cable by TYLT. Check out his thoughts on the mutli-connector cable.

Bumpies iPhone 5s case
Bumpies iPhone 5s case

Another review as we took a look at Minimalists Bumpies case for the iPhone 5s.

A portable battery pack that’s so rugged you can run over it with your car? Yes please! Check out Alex Hernandez’s review as he put the Limefuel Rugged through its paces – and yes, he even ran it over with his car!

Big week for reviews here – we also took a look at VSN Mobil’s personal emergency alert device. If personal safety is a high priority for you, check out Jason Bouwmeester’s review of the V.ALRT Bluetooth wearable button.

Gaming

Microsoft-Mojang
Microsoft could be buying Mojang for $2 billion

Wow! Rumors abound as it looks like Microsoft is poised to pay at least $2 billion for Minecraft maker Mojang.

Editorials

As with every device launch, the Internet explodes with cries of “Company X ripped off Company Y”. Chris Wilson gives us his thoughts on why it doesn’t matter who brought the feature to the market first, but rather it’s all about who implements it the best.

Business

Image courtesy of Forbes, modified using an image courtesy of Kindleworlds
Amazon’s Fire phone is a flop. We’re shocked!

That didn’t last long, the Amazon Fire phone has been doused with a price reduction to 99¢ on a contract with AT&T. Turns out the device only sold 35,000 units in the past two months.

Google continues it’s buying spree with the acquisition of Lift Labs for it’s Google X division. Read on to find out what the acquisition will bring to Google.

Given the recent price cuts to iCloud, Apple sent existing customers emails informing them they would be getting a pro-rated refund and the increased storage as well. Way to go Apple!

Last week we found out that Tesla would be setting up shop in Nevada. This week, it turns out that part of the deal includes a $1.3 billion tax break from the state.

The iPhone 6 Plus quickly sold out on Friday and headed to eBay. One of the first to sell sold for over $1600 – yay capitalism?

google-buys-polar-google+
Google bought Polar earlier this week

And another purchase by the Goog… this time they’ve gobbled up opinion tracking service Polar, apparently to help improve on Google+’s mobile experience.

Apple Pay takes a hit out of the gate as giants Wal-Mart and Best Buy have decided not to implement the new payment service in their stores. NFC payments are a great idea, but unless everyone can get on board with a common system, it’s not going to go anywhere fast.

Auto

Google isn’t the only one having fun with self-driving cars. General Motors announced their “Super Cruise” technology, which would allow some GM vehicles the ability to cruise on the highway without the need for steering.

Entertainment

U2-will-be-at-Apple-Keynote
UWho? U2 appeared at Apple’s Keynote – trying to stay relevant perhaps?

U2 made an appearance at the Apple Keynote. They made the appearance to announce their new album Songs of Innocence would be given to everyone with an iTunes account.

That about wraps up our Weekly Refresh- look for our recap every Sunday for a quick glance at what you may have missed over the past week. As always, the staff here at Techaeris thanks you – our readers – for checking us out throughout the week and thank you for your continued support. After all, we write because we love to share what interests us and keep you informed on tech happenings around the world!

Last Updated on November 27, 2018.

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