‘M’ for Mainstream? – Moto’s Droid Razr M
Motorola’s new Droid Razr M is the first smartphone launched by the company since it was acquired by Google in a deal that closed last month.
The Razr M was one of three new Droids launched on Wednesday at a splashy event in New York’s Gotham Hall by Dennis Woodside, a Google veteran and Motorola’s new chief executive. It is however the only one of the three which is available for pre- order immediately. (It will ship by September 13.) Read more
Neat Company’s NeatMobile and NeatCloud (Rating: 4/5)
Neat Company, which makes the popular NeatDesk desktop scanner and the portable NeatReceipts version, highlights the trend for adding something extra to the humble scanner.
Amazon challenges iPad with new Kindle Fires
Amazon has taken on Apple with a range of new Kindle Fire tablets in different screen sizes that claim better performance and significantly undercut the iPad on price.
At a media event in Santa Monica, California, Jeff Bezos, chief executive, announced an 8.9in 32Gb Kindle Fire HD tablet (pictured left) that would cost $499 and feature 4G LTE connectivity when it ships on November 20.
An upgraded version of the original Kindle Fire sets a new low $159 price point for a 7in tablet from major manufacturers. The Fire undercuts Google and Asus’s $199 Nexus 7 and challenges Apple, which is rumoured to be launching a mini-iPad in October. International availability for the Fire was announced for the first time. Read more
The Melt takes its tech on the road
Jonathan Kaplan, founder of the Flip video camera business and now a chain of toasted-cheese-sandwich restaurants, is putting his foot on the accelerator with his expansion plans this weekend – driving away the first of an intended fleet of more than 100 food trucks to supplement his store openings.
The move will bring The Melt, backed by top Silicon Valley VC firms Sequoia Capital and Benchmark Capital, closer to its goal of opening 500 outlets nationwide over five years. Read more
Nokia apologises for “faked” Lumia ad
Poor Nokia just can’t catch a break.
The struggling Finnish phone maker had to apologise after it emerged that a YouTube advertisement for its new Lumia device, showing off its video-stabilisation technology, was not filmed on the smartphone. Read more
Apple and FBI deny involvement in device data leak – so where did it come from?
Apple and the FBI have both denied any involvement in the alleged hacking attack which AntiSec, an offshoot of Anonymous, disclosed on Tuesday. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
