New Surface, New Kindle Fire, Record-Breaking iPhone Sales And More From The Final Week Of September
Tech companies were determined to cram as much as possible into this week.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), for example, made an unexpected (and ultra-quiet) announcement regarding its new Kindle Fire tablets. Instead of holding a press conference, Amazon sent out a press release in the middle of the night.
Meanwhile, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) followed through with its plans to unveil the next-generation line of Surface tablets.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) bragged about the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, which sold nine million units during their first weekend at retail.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) didn't have any new products to announce, but that's okay -- the company was too busy fixing Gmail to think about new devices.
Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this slideshow.
Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ
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Microsoft Unveiled Surface 2, Next-Gen Surface Pro
On September 23, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced the second-generation Surface RT and Surface Pro.
The former will be referred to as Surface 2, while the latter will be known as Surface Pro 2.
Surface 2 starts at $449, while Surface Pro 2 will retail for $899 and up.
Both tablets will be released on October 22.
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Amazon Announced (Whispered?) New Kindle Fire Tablets
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) made a very quiet -- but very important -- announcement this week.
The online retail giant announced two entirely new tablets: the seven-inch Kindle Fire HDX and the slightly larger Kindle Fire HDX 8.9".
Amazon also provided a slight upgrade to the Kindle Fire HD and dropped the price to $139.
All three tablets will be released over the next few weeks, starting with the Kindle Fire HD on October 2.
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Google Suffered More Gmail Problems
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is known for its stability, usability and reliability.
Unfortunately, this week some users could not rely on Gmail.
The service was disrupted for some users, preventing emails from being sent and received on time.
Attachments were also hindered by the problems that Google experienced.
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Apple's iPhone Sets New Sales Record
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has done it again.
The Mac maker sold nine million iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C units last weekend (September 20 - September 22).
This is a new record for smartphone sales.
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Surface Market Share Could Reach 1% In 2014
Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) new tablets could help the company sell more units in 2014.
Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 shipments are expected to reach three million units next year.
This would allow Microsoft to gain 1.15 percent of the global tablet market in 2014.
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Amazon Took Videos Offline
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) became the first streaming video service to take its movies and TV shows offline.
Users will be able to temporarily download select films and TV shows and watch them without an Internet connection.
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Ford Acquired Livio, A Michigan-Based Startup
Ford (NYSE: F) acquired Livio, a Ferndale, Michigan-based software development startup.
The company initially gained attention for creating a number of Internet radio products, such as the Grooveshark Car Kit. But it was likely the Connect API and Connect SDK that got Ford's attention.
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Hackers Tricked Apple's Touch ID
Severed fingers may be no match for Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Touch ID, but that hasn't stopped hackers from trying other methods.
Using a variety of methods, hackers found clever ways to break into an iPhone 5S that was locked with someone's fingerprint.
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China's Video Game Ban Came To An End
China is no longer against the sale of video games.
It won't happen overnight, but Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) could soon be allowed to sell games in the nation.
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PlayStation 4 Software Pre-Orders Surpass Xbox One By 55%
Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4 may prove to be more successful than Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox One.
Software pre-orders are 55 percent higher on PlayStation 4 than they are on Xbox One.
At the very least it means that new PlayStation 4 users are interested in buying more games than new Xbox One users.
It could also mean that PlayStation 4 console pre-orders have also outpaced Xbox One.
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More Tech News You Can't Miss
The preceding stories were just the beginning. Check out these other hot tech stories from the past week.
- Is Carl Icahn Secretly Net Short Apple?
- Warner Bros.'s 'Prisoners' Captures #1 Spot With $21 Million
- Five Startups Apple Needs To Buy Right Now
- Jack Dorsey's Hardest Job
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