Is there a Google car in your future?

If the major automakers won't play, Google might design its own autonomous cars and work with contract manufacturers to build them, says a report on Jessica Lessin's blog.According to a report from Amir Efrati on Jessica Lessin's blog, Google has been talking to automakers and contract manufacturers about designing and developing a self-driving car to its specifications. The Google-designed autonomous cars could further disrupt the transportation industry with driverless "robo taxis" to get people to and from their destinations.

Coincidentally, Google's venture capital arm just invested $258 million in Uber, which connects human drivers with riders.

Google has been trying to work with the major automakers on its self-driving car initiative, but hasn't had much luck so far. Continental, a German automotive supplier, is reportedly establishing a partnership with Google and IBM for self-driving cars, according to a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine on Thursday.

Whether Google becomes more like Tesla in building its own cars is uncertain, but the company seems committed to disrupting the transportation industry.

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Facebook stops peddling physical gifts (no one wants)

The social network is removing teddy bears, flower arrangements, and cookie baskets from its online marketplace to get serious about selling gift cards.Less than a year after opening up a gift shop, Facebook said Friday that it will no longer sell physical goods. Instead, the social network will fill the shelves of its Web and mobile marketplace with digital gift cards and hawk the Facebook Card.

"Since launching Gifts in December last year, roughly 80 percent of gifts have been gift cards. So, we're now adding more digital codes and making the Facebook Card redeemable at more merchants," a company spokesperson told CNET. "As a part of this shift in focus to Facebook Card and digital codes, we're also phasing out physical gifts."

The digital-only gift shop experience is getting a new look and rolling out to 10 percent of Facebook users on Friday. All users should see the remodeled Facebook Gifts marketplace next week, the spokesperson said.Facebook is likely scrapping physical goods, which included cupcakes, mugs, flowers, and clothing from partner brands, to cut down on costs associated with delivery and management. Gifts, as a whole, has only proved to be a marginal side business for the social network. The company has repeated on numerous occasions that it doesn't expect to bring in substantial revenue from the e-commerce endeavor this year. In going digital-only, Facebook can continue to experiment with a revenue stream other than advertising without the overhead associated with physical goods.

The Facebook gift shop will peddle more gift cards from more brands and, in some instances, feature digital codes from partners that were previously only offering up goods for delivery, the spokesperson said. Facebook will also allow members to purchase gift cards in variable denominations for the first time, perhaps making the offering more attractive to buyers wishing to set their own terms.

The company also plans to make Facebook Card, a type of prepaid credit card that people can use to pay at select merchants, available as tender at more stores.

The news comes as the social network's shares finished at an all-time of high of $40.55 on Friday. Facebook's stock is up a smidgen in after-hours trading.

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Microsoft's Ballmer: 'This was the right path forward'

I had 15 minutes today to ask Microsoft's outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer a few questions. We talked his biggest regrets, his thinking on what's next and more. Here's Part 1.It's been 20 years since I was allowed by Microsoft to interview Steve Ballmer. (Yeah, I don't why, either.)

But today, the day Ballmer announced he'd be retiring within a year as Microsoft's CEO, I got my (most likely last) 15 minutes with Ballmer to interview him.

I asked the usual questions that most might. And I asked a couple of the thousands of questions I have saved up over the years, hoping against hope I'd be granted an audience with SteveB.

Here's what we talked about (from our transcript, which I've edited for length):

Q: What was today like for you? After all, you've been one of the most public faces of Microsoft since 1980.

Ballmer: Somebody said congratulations to me this morning, and I've got to say that surprised me, probably shouldn't. When you retire, it's a perfectly reasonable thing. But, of course, my mind's been all around this notion of it never really being perfect time. ...

So I guess it's congratulations. On the other hand, this is my life. I love Microsoft. I love everything about Microsoft. I own a lot of Microsoft stock. I'm going to continue to own a lot of Microsoft stock. But given that my personal plans wouldn't have had me here forever, this seemed like an appropriate time to me to move forward with retirement.

Q: You think this CEO search is going to take a year?

Ballmer: We've (with the board) have all been working together and the board wants to be able to look, and John (Thompson, the lead director on Microsoft's board) can talk about its needs, but a year is a nice long time. And if it winds up being less, but, you know, it just means that we can do things in a very planful and orderly fashion.Q: When did you actually decide you were going to retire? Was this a sudden decision?

Ballmer: I would say for me, yeah, I've thought about it for a long time, but the timing became more clear to me over the course of the last few months.

You know, we worked hard. We worked hard on our strategy process, our org process. And frankly I had no time to think about it during all of that.... I would say my thinking has intensified really over the last couple, two, two and a half months, something like that.

Q: So when did you finally decide?

Ballmer: Officially, a day or two ago. We had a board call. When was that, two days ago? And it was really two days ago ... I would say that we really -- I finalized and we finalized that this was the right path forward.

Q: Did Chairman Bill Gates ask you to stay or go?

Ballmer: No. Bill -- I mean, no. Bill respects my decision. I mean, it's one of these things when if it's -- you know, ultimately these kinds of things have to be one's own personal decision.

Q: What's next for you now?

Ballmer: Frankly I don't know. I haven't spent a lot of time -- I don't have time to spend actually even thinking about what comes next. I'm not going to have time to do that until the board gets a successor in place.

My whole life has been about my family and about Microsoft. And I do relish the idea that I'll have another chapter, a chapter two, if you will, of my life where I'll get to sort of experience other sides of life, learn more about myself, all of that, but it's not like I leave with a specific plan in mind.

Q: Single biggest thing you are proud you did at Microsoft. You can just pick one:

Ballmer: I'm proud of being I would say a significant part even of the birth of intelligent personal computing, the notion that people use computing technologies, whether that's phones, PCs. I mean, we kind of birthed that over the course of the '80s and the '90s, and that's had such an unbelievable impact on people's lives. I would say a billion plus people and now more with phones, even if they're not all our phones, I'm very proud of what we've accomplished there.

If I had to sort of couple it, I'm very proud that we were able to make this incredible impact on the planet and at the same time do a good job for our shareholders.

Q: Your biggest regret?

Ballmer: Oh, you know, I've actually had a chance to make a lot of mistakes, and probably because, you know, people all want to focus in on period A, period B, but I would say probably the thing I regret most is the, what shall I call it, the loopedy-loo that we did that was sort of Longhorn to Vista. I would say that's probably the thing I regret most. And, you know, there are side effects of that when you tie up a big team to do something that doesn't prove out to be as valuable.

For more, check out Part 2 of my convo with Ballmer (and Thompson). We talk CEO succession planning, why Microsoft doesn't want to 'just' be an IBM and more.

This story originally appeared as "Microsoft's Ballmer on his biggest regret, the next CEO and more" on ZDNet.

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PS4 launch date confirmed for November 15

Today Sony announced the official launch date of the new PlayStation 4 game console as November 15 in North America and November 29 in Europe.At the Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany, today, Sony announced that its PlayStation 4 game console would be arriving November 15 in North America, followed by a European launch date of November 29.

The company said the console would launch in 32 countries overall in time for the holiday season, but didn't specify any other dates worldwide. Sony also mentioned that 1,000,000 preorders have been placed already.
As previously revealed, the PS4 will cost $399. Check out our hands-on PS4 first take for more information on the console.
Microsoft's competing Xbox One console first arrives in November for $499.99.

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Apple's cheaper and not so cheap iPhone explained (FAQ)

A cheaper iPhone on top of a normal iPhone upgrade now seems inevitable, but what's the big deal? And a champagne color? Really?! CNET explains.

 For all its talk of doubling down on secrecy, Apple's efforts to keep its upcoming iPhones under wraps seems all for naught. Over the past few weeks there have been a flurry of photos of both plastic and metal iPhones that may or may not be (but probably are) its next-generation devices.
Most notable is that it looks very much like Apple's going to introduce not one but two new iPhones for the first time since the device first hit the market in 2007. That could have a big impact on Apple's fortunes, as well as the types of users it has gone after all these years.
Here's a quick guide for your most essential questions about both devices.

Renderings of a gold or champagne colored iPhone 5S from Shop Le Monde.

What's Apple expected to announce?
Two new iPhones: both a lower-cost model and a new top of the line model. Those devices are said to be debuting at an event on September 10, presumably in San Francisco or at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, where past unveilings have taken place.
What's different about the low cost one?
This model, rumored to be called the "iPhone 5C," will sport a plastic back instead of metal. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster also recently suggested that Apple might carve out a feature or two, namely Siri, Apple's built-in voice assistant software.
However, the key difference will be price, not so much the what people pay with a multi-year contract from their carrier, but what the phone costs up front. We get into that a bit more lower down.
What's different about the new high-end model?
Leaks suggest Apple plans to offer the "iPhone 5S" in more colors, notably a "gold" or "champagne" color. The device is also said to sport a better camera with a dual-LED flash and a home button that can scan your finger -- something that's likely going to be used for security features.
Other expected specs include a 128GB storage option and a jump to a 64-bit processor, which could speed things up.

The iPhone 3G.

(Credit: CNET)

Wait, didn't Apple already have plastic iPhones?
Yes, the iPhone 3G and 3GS came in white and black plastic (see image to the right). Apple switched to glass with 2010's iPhone 4, resulting in a flat back that was substantially thinner, but could also shatter just as badly as the screen on the other side.
Where's the proof of either of these devices that I can look at?
There haven't been any fully functional devices, but there have been heaps of photos of the back casing for both phones. By pure volume there have been more shots of the so-called iPhone 5C and its plastic back, which has popped up in a handful of places and suggested Apple's planning to have brightly-colored devices, akin to what Nokia's been doing on its Lumia series phones.
One of the earliest leaks came in April by case maker Tactus, which posted a shot alleging to be the back chassis of a white, plastic iPhone.
In late June, one of the first shots of what might just be the iPhone 5S cropped up on MacRumors, showing off some of the internal changes to components, and the outside change like the dual flash.

A slew of purported iPhone 5C casings, all set to go.

(Credit: SonnyDickson)

Since then, there's been a series of photos of both devices documented by Sonny Dickson, a frequent leaker of all things Apple hardware. Dickson has been posting photos of everything, from buttons to various colors and internal components.
Why would Apple want to launch a second iPhone now?
The simple reason? Competition, and lots of it. Apple's getting hit on multiple fronts by rivals releasing myriad variations of phones, often several times a year. One of the biggest is Samsung, which has expanded its Galaxy line from phones to tablets and even smartphone camera hybrids. Not all of those are hits, but some, like the Note -- a cross between a tablet and a phone -- turned out to be a success.

Want a phone that's also a point and shoot camera with a zoom lens? Samsung makes that.

(Credit: CNET)

The result is that Apple's growth in the smartphone market has been slowing. That's according to IDC, which this month said Apple's iOS was in 13.2 percent of smartphones in the third quarter, versus Android's 79.3 percent, marking a year over year decline in growth. Even so, these things can be hard to predict. Apple surprised in its last quarter, selling considerably more iPhones than Wall Street expected, and helping the company beat earnings expectations.
For years, one bright spot has been that Apple makes more money on its phones than any other company, something that remains the case.
What do iPhones cost right now?
In the U.S. you can get an iPhone 5 for $199, $299, and $399 with a 2-year contract from a wireless carrier. The contract-free prices for those devices is considerably higher at $649, $749 and $849 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models respectively.

The 4S (2011's model) runs $99 on contract, and $549 off-contract, while the 4 (2010's model) is free with a contract, and $450 off-contract.

The price can vary considerably by country. In places like Italy, Norway, and Belgium, top-of-the-line iPhones off-contract can cost hundreds of dollars more than they do in the U.S.
How much would this this less-expensive iPhone cost?
An analysis from Morgan Stanley back in June suggested Apple could come in between $349 to $399. That's $50 to $100 less than what Apple's charging for the iPhone 4 right now.
How does that stack up compared to some rival devices?
In China, where a lower cost iPhone is expected to make waves, Morgan Stanley notes that the top models from companies like Coolpad, Huawei, Lenovo, and ZTE run about $405. The firm contends that Chinese consumers would be willing to pay a higher $486 for a lower-priced iPhone, based on poll of 2,000 Chinese mobile phone owners in June this year.
But some think Apple needs to go a bit lower.
"What they need to do is capture the markets that are growing and that tend not to have a carrier subsidized phone," says Wayne Lam, a senior analyst of wireless communications at IHS iSuppli. "At about 1,500 to 2,000 Yuan, which is roughly 300 bucks, that would be compelling."

Where the metal meets the ceramic on the iPhone 5.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

How will Apple cut costs on a cheaper model?
A big part of trimming costs is using plastic, which can be simpler to mold and contour than Apple's current go-to of aluminum. Take the iPhone 5 as an example. Apple had to build windows in the back of the phone for wireless signals to make it through the metal. That won't be an issue with a plastic iPhone, and could actually cut the cost of the mechanical parts by around half from $33 to $16, Morgan Stanley's research suggests.
There are other ways to cut costs, specifically using slightly less cutting edge components, something Apple's done with the cameras and other bits found in the iPod Touch and iPad Mini.
Wait, couldn't a cheaper model torpedo sales of Apple's other models?
Yes, but the big question is how much. Piper's Munster is expecting a 25 percent rate of cannibalization into standard iPhone sales, which is down big from the firm's original estimate of 50 percent.
That's a big deal because Apple makes fatter margins on its high-end phones, charging consumers around $100 for a storage upgrade that's estimated to cost the company only around $10 to $20 more. When you're selling more of something that costs less, but doesn't cost much less to produce, it's not quite as lucrative as those higher margin models.
Apple, in the past, has attempted to assuage such concerns by saying that cannibalization is actually a "huge opportunity."
"Our core philosophy is to never fear cannibalization. If we don't do it, someone else will," Apple CEO Tim Cook told Wall Street analysts on an earnings call back in January when discussing the iPad mini. "We know that iPhone has cannibalized some of our iPod business. That doesn't worry us." Someone who buys an iPhone or iPad might also buy another Apple product, Cook added.
Why are people freaking out about Apple doing a second iPhone?
That's a good question. The company has a long history of expanding its product lines after something becomes successful. Most recently that was with last year's iPad mini. Apple's also done it with the iPod to iPod Mini, and PowerBook to iBook before that.
Perhaps it's best explained by pointing out that Apple has only ever done one new iPhone a year for the past six models. That makes any deviation noteworthy, even if it turns out to be mundane.
Something we missed? Leave it in the comments and we'll try to address it.
Updated at 9 a.m. PT to correct materials mention for first-generation iPhone, and change to handset profits section.

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The more you use Facebook, the more miserable you get -- study

A disturbing piece of research from the University of Michigan intimates that increasing use of Facebook among young adults creates an increased lack of well-being. Oh.I have always found people from the University of Michigan to be rather full of themselves and devoid of wit and dress sense.

I don't pretend for a moment that this discovery holds any universal truth. I might have encountered only two or three of these people at the most.

However, I wonder how you will respond to a piece of research from that same university that suggests Facebook and happiness may be virtual opposites.

I am miserably indebted to CBS Philadelphia for noticing this study and its implications.

The study has a portentous title: "Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults."

It offers some even more portentous sentences. For example: "The more people used Facebook at one time point, the worse they felt the next time we text-messaged them; the more they used Facebook over two weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time."

This study was performed among 82 young adults, whose emotions are, surely, as consistent as the British weather.

Still, these researchers believe that their methods offered a disturbing indicator.Here's another sentence that strikes fiercely into the caring world of sharing: "On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection. Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these findings suggest that Facebook may undermine it."

Amateur psychologists -- I believe they're called life coaches these days -- will say that those who used Facebook for long periods are seeking some sort of relief from misery in the first place.

When they see that everyone else is having far more fun than they are, they get even more miserable.

The researchers resisted this hypothesis. They saw no evidence that people turned to Facebook as a pick-me-up. (Young adults normally turn to beer or drugs, don't they?)

As with so much (all) research, it would take a much larger sample to see if these results could be replicated and, ultimately, understood.

One hypothesis, though, immediately comes to mind: Somewhere deep inside, people on Facebook wish they were doing something more enjoyable. Yes, even with someone else.

Indeed, one observation here was that those who had regularly seen people during the study -- you know, in real life -- experienced greater misery from prolonged Facebook use.

Kids, your parents will always tell you that money doesn't make you happy. It seems that Facebook won't make you happy either.

The Smiths should immediately get back in the studio to record this:

I just spent 10 hours on Facebook.

Heaven knows I'm miserable now.

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Former Microsoft VP thought dead after his plane crashes into Connecticut homes

Bill Henningsgaard, a former sales VP at the computing giant, is presumed dead, along with his 17-year-old son and two younger children, after his plane crashes into two homes while approaching an airport.A former Microsoft executive, along with his 17-year-old son and two younger children, are presumed dead after the man's small plane crashed into two Connecticut homes Friday.

Bill Henningsgaard, 54, held various marketing and sales positions at the computing giant -- including vice president of sales for the western United States, Australia, and New Zealand -- before leaving in the early 2000s to focus on philanthropy. He was on a trip to explore college options with his son when his plane went down while approaching Connecticut's Tweed New Haven airport. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

An East Haven Fire Department official told the Associated Press that four bodies -- two from the plane and two from one of the houses -- had been recovered. The bodies have yet to be identified by the medical examiner, but two children -- a 1-year-old and a 13-year-old -- have been missing since the plane crash.

Henningsgaard's brother told CNN there was no reason to think anyone other than Henningsgaard and his son were aboard the plane, and Social Venture Partners, a philanthropic organization that Henningsgaard worked with as a board member, posted an item on its blog Friday evening lamenting over Henningsgaard's death.

"Many of you know first-hand how the extraordinary and visionary leadership of Bill Henningsgaard was visible all over this community," reads the item from SVP, a group of partners who pool their money to have greater charitable impact on local nonprofits. "He worked tirelessly to build partnerships and facilitate efforts that put us on the path of engaging the community to actively support every child, step by step, from cradle to career. Bill walked the talk to make our community stronger."

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How Roku can build a Chromecast killer

Roku's streaming dongle hasn't caught fire like Chromecast. Here's what Roku can learn from Google's hot new streamerGoogle has shaken up the world of streaming video with its new (and hard to get) Chromecast. The $35 unit effectively turns any "dumb" HDTV into a smart TV with Netflix and YouTube, and uses any iPhone, Android phone, or tablet as a remote.

Some pundits were quick to declare the ultra-affordable Chromecast the new top dog of the streaming media world ("Google's miracle device"), suggesting that it would leave current market leaders Apple TV and Roku as roadkill. While some of them made these declarations before actually using the product, there was no doubt from the level of general Web enthusiasm that Google was making consumers sit up and take notice. (The official CNET take: we like what the Chromecast has to offer for the price, but we feel that it needs some feature upgradesbefore it can be recommendable to a wider, non-techie audience.)

Somewhat lost in the Chromecast hullaballoo was the fact that Roku already has a Chromecast-like streaming dongle called the Roku Streaming Stick. It's basically the guts of theRoku 2 XS (the 2012 flagship Roku player, now discontinued and replaced by the Roku 3) crammed into a the form factor of -- you guessed it -- a stick.

Like the other Roku boxes, the Streaming Stick bests the Chromecast's meager built-in app selection with a panoply of channels including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, Pandora, Crackle, Spotify, Vudu, and HBO Go -- to name just a handful of its hundreds of mainstream and niche offerings. But Roku seems to underplay the existence of the Streaming Stick -- it's tough to even find it on the company's website. But the frenzy over the Chromecast suggests to me that this would be a perfect time for Roku to revisit the Streaming Stick.

What follows are my suggestions to make a (theoretical) Roku Streaming Stick 2.0 a better product. The result might not be a full-on Chromecast killer, but it could be something that would at least be far better than the current model -- and possibly the best Roku to date.

1. Add a real YouTube app.
This is still the Achilles' heel of all of Roku's boxes, from the $50 Roku LT to the $100 Roku 3. Yes, using the free Twonky app on an Android or iOS device allows you to get any YouTube video on your TV via the Roku (ironically, using Chromecast-style mirroring). And yes, as a Roku rep pointed out to Gigaom, many of YouTube's key third-party video providers -- Machinima, Vevo, College Humor, and others -- are already available on Roku via their own apps. But a real YouTube app on Roku boxes would remove the asterisks and workarounds, and make things easier for real-world users. (Whether Google, YouTube's owner, wants to cooperate and make its video service available on Roku -- which is now, arguably, a hardware rival -- is tougher to answer.)

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

2. Make the remote optional.
Chromecast doesn't have a dedicated remote. Instead, it uses the Netflix and YouTube apps already on your smartphone or tablet -- you just click an icon, and video from your handheld screen instead appears on your big-screen TV. Some people -- presumably, those of you who "watch TV" while simultaneously interacting with your Facebook or Twitter stream -- love this idea, and prefer your touch-screen controls to an old-fashioned clicker. While a smartphone screen is certainly a great way to search for and choose content, I still prefer the dedicated hard buttons of a real remote control.

The good news for Roku is that it already offers the best of both worlds. The company alreadyhas an Android and iOS remote app, so anyone who doesn't like the company's minimalist clicker can toss it in a drawer after initial setup. Roku could potentially work with other app providers -- Netflix, YouTube, whoever -- to add the "play to Roku" option that works identically to the existing Chromecast one.

The point is, so long as the Streaming Stick can work without the need for the hard remote, you can pull it out of the box and make it an optional add-on. Given that the current Roku remotesells separately for around $34, that would help get the Streaming Stick price closer to $50.

3. Add screen mirroring.
This one isn't a big deal for me, but I know that a lot of geeks some to love the Chromecast's screen mirroring function, which lets Macs and Windows PCs beam the contents of the laptop screen directly to the TV. (We found this beta feature to be less than 100 percent reliable when streaming video sites like Hulu on the Chromecast.)

Because it was already competing with Apple TV's nearly identical AirPlay functionality, Roku's remote apps feature a "Play on Roku" function that streams any music or photos on your phone to the TV. Roku just added video support to the iOS version, too. For now, it only works with self-shot video that's sitting on your iPhone. But if Roku has gotten that working, it makes me think that PC/Mac mirroring shouldn't be too hard to pull off, either.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

4. Add USB power.
This is the big one. The Roku Streaming Stick is designed only to work with TVs that are equipped with MHL-capable (Mobile High-Definition Link) HDMI ports. Unlike standard HDMI, MHL ports provide enough power to charge connected mobile devices -- or, in this case, to keep the Roku Streaming Stick up and running, even when the input is powered off.

It's a nice idea -- the Roku is "always on," ready to be toggled on. (Otherwise, the Roku would have to go through its full reboot sequence whenever the TV was turned on -- no fun if you want to jump straight into a Netflix movie.) But the "feature" limits the Streaming Stick to only MHL-compatible TVs. You'll find more of them in 2013, but it's still not a widely supported feature, especially if your TV is more than a couple of years old.

Chromecast has an easy workaround: the dongle is powered by a micro-USB input, just like most cell phones. Sure, it's a bit unsightly -- no one wants more wires -- but it works like a charm. (Google throws a USB power adapter in the box, but many TVs also include a USB port with enough juice to power the Chromecast.)

If Roku were to adopt the same design change to the Streaming Stick -- just adding a USB power port -- it would effectively remove the product's biggest caveat. Instead of compatibility with just the handful of MHL TVs, it would work with nearly every HDTV on the market. That's how you get from niche to mainstream.

5. Lower the price.
Chromecast's biggest asset is its rock-bottom $35 price tag. That undercuts Roku's current low-end options, the $50 Roku LT and $60 Roku HD. (Those two units are nearly identical, with the HD offering a remote that has an "instant replay" button not found on the LT.)

In fact, the Roku LT is currently selling for $40 on Amazon -- just $5 more than the Chromecast, despite having hundreds more apps and a dedicated remote.

The current Streaming Stick is selling for $84 on Amazon at the time of this writing. Again, separating out the remote would probably knock about $30 off that price. While the added expense of the USB cable and power adapter would have to be factored in, I would hope that Roku could get closer to $50 and still make a profit. It would be tough, but not impossible.

What about Apple?
Apple doesn't currently have a dongle-based version of the Apple TV, but there's no reason that company couldn't follow this exact same gameplan. Apple TV already has YouTube; it already has remote apps; and it already has screen mirroring, with the excellent AirPlay functionality. Apple would just have to determine if it wants to go with a USB-powered dongle style design, and if the company would want to compete in a price war. Given that its $99 box has already sold more than 13 million units -- and that Apple has traditionally resisted a race to the bottom on pricing -- I wouldn't bet on this. In fact, I agree with my colleague Scott Stein, who posits that we could see the opposite -- a more robust Apple TV box that doubles as a game console. But you never know.

The ball is in Roku's court
Regardless of a curveball from Apple, Roku has a real opportunity to learn from Chromecast here. A cheaper, USB-powered Streaming Stick 2.0 would be a viable Chromecast alternative, and allow the streaming upstart to reclaim the initiative in the field that it pioneered. Best of all, the Roku engineers don't have to start from scratch -- they can just tweak the already promising Streaming Stick that's currently on the market.

Hey, it's something I'd buy for 40 or 50 bucks.

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Despite warning, fans' hopes for D23 'Star Wars' news dashed

At Disney's massive fan-fest in Anaheim, 'Star Wars' fans held out hope for big news on 'Episode VII.' But Disney's warning that none was forthcoming proved true.But short of CEO Bob Iger having a press conference to declare that the company wouldn't announce anything new about the highly-anticipated next film in the series, fans came to D23 holding out hope that Disney just might still drop a hint or two about something significant. Some, for example, had predicted that the main cast of the film would be formally revealed, while others no doubt thought that Disney might talk a little about the plot.

In the end, there was no news at all, leading some in the standing-room only audience for Disney's Saturday presentation of its forthcoming live-action film slate to jeer studio Chairman Alan Horn when he said he had nothing new to share.

The speculation, in fact, reached such a fever pitch that Lucasfilm's Pablo Hidalgo, who gave a very well received talk about the history of the "Star Wars" franchise, to tweet beforehand that not only would he not have any new news to share about "Episode VII," but that Disney would also not be unveiling anything about the film at an upcoming dental convention in San Francisco.

On the other hand, Hidalgo also tweeted that the air conditioning in the Anaheim Convention Center worked fine, a nod to the fact that the recent "Star Wars" Celebration convention in Europe had not had any A/C, while 2015's Celebration, which will be held at the convention center in Anaheim, should have satisfactory climate control.

While there was no "Star Wars" news worth reporting, Disney did throw a star-studded party to celebrate its remaining slate of live-action films coming between now and early 2015.

During the presentation before thousands of Disney fans, Horn, president of motion picture production Sean Bailey, and Marvel Studios president of production Kevin Feige introduced a long series of forthcoming films, including "Thor: The Dark World;" "Captain America: The Winter Soldier;" "Guardians of the Galaxy;" "Cinderella;" "Maleficent;" "Muppets Most Wanted;" "Avengers: The Age of Ultron;" "Bears;" "Into the Woods;" "Tomorrowland;" and "Saving Mr. Banks."

Among the stars that turned up to help promote the various films Saturday were Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Anthony Mackie, Tom Hiddleston, Ty Burrell, Chris Evans, and more.

The live-action presentation followed Friday's presentation of Disney's forthcoming slate of animated films, which includes three new Pixar movies, "The Good Dinosaur," "Inside Out," and "Finding Dory," among others.

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Moto X or LG G2? Why specs alone aren't enough to decide

In this edition of Ask Maggie, CNET's Marguerite Reardon offers some advice on buying a new Google Android smartphone. And she suggests checking out the features and feel of the device over the specs when choosing your next high-end phoneIt seems like every week a new smartphone is introduced. Just when you think you've made up your mind, a new device hits the market.

Manufacturers are falling over themselves to outdo each other in terms of marketing their devices' technical specifications and features. But how much weight should be given to these specs anyway? And what's the best way to pick a new smartphone?

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I answer these questions and offer some advice on what to look for in a smartphone. I also take a look at four of the top Google Android smartphones in an effort to help a reader decide which one to choose.

GS4 vs. HTC One vs. Moto X vs. LG G2

Dear Maggie,

I've been waiting to see if the Moto X will knock the Samsung Galaxy S4 off its perch. I also like the looks of the HTC One. But now it looks like there are other devices to consider. So I'm wondering if there's anything else on the horizon you think would be worth waiting for? What do you think about the newly announced LG G2?

It's also a little hard to pull the trigger on a phone (the GS4) that's already four months old. But a part of me thinks that maybe it's that rare moment when a phone is the best out there and there's no likely challenger around the corner -- in which case it might make sense. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these devices.

Best,
Aaron

Dear Aaron,

The smartphone market has heated up this summer, and it's only going to get hotter in the coming months.

As you mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy S4 has been among the top picks for smartphones since it was launched in the spring, competing head-to-head with Apple's iPhone 5 and the HTC One. But now there are even more devices to consider. And even more are coming this fall.

Last week, Motorola announced the much-anticipated Moto X. This week, LG debuted its flagship device, the G2. In early September, Samsung is expected to announce its next "phablet," the Galaxy Note 3. And of course, Apple is also expected to announce the newest iPhone, that's being dubbed the iPhone 5S, in September. (Not to mention there's also the latest Nokia Windows Phone, which will soon be available to AT&T customers.)

What this means for you and other smartphone shoppers is that there will be plenty of choices within the next one to two months. So unless you are in dire need of a smartphone, I wouldn't buy anything right now. The Moto X and the LG G2 aren't even available in stores yet. So if you can, you should at least wait until they're on sale.

Why specs alone aren't enough
Now to answer your question: Do I think any of these devices rival the Samsung Galaxy S4? The short answer is "yes." I wouldn't count out any of these devices just yet. So how do you choose which of these phones is right for you?

Lots of people out there will compare devices based on specification sheets. This can be helpful, since it gives you a sense of what the device is capable of and it might ease any concerns you have about the technology quickly becoming outdated. My CNET Reviews colleague Jessica Dolcourt has already put together a post comparing the technical differences among these four devices: GS4, HTC One, LG G2, and Moto X. So be sure to check out her piece for those nitty-gritty specs.But a long laundry list of technical specifications, highlighting multicore processors, camera megapixels, battery size, and screen resolutions, only tells part of the story when picking out a phone. This is especially true right now, as so many of the devices on the market have comparable specifications.

For instance, The LG G2 and Samsung Galaxy S4 each support Android 4.2.2, a 13-megapixel camera, a 1,080-pixel HD screen, really fast quad-core processors, and an IR blaster that allows you to turn your phone into a TV remote.

Meanwhile, the HTC One and Moto X, which in some respects have slightly less impressive specs than their competitors, actually perform very similarly to them. In other words, whether a device has a 13-megapixel or a 10-megapixel camera or whether it has a quad-core processor or a dual-core processor, probably won't matter much to the average consumer when the devices are used in real life.

In fact, Iqbal Arshad, Motorola's senior vice president for product development, recently told me in an interview that he thinks consumers often don't understand what the specs mean. And he said that there's much more to building a phone than slapping a faster processor or a higher resolution screen in the device.It's hard because people are programmed by the industry to look at things like how many cores a chip has or whether the display is 1080p," he said. "That's how chip and display manufacturers differentiate their products. But we've spent thousands of engineering hours building a new kind of processing architecture that will really change how people use their phones."

Also, sometimes what you might consider higher-end specifications may degrade battery performance or some other aspect of performance. So it's difficult to make a decision based on specifications alone.

Instead, I think you should look at some of the unique features offered on each of the phones you're considering and then go to a store and see how they look and feel up close. Do these features make it easier for you to use the phone? Do they offer you a feature or function you think you'd actually use? If the answer is yes, then you should definitely consider those factors along with the speeds and feeds of the device you might buy.

The smartphones
Here's a summary of what I think you should consider about each of the four devices you mentioned in your question.

Samsung Galaxy S4: This is a solid all-around good smartphone. There are tons of software bells and whistles on this device. But to be honest, none of them really sticks out as a must-have. The biggest advantage the GS4 has right now is that it's probably the best known and widely available smartphone on the market besides the iPhone.The GS4 is available from every major carrier, and now even some of the prepaid carriers are offering the device. Because it's Samsung's flagship it should be getting the latest version of Android 4.3 relatively soon, but this is likely to vary greatly based on carrier. In a nutshell, this is a good phone with top specs, good performance, but no true standout features that change anything about how I use a smartphone.

HTC One: There are three things that really make the HTC One stand out from the rest of the smartphones on the market. The first is the look and feel of the device. The all-aluminum body is slick. And even though the HTC One doesn't offer as many megapixels on its camera as the LG G2, Moto X, or Samsung Galaxy S4, it does offer some cool software features that make the device exceptional in terms of the camera. It's too hard to say right now how the camera stacks up to the Moto X and LG G2, since those phones aren't available yet. But I'd definitely want to compare them before making my decision.

I also like the HTC Sense software. Unlike the Samsung TouchWiz software, which I'm not a fan of, HTC Sense actually seems to make using the device easier. I also like the fact that the HTC One starts at 32GB of storage on the device. It doesn't have an expandable memory card slot, which is fine with me, so long as it has adequate on-device storage -- and I think 32GB is likely enough for most smartphone users.

Motorola Moto X: If you looked at the spec sheet alone, you might be inclined to discard the Moto X as not even in the same class as these other devices. But I'd argue that this would be a mistake. As my interview with Motorola's top engineer earlier this week makes clear, Motorola has spent a lot of engineering hours designing a device that not only looks good and feels good in your hand but also performs as well or possibly better than the competition without having the same high-end specs.

After months of leaked details, loads of speculation, and plenty of waiting, the Moto X was unveiled. And the new smartphone will be on all four wireless carriers later this month, for $200 with a two-year contract.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

For example, something that people don't realize is that superhigh-resolution screens and multicore processors often drain battery life more on devices. And that can be a big flaw in a smartphone. I've been using the Moto X for a week, and the company's claims of a full 24-hour battery life, at least in my experience, rings true. In fact, I've been able to go into a second day on the same battery charge with this phone, something I haven't ever been able to do with any of the Samsung Galaxy S devices I've used, including the GS4.

Aside from the longer battery life, the marquee features for the Moto X are all about being "always on." One of the biggest features are the devices' "touchless controls," which allow you to conduct Google searches, make phone calls, and access the navigation app just by talking using the magic words: "OK, Google Now..." Another touchless control feature allows you to access the camera with a couple of twists of your wrist. This wakes up the camera, even if your device is asleep and locked. I also like that you can get the time and check message status while your device is in sleep mode, which is another aspect of the "always on" capability of the device.Another thing many people will likely appreciate about the Moto X is that it's not loaded up with a lot of additional bloatware software. It's truly the closest you're likely to come to a pure Google Android phone outside the Nexus line of products. This is important because it should help make upgrading software on the device in the future much easier than it would be with the GS4 or HTC One. The only negative I see about this device is the fact that the version that will be first available on all the carrier networks has only 16GB of device storage, without any expandable memory card slot.

LG G2: In terms of specs, the LG G2 is king of the hill for the moment. It has the fastest quad-core processor, biggest battery, and largest and highest resolution HD screen of all the high-end devices announced thus far. But as I've said before, specs tell only part of the story. There are a few standout features on this device that you should consider when evaluating it in comparison with the others.

The first is a design feature. LG has put the On and Off button and volume controls on the back of the device. The company claims this is a more comfortable and natural way to access these controls than either hitting a button on the top or sides of the device. Personally, I don't think it matters much where the buttons are in terms of turning the device on and off and adjusting the volume.

But what I do like about having those buttons on the back of the device is that when the camera app is activated, it makes it a bit easier to take photos, especially selfies using the front-facing camera. Tapping a camera icon on the front screen of most smartphones is usually kind of awkward for me. I much prefer having an actual button to click. And surprisingly having that button on the back of the G2 is actually a comfortable place for it when you are taking photos.

LG G2

(Credit: LG)

The G2 also comes with a few other interesting and seemingly useful software features, too. For instance, it allows you to set up a "guest mode" for your device. This could be especially useful for parents who may not want to give their kids full access to their smartphones, but instead can customize a "kid setting" that shows only apps that the kids can access.

I also like the Text Link feature, which allows you to save information from a text message to your calendar or a memo. The Answer Me feature that lets you answer the phone by picking it up and holding it to your ear when it rings is also kind of nifty. And I like the KnockOn feature that lets you unlock the device by tapping the screen twice.

What should you do?
The bottom line is that each of these smartphones has something to offer. And they're all worthy of consideration. But your ultimate decision will be based on your personal taste. It's like buying a car. Some people like Hondas while others prefer Toyotas or Mazdas. For the most part, when you're looking at smartphones today, they all have the same basic performance, which makes it hard to base your decision on the nitty-gritty technical details alone.

But when you look at the special unique features and you actually hold the devices in your hand at the store and play around with the settings and features, you'll walk away with a better idea of what you like and what you don't like.

For instance, the Moto X has a sharp, 4.7 inch screen. But the body of the device is noticeably smaller than that of any of the other devices. Some people will love this, while others may not. Similarly, some people may love the back buttons on the LG G2, while others may find them awkward and irritating. And then there are those folks who simply love the look and feel of the aluminum HTC One, while others are annoyed at how easily it scratches.

The truth is that I don't think you can go terribly wrong with choosing any of these devices. Unless you're the type of person who's bored with your new device within a few months anyway, I think most people could be easily satisfied with the look, feel, and performance of any of these smartphones for the next couple of years.

But as I said earlier in this post, there are still more devices to be launched in the next couple of months. So it's probably best to hold off on making your final decision until these other devices are announced and you've had a chance to check them out for yourself in a store.

I hope this advice is helpful. And good luck!

Ask Maggie is an advice column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET offering readers a double dosage of Ask Maggie's advice. If you have a question, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail at maggie dot reardon at cbs dot com. And please put "Ask Maggie" in the subject header. You can also follow me on Facebook 

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