Gadgetory

the next technology war will be fought in the sky I'm Bridget Carey and this is your cnet update google has swallowed up another company this time it acquired Titan aerospace it's a startup that makes solar powered flying drones that can glide at high altitudes for up to five years without needing to land or refuel google has driverless cars and now driverless aircraft so why does Google need flying drones it's been working on a way to bring internet service to parts of the world that don't have access and it began a program to broadcast an internet signal via balloons and these drones could be folded into that same project if Google can become an Internet service provider that floats among the clouds offering internet to billions of people without access it could help connect the world a little more and that's nice but at the end of the day it does mean Google could profit for more users Facebook is on the same quest to grow users in areas without internet access Facebook ones try to buy Titan but instead but another company that also makes solar powered aircraft in the meantime Google may find these drones more useful for updating Google Maps and Google Earth there's also been some buzz about google glass the company opened up sales of the head gear to anyone in the US just for Tuesday but it's not like the price went down it still costs fifteen hundred dollars to get one in the early testing phase it's not really meant for the general population yet glass is the first step to show what can be done with wearable tech so what's next how about smart contact lenses google has a patent pending for a contact lens with a micro camera and sensors embedded on the surface and apparently you would control this by blinking Google glass can be socially awkward at times but with contacts will all be I Rubby nerds with fluttering eyes hold on I gotta I gotta swipe to unlock well okay I joke but smart contacts are not a far-out concept google has been testing smart contacts that can help diabetics by measuring the glucose levels in tears with tiny chips and sensors and the US military is looking into dual focus contacts that let you look at the is near and far at the same time without messing up your vision and in my last update episode I talked about the reports of Amazon working on a smartphone well the tech blog BGR published some leaked photos of a prototype it looks like it's in this blocky shell to mask the phone's true design there are sensors on each corner to track I've movements and the images on the screen will adjust depending on where you look on the screen to create a neat 3d effect or at least that's what we think that's your tech news update you can get more details at cnet com from our studios in New York I'm Bridget Carey