Gadgetory

Ford SYNC drops Microsoft for blackberry I'm Bridget Carey and this is your CNET update the Ford SYNC in-car system has been around for almost eight years now but in the latest update Ford is dropping Microsoft and rebuilding it completely with BlackBerry's Q and X software now you can relax it'll still work with your iPhone and Android it's just that the interface is different sync 3 isn't coming out until late next year but Ford is offering an early peek now and in our first impression we found it's noticeably faster and easier to navigate it also has better voice recognition and supports Wi-Fi connectivity so when you're parked at home at night you can hook it up to your home network to automatically update the software it'll also be updated to work with apple carplay and android auto now Ford may have dropped Microsoft from Sync but there's still plenty in store for Microsoft next year the company announced its ready to show off Windows 10 at an event on January 21st Windows 10 promises to save us all from the nightmare of Windows 8 by bringing back the Start menu and other familiar navigation from Windows 7 we still will have to wait until the fall for the official release this is really just a big tease but there is something new Microsoft is offering right now you can pay for apps and games using Bitcoin if you're adding credit to your Microsoft account to pay for media on windows or on the Xbox you know how the option to add money from your Bitcoin wallet if you own bitcoins you just have to scan a code on the screen with a Bitcoin wallet app to make the transfer in other news the Google Search app has been redesigned and updated for iOS devices Google's hope is that you'll use this app for all your searching replacing the Safari browser now if you're unfamiliar with the Google app it always has some interesting perks beyond search it gives you notifications about the weather and upcoming sports games and you can track flights or incoming packages set reminders even in this update you can use the magic words okay Google to start a voice search at any time during your browsing before you had to be on the home screen to do that it also folded in maps to the search and you can review your recent search history quickly with the tap of an icon the past searches show up as a stack of cards that you can scroll through also on the topic of voice commands and the elusive Amazon echo smart speaker now has an app for iPhones so you can sync with the speaker to answer your questions and it tells you news and weather updates it also can be set to stream music you need an invite from Amazon to even buy the echo we have a review now up at CNET if you want to check it out that's your tech news update stay updated by following me on Twitter from our studios in New York I'm Bridget Carey