A solar-powered family car completed its drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco fueled by good vibes and pure California sunshine.

And after turning the heads of gobsmacked onlookers during its journey up California's scenic Pacific Coast Highway, the creators of "Stella" are dreaming of a day when their futuristic vehicle is a commonplace sight.

South Korea's Samsung launched the latest version of its oversized Galaxy Note smartphone earlier than expected Wednesday after U.S. rival Apple reported record sales of its latest iPhone 6.

Samsung said the Galaxy Note 4 -- initially scheduled for launch in October -- would hit stores in South Korea and China this week before being sold in 140 nations by the end of next month.

China has begun blocking the privacy-protecting search engine DuckDuckGo, which avoids storing user data or tracking online activity, according to the company and security researchers.

DuckDuckGo, which gained popularity following revelations of U.S. government surveillance online, has only a tiny share of the search engine market but recently became an option as the default for iPhones in the new iOS 8 mobile platform.

BlackBerry is set to unveil its latest smartphone Wednesday, in a move aimed at reviving the fortunes of the struggling Canadian tech group.

The BlackBerry Passport with a square 4.5-inch screen and physical keyboard will be priced at $599 without a contract in the United States, chief executive John Chen told the Wall Street Journal.

Apple on Monday refuted talk that it plans to close the Beats streaming music service it acquired as part of a $3 billion-deal earlier this year.

In statements released to website Re/code and other technology news venues, Apple dismissed talk of shutting Beats as untrue.

Longtime technology guru Ray Ozzie wants to bring back the emotions of the human voice to phones.

His mission began more than two years ago as Ozzie noticed people were increasingly communicating through texts, emails and social media posts instead of calling each other.

Apple's new and bigger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are more durable than last year's model and a leading Android phone, a study says.

Apple's iPhone 6, whose screen measures 4.7 inches, did the best across a variety of tests that measures how prone smartphones are to break due to everyday accidents, according to SquareTrade, a company that provides extended protection plans.

A report says Samsung Electronics Co. will released its long-delayed Tizen-powered smartphone in India.

Tarun Malik, a Samsung executive, said in an interview with the Economic Times that a Tizen-based mobile device will be launched in November in India.

Microsoft, which was due to launch the Xbox One in China Tuesday, has said it will put back the "historic" event to later this year, slowing what was billed as the first game console to enter the market after a 14-year ban.

The company gave no precise reason for the delay in a statement over the weekend, saying only that it needed more time. It said the release would come before the end of the year.

Japanese automaker Nissan is dismissing speculation that it intends to scale back electric car battery production at its U.S. plant in Tennessee.

Nissan's ambitious electric vehicle program has been a signature initiative of Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive at both Renault and Nissan.