Pay for YouTube? Site considers ad-free subscriptions
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It won't be long before we're watching premium YouTube and ordering Gorditas on our Turbos.
I"m Bridget Carey and this is your CNET update.
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How much would you pay to watch YouTube without advertisements?
YouTube is looking into different ways to make money, and that includes paid subscriptions.
The news came at a Re/Code tech conference.
YouTube has also been working on a music subscription service, and last year YouTube let a few content owners sell subscriptions for shows, including Sesame Street.
Maybe we'll see other shows sell episodes on YouTube, or content creators could earn more income from fans that pay for subscriptions to skip ads.
You see the video game streaming side twitch which was bought by Amazon has seen lots of success from paid subscriptions where viewers don't mind paying a few bucks to support the channels and personalities they love.
When new smartphones are announced you tend to hear lots of talk about their size and how thin they are and their screens and cameras.
But what consumers really want is an improved battery.
Motorola is answering that call with the Droid Turbo.
The smartphone's biggest feature is a battery that lasts for 48 hours and it charges fast too.
The phone is said to give you eight hours of battery life after charging it for just 15 minutes.
You could only get the Turbo at Verizon.
It goes on sale Thursday starting at $200 with a contract.
And speaking of smartphones, Apple CEO Tim Cook said more than 1 million credit cards have been activated with Apple Pay in the first three days it went live.
Now some retailers are pushing back against Apple Pay and NFC Technology.
And instead will promote an app called current C. Unlike which keeps your payment data private from retailers, current C will be able to track what you buy and it works with loyalty point programs.
Current C is also way for retailers to save money and avoid paying credit card companies a transaction fee.
Because it only takes payments from your checking account.
The currency app isn't fully launched yet, but people have already flooded the iTunes app page with negative comments.
Bashing the app and bashing the merchants that support it for standing against NFC and Apple Pay.
Documents for the app reveal that it requires you to give a disturbing amount of personal information, including your Social Security number.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo is hoping customers won't be discouraged.
It's giving $20 to customers that use Apple Pay with the Wells Fargo Credit Card.
And, there are other retailers doing their own thing with mobile payments.
Taco Bell just launched an app that lets you order your fourth meal ahead of time, and pay right inside the app.
When you approach the store, your order's sent right to the kitchen.
And, you can pick it up inside, or at the drive-thru.
Outback Steakhouse will launch an app next week, let you reserve a table ahead of time.
That's your tech news update.
If you crave more, head to cnet.com.
From our studio in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
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