Techmeme
August 31, 2012, 11:50 PM

Top News

Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon Is Developing Ad-Supported Tablet Computer  —  Amazon.com Inc. is planning an advertising-supported tablet computer that will be priced lower than similar models, according to people involved in discussions on the device.  —  The new device would come at a discount to tablets without …
CNET:
Kindle Fire won't go big to take on iPad  —  Amazon will next week announce two 7-inch Kindle Fire models, one with new hardware and the other an updated version of the original, CNET has learned.  —  Amazon plans to double down on the 7-inch tablet market with two new Kindle Fire models, CNET has learned.
Ann Zimmerman / Wall Street Journal:
Can Electronics Stores Survive?  —  Is there a future for electronics specialty stores?  —  Not long ago, retailers such as Best Buy Co., GameStop Corp. and RadioShack Corp. were outmuscling competitors across America by offering one-stop shopping for the latest televisions, computers, videogames and gadgets.
More: Engadget
Juro Osawa / Wall Street Journal:
Production of iPhone Screens Delayed at Sharp  —  Japan's Sharp Corp. hasn't started mass producing screens for Apple Inc.'s next iPhone, a person with knowledge of the situation said Friday, signaling potential supply problems for the U.S. company as it gears up to unveil its next-generation smartphone next month.
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Facebook Goes Gunning for Zombie “Likes”  —  Facebook is a ginormous site whose primary currency is “Likes.”  So, of course, it has a counterfeit “Like” problem.  —  Now Mark Zuckerberg and company say they've figured out how to crack down on zombie “Likes,” via “automated efforts” that will zap the bogus ones.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
With Google Fiber Sign-Ups Behind Schedule, Google Lowers Pre-Registration Thresholds  —  A few days ago, Google's gigabit Fiber project in Kansas City had only reached its sign-up goals in about 50% of the city's “fiberhoods” and a number of areas were still very far away from reaching …
Marco Arment / Marco.org:
Predicting the “iPad Mini” internals  —  I saw two curious entries in Instapaper's device stats today: one iPad2,5 and one iPad2,6.  —  These device models, as reported by the OS, could be faked by a jailbreaker with enough free time.  But I've never had a device show up there that didn't end …

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More News

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

Earlier Picks

Daniel Cooper / Engadget: