Techmeme: Shenzhen minimum wage rise could impact tech product costs worldwide (Liat Clark/Wired.co.uk)

August 31, 2012, 5:00 AM

Top News

Chris Ziegler / The Verge:

This is the new Amazon Kindle Fire — We've just been sent a purported shot of the next Kindle Fire, Amazon's Android-based tablet that's expected to be announced next week after the current model “sold out” earlier today. We're being told that a “pair” of Fires is likely — a 7- and a 10-incher …

Chris Ziegler / The Verge:

Exclusive: meet the Amazon Kindle with ‘Paperwhite’ backlit display — Along with one or more new Kindle Fires, we're expecting refreshed E Ink models in Amazon's e-reader line at the company's Los Angeles event next week as well. One of those appears to be a refreshed Kindle Touch …

More: Pocket-lint, CNET, Mashable!, parislemon, TechnoBuffalo, Technology Review, SlashGear, IntoMobile, Gizmodo and Gizmodo UK

Alistair Barr / Reuters:

Exclusive: Amazon teams with Nokia, snubs Google for maps - sources — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's new Kindle Fire will have mapping services via a tie-up with Nokia Oyj, according to two people familiar with the situation, filling a gap in the tablet's capabilities while snubbing Google Inc's popular service.

More: Pocketnow, The Verge, Engadget, Kindle Review, 9to5Google, IntoMobile, The Next Web, TechnoBuffalo and VentureBeat

Reuters:

Exclusive: Google, Apple CEOs in talks on patent issues — (Reuters) - Google Inc CEO Larry Page and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been conducting behind-the-scenes conversations about a range of intellectual property matters, including the ongoing mobile patent disputes between the companies, according to people familiar with the matter.

AllThingsD:

Could Apple and Google Be Headed for Detente Instead of Thermonuclear War?

Bloomberg:

Apple Loses Japan Patent Lawsuit Against Samsung Over Devices — Apple Inc. (AAPL) lost a patent lawsuit in Japan as a Tokyo judge ruled that Samsung Electronics Co. smartphones and tablet computers didn't infringe on an Apple invention in the most recent decision of a global dispute.

More: Computerworld, AppleInsider, Gizmodo, AllThingsD, CNET, Reuters, Engadget, Associated Press, ZDNet, The Verge, 9to5Mac, The Next Web, FOSS Patents, iDownloadBlog.com, SlashGear, BBC and Sammy Hub

Paul M. Barrett / Business Week:

Apple vs. Samsung: The Longer View — For much of the 1980s, Apple (AAPL) battled Microsoft (MSFT) in court, trying to prove that early versions of Windows illegally copied the look and feel of Apple's Macintosh operating system. Steve Jobs lost that fight, a defeat that at the time seemed like an industry-defining event.

More: iPhone in Canada Blog

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 …

More: AppleInsider, Gizmodo, App Advice, iPad in Canada Blog and MacRumors

Tweets: @marcoarment and @johnolilly

Kevin Weil / Twitter Advertising:

Interest targeting: Broaden your reach, reach the right audience — Twitter brings you closer: Closer to people, to world events, to professional athletes, musicians, laureates, and world leaders — whatever your interests are. Our advertising products use this real-time interest graph …

More: Gizmodo UK, AdExchanger, memeburn, CNET, Guardian, ITworld.com, ClickZ, VatorNews, The Verge, Los Angeles Times, Digital Media Wire, Rob Hof's Blog and AllTwitter

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Twitter Tries Cranking Up the Money Machine: More Precise Targeting = More Ad Dollars

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @pkafka. See also Mediagazer

Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:

HBO cuts the cord for international launch — Nordic region won't need pay-TV subscription to get net — HBO will make the Nordic region the first market where its programming will be available to consumers without requiring that they have a pay-TV subscription.

More: GigaOM, VentureBeat, TechSpot, ITworld.com, WebProNews, Gizmodo and Ars Technica

Tweets: @erickschonfeld and @pkafka

See also Mediagazer

Jake Smith / 9to5Mac:

App Store updated within iOS 6: new search result layout, Genius recommendations turned on and more (video) — The App Store on iOS 6 beta, software currently available to those a part of Apple's Developer Program, has scored a nice little update this evening.

More: Softpedia News, App Advice, Gizmodo, iPhone in Canada Blog, MacRumors and MacNN

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Windows Phone 8 to include Kid's Corner, a separate Start screen for parental control — Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system will include a Kid's Corner option that provides a unique parental control feature to the company's mobile handsets. Kid's Corner, previously known as Kid's Zone …

More: The Register, TechEye, Engadget, BGR, eWeek, The Next Web, We Love Windows Phone .HK, TechnoBuffalo, WMPoweruser, Gizmodo UK, Pocket-lint and PhoneArena

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Facebook To Roll Out Email- and Phone Number-Based Ad Targeting Next Week — Facebook will be launching new features next week that allow advertisers to target their ads to customers based on contact information that the advertiser has already collected. It's a way for businesses to connect …

More: SiliconANGLE, The Verge, Inside Facebook, VentureBeat, AllThingsD, Screenwerk, CNET and Gizmodo

Liat Clark / Wired.co.uk:

Shenzhen minimum wage rise could impact tech product costs worldwide — Shenzhen, where some of China's largest electronics manufacturers are located, looks set to have its minimum wage hiked by 13.3 percent from 2013, in a move that could cause a ripple effect across the world's major technology companies.

More: The Register, MacNN and Tech in Asia

Devindra Hardawar / VentureBeat:

Clint Eastwood's baffling RNC speech leads @InvisibleObama Twitter to hit 20K followers in 40 minutes — Not-so-surprise speaker Clint Eastwood gave a strange address at the Republican National Convention tonight, where he spent much of the time talking to an empty chair that was supposed to symbolize President Obama.

More: Twitter Blog and Mashable!. Tweets: @alexisohanian

Douglas MacMillan / Bloomberg:

Zynga Is Said To Lose Two Vice Presidents Amid Stock Tumble — Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) vice presidents Bill Mooney and Brian Birtwistle have departed, following other top managers amid slowing sales and a stock decline at the biggest maker of social games on Facebook Inc. (FB), a person with knowledge of the matter said.

More: VG247, AllThingsD, VentureBeat, GamesIndustry International and 24/7 Wall St.

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

In Battle With Amazon, Walmart Unveils Polaris, A Semantic Search Engine For Products — Walmart is today unveiling a new search engine named “Polaris” which now powers Walmart.com, as well as the company's mobile web and mobile apps, and offers a 10%-15% increased likelihood that a customer …

More: AllThingsD, Technology Review, SiliconANGLE and The Verge. Thanks:@leenarao

Robert Hof / Forbes:

Poof! $1 Billion Slashed From 2012 Facebook Revenue Forecast — Facebook's revenues, particularly from advertising, won't grow as fast as expected this year, according to a revised forecast from market researcher eMarketer. — EMarketer today said the No. 1 social network …

More: eMarketer, Bloomberg, digitaltrends.com, NYT Bits and VentureBeat. Tweets: @pkafka

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:

Apple may now be rejecting some App Store submissions if they clone icons of popular apps — Apple has issued at least one App Store rejection note that cites a cloned icon as its reason reports developer Benjamin Mayo. The notice was not received in response to one of his apps …

More: Benjamin Mayo, iDownloadBlog.com, Macgasm and Cult of Mac. Thanks:@zee

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

The myth of pinch-to-zoom: how a confused media gave Apple something it doesn't own — In 2007, Steve Jobs stood on stage, listing the benefits of Apple's then-new iPhone touchscreen. “You can do multi-finger gestures on it,” he said, moving his hands back and forth in the now-familiar pinch-to-zoom motion.

More: Guardian and PhoneArena. Tweets: @daanno

Cyrus Farivar / Ars Technica:

Robot cars on public roads? California says yes — Google bosses in one of the company's autonomous cars back in 2011. — Google — California legislators have sent a bill to the governor's desk that could push forward the development of autonomous cars in the Golden State.

More: The Verge, Softpedia News and ExtremeTech

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Facebook's Sandberg Has Penned “Lean In” — A Book on Women and Leadership — Set for 2013 Publication — Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has written a book on challenges facing women in the workplace that is expected to be published next year by Knopf. — Titled “Lean In,” the book is not a memoir …

More: VentureBeat, Mashable! and Business Insider

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:

Wolfram Alpha launches Facebook personal analytics reports — Wolfram Alpha is continuing to expand into the data analytics space with a feature that will likely be more popular amongst regular users than its professional data analysis service: personal analytics reports based on Facebook.

More: Lifehacker, Techie Buzz, Wolfram, TechCrunch, heyjude.wordpress.com, WebProNews and Gizmodo UK

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Cloud Foundry:

Static.com Adds Hadoop Support for Cloud Foundry — In this guest post, Jake Farrell, CTO for Static.com, explains how the major shift in the hosting industry towards platforms for high developer productivity …

Rackspace Blog:

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