From kindling to inferno: Full specs for next-gen Amazon Kindle Fire HD tablets  —  Amazon to combine powerhouse specs and affordable prices in bid to scorch the competition  —  Amazon's first-generation Kindle Fire was absolutely not an iPad killer, and that's exactly why it was so successful.

Instagram deleting and blocking photos uploaded from third-party Windows Phone app (update)  —  While Vine, Flipboard, and Path have all promised Windows Phone 8 support, one particular app is still missing: Instagram.  Nokia has tried to pressure Facebook into building an Instagram Windows Phone app …

Android Fragmentation Visualized  —  Fragmentation is both a strength and weakness of the Android ecosystem.  When comparisons are made between Android and iOS the issue of different API levels, and the vastly different devices running them, is often emphasised.

Android 4.3 Update Brings TRIM to All Nexus Devices  —  One of the common complaints late in the life of the original Nexus 7 was slow storage I/O performance, leading to an inconsistent user experience.  After a fresh flash, the Nexus 7 was speedy and performant, but after months …

Facebook Announces New Mobile Game Publishing Effort  —  A few weeks ago, we reported that Facebook was experimenting with becoming a mobile games publisher by offering distribution to studios in exchange for a cut of revenue.  —  Today, Facebook is formally announcing that effort …

Intel, Apple and Others Rethink How We Watch TV  —  SANTA CLARA, Calif.—To understand how much television could soon change, it helps to visit an Intel Corp. INTC +0.40% division here that runs like a startup.  Erik Huggers, a Dutch-born former British Broadcasting Corp. executive …

Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview Now Available  —  Today, I'm excited to announce that Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview is now available for download for customers to start testing the operating system in their environments.  Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview builds on the Window 8.1 Preview …

Former Mozilla CEO Kovacs to Head Security Software Firm AVG Technologies  —  Gary Kovacs, who recently stepped down as the top exec at Mozilla Corporation, has been named CEO of AVG Technologies.  —  Kovacs said he wanted to join the publicly held Internet and mobile security software company …

Netflix's Personalized User Profiles Begin Showing Up on Apple TV  —  According to multiple Twitter reports and a tipster who contacted MacRumors, individual Netflix profiles are now showing up on the Apple TV.  The personalized profile feature, which is expected to be launched in August …

Vimeo and Redbox Instant are coming to Chromecast.  Next up: Plex and HBO Go?  —  Chromecast, the streaming video adapter introduced by Google last week, is quickly gaining support from a number of media platforms.  Case in point: Vimeo told us it wants to support Chromecast …

Mentor/Investor Whiplash  —  I've been doing a tour of the summer accelerator programs and a question I get a lot is about the feedback the teams get from the investors and mentors they meet with.  They ask me how much should they react to the feedback they are getting advising them to do things differently …

SmugMug Revamps Its Site, in a Challenge to Flickr  —  In May, Yahoo riled up photography lovers everywhere by revamping its popular Flickr photo-sharing site.  The new Flickr offers everyone 1 terabyte of free storage.  That's a lot.  It's enough to back up and display 600,000 photos at full resolution.

Fab Lays Off More Than 100 Employees in Europe, as It Continues Retreat From Flash Sales  —  Fab has just made significant cuts to its European staff, laying off more than 100 employees at its headquarters in Berlin.  The reason for the cuts, the company said, is a transition away …

Bitly Hires Former AOL And Outside.In Exec Mark Josephson As Its New CEO  —  Bitly is announcing that Mark Josephson (pictured), who was most recently senior vice president of Patch Labs at AOL, has joined the link-shortening and tracking company as its new CEO.

Apple workers file lawsuit for lost wages due to bag searches  —  Former employees at Apple stores in New York and Los Angeles have filed a class action suit, claiming the iPhone maker required them to stand in line for up to 30 minutes every shift and wait for a manager to search their bags.

RelayRides to Provide Peer-to-Peer Car Rentals at San Francisco Airport  —  Flyers who don't want to pay $18 per day for long-term parking at the San Francisco International Airport will have an option, starting in August, to park their cars for free, courtesy of startup RelayRides Inc.

Facebook Said to Plan to Sell TV-Style Ads for $2.5M Each  —  Facebook Inc. (FB), seeking to break the long-held dominance of television over advertising budgets, plans to sell TV-style commercials on its site for as much as $2.5 million a day, two people familiar with the matter said.

HTC sees Q3 revenue sliding as much as 30 pct, missing forecasts  —  (Reuters) - Taiwan's HTC Corp expects revenue to fall as much as 30 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous three months, far below analysts' forecasts.  —  A delayed launch for the much-hyped HTC One this year …

Bradley Manning trial verdict: Acquitted of aiding the enemy, convicted on lesser charges  —  FORT MEADE, Md. — A military judge Tuesday acquitted Pfc. Bradley Manning of aiding the enemy — the most serious charge the Army intelligence analyst faced for leaking hundreds of thousands …

Feds will declassify Yahoo PRISM decision by September  —  The Justice Department says it will declassify a 2008 decision in which the country's secret spy court rebuffed Yahoo's attempt to challenge a controversial surveillance program.  —  In a rare public filing with the Foreign Intelligence …

Asus Pulling Back on Windows RT, Chairman Says  —  Asus's Jonney Shih has made some crazy bets over the years — teeny-tiny laptops, phones that turn into tablets, and even a seven-inch tablet that can be held to the ear to make phone calls.  —  But, so far, the only bet that Shih …