Techmeme
July 31, 2014, 11:15 AM

Top News

Chris Duckett / ZDNet:
Samsung mobile profit down by a third in 2Q 2014  —  Summary: A decline in profitability of Samsung's IT and mobile communications division has pulled overall profit for the Korean conglomerate lower.  —  Chris Duckett  —  Samsung has announced an overall 15 percent fall in operating profit …
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Shazam Brings Always-On Music and TV Recognition to Mac With Free Menu Bar App  —  Music recognition service Shazam, which was one of the early App Store hits and has continued to see good success on mobile platforms, is now bringing its services to the desktop in the form of the first music, TV show, and ad recognition app for Mac.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Internet.Org's App With Free Access To Facebook, Google, Wikipedia, Local Info Launches In Zambia  —  85% of the 5 billion people without Internet simply can't afford data plans.  So Facebook's accessibility initiative Internet.org today launches its Android and web app for the developing world …
Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:
Google Will Add Ratings to Search-Results Ads So They Look More Like Amazon  —  Google is prodding merchants to provide more information to make its search results more effective-and more like Amazon.  The question is whether merchants will play ball.  —  In a blog post Tuesday …
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Heads rolling at Beats as Apple eliminating redundant positions, Ian Rogers & Trent Reznor to stay on  —  As Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music nears completion this financial quarter, the Cupertino and Santa Monica, California-based companies have begun work …
David Pierce / The Verge:
Lytro Illum review: an expensive, flawed, buggy glimpse of the future of photography  —  Lytro Illum review: this is the camera of the future  —  It's almost time to forget everything you ever knew about photography  —  Ten minutes into using the Lytro Illum, I'm throwing out everything I've ever learned about photography.
Nick Summers / The Next Web:
PlayStation Now game streaming service hits open beta today on PS4 in the US and Canada  —  Sony is launching a public beta for its PlayStation Now video game streaming initiative in the US and Canada today (July 31).  —  For now, the service will be available exclusively on the PlayStation 4 …
Parmy Olson / Forbes:
Xiaomi now world's fifth largest smartphone maker; Android captures record 85% market share in Q2  —  China's Xiaomi Becomes World's 5th Largest Smartphone Maker  —  Global smartphone sales are still growing, but the market's star performer in the last three months wasn't Apple or even Samsung.
Sophie Knight / Reuters:
Sony warns smartphone weakness will brake profit progress after first-quarter surge  —  (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp warned it doesn't now expect to make money on smartphones this year, citing weak demand, as the consumer electronics maker said restructuring will still help it turn a profit on its TVs after 10 years of losses.
Brooke Crothers / CNET:
DisplayMate: Surface Pro 3 has one of the best, most accurate displays available on any mobile platform and OS  —  Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 wins plaudits for display, says researcher  —  Microsoft's newest 12-inch tablet has one of the best displays of any tablet out there, according to DisplayMate Technologies.
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
1Password debuts extension for third party apps on iOS 8  —  The popular password and security management app 1Password has already previewed its iOS 8 extension and Touch ID support for unlocking and accessing its content outside of its iOS app, and today AgileBits has announced …
Josh Ong / The Next Web:
Google releases the source code for its I/O 2014 app as a template for developers  —  Google today published the source code for its I/O 2014 app in hopes of teaching developers some of its best practices for Android apps.  —  While you may have used the I/O 2014 app to plan your schedule at the conference …
Elliot Njus / Oregonian:
Portland legalizes Airbnb-style short-term rentals  —  Portland will start issuing permits for its first legal short-term rental operations in private homes as soon as September.  —  The Portland City Council on Wednesday gave its OK for Portlanders to rent out one or two bedrooms in their home …
Ryan Whitwam / Android Police:
Samsung's Milk Music Update Adds $3.99 Premium Subscription Option  —  Samsung pitched Milk Music this spring as a totally free music service exclusive to its devices, but slipped in at the end that it might not be free forever.  You can still stream tunes for free without ads …
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
Popcorn Time Adds Apple TV Support, iOS App Coming Soon  —  The Popcorn Time phenomenon is one of the biggest piracy stories of the year thus far.  —  The software became an instant hit by offering BitTorrent-powered streaming in an easy-to-use Netflix-style interface.

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Janko Roettgers / Gigaom: