Techmeme: Google Will Add Ratings to Search-Results Ads So They Look More Like Amazon (Rolfe Winkler/Wall Street Journal)

Open Links In New Tab

Mobile Archives Advertise Site News

July 31, 2014, 9:55 AM

Top News

Min-Jeong Lee / Wall Street Journal:

Samsung VP: two new smartphones coming within six months, one with a “large screen”, the other with “new materials” — Samsung to Launch New Smartphones as Profit Falls — One Model Will Have a Large Screen While the Other Will Be Built Using New Materials

More: Business Insider, Forbes, SamMobile, SlashGear and The Verge

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 …

More: Samsung Tomorrow, The Verge, 9to5Google, Re/code, Digital Trends, ABC News, Inquirer, Ars Technica, Bloomberg, Fortune, BBC, Engadget, PC World, Telegraph, ITProPortal and Electronista. Tweets: @asymco

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 …

More: Gigaom, Wall Street Journal, Mark Zuckerberg, Re/code, PC World, Guardian, Gizmodo, Forbes, The Verge, WebProNews, ABC News, Mercury News, BBC, Wired, Softpedia News, Bloomberg, Techzim, Emirates 24/7, The Next Web, Wired.co.uk, Webrazzi and ITProPortal

Tweets: @joshconstine and @thomasbcn

Thanks:@joshconstine

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 …

More: Search Engine Land, Softpedia News and Search Engine Roundtable

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 …

Ina Fried / Re/code:

T-Mobile Adds 1.5 Million More Customers, Swings to Profit on Spectrum Sale — T-Mobile said Thursday that it added a further 1.5 million customers to its network in the second quarter, adding more than a million customers for the fifth straight quarter. — The company posted a net profit …

More: BGR, CNET, ZDNet and Engadget

Walt Mossberg / Re/code:

Exclusive Interview: Best Buy CEO Says Tablet Sales Are “Crashing,” Hope for PCs — Re/code has landed in Minneapolis to talk to the folks at Best Buy — the last standing nationwide big-box, bricks-and-mortar consumer electronics retailer, with over 1,000 main stores and hundreds of smaller mobile device stores.

More: ITProPortal, Softpedia News, SlashGear, Ubergizmo, Digital Trends, Electronista, TechSpot, TechnoBuffalo, Good E-Reader, PC World, BGR and The Tech Report

Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:

64-Bit Chrome for Windows, Now in Beta — 2 months after the Dev/Canary channels, the 64-bit version of Chrome for Windows is now available in the beta channel. It's still limited to Windows 7 and Windows 8+ and you obviously need a 64-bit operating system.

More: Google Chrome Releases, BetaNews, 9to5Google, blog.chron.com, TechSpot, Ubergizmo, Web Browser, PC World and Android Central

Reuters:

European regulators training sights on Google's mobile software — (Reuters) - European regulators are preparing what could be a stern challenge to Google Inc's (GOOGL.O) (GOOG.O) mobile software business in the coming months after a nearly four-year investigation into the company's Web …

More: Guardian, Computerworld, ZDNet, TechCrunch, 9to5Google and CNET

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.

More: The Verge, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and The Next Web

Carolyn Said / San Francisco Chronicle:

Medical marijuana delivery service Eaze launches in SF, hoping to be the “Uber of pot” — Medical marijuana users link to delivery services with Eaze — Deliveries will be free for patients, with driver fees and Eaze paid by dispensaries in exchange for gaining new business.

More: bizjournals, NDTV Gadgets, SFWeekly, Chinatopix, Betabeat, Business Wire, San Francisco magazine and Mashable. Tweets: @csaid

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 …

More: Agile Blog, GitHub, The Register, PC Pro, Engadget, MacNN, Softpedia News, iPhone in Canada Blog, App Advice, iMore, Redmond Pie, TechCrunch, Macgasm, The Verge and SyrupCast

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

NomadPlus Transforms an Apple Charger Into a Portable Battery — Nomad, the company behind the pocket-sized NomadKey iPhone cable, today debuted the NomadPlus, a product that transforms an Apple charger into a portable battery pack. — While there are hundreds of different portable battery options …

More: Engadget, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, SlashGear, GadgeTell, Ubergizmo and iPhone in Canada Blog

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 …

More: Android Developers Blog, 9to5Google and Android Central

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.

More: DisplayMate, PC World, Maximum PC, Ubergizmo, WinBeta, Windows Phone Central, Gizmodo, Forbes, ZDNet and The Fire Hose

Agam Shah / PC World:

AMD announces dev kit with 64-bit ARM-based server chips for $2,999; paves way for x86 coexistence — AMD's new 64-bit ARM board points way to x86 coexistence — Advanced Micro Devices is moving closer to a motherboard design that will accept both x86 and ARM chips with the shipment of its first 64-bit ARM board.

More: Inquirer, Data Center Knowledge, Red Hat News & Press Release, AMD, Softpedia News, The Register, News & Product Reviews …, Liliputing, The Tech Report and ZDNet

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 …

More: The Verge, The Next Web, Engadget and Android Central

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.

More: PC World, Associated Press, IGN, Reuters, BBC, Variety, Gamasutra, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Eurogamer.net and VideoGamer.com. Tweets: @tomiahonen

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.

More: Business Insider, BGR, iPhone in Canada Blog, Softpedia News, Cult of Mac and SlashGear. See also Mediagazer

Sam Gustin / Motherboard:

FCC Chairman: Verizon Uses a ‘Disturbing’ Loophole to Throttle Unlimited Data — Federal Communication Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is “deeply troubled” about Verizon Wireless's recently-announced plan to begin slowing down data speeds for some customers, he wrote in a strongly-worded letter to the company's CEO on Wednesday.

More: Verizon Wireless, BBC, Re/code, Ars Technica, The Verge, Mashable, Associated Press, The Verge, Tech Times, Wall Street Journal, MediaPost, Bloomberg, Consumerist, PhoneDog, Droid Life, Washington Post, 9to5Mac, TechHive, TechnoBuffalo and WebProNews

Tweets: @dannysullivan and @howardlindzon

Thanks:@samgustin

Ryan Knutson / Wall Street Journal:

Virgin Mobile intros customizable prepaid smartphone plans with options for unlimited data on certain services like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest — Sprint Will Sell a $12 Wireless Plan that Only Connects to Facebook or Twitter … For about $12, Sprint will soon let subscribers buy …

More: Virgin Mobile, ReadWrite, Electronista, TechHive, Light Reading and Gizmodo. Tweets: @wsj

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 …

More: The Airbnb Public Policy Blog, Forest Grove News Times and Associated Press

Sponsor Posts

Google:

Try Gemini 3 Pro — Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life

Soxton:

AI-powered law for startups — Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better. We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts. Join the waitlist for early access!

Zoho:

Zoho CRM Plus in 2025: A year of thoughtful CX improvements — 2025 marked 11 years of building a customer experience platform designed to support organizations as customer expectations, channels …

IDrive:

Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:

Alex And Ranjan's 2026 Outlook: ChatGPT 1 Billion, AI Shopping, Apple's Big Year, AI Love Boom

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Hard Fork:

Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

Subscribe to Hard Fork.

The Talk Show With John Gruber:

'A Naughty Citizen', With Quinn Nelson

The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.

Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.

Channels with Peter Kafka:

Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control

Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.

Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.

BG2 Pod:

AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean

Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.

Subscribe to BG2 Pod.

Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:

Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.

Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:55 AM ET, July 31, 2014.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.