Techmeme
August 13, 2014, 5:55 AM

Top News

Chris Ziegler / The Verge:
Samsung may unveil VR headset at September 3 event; image shows similarities to Google's Cardboard  —  This is Samsung's VR headset  —  Samsung will be showing its rumored virtual reality headset at its upcoming product event in early September, The Verge has learned, where the company widely expected to announce the Galaxy Note 4.
Ina Fried / Re/code:
HTC builds separate business unit to make software for more than just HTC phones, launching Zoe video app for Android this week  —  HTC Builds Software Business Amid Tough Phone Market  —  Despite building some of the sexiest smartphones this side of Apple, HTC's hardware and financial challenges have been well documented.
Steven Levy / Wired:
Ex-Siri engineers promise consumer-friendly digital assistant “Viv” that can teach itself  —  Forget Siri: This Radical New AI Teaches Itself and Reads Your Mind  —  Viv was named after the Latin root meaning live.  Its San Jose, California, offices are decorated with tsotchkes bearing …
Sonja Hegman Andras / AllFacebook:
Facebook Engineers Kill iOS Bug, Reduce Crash Rate by 50%  —  Facebook engineers have solved a long-term mobile bugging issue in iOS, reducing its crash rate by more than 50 percent.  According to the company's engineering blog, one of mobile's top crashes was in the Apple Core Data system.
Jillian D'Onfro / Business Insider:
Internal documents from LinkedIn explain how the Bizo acquisition could lead to a $US1B B2B marketing platform by 2017  —  Leaked: Here's How LinkedIn Plans To Have A New Billion-Dollar Business In 3 Years  —  LinkedIn plans to break into the $50 billion business-to-business marketing space …
More: Bloomberg
Sebastian Anthony / ExtremeTech:
Reversible USB Type-C connector finalized: Devices, cables, and adapters coming soon  —  The USB Promoter Group has announced that the greatest invention in the known universe — the reversible Type-C USB connector — is finally ready for mass production.  The USB Implementers Forum …
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Uber says Lyft cancelled 12.9K Uber rides, and Lyft investors pressured Uber to buy Lyft  —  Accusations Fly Between Uber and Lyft  —  All is fair, they say, in love and war.  And Uber and Lyft, two smartphone-based car services, are most certainly at war.
Takashi Mochizuki / Wall Street Journal:
New on Messaging App Line: Stock Trading  —  In Asia, people are using messaging apps to do a lot more than just send messages.  Popular Asian apps like Line, WeChat and Kakao Talk all offer many additional features like photo-sharing, games and online shopping.  Now, you can add one more to the list: stock trading.
Victor H. / PhoneArena:
Samsung launches Galaxy Alpha, 4.7 inch, metal frame, octa-core, $689 off-contract, arrives September  —  Samsung Galaxy Alpha is now official: metal-made and the thinnest Galaxy yet  —  After months of endless leaks, rumors and speculations, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha has finally gone official.
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple Stores to start offering iPhones via carrier financing on Aug. 20th  —  A significant number of Apple Stores in the United States will likely begin offering iPhone sales via the latest carrier financing programs later this month, according to several sources.
More: MacNN and SlashGear
Nick Summers / The Next Web:
Sony has sold 10 million PlayStation 4 consoles worldwide  —  Sony is on a roll.  During its press conference at Gamescom 2014, the company announced it has now sold 10 million PlayStation 4 consoles worldwide.  —  To be clear, this is the number of consoles that have been bought by consumers …
Ina Fried / Re/code:
Apple's Diversity Report: 70 percent Male, 55 percent White in U.S.  —  Apple is the latest company to release a report on the diversity of its workforce, saying Tuesday that its numbers represent a work in progress to the diversity it hopes to achieve over time.  —  Currently seven in 10 of its workers globally are male.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft will offer a $499 Call of Duty Xbox One bundle with 1TB of storage, but no Kinect  —  New Xbox One bundles include two new designs and more storage  —  Microsoft is preparing two new Xbox One bundles ready for the holiday season.  A white Xbox One console, previously reserved …

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Earlier Picks

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web: