Techmeme
September 24, 2014, 1:15 PM

Top News

Reuters:
Amazon to invest $55M in hardware unit Lab126 to test smart home gadgets and wearables  —  Exclusive: Amazon tests smart home gadgets, expands hardware lab  —  (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc will boost staffing at its secretive Silicon Valley-based hardware unit by at least 27 percent …
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
BlackBerry Passport review: good display and battery life, but inefficient keyboard with clumsy software  —  BlackBerry Passport review  —  Getting stuff done or getting in the way?  —  “BlackBerry is still around?”  —  I've heard that question quite often the past few weeks, as I've been using the BlackBerry Passport.
Bonnie Cha / Re/code:
Blackberry Passport: 4.5 inch square display, touch physical keyboard, available today for $599 unlocked  —  Blackberry Passport: 4.5in square display, touch-enabled physical keyboard, $599 unlocked on AT&T  —  To say that BlackBerry has had a rough go of it over the past few years would be an understatement.
Lisa Bettany / snap snap snap:
Comparing photos taken with Camera+ using all iPhone versions, from the original to iPhone 6  —  How does the iPhone 6 camera compare to previous iPhone cameras?  —  In the past seven years, each new advancement in iPhone camera technology has made dramatic improvements to image quality.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Karma Rolls Out An LTE Version Of Its Pay-As-You-Go Mobile Hotspot, Pre-Order For $99  —  Karma, makers of the small, portable Wi-Fi hotspot that lets you pay-as-you-go, contract free, for the data you use ($14/1 GB), is now accepting pre-orders for its latest device, the Karma Go portable LTE Wi-Fi hotspot.
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Bionym Raises $14M Series A For Its Heartbeat Authentication Wristband  —  Toronto-based startup Bionym has raised a $14 million Series A round of funding, including investment from Ignition Partners, Relay Ventures, MasterCard and Salesforce Ventures.  The round includes a lot of strategic investment …
Margaret Rhodes / Wired:
Stack's Alba smart bulb adapts to sunlight and your household habits to conserve energy  —  Ex-Tesla and NASA Engineers Make a Light Bulb That's Smarter Than You  —  Sometime in early 2013, one of the supply chain engineers at Tesla leaned back in his chair and took a look around the Silicon Valley office.
More: Engadget
John Callaham / Android Central:
Samsung Gear S coming to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile for fall launch  —  Following up on its reveal in late August, Samsung has now announced that its upcoming Tizen-based smartwatch, the Gear S, will go on sale later this fall at the top four US wireless carriers.
Amy Schatz / Re/code:
Comcast accuses Time Warner merger opponents Netflix, Discovery, and others of “extortion”  —  Comcast Accuses Time Warner Cable Deal Opponents of “Extortion”  —  Netflix, Discovery Communications and other companies opposing Comcast's $45 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Cable …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple Releases iOS 8.0.1 With Fixes for HealthKit, Keyboards, Photos, and More  —  Apple today released iOS 8.0.1, an update that brings several bug fixes to iOS 8, the new operating system released to the public last week.  The new version arrives as build 12A402 and can be downloaded via an over-the-air update.
Issie Lapowsky / Wired:
Facebook's internet connectivity drones to begin testing next year, to deploy within 2-5 years  —  Facebook Lays Out Its Roadmap for Creating Internet-Connected Drones  —  A still from an promotional video showing how Facebook and Internet.org will deliver internet access via  —  aerial drone.
Reuters:
Taiwan government investigates Xiaomi on potential cyber security concerns  —  (Reuters) - The Taiwanese government is investigating whether Xiaomi Inc, China's leading smartphone company by domestic shipments, is a cyber security threat and will make a decision within three months.
Jon Russell / The Next Web:
Samsung says Galaxy Note 4 will debut in Korea on Sept 26, be on sale in 140 markets by the end October  —  Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Note 4, the latest version of its popular ‘phablet’ range, will go on sale from September 26, initially in its home country Korea.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Mobile Wallet Laughingstock Clinkle Finally Launches To Let You Pay Friends And Earn “Treats”  —  After 17 months of jokes about vaporware college payments startup Clinkle, its iOS and Android apps finally launched today at a few colleges.  Clinkle lets you pay friends, get a pre-paid Visa …

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Emil Protalinski / The Next Web: