Techmeme: Market saturation, rising monthly fees, lack of innovation, and broadband expansion make cable TV's decline inevitable in the US (Horace Dediu/Asymco)

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March 22, 2015, 9:20 AM

Top News

David Ruddock / Android Police:

New “On-Body Detection” Smart Lock Mode In Android Seems To Be Hitting Some Devices — If a tipster's screenshots are to be believed (and I think in this case, they are to be believed), Google is testing and / or rolling out a new smart lock mode called on-body detection.

More: PC Magazine, The Verge, 9to5Google, SlashGear, Engadget, CNET, Android Authority, Digital Trends, GSMArena Blog, Ubergizmo, PC World, PhoneDog.com and Pocketnow

Ellen Huet / Forbes:

Newly merged Kuaidi-Didi reportedly controls 99% of Chinese taxi-hailing market, claims 6M rides per day, putting Uber's future in China at risk — In Wake Of Kuaidi-Didi Merger, Uber Faces An Even Tougher Battle In China — During the Lunar New Year in China, taxi-hailing app Kuaidi showered its riders with red envelopes.

Tweets: @chen_liyan and @ellenhuet

The Economic Times:

Ola, Indian rival of Uber, launches food delivery service, is raising $500M round at an estimated $2B valuation — Ola now allows you to order food — The service will be available as one of the options in the existing Ola app in select localities across four cities.

More: The Tech Portal, Tech in Asia, TechCrunch, The Next Web, MediaNama, Trak.in and VatorNews

TechCrunch:

Kleiner defense rests its case, and judge rules Ellen Pao may indeed seek punitive damages — Pao Vs. Kleiner Defense Rests Its Case, Showcasing A Different Side Of The Story — Yesterday afternoon, the legal team representing venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers rested …

More: Re/code, Wall Street Journal, Re/code, The Verge, Reuters, bizjournals, Business Insider, ABC News, VentureBeat and Business Insider

Horace Dediu / Asymco:

Market saturation, rising monthly fees, lack of innovation, and broadband expansion make cable TV's decline inevitable in the US — Peak Cable — Paying for TV has been a curious consumer phenomenon. There was a time when TV was free to consumers. It was delivered as a broadcast …

More: Beyond Search, Mashable and TechCrunch

Tweets: @michaelpinto, @caseynewton, @jonsteinberg and @themurdochtimes

See also Mediagazer

ABC News:

Apple provides a peek into its Watch fitness testing facility, reveals it collected 18K hours of health and fitness data in testing — Inside Apple's Top Secret Health and Fitness Lab for Apple Watch Development … Apple, known for keeping its product developments under the strictest of lock-and-key …

Maria Bustillos / New Yorker:

A look at the history of Richard Stallman's GNU Manifesto and its impact as it turns 30 this month — The GNU Manifesto Turns Thirty — Unix, one of the earliest computer-operating systems, was developed between the late nineteen-sixties and the early nineteen-eighties …

Kyle VanHemert / Wired:

Apple's new haptic trackpad suggests a future in which we won't just see interfaces but also feel them — Apple's Haptic Tech Makes Way for Tomorrow's Touchable UIs — If you're into magic tricks, stop by an Apple Store and park yourself in front of a new 13-inch MacBook Pro.

More: 9to5Mac, iPhone Hacks, MacRumors, iDownloadBlog.com and The Loop. Tweets: @wired_design

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Amazon is working on a storefront called Unlocked to offer paid apps for free; no launch date set — Amazon ‘Unlocked’ Will Give Away Paid Apps For Free — Amazon has been working hard to build up the popularity of its Android-based Appstore with consumers and developers …

More: Digital Trends, Neowin, Phones Review, GeekWire, PC World, GSMArena Blog, TechnoBuffalo, SlashGear, Engadget, PCMag Australia Feed, Canadianreviewer.com, CrackBerry.com, Phandroid, Business Insider, PhoneDog.com, Pocketnow, The Verge, The Next Web and GamePolitics blogs

Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:

Sources: Meerkat raises a $12M Series B led by Greylock at a $40M pre-money valuation — |LIVE NOW| Meerkat Raises $12M From Greylock At A $40M Valuation — If you're reading TechCrunch right now (you are, by the way), chances are you have at least heard of Meerkat.

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @rsg, @sfiegerman, @johnolilly and @mikeisaac

Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:

Broadwell 13" Macbook Pro and Air reviewed: good specs for price and size, marginal difference in speed, display on Air is inferior to similarly priced laptops — 13-inch Broadwell MacBook showdown: Should you go Pro or get an Air? — Review: The 2015 Broadwell refreshes are similar, but not identical.

More: Gizmag Emerging …, AppleInsider and TechCrunch

Quentin Hardy / New York Times:

How Kodak mines its legacy R&D assets while it plots its post-bankruptcy future — At Kodak, Clinging to a Future Beyond Film — After the Kodak Moment After the Kodak Moment — Kodak has prioritized its patent portfolio and the Eastman Business Park since it declared bankruptcy in 2012.

More: Fortune

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