Next iPad Takes After Thin, Light Mini  —  The same touch-panel technology that made the iPad mini thin and light will likely feature in the next iPad, which is currently being produced by Apple Inc.'s Asian suppliers, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

New Windows 8.1 build addresses first-time user complaints  —  Microsoft is expected to finalize its Windows 8.1 update in the coming days, but a near-final build has leaked online offering a closer look at some of the improvements.  The 9741 build, a test version of the Release to Manufacturing …

BlackBerry Says It's Looking For A Buyer (Or A Willing Partner), Forms Special Committee To ‘Explore Strategic Alternatives’  —  BlackBerry, the embattled Canada-based handset maker, today finally called a spade a spade.  The company halted trading in its shares to announce what some might argue …

Android is better  —  It was just meant to be a quick experiment.  I started using a Nexus 4.  I was going to go right back to my iPhone after a week.  I was designing more and more Android interfaces at Twitter and realized I needed to more intimately grok Android UI paradigms.

Kim Jong Un visits ‘cell phone factory’  —  Kim Jong Un visited on Saturday the Pyongyang factory where North Korean cell phones are supposedly made, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.  —  Photos of the visit, released by KCNA, show Kim touring the May 11 Factory and talking to officials.

Facebook Acquires “Mobile Technologies”, Developer Of Speech Translation App Jibbigo  —  Facebook's latest acquisition could help it connect users across language barriers.  It has just announced that it's acquired the team and technology of Pittsburgh's Mobile Technologies …

Investor Herd Dynamics  —  The biggest component in most investors' opinion of you is the opinion of other investors.  Which is of course a recipe for exponential growth.  When one investor wants to invest in you, that makes other investors want to, which makes others want to, and so on.

20 injured at ill-conceived LG G2 promotional event  —  Looking to capitalize on buzz surrounding its brand new G2, LG held a public event in Seoul Friday where it teased that up to 100 people would walk away with the new flagship smartphone.  What it didn't expect was that 20 people …

Regulator Examines Bitcoin Practices  —  New York Issues Subpoenas to Firms Tied to Bitcoin  —  New York's top banking regulator has issued subpoenas to roughly two dozen companies associated with bitcoin as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into the business practices of the fledgling virtual …

City of London halts recycling bins tracking phones of passers-by  —  The City of London is halting a scheme that used recycling bins to track people as they walked by with their smartphones.  The head of Renew London, which was behind the operation, wrote in an email, “I can confirm that we are not currently running any trials.”

Confessed Liar To Congress, James Clapper, Gets To Set Up The ‘Independent’ Review Over NSA Surveillance  —  Well, this is rather incredible.  Remember on Friday how one of President Obama's efforts to get people to trust the government more concerning the NSA's surveillance efforts was to create an …

The iPhone's ‘tri-tone’ text message alert was made for a 90s MP3 player  —  Ah, Apple origin stories.  We've heard about the Swiss railway company behind Apple's Clock app, the inspiration for the iOS Calculator, the voice of Siri, and now, we know about the unlikely inventor of the omnipresent …

Google Glass update brings more Now cards, voice commands for third-party services, and video player controls  —  Google today announced the latest monthly update (XE8) to its Glass project, adding a slew of new features to those lucky few with the devices sitting on their noses.

Leaked press shots show Sony's upcoming 20.2MP, Carl Zeiss camera lens attachment for iPhone & Android  —  Last month a report from often reliable sources claimed that Sony was readying a new Carl Zeiss camera lens with a 20.2 MP sensor that would attach onto a smartphone and connect over WiFi or NFC.

US Intelligence Watches Germany Closely  —  German intelligence services cooperate closely with the NSA, but the country is also a target of US surveillance, as a document seen by SPIEGEL makes clear.  The spy software XKeyscore is operated from a facility in Hesse, with some of the results landing on President Obama's desk.

Magazine Writing on the Web, for Film  —  To many writers, to almost anyone for that matter, Joshuah Bearman and Joshua Davis are living the dream.  As accomplished practitioners of big, nonfiction magazine writing, they regularly publish articles in Wired, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and many other A-list titles.

Apple to support third-party USB power plug trade-ins beyond U.S. & China  —  Last week, we reported that Apple, will soon kickoff a trade-in-program for third-party or counterfeit USB power adapters in its retail stores and select authorized resellers.  The program will allow anyone …

Plumfare acquired by Groupon (confirmed)  —  Plumfare, a mobile discovery app, has been acquired by Groupon.  —  The San Francisco-based company did not disclose its buyer on the announcement post on its website, which is a bit odd.  However, a Groupon spokesperson just confirmed the acquisition …