Techmeme: BBM for Android and iPhone will not launch this week following leak of unreleased version (Andrew Bocking/Inside BlackBerry)

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September 24, 2013, 7:55 AM

Top News

George Chen / South China Morning Post:

EXCLUSIVE: China to lift ban on Facebook - but only within Shanghai free-trade zone — Beijing has made the landmark decision to lift a ban on internet access within the Shanghai Free-trade Zone to foreign websites considered politically sensitive by the Chinese government, including Facebook …

More: Quartz, Gizmodo, TechEye, The Verge, GigaOM, The Register, Engadget, ZDNet, Reuters, Business Insider, Softpedia News, TechCrunch, The Next Web and I4U News. Tweets: @markmackinnon

DealBook:

BlackBerry Buyout Offer Raises Array of Questions — An offer to take BlackBerry private does not end the uncertainty surrounding the ailing smartphone maker. — BlackBerry said on Monday that it had signed a letter of intent from a group led by Fairfax Financial Holdings …

More: Wired, SiliconANGLE and IntoMobile

BlackBerry:

BlackBerry Enters into Letter of Intent with Consortium led by Fairfax Financial — BlackBerry entitled to go-shop during due diligence period, subject to payment of a termination fee in the event alternative offer accepted — Waterloo, ON - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY; TSX:BB) …

David Benoit / MoneyBeat:

Meet Prem Watsa: The Man Riding to BlackBerry's Rescue

More: The Verge, CNET, AndroidSaS and Business Insider. Tweets: @mathewi

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

After botched debut, new Apple TV update is back with fixes — After releasing a buggy version of new Apple TV software last week (and subsequently removing it from download) Apple has issued a new version of the update to Apple TV users. The new version is labeled Apple TV Software 6.0, and it comes in at build number 11A502.

More: AppleInsider, The Verge, TechCrunch, iDownloadBlog.com, Electronista, CNET, Engadget, MacRumors, SlashGear, iMore and GadgetGuide4U. See also Mediagazer

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Following criticism & lawsuit, Apple refunding Breaking Bad iTunes Season Passes — In August, we noted that iTunes was offering Season Passes of the popular show Breaking Bad in a split-up format. For Season 5 of the show, the first eight episodes was under one iTunes purchase …

More: Inquirer, The Verge, iMore, I4U News, The Next Web, App Advice, Gizmodo, AppleInsider and Forbes

Tweets: @gaberivera and @mikebeas

See also Mediagazer

Microsoft:

Microsoft unveils Surface 2, Surface Pro 2 and new accessories — Pre-order will begin at 8 a.m. EDT Sept. 24. — Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced that the Microsoft Surface family of tablets is growing. Two new Surface models — Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 — along with an expanded portfolio …

More: New York Times, istartedsomething, MSDN Blogs, Skype, Microsoft News, TechNet Blogs, Tech in Asia, Delimiter, Digital Trends, WinBeta, ABC News, POPSUGAR, Technabob, Ubergizmo, Computerworld, iPhone Hacks, WebProNews and BetaNews

Tweets: @maryjofoley, @surface, @maryjofoley, @austincarr, @reneritchie and @mattbuchanan

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Microsoft Introduces 200GB SkyDrive Storage Upgrade For $100 Per Year

More: SlashGear

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:

Microsoft announces Surface Pro 2 with Haswell Core i5 processor, improved battery life, and two-position kickstand starting at $899

More: InfoWorld, SiliconANGLE, CITEworld, Softpedia News, TechCrunch, VG247, AppleInsider, Computerworld, ReadWrite, Engadget and The Register

Tim Stevens / CNET:

Surface 2 declassified: How Microsoft made Surface into the tablet the world said it wanted

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Microsoft plans to launch Surface 2 SKU with LTE ‘early next year’

More: TechCrunch, TechnoBuffalo and The Verge

Andrew Bocking / Inside BlackBerry:

BBM for Android and iPhone will not launch this week following leak of unreleased version — BBM for Android and iPhone Update - Note from the head of BBM — This is Andrew Bocking, head of BBM at BlackBerry. As a follow up to our first blog post on Saturday, I want to take a moment …

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

Adobe Unveils Photoshop and Premiere Elements 12 for Mac — Adobe today released new versions of Photoshop and Premiere Elements, its lower-cost photo and video editing software aimed at consumers. Photoshop Elements 12 and Premiere Elements 12 have been revamped with several new features, focusing heavily on mobile integration.

More: The Verge, 9to5Mac, Softpedia News, I4U News, The Next Web, VentureBeat, Macworld, Electronista, Gizmodo, TUAW, Engadget, CNET and AppleInsider

Diane Bartz / Reuters:

U.S. trade panel judge says HTC violates Nokia patents — (Reuters) - HTC Corporation infringed on two Nokia Corp patents in making its mobile telephones and tablets, a judge said in a preliminary ruling for the U.S. International Trade Commission. — HTC was found to have infringed …

More: Inquirer, ZDNet, CNET, GeekWire, WMPoweruser, FOSS Patents, Android Community, Phones Review, Electronista, TechnoBuffalo, SlashGear, AllThingsD and The Next Web

Jason Del Rey / AllThingsD:

Intuit Overhauls QuickBooks Online as Competition for Small Businesses Ramps Up — Intuit today is unveiling a drastic overhaul of its QuickBooks Online accounting software for small businesses. The redesign takes visual cues from Mint.com, the personal finance website that Intuit acquired in 2009 …

More: The Next Web, PC World and Entrepreneur. Tweets: @flyosity

Brian Klug / AnandTech:

Moto X Update Dramatically Improves Camera Quality — In my Moto X review, I characterized camera performance and quality as very bimodal. In some scenes it could take great photos, in others it seemed to struggle and either produce images that looked somewhat washed out with weird white balance or aggressive noise reduction.

More: Droid Life, Android Community, 9to5Google, Android Authority, VentureBeat, Gizmodo, Engadget, Ars Technica, SlashGear and The Verge

Richard Padilla / MacRumors:

Apple Retail Stores Launch In-Store Pickup Option for iPhone 5s and 5c with Availability Listings — Apple retail stores have now begun offering a Personal Pickup option for the iPhone 5s through its online purchase page, allowing customers to see store availability for each model and place orders for in-store pickup.

More: 9to5Mac, WebProNews, iPhone, MacNN, BGR, AppleInsider and ValueWalk

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Facebook Partners With PayPal, Stripe, Braintree To Autofill Billing Info In Mobile Commerce Apps — Facebook wants to put an end to typing billing details on the small screen, help developers and payment processors earn more money, and prove that its app install ads make money for e-commerce companies.

More: AllThingsD, AllFacebook, Computerworld, CNET, Marketing Pilgrim, SlashGear, Business Insider, Inside Facebook and Business Insider

Tweets: @tedr, @mdudas and @joshconstine

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Google looks to drop Netscape Plugin API support in Chrome, starting with blocking most plugins in January 2014 — Google today announced it is dropping Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) in Chrome. The company will be phasing out support over the coming year …

More: Chromium Blog, TechEye, TechCrunch, Softpedia News, gHacks Technology News, Lifehacker, ZDNet, AndroidHeadlines.com and Google Operating System

Tweets: @danctheduck and @thebeebs

Ryan Whitwam / Android Police:

Full Remote Device Lockdown Is Now Live In The Android Device Manager, Instantly Overrides Previous Lock Settings With Specified Password — In our recent APK/website teardown, we unearthed Android's upcoming remote device lock functionality through Google Play Services, and now it has quietly gone live in the Android Device Manager.

More: BetaNews, The Register, 9to5Google, Softpedia News, GadgetGuide4U, gHacks Technology News, Phones Review, whatmobile.net, Engadget, Android Community, AndroidHeadlines.com, Android and Me, Computerworld and Lifehacker

Ki Mae Heussner / GigaOM:

Finally, FDA tells mobile health app developers what it plans to regulate — More than two years after issuing its draft guidance on the regulation of mobile health apps, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has finally released its final guidelines. — By some counts, there are about …

More: Food and Drug Administration, AllThingsD, Computerworld, VentureBeat, New York Times, CNET, Associated Press, bizjournals and Electronista

Colin Campbell / Polygon:

Microsoft forms Chinese console venture — Microsoft has formed a joint venture with Shanghai media giant BesTV to launch a new games device offering streaming entertainment services into China. — The companies posted a note on the Shanghai Stock Exchange today outlining the new operation …

More: Xinhua News Agency, Tech in Asia, Gearburn, Engadget, The Next Web, IntoMobile, VentureBeat, VG247, destructoid, Joystiq and GamesIndustry International

Jackie Castillo / CNN:

Steve Jobs' childhood home may become historical site — (CNN) — The family home where a young Steve Jobs built the first Apple computer may soon become a protected historical site. — The seven-member Los Altos Historical Commission has scheduled a “historic property evaluation” for the single-story, ranch-style house on Monday.

More: MacRumors, iPhone Hacks, iDownloadBlog.com, MacNN, Macgasm, AppleInsider and The Register

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