PlayStation 4 Teardown  —  A television game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, first announced February 20, 2013 and released November 15, 2013.  Step 1 — PlayStation 4 Teardown We'd like to send out a big thank you to our friends at Chipworks for hosting our remote teardown of the newest Sony Play-device, the Play-Doh.

Samsung Said to Plan Galaxy Phone Using Three-Sided Display  —  Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) plans to release a Galaxy smartphone next year with a three-sided display that wraps around the edges so messages can be read from an angle, two people familiar with the plans said yesterday.

New FCC chairman tells wireless carriers to unlock cell phones  —  Act now or we will regulate, Wheeler tells CTIA.  —  In one of his first days on the job, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has asked the CTIA Wireless Association to move quickly toward unlocking phones for consumers.

Apple Store Point Of Sale Systems Go Down Again Today, Outage Continues  —  Some Apple Stores have had their point-of-sale systems go down repeatedly today, TechCrunch has learned.  There was an extensive outage early Thursday morning and there has been an ongoing outage this evening in some stores.

The Inside Story of How the iPad Got Its Iconic Design  —  While Jony Ive's group was secretly working on the iPad, Steve Jobs was telling the public and press that Apple had no intention of releasing a tablet.  “Tablets appeal to rich guys with plenty of other PCs and de- vices already,” he said publicly.

News Use across Social Media Platforms  —  How do different social networking websites stack up when it comes to news?  How many people engage with news across multiple social sites?  And what are their news consumption habits on traditional platforms?  As part of an ongoing examination …

BBM for Android and iPhone updates now available  —  Originally published on the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog  —  A new update to BBM is rolling out for Android and iPhone users.  In addition to several new features, bug fixes and performance improvements, we are also proud to deliver something you've …

CIA's Financial Spying Bags Data on Americans  —  Information on International Money Transfers Includes Financial and Personal Data of Americans  —  The Central Intelligence Agency is building a vast database of international money transfers that includes millions of Americans' financial and personal data …

Acer launches a new budget-sensitive C720 Chromebook model with 16GB SSD and 2GB RAM for $199.99  —  Acer America is launching a new model of its C720 Chromebook series that is geared towards the budget-conscious consumer.  Just in time for the holidays, the computer manufacturer is making available …

NSA Fallout: Tech Firms Feel a Chill Inside China  —  Big U.S. computer and software companies are reporting a sudden chill in sales to China, and some blame increased government hostility toward the U.S.  —  In the latest sign, computer-networking-gear maker Cisco Systems Inc. said Wednesday …

Homeland Security must disclose cell network ‘kill switch’ protocols, court says  —  Summary: The U.S. government's rules governing its ability to shut down cellular and wireless networks to prevent remote bomb detonation must be disclosed, a court has ruled.  —  Zack Whittaker

White spaces anyone?  Google opens its spectrum database to developers  —  All of those unused frequencies that linger between TV channels, called white spaces, are ripe for the taking, and starting today network builders and device makers can start using them, with a little help from Google.

Apple releases iOS 7.0.4 & iOS 6.1.5 with FaceTime bug fix  —  This morning, Apple has released iOS 7.0.4 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.  The update is a bug fix release with improvements.  Apple notes that the update includes a fix for FaceTime calls that could fail for some users.

Exclusive - Comcast to sell movies for download, streaming: sources  —  (Reuters) - Comcast Corp plans to start selling movies for download and streaming through the cable operator's set-top boxes and its Xfinity TV website, according to people with knowledge of the plan.

Pricey, mighty Retina Mini is best small tablet yet  —  $399.00  —  The good: The iPad Mini with Retina Display adds an excellent high-resolution display that rivals the iPad Air's, a far faster A7 processor, and tops it off with improved Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, with battery life that's as good or better than in last year's Mini.

Amazon's Lovefilm finally launches iPhone app in the UK  —  Whereas Netflix has expanded quickly onto numerous mobile platforms in the UK, Amazon can't claim the same for its own streaming service, Lovefilm.  Aside from the obvious Kindle support, Lovefilm's iOS app has been iPad-only for two years …

Europe allows in-flight 3G and 4G broadband  —  Passengers will get mobile Internet access, but they'll have to pay roaming charges  —  The European Commission gave airlines permission to offer their passengers Internet access via 3G and 4G connections so they can send emails and surf the Web while in flight.

PostgreSQL Now Available On Amazon's Relational Database Service  —  Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched PostgreSQL on Amazon RDS, showing the strength of the open-source database and its market maturity.  —  CTO Werner Vogels said onstage at the AWS re:Invent conference that the database offering falls …

Yuri Milner is betting big on genetics, pouring millions into GenapSys  —  The latest investment from Russian millionaire and entrepreneur Yuri Milner is in a genetics upstart called GenapSys.  —  Like many other technology investors, Milner is hoping to leverage the plummeting cost of sequencing human genes.

Apple Bumps Coinbase's Bitcoin App From The App Store, Android App Lives On  —  Time to chalk another one up for cryptocurrency bitcoin's reputation as a disruptor in the financial world?  Today, news comes that Coinbase - the YC-incubated startup that offers a bitcoin buying and trading platform …

Court Upholds Legality of Google Books: Tremendous Victory for Fair Use and the Public Interest  —  It's a good day for fair use and sane copyright law.  After years of litigation, Judge Denny Chin has ruled that the Google Books project does not infringe copyright.