Techmeme: China Mobile starts selling Apple's iPhones today, but subsidies don't seem that attractive (Kaylene Hong/The Next Web)

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January 17, 2014, 4:25 AM

Top News

The Official Google Blog:

Introducing our smart contact lens project — You've probably heard that diabetes is a huge and growing problem—affecting one in every 19 people on the planet. But you may not be familiar with the daily struggle that many people with diabetes face as they try to keep their blood sugar levels under control.

Re/code:

Google's Latest Moon Shot Is a Smart Contact Lens for Diabetes Patients — Google has shrunk down a chip and sensor system so small it can be embedded in a contact lens. — Instead of a circuit board, the tiny pieces are connected to a circular gold foil antenna mounted on a flexible plastic …

More: Electronista and The Register. Tweets: @pkafka, @dannysullivan, @jamieogrady_, @digiphile, @karaswisher and @benparr

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Google's New Smart Contact Lens Is Old News For Microsoft — Google today announced its smart contact lens project, but it's not the first by a long shot (or even a moon shot). Other companies have long been working on smart lenses — including Microsoft Research, which unveiled a similar project …

More: The Escapist

Re/code:

Inside Google X's Smart Contact Lens

More: Re/code. Tweets: @lizgannes, @kashhill and @karaswisher

James Ball / Guardian:

NSA collects almost 200 million text messages a day in global “untargeted” sweep — NSA collects millions of text messages daily in ‘untargeted’ global sweep — The National Security Agency has collected almost 200 million text messages a day from across the globe …

More: Channel 4, Guardian, The Verge, The Daily Caller, Techdirt, TechnoBuffalo, Examiner, Engadget, ZDNet, Gotta Be Mobile, VentureBeat, The Register, CNET, Los Angeles Times, TheHill, BBC, Gizmodo, Digital Trends and SlashGear

Tweets: @jamesrbuk, @csoghoian, @mattblaze, @benedictevans, @jamesrbuk, @tprophet, @mattblaze, @coneee and @guardianproject

New York Times:

Yahoo's Bumps on a Road to Revival — SAN FRANCISCO — It looks as if the Google pixie dust isn't so easy to spread around. — Marissa Mayer's arrival at Yahoo as chief executive a year and a half ago was widely hailed as an opportunity to infuse the struggling Internet pioneer with the smarts …

More: New York Times, Wall Street Journal and DealBook

Tweets: @vindugoel, @mathewi and @deanemurphy

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Exclusive: Yahoo's Editor-in-Chief Jai Singh Departs Company

More: TechCrunch, Inc.com, Business Insider, VatorNews and Beyond Search

Tweets: @karaswisher, @awallenstein, @mathewi, @mhelft and @rafat

Thanks:@chirag_mehta. See also Mediagazer

Scott Austin / Digits:

Yahoo looks to add seasoned public company executives to its board of directors

Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

Twitter Gets Serious About Commerce, Nears Deal With Payments Startup Stripe — Twitter is close to letting its users purchase products directly through the social network and is nearing a deal with payments startup Stripe to help it accept credit card payments from its users, according to a person familiar with the deal.

More: Business Insider, Digits, Inc.com and CNET. Tweets: @rsarver

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Twitter Also Considered PayPal For Its Square-Market Competitor

Thanks:@alexia

Reuters:

Casually-dressed security guards seen monitoring Google commuter buses in San Francisco — Latest perk on Google buses: security guards — (Reuters) - First, San Francisco-based commuters to Google Inc got buses with plush seats and free WiFi. Now, they are getting security.

More: The Mac Observer, Valleywag, The Technology Chronicles and CNET

Tweets: @alexia, @mcbridesg and @lexnfx

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Apple to begin in-store iPhone 5c screen repairs next week — We've gotten word from multiple sources that Apple will begin repairing/replacing broken iPhone 5c displays in its retail stores next week. The current plan is to begin offering replacements on Monday, January 20th.

More: iPhone Hacks, MacRumors, iClarified and App Advice

Matthew J. Belvedere / CNBC:

Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson says Google, not Apple is the greatest innovator in the world — Google steals innovation crown from Apple: Isaacson — iPhones begin selling at China Moblie on Friday — This is a big deal, says Walter Isaacson, Aspen Institute, discussing Apple's deal …

More: App Advice, the rajam report, PhoneArena, Business Insider, BGR and InvestorPlace

Marty Graham / Reuters:

California woman who drove with Google Glass beats traffic ticket at trial — (Reuters) - A California woman ticketed for driving while wearing Google Glass, a tiny computer mounted on an eyeglass frame, had her citation dismissed on Thursday by a San Diego court commissioner who said he found …

More: Associated Press, Glass Almanac, Digits, The Verge, Los Angeles Times and Computerworld

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Farhad Manjoo heads to NYT after 4 months at WSJ to replace David Pogue — The New York Times Gets its David Pogue Replacement from the Wall Street Journal — The New York Times has found a replacement for David Pogue, its high-profile reviewer: Sources say the Times is filling his old slot …

More: LinkedIn Pulse and New York Times. Tweets: @karaswisher, @mathewi, @romenesko, @hunterwalk, @deanemurphy, @mikeisaac, @dannysullivan, @deanemurphy, @nickbilton, @fmanjoo, @nexttechblog, @felixsalmon, @mat, @joelandren, @ohnorosco, @jessicalessin, @digiphile and @gaberivera. See also Mediagazer

Ina Fried / Re/code:

T-Mobile expands ETF payment program to include US Cellular, other regional carriers — T-Mobile Broadening Its Program to Pay Switchers — T-Mobile plans to expand a recently introduced program that pays new customers up to $350 for breaking their contract with a rival carrier.

More: TmoNews, AndroidHeadlines.com, SlashGear, TechnoBuffalo, iPhone Hacks, IntoMobile, MacRumors, Engadget, Ubergizmo and Droid Life. Tweets: @kenli729

Jeffrey Grubb / VentureBeat:

December 2013 NPD: While both supply constrained, Xbox One outsells PlayStation 4 — The Xbox One Day One edition controller. — The Xbox One and and PlayStation 4 both sold well, but Microsoft's latest console bested its Sony counterpart ... although both are behind Nintendo's 3DS.

More: Joystiq, The Verge, Digits, Re/code, Forbes, GeekWire, TechCrunch, Bloomberg and Softpedia News

Tweets: @iansherr and @jeffgrubb

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Nokia's Android phone includes Windows Phone-like UI — Images of Nokia's Android phone, codenamed Normandy, were originally published in November, but a number of recent leaks have provided a closer look at the hardware and its software. Vizileaks has published what appears …

More: ZDNet, TechHive, Android and Me, Pocket-lint, Phandroid, CITEworld, WinBeta, Softpedia News, The Droid Guy, pocketnow.com, TechDroid and Gizmodo

Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:

Breach at Neiman Marcus Went Undetected From July to December — The computer network at Neiman Marcus was penetrated by hackers as far back as July, and the breach was not fully contained until Sunday, according to people briefed on the investigation. — The company disclosed the data theft …

More: The Verge, Washington Post, Reuters, CNET, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Computerworld, CNNMoney.com and SC Magazine

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

US Attorney seizes $28 million in Bitcoin from the Silk Road server — Today, federal attorneys announced the seizure of 29,655 bitcoins from the Silk Road server, adding up to over $28 million at current exchange rates. The seizure is part of a larger audit of the contents of the Silk Road servers …

More: The United States Department …, Forbes, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Ars Technica, NBC News and CNET

Kaylene Hong / The Next Web:

China Mobile starts selling Apple's iPhones today, but subsidies don't seem that attractive — After Apple struck a long-awaited deal with China Mobile in December last year, the iPhone is finally on sale both in China Mobile stores and Apple's own Chinese stores today.

More: TechCrunch, AppleInsider, Bloomberg, MacRumors, WSJ Blogs - WSJ and MacDailyNews. Tweets: @tim_cook

Larry Downing / Reuters:

U.S. government warns merchants on methods used by Target hackers — Merchandise baskets are lined up outside a Target department store in Palm Coast, Florida, December 9, 2013. — (Reuters) - The U.S. government sent a confidential, 16-page technical bulletin to retailers and other merchants …

More: The Verge and The Verge

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Facebook Launches Trending Topics On Web With Descriptions Of Why Each Is Popular — Following tests of Twitter-style Trending Topics on the web and mobile in August, Facebook today officially launches a redesigned “Trending” section on its web homepage's sidebar in the US, UK, Canada, India and Australia.

More: ReadWrite, VentureBeat, TechnoBuffalo, The Register, Computerworld, VatorNews, Newsy, POPSUGAR, BetaNews, SlashGear, ITworld.com, Digital Trends, AllFacebook, Inside Facebook, Gizmodo, Marketing Land, The Verge and NYT Bits

Tweets: @jboorstin, @caseynewton, @jboorstin and @fmanjoo

Thanks:@anthonyha. See also Mediagazer

Richard Lai / Engadget:

China reveals COS: a government-approved operating system designed to break the monopoly of foreign software — China's tried to create its very own mobile OS ecosystem in the past, but let's face it, the attempt with OPhone was hardly something that would make the nation proud.

More: Tech in Asia, Gizchina.com and BGR

Tom Gara / Digits:

Skype's traffic reached 40% of international telecom market in 2013 — Skype's Incredible Rise, in One Image — Telecommunications research company TeleGeography keeps a close eye on the global telecom system, and for years has documented the shift to Internet-based calling via Skype …

More: TeleGeography and TelecompetitorTelecompetitor

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Shopkick Starts 100-Store iBeacon Trial For American Eagle, Biggest Apparel Rollout Yet — Apple's iBeacon technology, which uses Bluetooth LE to send notifications to users when they're inside a physical store, is making another mainstream advance today: Shopkick — the location-based offers startup …

More: MacRumors, AppleTell, ITworld.com, Cult of Mac, SlashGear and 9to5Mac

Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:

Facebook plans suite of standalone mobile apps for 2014 — Messenger is just the tip of the iceberg — Facebook's new Messenger app is lightning fast and utilitarian — a vision of the “mobile first” mentality Facebook promised one year ago. In an earnings call two weeks after Messenger launched …

More: iDownloadBlog.com, The Droid Guy, TechnoBuffalo, AndroidHeadlines.com and BGR

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