Techmeme: Augmented reality matures: Blippar confirms Layar acquisition, no immediate plans to rock the boat (Ben Woods/The Next Web)

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June 18, 2014, 11:15 AM

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Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:

Apple releases new cheaper iMac with low-end processor, priced at $1099 — As rumored last week, Apple has today released a new model of iMac. These machines are considerably cheaper than their predecessors, priced at $1099. Previously, the cheapest iMac SKU was priced at $1299 (which is now the mid-range model).

Ben Woods / The Next Web:

BlackBerry signs deal with Amazon App Store to bring 200,000 Android apps to BlackBerry 10.3 — BlackBerry has just announced a deal that will see more than 200,000 Android apps made available for BlackBerry devices via the Amazon App Store when the new version of BlackBerry's operating system arrives later in the year.

Klint Finley / Wired:

Department of Energy network ESnet is capable of cross-country data transfers at 91 Gbps — The Shadow Internet That's 100 Times Faster Than Google Fiber — When Google chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said the tech giant might bring 10 gigabits per second internet connections to American homes …

More: The Register, Engadget and Gizmodo. Tweets: @aarnet

Ely L. / Yelp Official Blog:

Hold the Phone! Now You Can Message Business Owners Directly Through Yelp — With more than 57 million local reviews contributed across 27 countries, there's already a boatload of info people can gather through Yelp on any local business they're thinking about trying.

More: The Verge, Engadget, Phandroid, VentureBeat, Marketing Land and WebProNews

Wilson Rothman / Wall Street Journal:

Garmin launches Viago, a fully functioning $1.99 GPS app for iOS and Android, with maps, safety and traffic add-ons via in-app purchase — Garmin's Viago GPS App Has Powerful Features—Especially if You Pay Extra … Garmin, the once-mighty GPS powerhouse, just launched Víago …

More: Engadget, Garmin Blog, iMore, Gizmodo, Android Community, iClarified, iPhone Hacks, GadgeTell, Droid Life, MacRumors, Mashable, TUAW, Liliputing, TWICE and TechHive

Loek Essers / PC World:

Europe's top court to review personal data exchange between EU and US — The Irish High Court has referred to a 14-year-old agreement governing the exchange of personal data between the European Union and the U.S. to the EU's top court. — The referral, on Wednesday …

More: Gigaom, Reuters, CNET, Inquirer and The Register

Jackie Reses / Yahoo:

Yahoo the latest to disclose diversity: 62% men globally, and 50% white in US, more diverse than Google — Workforce Diversity at Yahoo — Here at Yahoo we are committed to attracting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce. We're in the business of building products for hundreds …

More: Washington Post, CNET, CNNMoney.com, Dice News, Softpedia News, Bloomberg, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, The Register, The Verge, Business Insider, VentureBeat, Gawker, NPR, SiliconBeat and TIME

Tweets: @dmac1, @wadhwa and @ceciliakang

Timothy B. Lee / Vox:

Disruption is a dumb buzzword. It's also an important concept — Jill Lepore isn't a fan of Clay Christensen's concept of disruptive innovation. Writing in the New Yorker, she laments the growing ubiquity of the term in business in general and Silicon Valley in particular.

More: The Awl, ReadWrite, Slate, The Guardian and Forbes

Tweets: @jeffjarvis, @chetanchawla, @mmasnick, @jayrosen_nyu, @willoremus and @binarybits

See also Mediagazer

Kellex / Droid Life:

Samsung Announces Galaxy S5 LTE-A for Korea - Features QHD Display, Snapdragon 805, and 3GB RAM — Samsung took the wraps off a brand new variant of the Galaxy S5 this evening in Korea, one that will surely disappoint and excite many of you at the same time.

More: Computerworld, Engadget, Business Insider, The Verge, 9to5Google, BGR, TechnoBuffalo, The Next Web, Geek.com, Neowin, MobileBurn.com, Electronista and Softpedia News

Chris Strohm / Bloomberg:

Hackers Seen Using YouTube to Sell Stolen Credit Cards — A review of content on Google Inc. (GOOG)'s YouTube service turned up dozens of videos selling stolen credit card data, according to an Internet-safety research group trying to shed more light on an $18 billion illicit industry.

More: Re/code, Los Angeles Times, PC World and Business Insider

Ben Woods / The Next Web:

Augmented reality matures: Blippar confirms Layar acquisition, no immediate plans to rock the boat — UK and US-based augmented reality company Blippar has snapped up its Dutch rival Layar for an undisclosed all-cash sum, the company confirmed today following rumors of the deal last week.

More: Blippar, TechCrunch and Layar

James Temple / Re/code:

Spire Launches a Wearable Device That Measures Breathing — A San Francisco startup has developed a wearable device that monitors breathing patterns and a mobile app that suggests adjustments, promising to allow users to control stress levels or otherwise improve their states of mind.

More: TechCrunch, PC Magazine, ITworld.com, SlashGear, Engadget, Medical Daily, Shape Magazine, Ubergizmo, The Wire, VentureBeat, CNET and Pocket-lint

Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

One Kings Lane, after raising $112M in January, is laying off between 75-100 people, or up to 20% of its staff — One Kings Lane Will Cut up to 20 Percent of Its Staff — Just six months after landing a big round of investment that valued One Kings Lane at $900 million …

More: Wall Street Journal and VatorNews. Tweets: @werty

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

Microsoft cuts Surface Pro 2 prices by up to $200 ahead of June 20 Surface 3 availability — Microsoft trims Surface Pro 2 prices ahead of Surface Pro 3 availability — Summary: Microsoft is trimming between $100 and $200 off the price of its second-generation, Intel-based Surface Pro 2 tablets …

More: Re/code, BetaNews, Softpedia News, GadgeTell, Gotta Be Mobile, Windows Phone Central, Electronista, SlashGear, TechnoBuffalo, TechCrunch, PC World, Engadget, VR-Zone, InformationWeek, Geeky Gadgets, Neowin and The Tech Report

Aldrin Calimlim / App Advice:

Sunrise Calendar Update Adds Integration With Evernote, Songkick, TripIt And More — The popular iOS calendar app Sunrise Calendar has just received an update that ushers in a series of integrations with a number of popular productivity and lifestyle apps. — For its inaugural batch …

More: Sunrise, The Next Web, SyrupCast, TechCrunch, Android Police, Android Central, Lifehacker and Droid Life

Wall Street Journal:

Google Faces Fresh Antitrust Complaint in Europe — Portuguese App Store Files European Commission Complaint Over Android — BRUSSELS— Google Inc. is facing fresh accusations of anticompetitive behavior in Europe over its Android operating system for mobile phones, even as the Web giant struggles …

More: BGR, Gigaom, CNET, Fortune, Marketing Land, Softpedia News, SlashGear and TechCrunch

Jeff Elder / Wall Street Journal:

Twitter Restores Content Blocked at Pakistan's Request — Twitter has restored access to tweets and several dozen Twitter accounts it blocked in Pakistan on May 18 at the request of the Pakistani government, according to the social network and the blog Chilling Effects Clearinghouse …

More: Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, BBC, CNET, Engadget, The Next Web, Gigaom and PC World. See also Mediagazer

Graham Cluley / Graham Cluley Security News:

Chinese Android smartphone comes with malware pre-installed — A German security firm is reporting that an Android smartphone manufactured in China is shipping with malware pre-installed on it. — The Star N9500 smartphone, which can be easily found available for sale via outlets like Amazon …

More: Guardian, SlashGear, Help Net Security, Wall Street Journal, Cable UK Blogs, TG Daily, Associated Press, BGR, Softpedia News, Associated Press and Tom's Guide

Blair Hanley Frank / GeekWire:

Microsoft to run a startup accelerator focused on home automation at its Redmond campus from September through December of this year — Microsoft launches new startup accelerator in Redmond, focusing on home automation and the ‘Internet of Things’ — Microsoft announced today …

More: Microsoft Corporation, PC World, VentureBeat, The Next Web, ZDNet and Wall Street Journal

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Apple Is Happy to Sell You the Hachette Books Amazon Won't Stock — Amazon doesn't want to sell books from Hachette Book Group. — More for us, says Apple, which is taking advantage of the fight between the world's biggest bookstore and one of the world's biggest publishers.

More: Fortune, The Mac Observer, AppleInsider, GeekWire, MacNN, Gizmodo, Cult of Mac, iPhone in Canada Blog, MacDailyNews, App Advice and MacRumors. See also Mediagazer

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