Techmeme: Helpshift raises $10M to help mobile game companies (and others) deal with the customer-service hordes (Dean Takahashi/VentureBeat)

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June 25, 2014, 4:50 AM

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Brad Stone / Businessweek:

Google's Android chief Sundar Pichai on Apple, Samsung, Amazon, Android's future, his past, I/O, and more — Google's Sundar Pichai Is the Most Powerful Man in Mobile — At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, Samsung introduced new software for its tablets, called the Magazine UX.

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:

Pichai will preview the next release of Android at I/O; introduce Android TV and Android Wear — Google will reportedly show a new version of Android tomorrow — Get ready to take a first look at the next version of Android tomorrow. In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek …

Oculus VR:

Oculus to acquire Carbon Design, gaining the product engineering team known for the Xbox 360 controller — Oculus Agrees to Acquire Carbon Design Team — We're thrilled to announce that we've agreed to acquire the Carbon Design team, one of the premier industrial design and product engineering teams …

More: TechCrunch, Engadget, Forbes, The Next Web, Pocket-lint, TechnoBuffalo, GeekWire, Electronista, Ubergizmo, Gigaom, TechSpot, ZDNet, Gizmodo, Business Insider, Neowin, The Verge, Ars Technica, GamesIndustry International, Re/code, MCV: Home Stream, Polygon and destructoid. Tweets: @bhsharp

Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:

Google refreshes Glass hardware with 2GB RAM and a bigger battery; current owners won't get upgraded — Google refreshes Glass hardware, but current owners won't get upgraded — Small tweaks suggest that a true consumer product is still a ways off — Google's plan to sell its Glass headset …

More: Google Glass, Gizmodo, SlashGear, Glass Almanac, Robert Scoble, ITProPortal, CNET, TechCrunch, Droid Life, AnandTech, Connectedly, Pocketnow, Marketing Land, 9to5Google, Android Police, The Next Web and Greenbot

JR Raphael / Computerworld:

Google offering $150 credits to make up for Chromebook data debacle — Some good news for owners of Google's LTE Chromebook Pixel: Following my report that data plans for the device were being disconnected prematurely, Google is stepping up to make things right.

More: PC World, Phandroid, Droid Life, PC Magazine, Engadget, The Verge, Pocketables, 9to5Google, Gigaom, Android Central, Digital Trends, Ars Technica, SlashGear, Daring Fireball, Electronista, blog.chron.com, TechSpot and Pulse 2.0. Tweets: @dcseifert

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

App Store Policy Of Rejecting Apps With Rewarded Video, Social Sharing Gets Rolled Back...With A Few Caveats — A recent policy change floated by Apple caused a flurry of discussion - and concern - among mobile app developers. According to several public forum postings and other industry sources …

More: iMore, iPhone in Canada Blog, Cult of Mac, AppleInsider, Touch Arcade, App Advice, MacRumors and MacNN

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

Optical Image Stabilization May Be Differentiating Factor for 5.5-Inch iPhone 6 — Rumors have suggested Apple's next-generation iPhone may include camera improvements in the form of optical image stabilization with modules produced by sensor company InvenSense, but according to a new prediction …

More: 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, Electronista, Pocketnow, Barron's Online and Yahoo Tech. Tweets: @macrumors

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Twitter tests ‘retweet with comment’ that shows referenced tweet as a card below your comment — Twitter Is Experimenting With A New Way To Retweet — The best thing about Twitter is that it forces users to embrace brevity thanks to its 140-character updates.

More: Mashable, TechnoBuffalo, Electronista, ABC News, PandoDaily, Engadget, Business Insider and Ubergizmo

Tweets: @jonrussell and @dannysullivan

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Michael Arrington drops defamation suit against Jenn Allen after she retracts rape accusations — Jenn Allen Retracts Michael Arrington Rape Accusations — TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington has reached a settlement agreement with Jenn Allen. He's posted a copy of the agreement …

More: Uncrunched, Business Insider, and Valleywag

Tweets: @jyarow and @dangillmor

Ina Fried / Re/code:

Cyanogen expands team in push for open-source Android, hires former HTC, MediaTek and Amazon executives — Cyanogen Expands Team in Push for Open Android — Cyanogen has quietly expanded its executive ranks to transform its open source Android project into a serious player in the phone business.

More: cyngn.com, Android and Me, Droid Life, Android Central, Android Authority, Pocketnow, AndroidHeadlines.com and Android Police

Donna Tam / CNET:

New FAA guidelines don't ban Amazon drones, only apply to hobbyists flying model aircraft — Amazon: Don't worry, our drones are still preparing for takeoff — The Federal Aviation Administration this week released guidelines that explain when hobbyists can fly drones legally.

More: faa.gov, TechCrunch, Ars Technica and SlashGear

Tweets: @drpizza, @nickstatt and @thedextriarchy

Thanks:@nickstatt

Shreyas Gandhe / Neowin:

First gen Nokia X devices won't be updated to Platform 2.0 — The first generation Nokia X smartphones which were released in February, will not be getting updated to the Nokia X software featured on the Nokia X2. — In a detailed post about the Nokia X2 smartphone user experience …

More: The Next Digit, DailyTech and Tech Times

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Helpshift raises $10M to help mobile game companies (and others) deal with the customer-service hordes — Helpshift has raised $10 million in venture capital funding to finance its expansion as the help desk for mobile app publishers. The company helps mobile game publishers like Supercell deal …

More: TechCrunch, Tech in Asia, punetech.com, vbprofiles.com, MediaNama, Digital Media Wire, Trakin' the india …, silicontap.com, NextBigWhat, FinSMEs and PE Hub Blog

Josh Ong / The Next Web:

Twilio partners with Google to release a Chromebook communications package — Cloud telephony firm Twilio today announced Twilio CX for Chromebooks, a new partnership with Google that bundles its WebRTC-powered client, 7,500 voice minutes, a Plantronics headset and a Chromebook together …

More: Twilio Cloud Communications …, ZDNet, Gigaom, CITEworld, VentureBeat and TechCrunch

Shira Ovide / Wall Street Journal:

Microsoft's Top Lawyer Slams Secret Surveillance Court — The U.S.'s secret surveillance court is unaccountable to the public and not “inclined to promote justice,” Microsoft's top lawyer said Wednesday. — General counsel Brad Smith said the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court …

More: PC World, CNET, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, BGR and Engadget. Tweets: @csoghoian

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Snapchat Snags Facebook's Mike Randall As Monetization VP — Facebook may be stealing Snapchat's features, but Snapchat is stealing Facebook's employees, including a new one who could help it begin to make money. TechCrunch has learned that Snapchat has just signed the Global Director …

More: Business Insider

Michael Safi / Guardian:

Australian spy agencies in line for new digital surveillance powers — Coalition also planning a mandatory data collection regime in which telcos store customers' metadata — Australian spy agencies will be granted new digital surveillance powers under a bill being prepared by the Abbott government …

Tweets: @lauraannaparker, @glynmoody and @youranoncentral

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:

Attackers poison legitimate apps to infect sensitive industrial control systems — Corporate spies have found an effective way to plant their malware on the networks of energy companies and other industrial heavyweights—by hacking the websites of software companies and waiting for the targets …

More: F-Secure Antivirus …, Infosecurity, PC World, Help Net Security, SecurityWeek and Softpedia News

Tweets: @mikko and @mikko

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Firechat Enables Cross-Platform, Off-The-Grid Chat Between iOS And Android — Open Garden's Firechat was one of the first — if not the first — application to make use of Apple's new multi-peer mesh networking capabilities. This enabled its users to anonymously chat with each other …

More: BBC, The Next Web, App Advice, Bloomberg, Gigaom, GadgeTell, Gizmodo, Guardian, VentureBeat and TechHive

Kim Zetter / Wired:

Researchers Find and Decode the Spy Tools Governments Use to Hijack Phones — Newly uncovered components of a digital surveillance tool used by more than 60 governments worldwide provide a rare glimpse at the extensive ways law enforcement and intelligence agencies use the tool …

More: Securelist / Blog, The Citizen Lab, VentureBeat, The Verge, The Register, International Business Times, Techdirt, SlashGear, ITworld.com, Digital Trends, SC Magazine, Ars Technica, Security Watch, Engadget, Help Net Security and BetaNews

Matt Brian / Engadget:

EU confirms up to 55% cut in data roaming rates from July 1 — Europe's next roaming charge cut comes into force on July 1st — From July, anyone travelling in any of the EU member countries with their smartphone will enjoy a few less numbers on their bill.

More: EU Press Room, The Next Web, SlashGear, Digital Trends, Softpedia News, Inquirer, Tech.eu, Electronista and PC World

Adrianne Jeffries / The Verge:

Montana health department hack hits more people than live in the entire state — The state of Montana is sending out notifications to 1.3 million people this week, warning them that a data breach on a state health department server last year may have revealed their personal information to hackers.

More: PC World, Associated Press, Missoulian, The Register, KXLF-TV and SC Magazine

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