Techmeme: BlackBerry Assistant officially introduced as part of BlackBerry 10.3, Siri et al likely not worried (Ben Woods/The Next Web)

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July 16, 2014, 2:40 PM

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Laura Hazard Owen / Gigaom:

Amazon is testing “Kindle Unlimited,” an ebook subscription service for $9.99/month — Amazon is testing an ebook and audiobook subscription service called “Kindle Unlimited” that offers “unlimited access to over 600,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks on any device for just $9.99 a month.”

Larry Dignan / ZDNet:

In IBM and Apple's wake, what will team Android do? — Summary: The biggest challenge for team Android is that Google and Samsung, two partners with enterprise ambitions, will have to herd cats to reach corporations to counter Apple and IBM. — Google, Samsung and team Android may have to form …

More: SiliconBeat

Asymco:

A historical look at how Apple's independence and IBM's business model agility led to a strategic partnership — IBM and Apple: Catharsis — IBM did not invent personal computing but their “PC” became synonymous with the category. Having entered the market in 1981, the IBM PC quickly became the top selling brand.

Tweets: @stevesi, @lunaticsx and @inafried

Apple:

Apple and IBM partner to develop iOS enterprise apps and cloud services, tailor AppleCare for enterprise; IBM will sell iPhones and iPads to business clients

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

BlackBerry Shares Drop More Than 10% In Trading In Wake Of Apple/IBM Deal

More: Globe and Mail

Arik Hesseldahl / Re/code:

Apple and IBM Team Up to Push iOS in the Enterprise

More: ABC News, Business Insider, CNBC, New York Times, ZDNet, CITEworld, BGR, Fortune, MacDailyNews, Gigaom, Dice News, 9to5Mac, Inquirer and DailyFinance.com. Tweets: @darth

Reuters:

Apple agrees conditionally to a $450M settlement in e-book price-fixing case; $400M will go to consumers — Apple agrees to conditional $450 million e-books antitrust accord — (Reuters) - Apple Inc has agreed to pay $450 million to resolve U.S. state and consumer claims …

More: ag.ny.gov, 9to5Mac, Macworld, PC World, Engadget, MacRumors, AppleInsider, iMore, The Next Web, The Verge, BGR, Electronista, State of Delaware News, Cult of Mac, App Advice and Patently Apple. See also Mediagazer

New York Times:

Time Warner rejected $80B takeover bid by Murdoch's 21st Century Fox last month, no longer in discussions — Rupert Murdoch Said to Have Made Offer for Time Warner — Twenty-First Century Fox, the media empire run by Rupert Murdoch, made an $80 billion takeover bid in recent weeks …

More: TimeWarner Blog, Re/code, CNET, Bloomberg, Businessweek, Business Wire, Business Insider, VentureBeat, FierceCable, Deadline.com, Wall Street Journal, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, Electronista and Wall Street Journal. Tweets: @carr2n. See also Mediagazer

Mark Harris / Guardian:

FBI warns driverless cars could be used as ‘lethal weapons’ — Internal report sees benefits for road safety, but warns that autonomy will create greater potential for criminal ‘multitasking’ — The FBI believes that the driverless car is a “game changing” vehicle could revolutionise high …

More: VentureBeat, Engadget, CNET, SiliconBeat, Yahoo Tech, The Daily Caller, The Verge, Connectedly, Gizmodo, bizjournals and ZDNet. Tweets: @kashhill

Harrison Weber / VentureBeat:

Airbnb unveils its new identity, launches redesigned mobile app and website — Airbnb unveiled a complete brand and product redesign today at an exclusive event for top hosts and guests. — Airbnb calls its new logo a “multi-state moving identity,” and a “3D modular symbol” that's …

More: The Airbnb Blog, TechCrunch, The Verge and Fast Company

Tweets: @emilydreyfuss, @samfbiddle, @paulg, @tim and @jank0

Thanks:@harrisonweber

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:

Samsung In Talks To Scoop Up SmartThings For Around $200 Million — Google has Nest, Apple has HomeKit and Samsung has...SmartThings, we're hearing. The deal was completed for around $200 million dollars, though it might have been less according to one source. — (Update: The deal is not done yet, says another.)

More: Re/code, The Next Web, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Pocket-lint, tech.co, GadgeTell, Business Insider, BGR, Geeky Gadgets, Electronista, ZDNet and Wearable World News

Benjamin Wallace / New York Magazine:

Kara Swisher Is Silicon Valley's Most Feared and Well-Liked Journalist. How Does That Work? — The combination of access and toughness has made her a preeminent arbiter of status. — The technology journalist Kara Swisher likes to call herself Sherlock Homo, but on a spring evening in Austin …

More: TechCrunch and PandoDaily

Ben Woods / The Next Web:

BlackBerry Assistant officially introduced as part of BlackBerry 10.3, Siri et al likely not worried — Canadian handset maker BlackBerry has officially introduced its virtual assistant for the BlackBerry 10.3 OS, and it's called simply ‘BlackBerry Assistant’.

More: Inside BlackBerry, PC World, ABC News, TechCrunch, CNET, Gizmodo, Engadget, Business Insider, The Verge, Gigaom, VentureBeat, iPhone in Canada Blog, BGR and CrackBerry.com

Pete Rizzo / CoinDesk:

Google Search Integrates Bitcoin Price Calculator — Internet search giant Google has updated its search engine to automatically display bitcoin prices when users enter certain queries. — The news comes roughly one month after Google Finance partnered with Coinbase to launch …

More: TechCrunch, 9to5Google, VentureBeat, CNET, Search Engine Land, Inquirer, Electronista, Softpedia News, Mashable, TIME and Engadget

eMarketer:

Microsoft to Surpass Yahoo in Global Digital Ad Market Share This Year — Google, Facebook continue on as the market's leaders — Yahoo's push to maintain its position as a top global ad seller will take another hit in 2014, according to new projections from eMarketer.

More: Marketing Land, RAIN News, Business Insider and Beyond Search. Tweets: @emarketer

Jason Snell / Macworld:

Review: Overcast, Marco Arment's new podcast app with Smart Speed and Voice Boost features — Review: Overcast is a winning podcast app — AT A GLANCE — On Wednesday, Marco Arment released the podcast-playing app Overcast, his anticipated major return to the iOS App Store after selling …

More: Marco.org, MacStories, iMore, 9to5Mac, Softpedia News, Laughing Squid and App Advice

Aimee Riordan / The Official Microsoft Blog:

Microsoft announces 175-megawatt wind farm deal, broadens renewable energy commitment — Microsoft will purchase 175 megawatts of wind energy from the Pilot Hill Wind Project in Illinois, about 60 miles south of Chicago, as part of a 20-year agreement announced Tuesday.

More: MSDN Blogs, Forbes, VentureBeat, ZDNet, DailyTech, TechWeekEurope UK, cloudpro.co.uk, eWeek, WinBeta and Windows Phone Central. Tweets: @marcgunther

Chris Welch / The Verge:

Samsung takes on Beats with US launch of “Level” family of high-end headphones and speakers — Samsung moves into Beats territory with US launch of $350 headphones — Apple and Samsung are already bitter enemies in the smartphone world, and headphones may be their next battleground.

More: Samsung Mobile US Press, Gigaom, 9to5Google, Phones Review, Pocketnow, Droid Life, Android Central, Phandroid and SamMobile. Tweets: @dujkan

Google:

Google+ removes all name restrictions, apologizes for “unnecessarily difficult experiences” — When we launched Google+ over three years ago, we had a lot of restrictions on what name you could use on your profile. This helped create a community made up of real people …

Liam Tung / ZDNet:

One in five ex-Nokia workers in Finland could be axed as Microsoft prepares layoffs — Summary: Speculation mounts in Finland about heavy cuts for Microsoft's Nokia employees. — The job cuts Microsoft is expected to announce this week could fall hard on Nokia's home country …

More: VentureBeat, LiveSide.net, Reuters, TechCrunch, WinBeta and Windows Phone Central

Ramsey Cox / The Hill:

Senate passes bill to allow ‘unlocking’ cell phones — The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow consumers to “unlock” their cell phone in order to switch providers once their contract is up. — Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced S. 517, the Unlocking Consumer Choice …

More: The Verge, Patrick Leahy, 9to5Google, TechCrunch, NationalJournal.com and FierceMobileGovernment News

Ryan Knutson / Wall Street Journal:

Sprint and T-Mobile planning joint venture to spend $10B at 2015 spectrum auction — Sprint, T-Mobile Look to Raise $10 Billion for Spectrum Auction — Planned Joint Venture Would Bid on Airwaves Held by TV Broadcasters — Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. are working on a plan …

More: Bloomberg, PC Magazine, Gigaom, Pocketables, Tech Times and dailywireless.org

Kim-Mai Cutler / TechCrunch:

Sean Parker Provides Bulk of Funding To Pro-Parking, Pro-Car Ballot Initiative in SF — The tech industry's political orientation around transit is decidedly incoherent. — On the one hand, you have this investment relationship between Uber and self-driving car maker Google …

Se Young Lee / Reuters:

iPhone 5s was bestselling smartphone in May at 7M units, beating 5M for 2-month-old Galaxy S5 — Samsung battles on two fronts as Apple readies iPhone 6 — (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) is losing smartphone ground not only to cheaper Chinese rivals but also at the high end …

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