Techmeme: Sony replaces head of mobile division as its smartphone business continues to struggle (Takashi Mochizuki/Wall Street Journal)

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October 30, 2014, 12:25 PM

Top News

Tim Cook / Businessweek:

Tim Cook publicly acknowledges he's gay, says giving up his personal privacy is worthwhile if he can help someone who is struggling — Tim Cook: “I'm Proud to be Gay” — Throughout my professional life, I've tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don't seek to draw attention to myself.

More: Fortune, Washington Post, Techvibes Global News, Digital Trends, Mercury News, PC World, New York Times, CNNMoney.com, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, Associated Press, PC Magazine, VentureBeat, MacRumors, BGR, BBC, Inquirer, HBR.org, Benzinga, CNET, BetaBoston, CBS San Francisco, Gigaom, SiliconBeat, NPR, New York Magazine, MarketWatch, AppleInsider, Mashable, The Daily Dot, Network World, The Hill, memeburn, bizjournals, 9to5Mac, Forbes, Re/code, iPhone in Canada Blog, Business Insider, iPhone, TIME, The Register, iMore, Engadget, Reuters, SlashGear, Electronista, Cult of Mac, Valleywag, iDownloadBlog.com, Neowin, MacDailyNews, iLounge, Laughing Squid and App Advice

Tweets: @cue, @tim, @caseynewton, @theferocity, @timoreilly, @mikeisaac, @shaunking, @mikeisaac, @verge, @lisafleisher, @jim_edwards, @joshconstine, @mikeisaac, @msuster and @superhighfives

Todd Holmdahl / The Official Microsoft Blog:

Microsoft Health announced: a platform that works with Jawbone UP, RunKeeper, and more; app available for Windows Phone, Android, iOS — Introducing Microsoft Health — Today we're announcing a new platform called Microsoft Health. Within health and fitness, there is rapid innovation …

David Pierce / The Verge:

Microsoft Band announced: wearable tracks health, shows emails and tweets; available for $199 in US today — Microsoft's health revolution is here, starting with a $199 fitness tracker — Microsoft Health, the Microsoft Band, and a plan to unite the world — Microsoft's fitness tracking ambitions are not small.

Ina Fried / Re/code:

Lenovo Completes $2.9 Billion Motorola Purchase From Google — When Motorola Mobility President Rick Osterloh said Tuesday that the Lenovo deal was nearly done, he wasn't kidding. — Lenovo officially completed its $2.9 billion deal with Google early Thursday.

More: The Official Motorola Blog, The Verge, Wireless Smartphone Strategies, Android Police, Business Wire, ZDNet, Engadget, Reuters, The Next Web, AndroidGuys, Ubergizmo and Electronista

Jason Schreier / Kotaku:

YouTube Finally Supports 60FPS, And It Looks Awesome — Earlier this year, YouTube announced plans to support videos running at 60 frames-per-second—plans that would make a huge difference for footage of video games. Today, the video network has finally started rolling out the new service …

More: Inquirer, PC World, The Verge, Forbes, Geek.com, Gotta Be Mobile, Electronista and Tech2

Steve Dent / Engadget:

LG slims smartphone bezels to a virtually non-existent 0.7mm — You might talk about how much you hate large bezels, but LG is actually doing something about it. It just unveiled a 5.3-inch, 1080p LCD display with 0.7mm bezels, less than the width of a credit card.

More: LG Display Newsroom, Android Police, Digital Trends, Gizmodo, The Verge, Electronista and Android Central

Joe Rossignol / 9to5Google:

Xiaomi overtakes LG to become world's third-largest smartphone maker — The latest numbers from Strategy Analytics reveal that Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has surpassed Huawei and LG to become the third-largest smartphone maker in the world. Xiaomi has been making impressive strides since …

More: IDC, Wireless Smartphone Strategies, BetaNews, Re/code, Engadget, Android Police, Android Central, MobileBurn.com, Mobile Magazine, CNET and Tech Trader Daily. Tweets: @asymco. Thanks:@rsgnl

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

Windows Phone Shrinks In Android-Dominated Europe, As New iPhones Boost iOS' Share — Spare a thought for Microsoft, a relative newcomer to the mobile making business, after Redmond completed its $7.2BN+ acquisition of former European mobile making powerhouse Nokia earlier this year.

More: CNET and NEWS.com.au

Shara Tibken / CNET:

Samsung's Q3 profit drops 60% YoY to $3.9 billion, mobile division profit down 74% YoY — Samsung's Q3 financials show ongoing struggles in mobile — The Korean electronics giant posts a 74 percent drop in its mobile business operating profits during the September period.

More: Wall Street Journal, PC World, Reuters, BGR, Associated Press, AppleInsider, Bloomberg, SamMobile, Inquirer, Ubergizmo, ABC News and Engadget

Tweets: @charlesarthur, @monkbent, @asymco, @asymco and @monkbent

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Homejoy Officially Moves Beyond Cleaning With Launch Of Handyman Services In The Bay Area — In its first big move beyond home cleaning, Homejoy is adding carpet cleaning and general handyman services to its offerings in the Bay Area. — Co-founder and CEO Adora Cheung …

More: BuzzFeed and The Next Web. Tweets: @rsarver

Alex Wagner / PhoneDog:

Samsung Gear S 3G smartwatch launches Nov. 7 in US, $0 down on T-Mobile and Sprint on 2 year contract — Samsung Gear S launching in the US on November 7, carriers begin to reveal pricing — Following its international debut at the end of August, the Samsung Gear S will soon be making its way stateside.

More: Samsung Mobile US Press, T-Mobile Newsroom, 9to5Google, Gigaom, Digital Trends, Engadget, Wearable Tech Insider and Android and Me

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Flipboard's New App Gets Personal By Making Topics The Center Of Attention — Flipboard has been working hard over the last few years to build an app that makes reading stories on mobile and tablet devices as engaging as flipping through a magazine. With the latest version of its app …

More: Inside Flipboard, The Verge, ReadWrite, Tech Times, New York Times, The Next Web, iMore, VentureBeat and Gigaom. See also Mediagazer

Takashi Mochizuki / Wall Street Journal:

Sony replaces head of mobile division as its smartphone business continues to struggle — Sony Replaces Mobile Division Head — Hiroki Totoki Has Been Widely Viewed as Instrumental in Sony's Structural Reforms — TOKYO— Sony Corp. on Thursday named Senior Vice President Hiroki Totoki …

More: Reuters, TechnoBuffalo, Android Central, Telecompaper, AndroidHeadlines.com and ZDNet. Tweets: @mochi_wsj

Peter Bright / Ars Technica:

Lenovo announces 13" Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows, available November, prices start at $699.99 — Lenovo adds a 13-inch Windows tablet to the Yoga mix — Not content with launching five Yoga-branded tablets earlier this month, Lenovo has added a sixth device to its range.

More: Engadget, ZDNet, Laptop Mag, PC World, CNET, GSMArena Blog, TechRadar.com, Liliputing, BetaNews, Ubergizmo, Gotta Be Mobile and SlashGear

Chris Ziegler / The Verge:

Taiwanese smart energy startup Gogoro, led by former HTC exec, is close to raising $150M, promises product unveil at CES — Mysterious smart energy company raises $150 million, led by ex-HTC executive — Horace Luke, Gogoro's CEO. — Taiwanese firm Gogoro came out of stealth mode this morning …

More: Re/code, PE Hub Blog and SlashGear

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Google:

Google Play Movies & TV app gets redesign, second-screen experience w/ actor & soundtrack info — Google today announced that it's rolling out an updated Google Play Movies & TV app for Android that introduces a second-screen experience when streaming TV shows and movies to a Chromecast or Nexus Player-connected TV.

More: The Next Web and TechnoBuffalo. See also Mediagazer

Samuel Gibbs / Guardian:

Vodafone and EE begin LTE-A rollout in the UK — UK joins world's fastest mobile internet club with next generation 4G+ rollout — EE joins Vodafone with mobile data speeds five times faster than average UK broadband in London, with Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool added in 2015

More: iMore, The Next Web, Inquirer, Neowin, Total Telecom, ZDNet, Telecoms.com, Gizmodo UK, Compare Mobile Phones …, Mobile News Online, Telecompaper and Pocket-lint

Sophie Knight / Reuters:

Nintendo and ResMed are developing non-wearable bedside sleep and fatigue tracker, plan to release it before end of March 2016 — Nintendo to develop device to track sleep, fatigue: CEO — Nintendo signage is displayed at the company's booth at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo …

More: CNET, TechCrunch, Electronista, GameSpot, TechHive, TechRadar.com, Eurogamer.net, Polygon, The Verge, Gizmodo, Geek.com, SlashGear and Kotaku

Deborah Gage / Wall Street Journal:

Capriza, which allows desktop business applications to be used on mobile, raises $27M Series C — Capriza Raises $27 Million to Bring Unwieldy Business Apps to Mobile — Taking old and unwieldy business applications and making them usable on mobile devices has been pursued …

More: Network World, VentureBeat, Forbes, PE Hub Blog and BrianMadden.com

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Crowdsourced Design Marketplace Minted Raises $38M More, Adds Fabrics And Home Decor — E-commerce design startup Minted has big ambitions for its crowdsourced marketplace of designs, with plans to launch in a whole new product category as well as giving its artists a platform for creating new storefronts.

More: VentureBeat, PE Hub Blog, PR Newswire, Reuters and bizjournals. Thanks:@d_ghiglieri

David Kravets / Ars Technica:

MPAA, movie theaters announce “zero tolerance” policy against wearables — A movie theater industry group and the Motion Picture Association of America updated their anti-piracy policies and said that “wearable devices” must be powered off at show time. — “Individuals who fail or refuse …

More: Variety, Gigaom, PandoDaily, Fox News, NATO, SiliconANGLE, The Verge, Techdirt, CITEworld, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Geeky Gadgets, VatorNews, Wearable Tech Insider, Gizmodo, GeekWire, The Register, VentureBreak and Tech Times. Tweets: @arstechnica. See also Mediagazer

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Skype for iPhone now lets you save and delete photos; gets avatar, people, and chat improvements — Skype today updated its iPhone app with a slew of new features and improvements based on user suggestions. You can download the new version now directly from Apple's App Store.

More: Skype Blogs, MacRumors, The Next Web, 9to5Mac and iMore

Signe Brewster / Gigaom:

Autodesk puts up $100M fund for 3D printing companies — Autodesk is seeking both hardware and software companies to receive a chunk of the fund, with an eye on fostering the 3D printing company as a whole. — Autodesk is gearing up to release its open-source 3D printer and accompanying software …

More: ZDNet

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