Techmeme: Questions about mobile: What happens to Android OEMs? Will more players attempt to fork Android? In what layer will aggregation and discovery sit? More (Benedict Evans)

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December 4, 2014, 12:15 PM

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Ryan Gallagher / The Intercept:

Operation AURORAGOLD: How the NSA hacks cellphone networks worldwide and spies on GSMA — How the NSA Hacks Cellphone Networks Worldwide — In March 2011, two weeks before the Western intervention in Libya, a secret message was delivered to the National Security Agency.

More: CNET, Gigaom, PandoDaily, The Verge, The Hill, Gizmodo, Business Insider and Gizmodo UK

Tweets: @ggreenwald, @e3i5, @the_intercept, @the_intercept, @the_intercept, @the_intercept, @rj_gallagher and @matthew_d_green

Travis Kalanick / Uber Blog:

Uber raises $1.2B, looks to invest in the Asia Pacific region; acknowledges shortcomings in company's culture — The Ride Ahead — 2014 has been a year of tremendous growth for Uber. It was just a year ago that Uber was operating in 60 cities and 21 countries - today we are in over 250 cities in 50 countries.

More: Fortune, Re/code, TechCrunch, Business Insider, VentureBeat and New York Times

Tweets: @sallyshin, @msquinn, @davidplouffe and @danprimack

Jeff Elder / Wall Street Journal:

Lawyers say Apple deleted music from rival services on users' iPods between 2007-2009 — Apple Deleted Rivals' Songs from Users' iPods — Apple deleted music that some iPod owners had downloaded from competing music services from 2007 to 2009 without telling users, attorneys …

Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

Amazon Unveils Its Own Diapers and Baby Wipes Called Amazon Elements — For years, Amazon naysayers have warned that the e-commerce giant's ambition would drive it to compete ever more directly with the merchants who sell goods on Amazon's popular online marketplace.

More: Amazon.com, Engadget, Gizmodo, ABC News, USA Today, VentureBeat, The Next Web, GeekWire, TechCrunch, The Awl, Wired and WebProNews

Lev Grossman / TIME:

Inside Mark Zuckerberg's plan to wire the world and put every single human being online — Exclusive: Inside Facebook's Plan to Wire the World — Chandauli is a tiny town in rural India about a four-hour drive southwest of New Delhi. India's a big country, and there are several Chandaulis.

Tweets: @time, @om and @sampjacobs

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft sells its 17.6% stake in Nook back to Barnes & Noble for $62M and 2.7M shares — Microsoft sells its stake in Nook back to Barnes & Noble — Microsoft and Barnes & Noble unveiled a “strategic partnership” back in April 2012 which involved the software maker investing $300 million …

More: Barnes & Noble, Inc., Gigaom, CNET, GeekWire, Fortune, Reuters, TechCrunch, ZDNet, VentureBeat, New York Times and Windows Phone Central. See also Mediagazer

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Four Months After Acquisition, Square Launches iOS App For Food Delivery Service Caviar — Over the summer, Square purchased food delivery startup Caviar. Today, it's making ordering on the service even easier with the launch of a mobile app. — Square announced the acquisition …

More: Caviar Blog, The Verge, iMore, The Next Web, VentureBeat and Engadget

Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:

Google's Inbox team promises cross-browser support, unified inbox, and more in Reddit AMA — Google's Inbox team promises cross-browser support and a host of other features soon — Google's new Inbox interface for its longstanding Gmail service is an intriguing, futuristic …

More: Google Operating System, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, ABC News, CITEworld, Gigaom, TechCrunch, The Next Web, Android Police and TechnoBuffalo

Benedict Evans:

Questions about mobile: What happens to Android OEMs? Will more players attempt to fork Android? In what layer will aggregation and discovery sit? More — New questions in mobile — Seven years into the smartphone world, it seems like it's time to change the questions.

More: Wired. Tweets: @antderosa, @cdixon and @mdudas

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Kantar: Apple On Track For ‘Record Quarter’ As iPhone 6 Sales Bump Up Its Market Share Vs. Android — Apple has been seeing its smartphone market share erode over the last several years as its simple-and-small line up of iPhones competed against model after model of low-priced, big-screened, fancy-featured Android-based handsets.

Zoran Basich / Wall Street Journal:

Early Oculus Backer Formation 8 Raises $500 Million to Connect Dots Between Asia, U.S. — Formation 8 has closed its second fund at $500 million, a quick turnaround for a young venture firm whose successful early bet on virtual-reality company Oculus VR Inc. created plenty of demand from institutional investors.

More: Bloomberg, New York Times, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Reuters and PE Hub Blog

Alistair Barr / Wall Street Journal:

Google to raise commissions for resellers of Google Apps for Work in a push to woo larger organizations — Google Makes Move on Microsoft's Turf in Workplace — Gmail Operator to Offer Bigger Fees to Resellers Amid Push to Challenge Outlook Owner — Google Inc. plans to boost …

More: 9to5Google, Bloomberg, SmallBusiness.com, TheStreet.com and Seeking Alpha

Marcus Wohlsen / Wired:

Starbucks launches Mobile Order & Pay in Portland, will roll out program nationwide in 2015 — Starbucks Schools Silicon Valley (Again) With Launch of iPhone Ordering — Starting on Wednesday, if you open up the Starbucks iPhone app in Portland, Oregon, you'll see a new tab that reads “order.”

More: Starbucks Newsroom, Oregonian, GeekWire, Engadget, MacRumors, Geeky Gadgets, Mashable, TUAW, The Verge, Techvibes Global News, 9to5Mac, KOIN-TV, iMore, iClarified and App Advice

Marco della Cava / USA Today:

Google to create new versions of its most popular products for kids 12 and under starting early next year — Google to revamp its products with 12-and-under focus — SAN FRANCISCO - With Google processing 40,000 search queries a second - or 1.2 trillion a year - it's a safe bet that many of those doing the Googling are kids.

Kevin Fitchard / Gigaom:

Verizon starts killing off 3G networks to make room for LTE — Verizon has already launched two distinct LTE networks since it first turned on 4G in 2010, but now it's started paving the way for the third. Unlike the first two, however, this new network won't tap virgin airwaves.

More: Consumerist, DSLreports, AndroidHeadlines.com, Gizmodo, Tech Times, Digital Trends, Electronista, Computerworld, Engadget, Droid Life, SlashGear, PhoneDog.com, FierceWireless, Android and Me and Windows Phone Central

Emily Steel / New York Times:

Dish, consumer groups, more unite to launch Stop Mega Comcast coalition to advocate against $45B TWC merger — Coalition Opposes Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger — A group of companies, public interest groups and labor unions have joined forces to urge regulators to reject Comcast's …

More: BGR, TechPresident, Re/code, Tech Times, Electronista, The Wrap, Multichannel News, Politico and Advanced Television. See also Mediagazer

Todd Shields / Bloomberg:

FCC resumes AT&T/DirecTV and Comcast/TWC merger reviews, suggesting decisions may come in March

More: Broadcasting & Cable and Reuters. See also Mediagazer

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