Techmeme: 100M users strong, Truecaller now suggests who it thinks you want to call right now (Paul Sawers/VentureBeat)

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December 4, 2014, 6:40 AM

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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 …

More: VatorNews, Gizmodo, Ubergizmo, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, AppleInsider, Cult of Mac, The Next Web, Gizmodo UK, iPhone in Canada Blog, iMore and App Advice. Tweets: @jeffelder

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.

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.

More: Kantar Worldpanel, Kantar Worldpanel, Forbes, International Business Times, Digital Trends, Backchannel, Telegraph, MacNN, Patently Apple, Computerworld, Cult of Mac, AppleInsider, iMore, TUAW, PCMag Australia Feed, DailyTech, PhoneArena and Inquirer

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

SoftBank Invests $250M In GrabTaxi, Uber's Archrival In Southeast Asia — Not content with leading a $627 million mega-round for Flipkart and a $210 million raise for Ola as part of a $10 billion commitment to startups in India, SoftBank has now turned its attention to Southeast Asia …

More: Digital Trends, Channel NewsAsia, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Business Wire, Wall Street Journal, ABC News and Seeking Alpha. Tweets: @joshconstine

Ina Fried / Re/code:

Sprint CFO says company's “Cut Your Bill in Half” promo will save average customer only 20% — Sprint's Crazy “Cut Your Bill in Half” Promo Actually Saves Customers 20 Percent — Sprint acknowledged Tuesday that its eye-popping promotion offering to cut AT&T and Verizon customers' bills …

More: TechnoBuffalo, Digital Trends, PhoneDog.com, BGR, Windows Phone Central and O'Grady's PowerPage. Tweets: @doctorparadox

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: Digital Trends, Gizmodo, Engadget, Droid Life, SlashGear, PhoneDog.com, FierceWireless, Windows Phone Central and Android and Me

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

Tim Moynihan / Wired:

Puzzlephone is a modular smartphone concept with just 3 swappable parts, available end of 2015 — The Puzzlephone Is a Slick, Simpler Take on the Modular Phone — The Puzzlephone is a conceptual handset built around an idea similar to Google's mix-and-match Project Ara phone.

More: BGR, Gizmodo, designboom, Deccan Chronicle, Gigaom, BetaNews, Digital Trends, CNET, MobileSyrup.com, Geek.com, SlashGear, Know Your Mobile, Android Community and TechnoBuffalo

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

100M users strong, Truecaller now suggests who it thinks you want to call right now — Almost two months after Truecaller nabbed $60 million to help you avoid spammers and nuisance calls, the Swedish startup has announced it has now passed the 100 million-user milestone as it unveils a handful of new …

More: Business Standard, The Economic Times, WebWire, VatorNews, ArcticStartup, TechCrunch, Gigaom and Tech in Asia

Jamie Rigg / Engadget:

YotaPhone 2 review: mediocre camera, average battery life, and a high price, but E Ink and dual-screen design make this a cool device — YotaPhone 2 review: niche and expensive, but seriously cool — YotaPhone was inarguably one of the quirkiest smartphones released last year, with not one, but two displays.

More: The Next Web, ExtremeTech and CNET

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

Google's new API for reCAPTCHA doesn't rely on distorted word test, instead uses cues like cookies, mouse movements, IP addresses and requires only one click — Google Can Now Tell You're Not a Robot With Just One Click — When Alan Turing first conceived of the Turing Test in 1947 …

More: The Verge, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Tech Times, SFist, NPR, USA Today, The Next Web, PandoDaily, VentureBeat, The Register, Geek.com, Gigaom, BetaNews, 9to5Google and Help Net Security

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Zenefits Faces Shutdown In Utah For Giving Its Cloud-Based HR Software Away For Free — Zenefits has become the latest startup to face regulatory scrutiny in a market it serves, as it now faces opposition from the Utah Insurance Department. The department is taking the company to task essentially …

More: Fortune, Utah Governor, Beehive Startups, Vox, Quartz, Insurance Journal, Techdirt, SiliconBeat and Change.org

Tweets: @brezina, @aaronklein, @andrewdumont, @zacherynielson, @andyswan, @pmarca, @mg and @pmarca

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, Re/code, Electronista, Multichannel News, Politico, Advanced Television and The Wrap. See also Mediagazer

Todd Shields / Bloomberg:

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

More: Reuters and Broadcasting & Cable. See also Mediagazer

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