Techmeme
January 11, 2015, 11:20 PM

Top News

Ben Thompson / stratechery:
With a broad range of products united by software, Xiaomi sells an ecosystem, not just phones  —  Xiaomi's Ambition  —  Xiaomi, the Chinese smart phone company that late last month raised $1.1 billion at a $45 billion valuation, sells way more than smartphones: Mi.com boasts over a thousand items …
Quentin Hardy / New York Times:
Following Microsoft's new Skype Translator, Google to announce major update to Translate app, add automatic transcription for popular languages  —  Language Translation Tech Starts to Deliver on Its Promise  —  The tech industry is doing its best to topple the Tower of Babel.
Brad Stone / Businessweek:
Marc Lore's new Costco-inspired e-commerce site Jet to begin limited sign-ups Feb. 20, with $49.99 annual membership fee  —  Amazon Bought This Man's Company.  Now He's Coming for Them  —  The historic downtown commercial district of Montclair, N.J., is known for its restaurants, antique shops, and art-house movie theater.
Kim-Mai Cutler / TechCrunch:
How systemic discrimination and policy shaped East Palo Alto as neighboring Silicon Valley exploded in wealth and power  —  East of Palo Alto's Eden  —  What if Silicon Valley had emerged from a racially integrated community?  —  Would the technology industry be different?  —  Would we?
David Katzmaier / CNET:
4K TV makers push features like quantum dots, HDR, and curved displays to differentiate at CES  —  TVs at CES 2015 go beyond 4K  —  4K is already old hat.  The rapidly falling prices of 4K TVs are causing manufacturers push even more elaborate features to make a buck.
Steve Kovach / Business Insider:
Sources: Samsung plans to launch a round smartwatch and two Galaxy S6 variants at MWC, one with a metal frame and another with a curved Note Edge-like display  —  Here's What To Expect From Samsung's Next Smartphone Launch  —  Samsung is taking a different approach with its flagship mobile products …
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Source: neither Twitter nor its board have considered replacing Costolo, despite rumors that Adam Bain may become CEO  —  Rumors Swirl That Adam Bain Will Be The Next Twitter CEO, But Costolo's Not Going Anywhere Yet  —  Disclosure: I own less than 500 shares each of Twitter, Yahoo, and Aol stock.
More: TheStreet.com and Business Insider.  Tweets: @pmarca
Joshua Brustein / Businessweek:
GameStop's eluding Blockbuster's fate for now by selling physical vouchers for DLC, maintaining fat margins on used games  —  Extra Lives: Can GameStop Avoid Blockbuster's Fate?  —  Tim Brooks claims to know 98 percent to 100 percent of the people who visit his store, a GameStop on a scruffy city block in northern Philadelphia.

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More News

Arielle Duhaime-Ross / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Bonnie Cha / Re/code:
Justin Duino / Android Central: