Techmeme: BlackBerry shares spiked almost 30% after Samsung buyout report, back down about 15% after BlackBerry denial; claim that Samsung wanted patents appears suspect (Steve Kovach/Business Insider)

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January 14, 2015, 7:50 PM

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BlackBerry Press Room:

BlackBerry denies it has engaged in buyout discussions with Samsung — BlackBerry Responds to Media Report — Waterloo, ON - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) ("BlackBerry") is aware of certain press reports published today with respect to a possible offer by Samsung to purchase BlackBerry.

More: Globe and Mail, The Register, Gigaom, The Next Web, Reuters, TechCrunch, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Tech Trader Daily, TechnoBuffalo, TmoNews and Phandroid

Tweets: @markgurman, @s_m_i and @fxmacro

Steve Kovach / Business Insider:

BlackBerry shares spiked almost 30% after Samsung buyout report, back down about 15% after BlackBerry denial; claim that Samsung wanted patents appears suspect — BlackBerry Denies Samsung Is Trying To Buy It, And Now The Stock Is Tanking — BlackBerry denies that Samsung is trying to buy it …

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Facebook launching “Facebook at Work” employee collaboration tool with a handful of test companies — Facebook Unveils Facebook At Work, Lets Businesses Create Their Own Social Networks — About six months ago, we reported that Facebook was working on a new product aimed squarely …

Garett Sloane / Adweek:

Snapchat is asking brands for $750,000 a day for its new ads, higher than YouTube's $500,000/day rate for a masthead — Snapchat Is Asking Brands for $750,000 to Advertise and Won't Budge — Brands balk at paying top dollar for one day of disappearing ads

More: Business Insider, SlashGear and Mobile Marketing Watch

Tweets: @dmac1, @jguynn and @adamsinger

Reuters:

Google has begun discussions with top automakers including General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Daimler, and Volkswagen, to bring self-driving cars to market by 2020 — Google partners with auto suppliers on self-driving car — (Reuters) - Internet company Google Inc has begun discussions …

More: Gigaom, Associated Press, VentureBeat, 9to5Google, Android Authority, The Verge, Ubergizmo, Droid Life, Automotive News Automaker, Tech Trader Daily and Connectedly

Barak Turovsky / The Official Google Blog:

Google Translate mobile app auto-detects language in spoken conversations and adds instant translate in camera view — Hallo, hola, olá to the new, more powerful Google Translate app — Often the hardest part of traveling is navigating the local language.

More: eWeek, TIME, Macworld, Washington Post, Gigaom, Lifehacker, TechnoBuffalo, Adweek, Redmond Pie, Android Police, iMore, SlashGear, Droid Life, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, PC Magazine, iDownloadBlog.com, ValueWalk, New York Times, The Register, Yahoo Tech, SiteProNews and Pocketnow. Tweets: @google

Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:

Google's modular Project Ara smartphone to pilot in Puerto Rico later this year with between 20 and 30 Ara modules available by launch — Google's modular Project Ara smartphone will begin pilot testing in Puerto Rico later this year — Google is holding its second Project Ara developer's conference today …

More: The Verge, Android Authority, PandoDaily, VentureBeat, Forbes, TechCrunch, The Register, ABC News, Engadget, Android Police, The Technology Chronicles, CNET, InvestorPlace, TechnoBuffalo, Neowin, Re/code, POPSUGAR, 9to5Google and Phones Review

Tweets: @danieleran and @verge

Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:

Google to offer Ara Configurator app to help users build Project Ara phones, will also offer pre-built options through its “simple phone maker”

More: Computerworld, Engadget, Ubergizmo and SlashGear

Graham Cluley:

Google discloses *another* Microsoft Windows vulnerability before a patch is ready — Earlier this month, Google controversially published proof-of-concept code, providing malicious hackers with a blueprint through which they could exploit Microsoft Windows 8.1 through a zero-day vulnerability.

Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:

Microsoft pushes critical Windows 8.1 security fixes, patches vulnerability recently disclosed by Google

More: Microsoft Security TechCenter, internetnews.com, Security Affairs, GeekWire and Naked Security

Reuters:

Apple sues Ericsson over LTE wireless telecom patents — (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) sued Ericsson (ERICb.ST) alleging that the Swedish company's LTE wireless technology patents are not essential to industry cellular standards and that it is demanding excessive royalties for these patents.

More: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Electronista, iMore, iDownloadBlog.com, Patently Apple, Tech Times, TechnoBuffalo and ITworld.com

Olof Swahnberg / Reuters:

Ericsson files complaint against Apple over tech license payments

More: Ericsson News Center, eWeek, Bloomberg, Android Police, CNET, New York Times, MacDailyNews, 9to5Mac and PC Magazine

Jon Southurst / CoinDesk:

Bitcoin falls below $185; hash rate drops, mining not profitable, making network volatile — Bitcoin Price Continues to Fall, Breaks $200 Mark — The bitcoin price fell below the landmark $200 point at 07:24 (GMT) today, putting it back into territory not seen since late 2013.

More: New York Times, Data Center Knowledge, PandoDaily, TechCrunch, Vox, The Daily Dot, Sydney Morning Herald, CoinDesk, Inside Bitcoins, Bloomberg, Washington Post, USA Today, Gigaom, Business Insider Australia, Bloomberg View, Guardian and Mashable

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:

Kevin Rose raises $5M for his app incubator North Technologies, steps back from Google Ventures — Google Ventures Partner Kevin Rose Raises $5 Million for App Incubator, Steps Back From Investing — After a few months of dipping his toes back into the startup life …

More: TechCrunch, VentureBeat and Wall Street Journal. Tweets: @kevinrose

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe offer joint payment of $415M to settle US poaching lawsuit — Bigger Settlement Said to Be Reached in Silicon Valley Antitrust Case — SAN FRANCISCO — Silicon Valley companies have sweetened the pot to try to get rid of an embarrassing class-action antitrust suit …

More: MacRumors, Mercury News, Engadget, SD Times, PC Magazine, Wired, MacDailyNews, Inquirer and iPhone in Canada Blog

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

Microsoft Squeezes Windows Phone To $81 With Entry Level Lumia 435, $93 With Lumia 532 — Microsoft has announced two new Lumia smartphones running its Windows Phone 8.1 mobile OS, both focused on beefing up the portfolio at the lower end and expanding the platform's appeal in emerging markets to try to compete with budget Androids.

More: Lumia Conversations, Microsoft, The Next Web, Ars Technica, ZDNet, The Verge, Geek Beat, Digital Trends, PC World, WinBeta, Ubergizmo, Gizmodo, The Seattle Times, Gigaom, Ubergizmo, Blogging Windows, GadgeTell and TechnoBuffalo. Thanks:@riptari

Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:

Google Voice founder and former Google Ventures general partner Wesley Chan joins Felicis Ventures as managing director — Former Google Ventures General Partner Wesley Chan Joins Felicis Ventures As Managing Director — One of the earliest members of both Google and Google Ventures has found a new home.

More: Fortune, Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Deborah Gage / Wall Street Journal:

Moovit Picks Up $50 Million to Help Transit Riders Find Faster Routes … Moovit has raised $50 million for a mobile app that lets riders plan trips and anticipate obstacles on local public transit systems in more than 500 cities around the world. — The Series C round includes corporate …

More: VatorNews, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, bizjournals, PE Hub Blog, Moovit and Gigaom

Jonathan Shieber / TechCrunch:

Online education company Lynda.com raises $186M led by TPG at roughly a $1B valuation and is in advanced negotiations with three acquisition targets — Online Education Company Lynda.com Gets $186 Million For A Shopping Spree — Online personal and professional continuing education company lynda.com …

More: bizjournals, PandoDaily, Bloomberg, PE Hub Blog and Marketwire

Tweets: @claireboo and @ericnewcomer

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