Techmeme: After years of restructuring, Sony predicts operating profit will quadruple to $2.7B this year on strong PS4 and image sensor sales (Wall Street Journal)

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April 30, 2015, 2:25 PM

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Steve Teixeira / Building Apps for Windows:

Microsoft releases preview of Windows 10 IoT Core for Raspberry Pi and Arduino devices — Microsoft brings Windows 10 to Makers — We are continually inspired by the enthusiasm and passion for technology represented by the Maker community. Today we are excited to share what's next …

Terry Myerson / Blogging Windows:

Welcoming Developers to Windows 10

Ross Miller / The Verge:

Microsoft demos Windows 10 apps running on HoloLens

More: Unity Technologies Blog, SiliconANGLE, PCWorld, Ars Technica, CITEworld, Neowin, MCV: Home Stream, Pocket Gamer.biz, InvestorPlace, BGR, Yahoo Tech, The Register, Pocketnow and CNET

Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:

Warby Parker raises $100M round led by T. Rowe Price, sources say at a valuation of $1.2B — Eyeglass Retailer Warby Parker Valued at $1.2 Billion — Online eyeglass retailer Warby Parker has raised a fresh round of capital that values it over $1 billion and bolsters its expansion of brick-and-mortar stores.

More: TechCrunch, Business Insider and Entrepreneur

Tweets: @nicole_hong and @alexjamesfitz

Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:

Apple poaches top producers from BBC Radio 1 for new Spotify rival — Whatever Apple is creating to rival Spotify just got a lot more intriguing. — Little more than two months after poaching Zane Lowe from BBC Radio 1, MBW understands that Apple has pinched four producers from the station …

More: Mashable, 9to5Mac, Business Insider, TechnoBuffalo, AppleInsider, iLounge, FACT Magazine, MacRumors and Cult of Mac

Tweets: @bpi_music and @musicbizworld

Bloomberg Business:

Sources: Salesforce is working with bankers to field takeover inquiries; shares soar 12% — Salesforce Said to Work With Bankers to Field Takeover Inquiries — Salesforce.com Inc. is working with financial advisers to help it field takeover offers after being approached by a potential acquirer …

John Paczkowski / BuzzFeed:

Sources: Oracle not among the companies bidding on Salesforce

More: Re/code, Inc.com, Bloomberg Business, Fortune, CIO.com, Seeking Alpha, bizjournals, Forbes, Business Insider and Tech Trader Daily

Wall Street Journal:

Apple and IBM team with Japan Post to serve elderly, aim to give 5M iPads to senior citizens by 2020 — Japan Post Teams With Apple, IBM to Better Serve Elderly — Post-office staffers check in on older clients, offer consultation services, report back to family members

Jordan Novet / VentureBeat:

Amazon pays $20M-$50M for ClusterK, the startup that can run apps on AWS at 10% of the regular price — EXCLUSIVE: — Amazon, the world's biggest provider of cloud infrastructure for running applications, has acquired ClusterK, with an eye toward integrating the startup's technology …

More: Computerworld, CloudWedge, SiliconANGLE, Beyond Search and GeekWire

Wall Street Journal:

After years of restructuring, Sony predicts operating profit will quadruple to $2.7B this year on strong PS4 and image sensor sales — Sony Expects Profits to Surge This Fiscal Year — After long restructuring, Japanese electronics maker predicts $2.7 billion operating profit

More: The Verge, CNET, Reuters, USA Today, IGN, Bloomberg Business, Ars Technica, Reuters and Seeking Alpha

Wall Street Journal:

Image sensors in iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 generate as much as $20 per unit for Sony

Mike Isaac / New York Times:

Secret's 16-month life: from the next big thing, to a $6M cash-out by the founders, to yesterday's news — A Founder of Secret, the Anonymous Social App, Shuts It Down as Use Declines — Last summer, employees at the start-up Secret gathered in their new offices in downtown San Francisco …

More: SiliconBeat, Business Insider, streetfightmag.com, BBC and SiliconANGLE

Tweets: @erickschonfeld, @fmanjoo, @counternotions, @digiphile and @ellenhuet

David Byttow / Medium:

CEO of Secret announces company is shutting down and returning money to investors

Michael J. Casey / Wall Street Journal:

Bitcoin wallet service Circle raises $50M led by Goldman Sachs and IDG Capital Partners, sources say at a valuation of $200M — Goldman a Lead Investor in Funding Round for Bitcoin Startup Circle — Goldman Sachs part of $50 million round that values Circle Internet at around $200 million

More: The Circle Blog, New York Times, TechCrunch, PandoDaily, Bloomberg Business, Quartz, CoinTelegraph.Com News, PE Hub Blog, PYMNTS.com, BuzzFeed, Xconomy, Mashable, Reuters and CoinDesk

Bloomberg Business:

Leaked Lyft presentation to investors reveals estimated $130M revenue in 2014; company spends $530 marketing per driver and 22 passengers in SF — Leaked Lyft Document Reveals a Costly Battle With Uber — The startup also describes its rival as having an “anti-social culture”

Tweets: @thestalwart and @lesliepicker

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

IHS: 38mm Apple Watch Sport component and manufacturing costs are $83.70, about 24% of retail price — Apple Watch Sport Component Costs Estimated at $83.10, Which Won't Sit Well With Tim Cook — IHS iSuppli often tears down devices to estimate component costs, and today …

More: ZDNet, Business Wire, Re/code, VentureBeat, SlashGear and WatchAware

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Apple Watch production slowed by faulty taptic engines from one supplier; company told some suppliers last week to slow production until June

More: Reuters, The Verge, Business Insider, Re/code, TechEye, Gotta Be Mobile, App Advice, InvestorPlace, iPhone in Canada Blog, Quartz and SiliconANGLE. Tweets: @daiwaka

Matthew Martin / Bloomberg Business:

TAG Heuer's upcoming Android Wear smartwatch will be available in November for about $1400 with battery life around 40 hours — LVMH to Begin Selling $1,400 TAG Heuer Smartwatch by November — TAG Heuer will start selling a smartwatch for about $1,400 in October or November …

Robert McMillan / Wall Street Journal:

IBM makes key advance toward quantum computing, can now detect two types of critical errors — IBM Brings Quantum Computing a Step Closer — Researchers at IBM have stitched together a prototype circuit that could become the basis of quantum computers a decade hence.

More: Phys.org, TechCrunch, SiliconANGLE, A Smarter Planet Blog, Inquirer, ZDNet, Data Center Knowledge, Tech Times, TechEye, PCWorld and ExtremeTech

Chris Welch / The Verge:

Amazon Instant Video for iOS adds ability to stream content in HD, now works over cellular — Amazon Instant Video for iOS finally lets you stream movies and TV in HD — Amazon's finally getting around to a much needed update for its Instant Video app on iOS today.

More: 9to5Mac, iMore, The Next Web, TechCrunch, TechnoBuffalo, SlashGear and Lifehacker. See also Mediagazer

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:

Apple now says human medical research apps ‘must’ get ethics board approval — Apple has added a clause in its App Store guidelines for developers noting that apps doing health-related human subject research are required to obtain approvals from an independent ethics review board.

More: MacRumors, Naked Security, MobileSyrup.com, Ubergizmo, Consumerist, iLounge, Digital Trends and The Verge

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