Techmeme: Samsung promises a dual-core 2GHz smartphone ‘by next year’ (Vlad Savov/Engadget)

1:40 PM ET, April 18, 2011

Top Items:

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:

Dropbox Hits 25 Millions Users, 200 Million Files Per Day — Dropbox will announce a number of milestones on Monday morning, we've learned. The file backup and sharing service was founded in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi. It was in one of the early Y Combinator classes …

Discussion: SFGate, Between the Lines Blog, Fortune, Digital Trends, Social Markets, TUAW, Softpedia News, Techie Buzz and App Advice

Larry Fitzgibbon / Demand Media:

Another Statement About Search Engine Algorithm Changes — It's hard to imagine a company more focused on the connection between consumers and content than Demand Media. That point of connection gives us the opportunity to inform, engage and serve the consumer. And it's where trusted relationships start.

Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent:
Demand Media Downplays Impact Of Latest Google Changes

Discussion: Between the Lines Blog, WebProNews, Betabeat, Search Engine Roundtable and Poynter

Elsa Wenzel / PC World:

Microsoft Office 365 Beta Opens for Business: What's Inside — Now anyone can try Office 365, Microsoft's cloud productivity package for businesses. The service opened Sunday night for beta testing, coming a step closer to its final launch, which will occur sometime later this year.

Matt Rosoff / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft Tries To Bury Google Apps With Office 365

Discussion: Digital Trends and Network World

Kim-Mai Cutler / Inside Mobile Apps:

Apple May Have Tweaked App Store Ranking Algorithm, Making Downloads Matter Less — It looks like Apple made a number of changes to the app store's ranking system last week, adding in new weights on top of download numbers to determine top apps, according to conversations we've …

Discussion: App Advice, 9 to 5 Mac, Gizmodo, GigaOM, MarketingVOX and MacStories

Farhad Manjoo / Slate:

What on Earth Happened to BlackBerry? — Research in Motion's new tablet is a misguided mess. — First, a confession: I haven't used the BlackBerry PlayBook yet. The seven-inch tablet computer is scheduled to go on sale next week, and I hope to get my hands on one soon. This, then, is not a product review.

Discussion: Internet2Go, @carnage4life and Appolicious Advisor

Omar El Akkad / Globe and Mail:
RIM makes a play for its future

Discussion: Michael Geist Blog and Voice on the Web

Derek Kessler / PreCentral.net:

Veer launch party scheduled for May 2; Update: AT&T confirmed? — We've been hearing “spring,” “soon,” and most recently “very soon” with regards to when the minuscule HP Veer smartphone is supposed to launch. Of course, all this vagueness means little without a concrete date …

Discussion: Technologizer, LAPTOP Magazine, MobileCrunch, FierceWireless, Gadgetell, BGR, Gizmodo, GottaBeMobile, IntoMobile, Softpedia News, Electronista, Engadget and WebOS Arena

Seth Schiesel / New York Times:

Busy Job of Judging Video-Game Content to Be Ceded to Machines — The little E's, T's and M's that appear on the covers of video games get there the old-fashioned way: People working for the Entertainment Software Rating Board look at the games, decide how gory, sexy or potty-mouthed they are …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Fast Company and Blue's News

CBS News:

A billionaire bachelor's playground — Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen gives “60 Minutes” a tour of his estate, yacht, space rocket, and, yes — his very own submarine What would you do if you suddenly became a billionaire with the means to indulge your every whim, no matter how extreme?

Discussion: Bloomberg, Engadget, TechFlash, MacDailyNews, CNET News and dailywireless.org

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:

White iPhone 4 Now available for order on 3 UK, delivers on April 20th — The mythical white iPhone 4 is now available for order on the 3 UK store. The phone is available for the standard subsidized price of £159 for the 32GB version. — The white iPhone 4 has been a topic …

Discussion: Recombu, Engadget, MacRumors, SlashGear and MacHackPC

Arn / MacRumors:
White iPhone 4 to Launch on April 26th?

Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac, Ars Technica, App Advice, Phones Review, Redmond Pie, Startup Meme, Recombu, Fonehome, Gadgetell, TiPb, everythingiCafe, PalmAddicts and TUAW

Harry McCracken / Technologizer:

Saying Apple Will Never Do Something: Always Dangerous — For years, there's been a persistent, as-yet-unrealized rumor that Apple will start making HDTVs. Received wisdom, however, has generally argued that it's not going to happen. TVs are too commoditized; TVs would have to come in too many sizes …

Discussion: GigaOM, Fast Company, PC World, Stowe Boyd, Neven Mrgan's tumbl, SAI, parislemon and Marco.org

Neil Hughes / AppleInsider:

Mass production of Apple's A5-, Qualcomm-powered iPhone 5 rumored for Sept. — Apple's iPhone 5 will feature “slight modifications” from its predecessor, including an 8 megapixel rear camera and a Qualcomm baseband for both GSM and CDMA models, and will go into production in September, a new report claims.

Discussion: The Register, ZDNet, PC Magazine, Engadget, Digital Trends, MacRumors, SAI, Edible Apple, Softpedia News, MacHackPC, TUAW, Neowin.net, Apple Bitch, PhoneArena, I4U News, MacStories and iClarified

Federico Viticci / MacStories:

Dropbox 1.4 Brings Tabs Back, Direct Uploads from Other Apps — A major update to the official Dropbox app for iOS was released night in the App Store, and it adds important new functionalities to the uploading aspect of the app. Originally released last May on the iPad …

Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac

Vlad Savov / Engadget:

Samsung promises a dual-core 2GHz smartphone ‘by next year’ — Are you ready for a scorching-fast future? Samsung sure is, as today the Maeli Business Newspaper reports “a high-ranking” company official has disclosed Samsung's intention to deliver a dual-core smartphone that runs at 2GHz.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:

Apple Q2 2011 earnings preview — Fortune's final poll of Apple analysts — professional and amateur — Here are the final estimates — barring last-minute revisions — along with each analyst's rank, where available, in last quarter's earnings smackdown.

Discussion: Apple and TUAW, Thanks:philiped

Tricia Duryee / eMoney:

Wal-Mart Acquires Kosmix to Move Into Social and Mobile — Wal-Mart is buying Kosmix, a Mountain View, Calif.-based company that has built a social media platform that organizes content by topic. — The company did not disclose terms of the agreement, but said the acquisition would be instrumental …

Discussion: TechCrunch and Datawocky

Matt Brian / The Next Web:

What Happens To Your Email Address If It Is Stolen? — Over the past few months, many high-profile companies have had their customer details compromised by attackers, targeting the third-party marketing firms that hold email addresses and many other personal details.

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:

Another One Bites The Dust: Yahoo To Kill Buzz On April 21 — We knew this was coming, but Yahoo has announcedthat it will not longer support Yahoo Buzz, its a Digg-like product where users can rank stories from publishers. — According to a message on the Buzz website: Yahoo! Buzz will be discontinued as of April 21, 2011.

Discussion: Mashable!, The Register, VentureBeat, Light Reading, Softpedia News, PC Magazine and Marketing Pilgrim

Electronista:

HP's TouchPad cloud music, video plans leak in presentation — HP's intention to build a webOS cloud media locker, and possibly beat Apple and Google to the feature, was given more definitive support late Friday after a leaked presentation. A pair of slides describing the TouchPad reportedly showed …

Discussion: This is my next, PC World, LAPTOP Magazine, GigaOM, SAI, PreCentral.net, Music Ally, SlashGear, CrackBerry.com blogs, Engadget, mobiputing and Yahoo! News

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