Top Items:
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Sources: PopCap In Late Stage Acquisition Discussions With EA For $1 Billion+ — Following up on our story earlier this evening that PopCap Games is in late stage acquisition discussions for a sum of over $1 billion — we've now heard from two sources that the buyer is Electronic Arts.
Discussion:
ZDNet, alarm:clock, The Tech Trade, App Advice, Ubergizmo, RazorianFly, iLounge, PhoneArena, Gizmodo, DigitalBattle.com, Geek.com, SlashGear, Softpedia News, Rock, Paper, Shotgun and VG247
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Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
PopCap Games To Be Acquired For $1 Billion+ — Update: We've heard from multiple sources that the buyer is Electronic Arts. — Huge news in the gaming world: PopCap Games, the company behind such hits as Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled, is in the process of being acquired …
Discussion:
PC World, Fast Company, Disruptors, Appolicious Advisor, Computerworld, Pocket-lint, VG247, Fudzilla, TechSpot, Digital Trends, Kotaku, CNET News, Examiner, Neowin.net, Joystiq, Inside Social Games, The Seattle Times and scribbal.com
Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
Nokia's first Windows Phone: images and video, codenamed ‘Sea Ray’ — Ok, this one's odd. In fact, we didn't believe the images until a video just surfaced showing Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, foolishly asking a crowd of people to “put away their cameras” for the unveiling of something “super confidential,” codenamed “Sea Ray.”
Discussion:
ExtremeTech, The Business Insider, This is my next, LiveSide.net, mocoNews, Technet, Gizmodo, Hardware 2.0 Blog, WinRumors, Pocket-lint, Hardware 2.0 Blog, Softpedia News, IntoMobile, PhoneArena, Electricpig.co.uk, Windows Phone Sauce, Geek.com, Electricpig.co.uk, Electronista, WMPU, WPCentral.com, MobileSyrup.com, Redmond Pie, Neowin.net, SlashGear, The Next Web, My Nokia Blog, MobileBurn.com and My Nokia Blog
Jenna Wortham / New York Times:
American Express Teams With Foursquare — Foursquare, which made its debut in 2009, quickly began popularizing the idea of “checking in,” or using a cellphone application to tell friends that you are at a particular restaurant, bar or park. — Then Facebook and Google borrowed the concept — and even the term check in.
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Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Despite Expanded AmEx Deal, Foursquare Is Still A Revenue-Free Zone — Foursquare is expanding its relationship with American Express to provide local deals to people who sync their cards to their Foursquare accounts. AmEx did a trial at SXSW, and that went well enough that it is rolling out the deals more broadly.
Discussion:
Street Fight and IntoMobile
Siu Han / DigiTimes:
Apple iPhone 5 said to come with dual LED flash — Recent market rumors have indicated that Apple's iPhone 5 is likely to come with a dual-LED flash with Taiwan-based LED packaging firms Everlight Electronics, Edison Opto and Lite-On Technology being pinpointed as potential suppliers.
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
Exclusive: Top ISPs poised to adopt graduated response to piracy — Some of the country's largest Internet service providers are poised to leap into the antipiracy fight in a significant way. — After years of negotiations, a group of bandwidth providers that includes AT&T, Comcast …
Discussion:
PC World, DSLreports, I4U News, The Register, Electronista, TorrentFreak, Music Ally, The Next Web, Between the Lines Blog and CNET News.com
Seth Weintraub / 9 to 5 Mac:
T-Mobile USA: We're now carrying over a million unlocked iPhones — As AT&T tries to swallow up the American wing of the German telekom, many have wondered whether Apple would allow T-Mobile to carry the iPhone. Apple's answer so far is a no*, but that hasn't stopped T-Mobile customers from adopting iPhones.
Discussion:
ZDNet, App Advice, iPhone, SlashGear, TiPb, PhoneArena, TmoNews, iLounge, SocialTimes.com, Ubergizmo, Electronista and MobileBurn.com
Walter S. Mossberg / AllThingsD:
Google Unveils a Laptop With Its Brain in the Cloud — Would you buy a laptop that comes with only one major program—a Web browser—and doesn't allow you to install widely used software such as Microsoft Office, Apple's iTunes, Adobe Reader, or, in fact, any other locally installed program?
Discussion:
9to5 Google
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
What Are Hulu's Owners Really Selling? — Yes, Hulu is for sale. The video site hired bankers from Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners last week, people familiar with the company tell me. They've just started asking potential buyers if they'd like to sign an NDA and take a look-see.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Company Town, @dannysullivan and @pkafka, more at Mediagazer »
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Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:
Fox renews Hulu licensing pact
Discussion:
Deadline.com, more at Mediagazer »
Ben Fritz / Company Town:
Hulu puts itself up for sale, retains investment banks
Discussion:
GigaOM, SocialTimes.com, The Business Insider, @jboorstin, Mixed Media, Gawker and Electronista, more at Mediagazer »
Bloomberg:
Apple Bid to Bar Amazon ‘Appstore’ Will ‘Likely’ Be Denied — Apple Inc. will “probably” lose its court bid to stop Amazon.com Inc. from using the term “Appstore” for a service selling programs for Android devices, a federal judge said. — Apple, whose top-selling product is the iPhone …
Discussion:
MacRumors, CNET News, App Advice, Digits, AllThingsD, mocoNews, DailyTech, iPhone Download Blog, FierceMobileContent, Reuters, MacDailyNews, Android Phone Fans, SlashGear, MacRumors, Mobile Entertainment, TechEye, Ubergizmo, Examiner, RazorianFly, AppleInsider, PhoneArena, Apple, Computerworld, 9 to 5 Mac, The Loop and Gizmodo
Peter Murray / Singularity Hub:
New Japanese Pop Idol Shocks Fans With News-She's Not Real (video) — A star is born! (and she only takes up 150 gigs of memory) — Only 15 seconds in the limelight and she'd already created an overnight buzz. She was the newest member of the very popular all-girl Japanese idol group AKB 48.
Phil Nickinson / Android Central:
Verizon's new data plans broken down in complete detail — Having a hard time wrapping your head around the upcoming changes to Verizon's smartphone data plans? We just got all the dirty details dropped in our laps. Charts, e-mails, the whole kit and kaboodle, folks. — Let's start with what you see above.
Discussion:
DSLreports, App Advice, AndroidGuys, Gizmodo, Android News, Rumours …, pocketnow.com, TiPb and MacRumors
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Winklevoss twins abandon appeal of Facebook ruling — (Reuters) - The Olympic rowing twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling upholding a $65 million cash-and-stock settlement reached with Facebook Inc. — The 2008 settlement was intended …
Discussion:
Digital Trends, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Computerworld, The Register, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Neowin.net, Geek.com, Friending Facebook Blog, PC Magazine, Guardian, Search Engine Watch, TechEye, Redmond Pie, textually.org, Bloomberg, The Tech Herald …, Pocket-lint, Gawker, AllThingsD and paidContent
Dr. Raymond M. Soneira / DisplayMate:
Tablet Display Technology Shoot-Out Apple iPad 2 - Motorola Xoom - Asus Transformer — Introduction Tablets are essentially large portable displays - handheld screens designed for conveniently viewing content and images anywhere you want while untethered. For Tablets the display is the single …
Discussion:
PC World, App Advice and GigaOM
Matt Galligan:
Things I'd like to see in Turntable.fm — First off, if you haven't heard of Turntable.fm, what rock have you been hiding under? It's the new killer music site started by Stickybits founders Seth Goldstein and Billy Chasen. Basically you join a room, where up to five DJs are spinning …
Discussion:
ongoing
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Fred / A VC:
There Aren't Many Exits Over $100mm — I was reading Mark Suster's latest blog post (actually its a presentation embedded into a blog post) and I came across this slide. — I don't know what the source of this data is and I don't know if this is just M&A exits or if it includes IPOs as well.
Richard Lawler / Engadget:
Hulu Plus for Android is available now... for six devices — The good news is that Hulu Plus for Android is on the market, but the bad news is that you may not be able to install it yet. The official Hulu Blog has just been updated with news that six phones — Nexus One, Nexus S …
Discussion:
Hulu Blog, CNET News, Gizmodo, In Depth With Tech, 9to5 Google, MobileBurn.com, Electronista, Redmond Pie, PhoneArena, Techie Buzz, IntoMobile, Hacking NetFlix, Neowin.net, The Next Web and Pocket-lint
Chris Chang / M.I.C. Gadget:
Apple's Tim Cook Visits China Mobile to Discuss 4G LTE iPhone — Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook is spotted in China Mobile headquarters this morning. A Chinese reporter from First Financial Daily (one of the most prosperous financial papers in China) managed to take a picture …
Discussion:
AppleInsider, iPhone Download Blog, Techie Buzz, Penn Olson, TUAW, iPhone Alley and MacGazette.net
John Ribeiro / PC World:
Apple May Face India Probe for Anticompetitive Practices — Apple may face scrutiny from an Indian regulator for alleged anticompetitive behavior in connection with iPhone 4 sales in India. — A Competition Commission of India official said on Wednesday that a case was filed against Apple about a month ago.
Discussion:
Computerworld, 9 to 5 Mac, Wall Street Journal, Agence France Presse, Digit - Tech News, ITProPortal, TechEye, India IT Blog and MacNN
Tim Fernholz / Fast Company:
BankSimple: A Bank That Doesn't Suck — BankSimple's dream team (left to right, from top): Thomas Lockney, engineer; Shamir Karkal, CFO; Bill DeRouchey, creative director; Josh Reich, CEO; Toby Sterrett, engineer; Brian Merritt, operations; Alex Payne, CTO; and Ian Collins, engineer.
Mark Suster / Both Sides of the Table:
On Bubbles ... And Why We'll Be Just Fine — This post originally ran on TechCrunch. — I recently spoke at the Founder Showcase at the request of Adeo Ressi. I asked what the audience most needed to hear. — He said, “They need an unbiased view of the fund raising environment …
Discussion:
A VC
Nilay Patel / This is my next:
Apple granted patent on webpage scrolling behaviors, media granted patent on crazy — So Apple got yet another patent granted today, and now there's yet another media firestorm over whether it means Cupertino will be able to sue every other phone manufacturer out of business …
Discussion:
9 to 5 Mac, TUAW, TechEye, PhoneArena, Pocket-lint, Guardian, RazorianFly, PC Magazine, MobileCrunch, Electricpig, MacStories and Ars Technica
Peter Bright / Ars Technica:
Dox everywhere: LulzSec under attack from hackers, law enforcement — Hacking group Lulz Security has found itself coming under attack from all angles, drawing unwanted attention from both law enforcement and other hackers groups. Though the group's antics have won it many fans …
Joe Mullin / paidContent:
Viacom And Time Warner Take A Break From Legal Battle Over TV On iPads — iPads and other tablets that enable television watching are looking to be one of the legal flash points between content owners and distributors; that became clear when Viacom (NYSE: VIA) launched a lawsuit against Time Warner Cable …
Discussion:
Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Company Town, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Electronista and MediaPost
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
AT&T Scales Up Its Content Delivery Ambitions — AT&T has been in the content delivery business, broadly speaking, for a long time. Even when one refers to the nerdy niche business of “content delivery networks,” AT&T has still been doing that for quite a while. — But now the carrier is apparently getting serious.
Discussion:
PR Newswire and The Business Of Online Video
Sara Forden / Bloomberg:
Google's Page, Schmidt Face Senate Subpoena Threats — Google Inc. (GOOG)'s reluctance to provide a top executive for testimony to a Senate panel probing its market power has prompted threats of subpoenas for Chief Executive Officer Larry Page and Chairman Eric Schmidt.
Discussion:
The Politico, ITProPortal and AllThingsD
