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Samsung Profit Rises to Record on Galaxy Sales — Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), Asia's largest consumer-electronics company, reported a record quarterly profit on surging sales of Galaxy phones and proceeds from selling its hard-disk drive business. — Operating profit (005930) …
Discussion:
Bits, VatorNews, VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal, The Register, Digital Trends, Engadget, Agence France Presse, GigaOM, BBC, BGR, SlashGear, DigiTimes, IntoMobile, AppleInsider, Inquirer, PhoneArena, MobileSyrup.com, The Next Web, Between the Lines Blog, Techie Buzz, TechCrunch, ITProPortal and Business Insider
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HTC Has First Profit Drop in Two Years — HTC Corp. (2498), Asia's second-largest smartphone maker, posted its first quarterly profit decline in two years as competing models from Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. damped demand for its handsets.

Samsung/HTC: Two Sides Of An Android Coin. Why's Samsung Winning The Toss?
Discussion:
Digital Trends, Thanks:ingridlunden


iOS 5.1 beta reveals Apple's plan to soon ship iPads, iPhones with quad-core chips — Speed increases are an expected part of Apple's iOS device hardware upgrades, but what Apple has up their sleeves for speed enhancements is typically up for debate. The first-generation iPad clocked around 1GHz …
Discussion:
Ars Technica, TechCrunch, MacRumors, Gizmodo, GigaOM, SlashGear, MacDaddyNews.com, iDownloadBlog.com, everythingiCafe, Redmond Pie, Business Insider, PhoneArena, The Next Web, Engadget, Electronista, Softpedia News, iLounge, iClarified and BGR


Apple's Voice Recognition Siri Doubles IPhone Data Volumes — Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s voice recognition software Siri has prompted users of the iPhone 4S to use almost twice as much data compared with the handset's predecessor, placing greater pressure on operators, network firm Arieso said.
Discussion:
PC Magazine, Arieso, Ars Technica, GigaOM, PC World, Fortune, Reuters, Appolicious Advisor, GeekSugar, Engadget, DSLreports, ReadWriteWeb, GottaBeMobile, AppleInsider, Apple Bitch, GSMArena Blog, Redmond Pie, London Calling Blog, SlashGear, T3 News, FT Tech Hub, Pocket-lint, Gizmodo UK, Business Insider, FierceMobileContent and VentureBeat
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Top 1% of Mobile Users Consume Half of World's Bandwidth, and Gap Is Growing
Discussion:
dailywireless.org, Betabeat, Technologizer and Memex 1.1

iPhone 4S ‘doubles’ data usage ... but is Siri really to blame?


Steve Jobs Doll Legal In Most States, Not Indiana — Apple's lawyers have a fearsome reputation for defending the company's intellectual property. But it sure looks like they're bluffing in the controversy over a new Steve Jobs doll. — A UK newspaper caused a stir yesterday when it reported that Apple …
Discussion:
InfoWorld, 9to5Mac, Forbes, MacDailyNews, WebProNews, Inquirer and MacNN


Apple to open new store-within-a-store outlets inside Target this year — Apple will be opening new store-within-a-store locations in select Target locations later this year, enabling the company to expand its retail reach into smaller metro areas. — According to a source familiar with Apple's plans …
Discussion:
Mobile Marketing Watch, PC Magazine, MacDaddyNews.com, MacRumors, GigaOM, TUAW, Techland, SlashGear, The Next Web, PadGadget, MacNN, PhoneArena and iLounge


Al Gore Comes Out Against SOPA/PIPA — Well, check this out. Al Gore has come out strongly against SOPA and PIPA, angrily denouncing the bill and its supporters. It's a quick 2-minute video taken at a CareerBuilder event, and it's in response to an audience question.
Discussion:
@davezatz
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REPORT: News Networks Ignore Controversial SOPA Legislation
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb and WebProNews


Symantec Confirms Hackers Accessed Source Code of Two Enterprise Security Products — On Thursday evening, SecurityWeek and other news outlets reported on news that hackers claimed to have accessed the source code to an unspecified version of Symantec's Norton Antivirus product.
Discussion:
The Register, CNET, Infosec Island Latest Articles, TG Daily, Digits, Bits, SecurityWeek, Between the Lines Blog, Softpedia News, TechEye, Computer Business Review, Inquirer, eWeek Security Watch, Wall Street Journal, Imperva Data Security Blog, Slashdot, Liquidmatrix Security Digest, Skeleton Key Security and Computerworld


WARNING: All That Free Spotify Music You've Been Enjoying Is Going To End Soon — Spotify made its big U.S. debut on July 14, 2011. — In one week, we'll be marking the streaming music service's six-month anniversary. — And in one week, all those users who signed up for the free …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Between the Lines Blog, WebProNews and Evolver.fm, Thanks:jfedor


New Lawsuit Means All Major Labels Are Suing Grooveshark — Grooveshark, a popular digital music service that is being sued for copyright infringement by three of the four major record companies, now has problems with the one big label that it has a licensing deal with.
Discussion:
PC World, Digital Trends, Reuters, SocialTimes.com, Inquirer, CNET, Plagiarism Today, Techland, The Verge, The Pondering Primate, Gizmodo UK, Guardian and WebProNews, more at Mediagazer »


The E-Reader, as we know it, is doomed — The E-Reader, as we know it, is doomed — Matt Alexander is the owner and editor of ONE37.net, a writer, a technology enthusiast and a contributing writer for The Loop. — In November I reviewed the Kindle Touch, and I was a fan.
Discussion:
Fortune, CNNMoney.com and ONE37, Thanks:jdalrymple


Windows 8 Storage Spaces detailed: pooling redundant disk space for all — When Microsoft killed Windows Home Server's “Drive Extender” technology, we mourned its loss but held up hope that the company would persevere with the concept. The company has done just that with a new Windows 8 …
Discussion:
MSDN Blogs, Network World, The Verge, All about Microsoft Blog, Inquirer, ExtremeTech, Microsoft News and Neowin.net


Facebook and Moo partner to print Timeline photos on business cards — What happens when the world's largest social network hooks up with a beloved social business card maker? The birth of beautiful, Facebook-infused business cards. — Digital print shop Moo, long-celebrated for its ability …


Sony to name Kazuo Hirai president: Nikkei — (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp will promote Kazuo Hirai as president replacing Howard Stringer as early as April, the Nikkei business daily reported. — Stringer is expected to remain chairman and chief executive officer, the paper said.
Discussion:
CNET, paidContent, Gizmodo, The Verge, BGR, Engadget and Neowin.net

China Unicom Offers Free IPhone 4S for Users Who Sign Multiyear Contracts — China United Network Communications Group (CHTZ), the nation's second-largest wireless carrier, will give users an Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone 4S if they sign multiyear service contracts costing as little as 286 yuan ($45) a month.
Discussion:
The Register, AllThingsD, SlashGear, MacRumors, The Verge, Softpedia News, MacDailyNews, O'Grady's PowerPage, The Next Web, MacNN and Tech in Asia


Twitter: To log or not to log: Is that the question? — As Twitter continues to thrive as the communications tool of choice amongst activists, dissenters and occupiers worldwide it should be no surprise that the San Francisco-based company is drawing heightened attention from US law enforcement agencies.

Microsoft to beef up its entry-level Office 365 offering — Summary: Microsoft is adding new features to its low-end K-plan for Office 365, its cloud suite that competes with Google Apps. — Microsoft is adding some new capabilities — including Exchange ActiveSync support — to its lowest-end Office 365 offering.
Discussion:
TechNet Blogs, Softpedia News and The Next Web

The Java ME nonsense story — Earlier this week Net Market Share released numbers that allegedly show the Java ME operating system is gaining ground to the expense of iOS and especially Android. — Unfortunately the story isn't true, and I suspect it's a good example of headline grabbing aimed …


Google's 30 Most Recent Search Quality Changes — Google provided an update with the 30 or so most recent search quality updates. — They also added in the code names, when applicable, used internally at Google for each of these updates. They include words like concepts, leaf, simple …
Discussion:
eWeek and Inside Search


Bessemer Leads $6M Round In Q&A Platform For Students And Teachers, Piazza — Piazza, a Q&A platform for students and instructors, has raised $6 million in Series A funding from Bessemer Venture Partners with Kapor Capital and Felicis Ventures also participating in the round.
Discussion:
Xconomy, GigaOM, AllThingsD, VentureBeat, VatorNews and Mercury News


Nokia Buys Norway's Smarterphone To Spruce Up Its Feature Phone OS — Just as Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is gearing up for a splash at CES to kick off the U.S. launch of its new line of Microsoft-powered smartphones, it has pulled a quick draw to show it is not going to neglect its lower-end devices in the process.
Discussion:
Engadget, ferd.no, SiliconANGLE, IntoMobile, TechCrunch, Techie Buzz, VentureBeat, CNET, SlashGear, MobileBurn.com, The Next Web, My Nokia Blog and Electronista


Oracle can't appeal SAP order right away: judge — Oracle Corp can't appeal an order slashing its $1.3 billion copyright infringement verdict against SAP AG until it decides whether it will reject a lower damages award, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday. — A Northern California jury determined …