Top Items:
Seth Weintraub / 9to5Mac:
Foxconn employee tells us that the next iPhone is ready for production, indicates likely summer launch — We received word from a reliable source at Foxconn in China that the iPhone 5, as it is currently being called, is now gearing for production. The source said various sample devices …
Discussion:
Computerworld, Phones Review, Pocket-lint, Mashable!, T3 News, The Tech Herald Technology …, Mobile Entertainment, Electronista, Digital Trends, eWeek, iPhone, mocoNews, BGR, VR-Zone, Gadget Lab, PC World, Washington Post, HotHardware.com News, Appolicious Advisor, CNET, Pocketables, PC Magazine, WebProNews, Macgasm, Geek.com, Techland, IntoMobile, Redmond Pie and iDownloadBlog.com
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John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Too Soon — Seth Weintraub: We received word from a reliable source at Foxconn in China that the iPhone 5, as it is currently being called, is now gearing for production. No it's not. No teardrop-shaped devices, as rumored in the lead up to the iPhone 4S. Samples so far have been symmetrical in thickness (also longer/wider).
New York Times:
The iEconomy: Apple's iPad and the Human Costs for Workers in China — A staggering manufacturing system in China has made it possible for Apple and other companies to make devices almost as quickly as they can be dreamed up, but for workers, it can be dangerous.
Discussion:
Business Insider, ongoing, Kotaku, EE Times, Electronista, AppleInsider, CNET and Memex 1.1
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Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Apple's labor practices come under fire from former executives
Discussion:
New York Times
Ingrid Lunden / paidContent:
Nokia Q4: Scrambling For A Grip, But Still Falling; 1M+ Lumia Phones Sold — Nokia's earnings came out just moments ago, and the numbers are not pretty. Although the Finnish handset maker has taken some drastic measures in the last year—closing plants, cutting staff, choosing Microsoft …
Discussion:
Nokia, The Verge, Engadget, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, IntoMobile, SlashGear, The Next Web and Gotta Be Mobile
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Chris Davies / SlashGear:
Nokia: Microsoft paid us $250m in Q4 to use Windows Phone
Discussion:
Gizmodo UK and The Appside
Jenna Wortham / Bits:
Is iMessage Starting to Take a Bite Out of Standard Texting? — When Apple introduced iMessage, a service that lets people with its mobile devices send each other free text messages over data networks, many analysts predicted that it would take a substantial bite out of the profits …
Discussion:
Daily Patricia and The Next Web
Jonathan S. Geller / BGR:
AT&T's Q1 2012 roadmap: Nokia Lumia 900 to launch March 18th for $99.99 — We just received a portion of AT&T's 2012 roadmap from a trusted source, and it looks like AT&T isn't playing around this year. There are some heavy hitters lined up for the first quarter of 2012 …
Discussion:
The Tech Herald Technology …, ITProPortal, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Examiner, All about Microsoft Blog, The Verge, TechCrunch, PC World, paidContent, The Tech Trade, LAPTOP Magazine, Gotta Be Mobile, PhoneArena, Techland, The Next Web, AndroidGuys, Geek.com, Business Insider, VentureBeat, GadgeTell, GeekWire, CNET, MobileBurn.com, IntoMobile, Ubergizmo, The Verge, The Nokia Blog, Gizmodo and Network World
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Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Tim Cook at today's Town Hall: Starting in June, Apple employees get $500 off Macs, $250 off iPads — Among the many topics discussed by Tim Cook at today's Town Hall session with employees, the Apple CEO revealed some new Apple employee benefits. Giving a little more back to the people …
Discussion:
Electronista, MacRumors, Softpedia News, SlashGear, PhoneArena, App Advice and Edible Apple
Stephen Totilo / Kotaku:
Sources: The Next Xbox Will Play Blu-Ray, May Not Play Used Games (And Will Introduce Kinect 2) — Microsoft will upgrade its disc technology for its next Xbox from DVDs to Blu-Ray discs, catching up to rival Sony, games industry sources tell Kotaku. — Sony's PlayStation 3 currently supports Blu-Ray …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Netflix Bounces Back With a Q4 Beat, But Says Amazon Is Coming — First look at Netflix Q4 earnings: Earnings of $0.73 per share and revenue of $876 million. Wall Street was expecting around $0.54 a share and $857 million. — But at least as important are the company's subscriber numbers and guidance …
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Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Netflix abandons video game rental plans
Discussion:
VentureBeat, paidContent, Gizmodo and GenGAME.net
Claire Atkinson / New York Post:
Amazon looking into taking on Netflix
Discussion:
the Econsultancy blog, VatorNews, The Next Web, GeekWire, Electronista, The TechBlock and PadGadget, more at Mediagazer »
Brad Stone / Business Week:
Amazon's Hit Man — Larry Kirshbaum was the ultimate book industry insider—until Amazon called — Larry Kirshbaum, Vice-President and Publisher, Amazon Publishing — In November 1997, on a night of pounding rain in midtown Manhattan, Rupert Murdoch threw a party for Jane Friedman …
Softpedia News:
Chrome Gets Smarter Auto Form Filling, Google Pushes to Make It HTML5 Standard — Google is working on making it easier to auto-complete forms found online. Like several other major browsers, Chrome comes with a rather thorough autofill feature. It remembers data you provide to one website …
Discussion:
Google Webmaster Central Blog and Niall Kennedy
Jolie O'Dell / VentureBeat:
Rhapsody acquires Napster's European assets for Spotify battle boost — Rhapsody has just announced it's buying Napster's business in Europe. — Rhapsody's European expansion begins today with the acquisition of Napster International, Napster's European subscription music service.
Discussion:
paidContent, Inquirer, The Verge, GigaOM and The Next Web, more at Mediagazer »
Christopher Lawton / Wall Street Journal:
Inside SAP's Skunkworks as It Takes Aim at Oracle — POTSDAM, Germany—Hasso Plattner, who 20 years ago designed a computer program that supercharged SAP AG's growth, has been pursuing another breakthrough that could determine the software giant's fate. — Now SAP's chairman …
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
Google authorized Motorola to seek an injunction against the iPhone 4S and iCloud — These days, you can probably hear a pin drop if Apple and Google are in the same room. Tensions are rising high as a direct legal clash increasingly appears to be inevitable.
Facebook:
How Journalists Are Using Facebook Subscribe — In September, we introduced Subscribe as a simple way for public figures to allow people to subscribe to their public updates on Facebook. For journalists specifically, Subscribe has enabled each journalist's community of viewers and readers …
Christian Zibreg / 9to5Mac:
Report: Apple starts hiring chip experts in Haifa, Israel — Following our in depth report last night on Apple turning its Anobit purchase into a permanent Israeli presence, a new report in Hebrew by Israeli daily business newspaper Calcalist says Apple is looking to open a research center in Haifa by the end of February.
Discussion:
IntoMobile and Engadget
Janet I. Tu / Seattle Times:
Video: Bill Gates on his last visit with Steve Jobs, favorite movies and robots — Yahoo has posted segments from a interview ABC News' Bill Weir conducted recently with Bill Gates. — In one of the segments, Gates talks about his visit with Steve Jobs at Jobs' home before he died, in which the two tech titans reminisced for hours.
Discussion:
The Verge, TUAW and Yahoo! News
Kevin Fitchard / GigaOM:
Exclusive: Ericsson is buying BelAir, betting on Wi-Fi — In a sure sign that the cellular industry is getting serious about Wi-Fi, telecom networking giant Ericsson is buying BelAir Networks, adding its high-performance outdoor hotspot technology to its portfolio, sources told GigaOM.
Discussion:
FierceBroadbandWireless and Electronista, Thanks:@oryankim
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Android Reaches 39% Tablet OS Market Share (Standing On Amazon's Shoulders) — Apple's iPad reigns supreme from whatever angle you choose to look at the tablet market (profits, apps, quality, market share, mindshare, you name it), but research firm Strategy Analytics this morning said Android …
Discussion:
Engadget, AppleInsider, Business Wire, Reuters, BBC and AllThingsD
Chris Ziegler / The Verge:
Open webOS 1.0 announced: HP to complete webOS open sourcing by September, Enyo 1.0 and 2.0 code available today — Following up on its December announcement that it would open source the platform — a last-ditch effort to make it viable — HP has gone into detail today on exactly …
Discussion:
Inquirer, developer.palm.com, HP, SlashGear, Softpedia News, Pocket-lint, Fudzilla, The Register, BetaNews, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Ubergizmo, Mashable!, HotHardware.com News, CNET, Ars Technica, VentureBeat, Gizmodo UK, paidContent, The Official HP Palm Blog, MobileSyrup.com, @wpbasti, Geek.com, Techie Buzz, PhoneNews.com, Macgasm, PC Magazine, IntoMobile, Pocketables, TechCrunch, Electronista, PalmAddicts, LAPTOP Magazine, MobileBurn.com, Business Insider, BGR, Liliputing, The Loop and Neowin.net
Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:
The SOPA War: A Frantic Call, an Aborted Summit, and Dramatic New Details on How Hollywood Lost — THR goes inside the piracy battle with MPAA president Chris Dodd as the industry wonders what went wrong and how to fix its battered image. — In the desperate hours of early January …
Discussion:
Electronista
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
TheFunded Calls Ben Horowitz The Most Disruptive VC — TheFunded, the site where entrepreneurs can anonymously review venture capitalists, sometimes a reputation for being anti-VC (especially in its early days), but it's not above showing investors a little love.
