Techmeme
January 6, 2015, 8:45 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
12" MacBook Air to feature narrower, thinner body than 11" model, higher resolution display, edge-to-edge keyboard, single USB type-C port  —  Apple's next major Mac revealed: the radically new 12-inch MacBook Air  —  Apple is preparing an all-new MacBook Air for 2015 with a radically …
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple Watch launch expected in March, retail training set for mid-February  —  Apple is finishing up work on the Apple Watch's software, and sources familiar with the product's development say that the device is currently on track to ship in the United States by the end of March.
Austin Carr / Fast Company:
As Fire Phone product manager, Jeff Bezos insisted Lab126 build a premium phone and include useless Dynamic Perspective feature in attempt to compete with Apple  —  The Real Story Behind Jeff Bezos's Fire Phone Debacle And What It Means For Amazon's Future  —  “What the hell happened?”
Mike Snider / USA Today:
Monster sues Beats; CEO Noel Lee claims he and Monster invented the technology behind Beats By Dr. Dre headphones  —  Tech firm Monster sues Beats and founders Dre and Iovine  —  Monster, which co-designed the original Beats By Dr. Dre headphones, is filing suit against Beats Electronics …
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Mophie juice pack for iPhone 6/6 Plus now available for pre-order; prices start at $99.95  —  Mophie Juice Pack battery cases for iPhone 6/6 Plus now available for pre-order  —  Mobile battery case maker Mophie announced today three new versions of its popular Juice Pack charging case designed specifically …
Chance Miller / 9to5Google:
Motorola returning to China in February w/ Moto X, Moto X Pro, and Moto G  —  Motorola has just announced in a blog post that it is making a return to China.  Following the company's acquisition by Lenovo, Motorola Mobility says that it is returning to China with three of its newest devices.
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple now selling SIM-free unlocked iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the US, from $649  —  As we reported yesterday, Apple is now selling contract-free iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in retail stores and online.  Following historic pattern, the 16 GB base model iPhone 6 costs $649 with higher tiers costing $100 extra.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Razer Unveils Its $100 Android-Powered Gaming Console, Razer Forge TV  —  Earlier this year, high-end gaming tech company Razer announced at Google I/O that it would be soon be making its first foray into Android-based gaming consoles.  Today at CES, that device made its public debut.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Kickstarter Drops Amazon Payments For Stripe  —  Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter announced today that it's partnering with payments service Stripe, which will now collect and process all payments for projects hosted on Kickstarter's site.  Since its founding, Kickstarter used Amazon Payments for this …
Harrison Weber / VentureBeat:
Indiegogo launches InDemand, a feature that allows pre-orders to continue after crowdfunding ends  —  Indiegogo elbows its way into ecommerce with the launch of InDemand  —  What will be hot in consumer electronics and computing in 2015?  Read VB's full coverage of International CES 2015 to find out.
More: Fortune
Roger Cheng / CNET:
Chinese firm TCL buys rights to Palm name, will recreate brand, to be based in Silicon Valley  —  Palm makes a comeback!  TCL to ‘re-create’ the brand  —  The Chinese consumer-electronics company wants to resurrect a once-beloved smartphone brand.  —  LAS VEGAS — The Palm name …
Sarah Mitroff / CNET:
Kodak IM5 Android smartphone with 13 MP back camera, 5 MP front camera, and octa-core processor available in EU end of Q1 for €229, later in US for $249  —  Kodak's phone debut is super-simple and runs Android KitKat  —  LAS VEGAS — If Kodak sounds like an old-fashioned brand to you, that's the point.
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Misfit Bolt, a $50 smart bulb with sleep tracker integration, now available for pre-order  —  Misfit introduces a smart bulb to go with its sleep tracker  —  There's no shortage of smart light bulbs on the market, but wearables company Misfit has decided that its influence shouldn't stop with collecting health data.
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Kickstarter's 2014 Score Card: $529M Pledged By 3.3M Backers, 22K Funded Projects  —  Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter released its 2014 breakdown yesterday, trumpeting a total of $529 million pledged by 3.3 million backers.  (NB: Pledged dollars do not equal spent dollars …
David Kravets / Ars Technica:
FBI says search warrants not needed to use “stingrays” in public places  —  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is taking the position that court warrants are not required when deploying cell-site simulators in public places.  Nicknamed “stingrays,” the devices are decoy cell towers …

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