UPDATED 13:13 EDT / JUNE 24 2013

Facebook Reader Cures IPO Woes & These Apples Don’t Rot – SiliconANGLE News Roundup

Facebook Reader?

 

Facebook is aiming to become the face of news for mobile devices, and a new service internally called Reader could be their winning ticket.

Reader’s Flipboard-like functionality is said to display content from users and publish it in a new format tailored to mobile devices. The aggregator will let users swipe to flip through articles, helping Facebook act more as a socially driven news site, rather than the news-driven social site that it’s known as today.

The change in identity for Facebook is natural, given it’s sagging stock price which remains 35% below its IPO value. Projects like Reader provide new ways for the social network to keep its user base of over a billion users coming back, further increasing Facebook’s value to advertisers.

The team responsible for the project has been working to create something that works on both tablets and smartphones, and are currently looking for new ways to highlight news content, such as public posts that highlight trending topics. Currently, the service is only in testing phases, and as promising as the service sounds, it’s possible that Facebook Reader will never actually see the light of day.

More Readers…From AOL?

 

Another company looking to cash-in on Google Reader’s dissent is AOL who has unveiled their very own reader service.

Upon first login, AOL Reader will prompt the user to add new subscriptions from one of three different sources, allowing you to import from Google Reader, add them manually, or make selections from a catalog of suggested sites.

As for the interface, a number of different layouts are available, making the app rather flexible in comparison to its competitors. It includes integration with social networks, which means that users won’t be limited to AOL’s network if they want to share news with their friends. Other features include a read-it-later article saver, and an API which allows third-party apps to build on top of the service.

Judging from the feature list, it appears AOL is another company looking to fill the void left by Google’s Reader.

Britain Takes Over Germany!

 

British telecom giant Vodafone just agreed to terms that would allow them to buy German cable company Kabel Deutschland for $10.1 billion. The acquisition is part of a recent trend of international competitors buying up Europe’s major telecommunications and cable assets.

Under the terms of the deal, Vodafone will pay 87€ for each share, including a 2.5€ dividend per share. Due to such a high valuation, Vodafone will end up paying at a premium of nearly 40%. Shares of the German telecom rose nearly 2% overnight after the announcement. For Vodafone, the buyout means they will acquire 13 million new broadband and cable customers, increasing their total customer base to around 32 million customers across Europe.

Though the deal has not been approved by Kabel Deutschland’s shareholders, expect the deal to be accepted in the coming weeks.

Taking The Theatre Home

 

In a bid to limit piracy in Asia, Disney and Sony have been quietly testing a new service in South Korea which offers rentals of movies while they’re still playing in theatres.

This marks the first instance of an American studio giving customers the option to buy a box-office movie ticket and watch the feature at the theater, or in the comfort of their own homes. Similar attempts at such a service have been met with resistance in the past, particularly from European theatre owners, who have threatened to not screen films when similar proposals were introduced in the past.

This pilot program, however, was launched without a hitch.

Movies that have already been made available include such films as Django Unchained, Wreck-it Ralph, and Brave. South Korea is the world’s eighth largest film market, and analysts expect the other studios to be watching the situation very closely. This could very well be the beginning of the end for the exclusive 90 day play window that’s been the standard in American theatres for so long.

Just Another Privacy Issue…Move Along…

Facebook just announced that the information of over 6 million users was inadvertently exposed to unauthorized viewers.

As a result of a database glitch, users who downloaded contact data for their friends list were able to view information they did not have permission to see, including phone numbers and emails. The Facebook security team was alerted to the bug last week and managed to fix it within 24 hours.

The social media company alerted users of the breach in a blog post, once the system was patched. In the announcement, Facebook staff was careful to reassure users that security remains a priority, saying “it’s still something we’re upset and embarrassed by, and we’ll work doubly hard to make sure nothing like this happens again.”

California Hates Freedom Apparently

 

The California Department of Financial Institutions issued a cease and desist warning to the Bitcoin Foundation for allegedly transmitting money without a license. If found guilty, penalties can range from $1,000-$2,500 per violation, plus state and federal prosecution, which could result in even more fines, and up to 5 years of prison.

Other companies have had similar orders issued on them, particularly coming from the state of Illinois, but if this practice grows among states, it could have chilling effects on innovation in financial services.

As a nonprofit corporation, the Bitcoin Foundation does not engage in the owning, controlling or conducting of money transmission, but rather, their declared mission is to standardize and promote the Bitcoin protocol. Such legal action against the Bitcoin Foundation could have a huge impact on innovation in finance, especially for lawful businesses that are designing infrastructure to support and grow the Bitcoin technology.

Advertising To People Who Already Own Your Product

 

Sony will be showcasing their new ultra-high-res 4k TVs by planting tiny ads on a tennis player during this year’s Wimbledon tennis tournament.

The campaign is designed to showcase their new line of flagship models, which are arriving in stores as we speak. Miniscule ads, which have been given the name microtising, will be placed on tennis pro Anne Keothavong, and will be particularly visible to those watching on one of Sony’s new TVs.

Everything from the hem of her skirt, shoelaces, fingernails and equipment will all be showing ads for as long as Anne remains in the tournament.

When discussing the new advertising method, Marketing Head of Sony Televisions, Paul Gyles wrote, “We thought we’d push it to the limit by running a microtising campaign – proving that Sony televisions can pick up on the smallest details.”

Never Dull News for Sharp

 

Qualcomm finally completed a $120 million investment in Sharp, making them the third-largest investor with a 3.5% stake in the company.

The deal is being labeled as more than just an investment, combining Qualcomm’s MEM display technology with Sharp’s IGZO tech, enabling more devices of varying sizes and types. Early estimates have Sharp spending the majority of the investment on new product lines, production facilities and other preparations. The deal with Qualcomm combined with a similar investment from Samsung earlier this year have raised hopes that the firm might actually turn things around and avoid liquidation.

Apples That Get Better With Age

 

Christie’s the well-known fine arts auction house will be auctioning off a fully functional Apple One through July 9th.

The starting bid will be set at $300,000, but if last month’s record-breaking sale that raked in $671,400 is any indication, the auction could gather at least $500,000. The owner of the Apple One, who picked it up over three decades ago in a swap, made some modifications, including a new keyboard, monitor and a tape deck for storage.

Essentially, the only original part is the motherboard.

Those who are interested in window shopping the classic hardware can soon take a look, as the cultural icon will be on display at Mountain View’s Computer History Museum beginning tomorrow.

For this and more tech news, be sure to join us every morning on NewsDesk with Kristin Feledy.

photo credit: Johan Larsson via photopin cc
photo credit: alles banane via photopin cc
photo credit: libraryman via photopin cc
photo credit: Marianne Bevis via photopin cc
photo credit: Wilson Afonso via photopin cc
writing credit: Andrew E. Lowe

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