$140 Google eBooks reader, iriver Story HD, hits stores July 17

The price point for e-readers should be near $99 by now. By Christmas, we should see $50 e-readers.

Amplify’d from arstechnica.com

Google has announced its plans to launch a Google eBooks-optimized e-reader on July 17. Called the iriver Story HD, the e-book reader is designed to give users easy access to the 3 million free titles Google holds in addition to a few hundred thousand paid titles, with a price and design that is very similar to Amazon's Kindle. Read more at arstechnica.com

 

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Rupert Murdoch to Shut Down News of the World after UK Hacking Scandal

Rupert Murdoch is set to arrive in the U.K. on Sunday to oversee News Corp's response to the phone hacking allegations. He has already made the decision to shut down the popular weekly publication, with a circulation of 2.6 million. This Sunday's issue will be its last. Over 200 jobs will be lost.
This scandal is also jeopardizing News Corp's attempt to take control of BSkyB, the U.K.'s largest satellite broadcaster.

Video: News Of the World Scandal

Rupert Murdoch shuts News of the World

The floodgate of criminal accusations continues to flow against Rupert's News of the World and threatens his BSkyB deal, and his entire media empire. I fully expect Rupert to weather the storm, but with a considerable amount damage along the way.

Amplify’d from www.sfgate.com

Facing a tide of outrage over rampant phone-hacking, Rupert Murdoch jettisoned the notorious News of the World tabloid in an effort to protect his media empire, but the dramatic step may prove insufficient to contain the growing scandal or secure his bid to expand an already-huge presence in Britain.

Murdoch is struggling to ensure that toxic fallout does not infect other parts of News Corp., a media giant with holdings from Asia to the United States, including the Wall Street Journal and Fox News. Read more at www.sfgate.com

 

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Google vs. Facebook by the numbers

Facebook and Google are constantly being compared across the social stream, but the numbers are the true tale of the tape. Not much of a surprise, Google is bigger with more product offerings. As Mari points out, in a post-IPO world Facebook may take on new dimensions.

Amplify’d from www.computerworld.com

As the two Internet heavyweights are poised to battle it out in the social networking arena, how do the companies stack up? A look at some data.

Google has a clear edge globally, according to ComScore Data Mine: Google reached a billion unique visitors worldwide in May, while Facebook rang in at 713.6 million.

Facebook had a huge lead in time spent per person: more than 6 hours vs. an hour and 20 minutes.

According to one estimate reported by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook had $1.86 billion in ad revenue last year and should top $4 billion this year. Google reported $29.3 billion in overall revenues last year (not just from ads). Read more at www.computerworld.com

 

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Going Green - Top Companies Using Renewable Power

A good look at a few companies who are taking an active role in reducing their total power consumption by leveraging renewable energy sources. I was pleased to see the names of companies who's services and products I use.

Amplify’d from www.reuters.com

Wind energy technology provider Vestas has released a report mentioning the top 20 firms around the world in terms of consumption of renewable energy-based electricity in 2010. The top five companies are Kohl's Corporation, Whole Foods Inc., Toronto-Dominion Bank, Swiss Reinsurance Limited and Nordea Bank AB. Other prominent companies using renewable energy-based electricity are Adobe Systems Inc., News Corp, Deutsche Bank AG, Starbucks, Metlife, Nokia, Allianz and Johnson & Johnson. Read more at www.reuters.com

 

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Eight iPad 2 contenders that can force Apple to release iPad 3

Admittedly, I have been shopping for an inexpensive non-Apple tablet to play with.

My Friend Dmitri is going to let check out his Acer. In his opinion even with all of its additional features (HDMI, size,OS & Cost-- he paid $350) he prefers his iPad. I will let you know what I think.

Amplify’d from www.ibtimes.com

Some of the major tablets that could make Apple nervous are: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola Xoom, RIM PlayBook, HTC Flyer, HP TouchPad, Cisco Cius, LG G-Slate, and Acer Iconia Tab A500. The tablets come in different form factors sporting display sizes like 8.9-inch, 10.1-inch and 7-inch.

Meanwhile, there is speculation that in order to counter the heat from other tablet makers, Apple will introduce another iPad within this year with higher display resolution, camera with flash, Quad-Core processor, iOS 5 and retina display. Read more at www.ibtimes.com

 

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Zynga files for IPO of up to $1 billion

Is it time to start worrying about the next internet bubble?

Amplify’d from www.chicagotribune.com

Zynga filed paperwork for an initial public offering on Friday, the latest in a series of hot social media companies to seek capital in the U.S. public markets.

A source previously told Reuters that Zynga's IPO could raise $1.5 billion to $2 billion and could value the company at $15 billion to $20 billion. Read more at www.chicagotribune.com

 

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