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In addition to Soundcloud, Twitter also reportedly considered acquiring Pandora and Spotify

Jun04
by on June 4, 2014 at 8:46 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, Social Media

Last month, a Recode rumor suggested Twitter was looking to buy Soundcloud, only to have a WSJ rumor say that “the numbers didn’t add up” for a deal to go through. Today, we’re learning that Twitter considered buying not just Soundcloud, but also looked into making offers for Pandora as well as Spotify, according to three people familiar with the matter cited by The Financial Times. The difference is that Twitter reportedly only engaged in talks with Soundcloud. The deals for the online music services were “worth billions of dollars,” meaning either purchase would be Twitter’s largest acquisition to date….

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Amazon to launch a new device on June 18, possibly a 3D smartphone

Jun04
by on June 4, 2014 at 8:18 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets

Screen Shot 2014-06-04 at 1.21.49 PM
Amazon announced today a launch event in Seattle on June 18 where it will unveil a new device, presumably a smartphone with 3D capabilities. The company also released a teaser video, where customers appear to be amazed as they rotate the device. “It moved with me,” one user said. A header image on the announcement page may show the back of the smartphone, though Amazon doesn’t specifically state that it’s from the new device. If you’re interested in attending the event, Amazon is taking invite requests from customers, developers and journalists. A Wall Street Journal report from April suggested that Amazon has been developing a…

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The one mistake that will kill your startup? Bad financial predictions

Jun04
by on June 4, 2014 at 7:50 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Entrepreneur

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Paul Jackson is the Founder of Worthworm. If headlines are to be believed, it’s a great time to get into the startup game. It seems like every day startup after startup is announcing its most recent million dollar round of funding or billion dollar valuation. However, if you’re just entering this super competitive playing field, it’s a necessity you don’t give into the temptation to overvalue a venture (in an effort to prove your worth amongst the Snapchats and WhatsApps of the world, no doubt). The reality is that more than 90 percent of startups actually fail and having an accurate and credible…

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Motorola Assist gets new ‘Talk to Me’ feature, can read your texts aloud and announce your calls

Jun04
by on June 4, 2014 at 6:21 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Google, Insider, Mobile

Motorola today updated its Motorola Assist app with even more hands-free features: it can now read your texts aloud and announce your calls. You can download the new version now directly from Google Play. The full changelog is as follows: When you’re at home, Assist can now announce callers and incoming text messages. Improved driving detection using audio. Bug fixes! The new home mode is called “Talk to Me” and needs to be turned on first. We can see the app one day being able to turn the mode on automatically (if you want it to) based on your location….

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Lingua.ly, which helps you learn new languages by browsing the Web, is now available as a Web app

Jun04
by on June 4, 2014 at 6:00 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Product Updates

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Language learning platform Lingua.ly has launched a Web app that helps individuals learn a language on all browsers. Previously, Lingua.ly on the desktop took the form of a Chrome extension, but you can now choose between downloading the extension or just working within the app on a browser. However, the Web app will gradually be replacing the Chrome extension for existing users to become the only option for desktop users going forward, a spokesperson tells us. Recently the company also launched an Android app that saw more than 100,000 downloads in the first month. An iOS app is coming by fall this…

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