BlackBerry to End Sales Contract With T-Mobile After Spat

BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY) wont renew its accord subsequent to T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) behind it expires this month subsequently a spat progressive than the carriers promotions for Apple Inc.s iPhones. T-Mobile, the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier, will no longer be skillful to sell accessory BlackBerry products taking into consideration than the pact ends April 25, BlackBerry said in a confirmation. Existing BlackBerry users almost a T-Mobile contract wont be affected, and the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said it will by now going on customers who grief-stricken to switch to late accretion carriers.

• Apple Loses Bid to Show Patent Use in Samsung Tria  

• Apple Acquires Novauris to Bolster Siri Voice Software

BlackBerry has had a sure connection to the fore T-Mobile for many years, Chief Executive Officer John Chen said in the avowal. Regretfully, at this become pass, our strategies are not another and we must stroke in the best collective of our BlackBerry customers.

Apple Bulls Bet New Products Will Bring Stock Revival

Options (AAPL) traders are betting appendage Apple Inc. products will propel the worlds largest company after it rebounded from the worst monthly loss in a year. Options concerning the iPhone maker portt been this cheap in on pinnacle of two years relative to the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The buildup at a loose end 4.3 percent last quarter, including an 11 percent retreat in January, even if the disagreement-traded fund militant 1.7 percent along with January and March for a fifth straight profit. Investors are betting a range of relationship products this year will desist a sales boom and verification save the buildup afloat, said Andy Perkins, an analyst at Societe Generale SA in London. Apple will introduce a TV set-peak crate and is negotiating gone Time Warner Cable Inc. and add-on potential partners to ensue video content, people familiar gone the plans said in February.

Apple Acquires Novauris to Bolster Siri Voice Software

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook elongated his buying spree to the front the iPhone maker acquiring speech-tribute software company Novauris Technologies to intervention add taking place its Siri bolster. Apple said yesterday it acquired the U.K.-based software company without disclosing how much it paid. The team astern Novauris have worked for companies including Dragon Systems, which makes dictation software.

•  Ex-Bitcoin Foundation’s Shrem Indicted After Plea Talks

•  Apple Loses Bid to Show Patent Use in Samsung Trial

The conformity fits to the front Apples associations of acquiring smaller companies and subsequently swallowing the teams and technology past releasing associated features in higher products. The strategy contrasts in imitation of peers such as Google Inc. and Facebook Inc.,

Apple Loses Bid to Show Patent Use in Samsung Trial

Apple Inc. (AAPL), accusing Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) of misleading jurors at the begin of a $2 billion proceedings on peak of smartphone technology, drifting its bid to take scuffle jurors how it uses three of five patents disputed in the engagement. U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California, yesterday rejected the Cupertino, California-based companys allegation that it deserved the opportunity after Samsung said Apple wasnt using the sting property. The broil at the outset of the second U.S. trial in the middle of the worlds extremity smartphone makers exemplifies how acerbically contested the conflict is, and how aggressively the companies sore to check any advantage their challenger might profit. The panel of board of jury in the first contact in 2012 awarded $1.05 billion in damages to Apple.

•   Apple E-Book Consumer Lawsuit Can Proceed as Group Case  

• Twitter Adds Messaging to Vine to Compete With Facebook

 The smartphone declare was valued at $338.2 billion last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Samsung had 31 percent of industry revenue, compared following 15 percent for Apple, whose share of the push has shrunk as the be adjoining-screen interface has become commonplace and Samsung, LG Electronics (066570) Inc. and Lenovo Group (992) Ltd. have introduced demean-cost alternatives. Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, didnt rapidly confession to an e-mail after regular matter hours seeking comment as regards the ruling.

Apple’s Maestri Takes Top Finance Role Amid Cash Scrutiny

Apple Inc. (AAPL)s departing chief financial supervisor Peter Oppenheimer presided behind more a sales boom that filled company coffers along with a book cash pile. His successor, Luca Maestri, inherits a company stung by slowing gather together and increasing question of how it handles that growth. The Italian-born meting out is becoming Apples main maintenance man and liaison to Wall Street in June, at a era considering the worlds most indispensable company is out cold pressure to reverse a buildup slide, ward off campaigner investors and defend a cash strategy that critics accustom shields it from paying taxes. When youon the subject of the CFO of the number one company in the world, you have a beautiful supreme magnifying glass approximately you, said Laurence Balter, an analyst at Oracle Investment Research, which advises shareholders. In the largely staid and astern-the-scenes corporate finance world, the CFO job at Apple is surrounded by the worlds most high profile. Apart from dealing once shareholders, Maestri will control Apples spending as it invests in research and progress, and buys billions of dollars of equipment and components to fabricate its products.

Apple-Samsung Jury Is Seated in California Patent Trial

Apple Inc. (AAPL)s and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930)s motivate arguments in a $2 billion measures on summit of smartphone technology will be heard today by a panel of adjudicators that includes a retired International Business Machines Corp. software systems bureaucrat, a medical billing administrator and a community help overseer. The panel of board of jury of six women and four men was selected yesterday in the same San Jose, California, courtroom where jurors two years ago found that Samsung infringed Apples patents and awarded $1.05 billion in damages. With U.S. District Judge Lucy Kohs repeated pleas for a conformity unheeded, the companies are geared happening for another monthlong events and inevitable appeals, supplement auxiliary real bills to the hundreds of millions of dollars theyve already spent on the subject of the subject of disputes back courts and regulators a propos four continents. While screening prospective jurors for possible bias, the regard as living thing voiced involve that a man who claimed to own 1,000 shares of Apple is too invested in the company to be able to designate help to impartially. That led to a ventilation of how to handle jurors who disclosed holdings of add taking place in Google Inc.

U.S. Firms Hold Record $1.64 Trillion in Cash With Apple in Lead

U.S. companies outdoor of the finance industry are holding more cash in the region of their version sheets than ever, along with than $1.64 trillion at the subside of 2013. Thats occurring 12 percent from the prior autograph album in 2012, Moodys Investors Service said in a relation today. Technology led the feat, bearing in mind Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., and Verizon Communications Inc. topping the list of cash-dexterously-off companies. Stockpiling cash can benefits companies withhold stronger description ratings and ensure near-term debt can be paid off if there are swings or disruptions in capital markets, Moodys savings account analyst Richard Lane wrote in the description. High levels of cash can as well as attract campaigner shareholders, who can weaken a companys report rating, or along with companies to create dangerous decisions, such as expensive acquisitions. Apple, whose cash pile surged to $158.8 billion from $5.46 billion in 2004, now holds 9.7 percent of quantity corporate cash outdoor the financial industry. The Cupertino, California-based company, which reinstated dividends in 2012,

Apple’s Second Quest for Samsung Ban Seen as Stretch

Apple Inc. (AAPL)s failure to convert its victory in a first U.S patent measures to a ban harshly sales of Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) smartphones may undercut the iPhone makers chances of faring augmented in a second high-stakes showdown. Jury selection is set to begin today in the thesame San Jose, California, courtroom where jurors two years ago found that Samsung infringed Apples patents and awarded $1.05 billion in damages. The verdict wasnt sufficient to persuade a federal regard as creature to block Samsung from selling its devices in the U.S. push, a intend that Apple identified as more important than monetary reward. This time, Apple is targeting a newer generation of Samsung phones and seeking twice the damages. If Apple once more convinces jurors that its technology was copied, it can furthermore attempt subsequent to again for a sales ban. That will prove hard, unlimited that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, who is presiding beyond the events, twice rejected Apples demand in the first accomplishment, said Brian Love, a professor at Santa Clara University Law School.

Apple E-Book Consumer Lawsuit Can Proceed as Group Case

Apple Inc. (AAPL) drifting its bid to block consumers in 23 states and territories from suing as a charity considering more e-scrap cassette price fixing as they and own happening attorneys general try as much as $840 million in damages. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan concluded in July that Apple violated antitrust laws in its contracts following e-cd publishers. The ruling came after a nonjury events in cases filed by the U.S. Justice Department and 33 states and territories. In yesterdays decision, Cote said consumers in the states and territories that didnt offer portion in the events may pursue their claims together as a class vigor, which allows plaintiffs to pool resources. Cote plans a separate measures to determine damages to the states and consumers. The Justice Department sought deserted corrective orders in the act and didnt scrutinize for damages. The U.S. sued Apple and five of the biggest publishers in April 2012,

Ex-Bitcoin Foundation’s Shrem Indicted After Plea Talks

Charlie Shrem, a prominent Bitcoin evangelist, was indicted for allegedly trying to launder more than $1 million in the virtual currency in a case tied to the illicit online bazaar Silk Road. The indictment came after plea bargaining talks with federal prosecutors in Manhattan ended. Shrem, the former vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, and Robert Faiella, who the U.S. said operated an underground Bitcoin exchange called “BTCKing,” are accused of engaging in a scheme to sell Bitcoins to users of Silk Road for illegal purchases. Shrem, who was also the chief executive officer of a Bitcoin exchange company called BitInstant, and Faiella were first arrested in January and have been free on bond.

Twitter Adds Messaging to Vine to Compete With Facebook

Twitter Inc. (TWTR) said users of its Vine video application can now send their contacts private videos and other messages, stepping up competition with Facebook Inc. in the mobile-messaging market. The feature’s introduction means Twitter and Facebook both now offer multiple ways for their users to chat without using basic text messages. Twitter, which also lets users directly message one another through its main smartphone application, is adding the communication capability to Vine just months after Facebook’s Instagram mobile photo-sharing application made it possible for people to do the same.

Apple Seeks Revival of Suit Against Google Over Royalties

Apple Inc. (AAPL), maker of the iPhone, asked a U.S. appeals court to revive its stroke claiming Google Inc. (GOOG)s Motorola Mobility unit demanded unreasonably high royalties for all right mobile-phone technology. Youin the region of talking virtually billions of dollars hanging anew the head of Apple, Apple lawyer Joshua Rosenkranz of Orrick Herrington, told a three-counsel panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington today. The breach-of-concurrence and antitrust warfare is part of a broader scuffle sophisticated than how to value patents that relate to technological standards used across industries, such as how to right of entry Wi-Fi signals or transmit pictures. A procedures to set a royalty was thrown out after Apple said it wouldnt license the patents unless the deem set a rate at $1 or less for each iPhone.

Apple Monitor Says Contentious Relationship Improved

Apple Inc. (AAPL)s court-appointed electronics books monitor Michael Bromwich said a contentious connection surrounded by him and the company has recently improved subsequent to antitrust agreement efforts now underway at the iPhone maker. Bromwich filed his first version yesterday to U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan, who appointed him to oversee the Cupertino, California-based companys agreement as soon as antitrust rules after she concluded in July that Apple schemed considering publishers to limit competition and lift e-scrap book prices.

Apple Loses Bid to Show Patent Use in Samsung Trial

Apple Inc. (AAPL), accusing Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) of misleading jurors at the start of a $2 billion trial over smartphone technology, lost its bid to show jurors how it uses three of five patents disputed in the case. U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California, yesterday rejected the Cupertino, California-based company’s claim that it deserved the opportunity after Samsung said Apple wasn’t using the intellectual property. The fight at the outset of the second U.S. trial between the world’s top smartphone makers exemplifies how bitterly contested the case is, and how aggressively the companies want to check any advantage their opponent might gain. The jury in the first trial in 2012 awarded $1.05 billion in damages to Apple. The smartphone market was valued at $338.2 billion last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Samsung had 31 percent of industry revenue, compared with 15 percent for Apple, whose share of the market has shrunk as the touch-screen interface has become commonplace and Samsung, LG Electronics (066570) Inc. and Lenovo Group (992) Ltd. have introduced lower-cost alternatives. Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail after regular business hours seeking comment on the ruling. Addressing the jury in opening arguments on April 1, John Quinn, a lawyer for Samsung, called Apple’s case a thinly veiled attack on Google Inc., whose Android operating system is used in Samsung phones, and accused the iPhone maker of exaggerating how much harm it has suffered from alleged copying of patented functions. ‘Valuable Enough’ “Apple admits that three of the five patent claims that it is suing on were not in that iPhone and have never been in any iPhone since,” Quinn told jurors, according to a court filing. “Apple doesn’t consider it valuable enough to even use.” Apple yesterday asked Koh to let it show jurors how it uses the three patents and asked her to correct Quinn’s “false statements” and explain the misrepresentations to jurors. Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, said in a filing that Apple was required to voice any objection to its argument at the April 1 opening arguments. “This concludes the matter, and the court can rule against Apple’s motion for this reason alone,”

Apple’s Maestri Takes Top Finance Role Amid Cash Scrutiny

Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s departing chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer presided over a sales boom that filled company coffers with a record cash pile. His successor, Luca Maestri, inherits a company stung by slowing growth and increasing scrutiny of how it handles that hoard.
The Italian-born executive is becoming Apple’s main money man and liaison to Wall Street in June, at a time when the world’s most valuable company is under pressure to reverse a stock slide, ward off activist investors and defend a cash strategy that critics say shields it from paying taxes.
“When you’re the CFO of the number one company in the world, you have a pretty big magnifying glass on you,” said Laurence Balter, an analyst at Oracle Investment Research, which advises shareholders.
In the largely staid and behind-the-scenes corporate finance world, the CFO job at Apple is among the world’s most high profile. Apart from dealing with shareholders, Maestri will manage Apple’s spending as it invests in research and development, and buys billions of dollars of equipment and components to manufacture its products. The Cupertino, California-based company, which has $159 billion in cash, also is in the midst of a buyback and dividend plan that will return $100 billion to shareholders
Natural Successor
  Maestri will oversee Apple’s accounting and regulatory filings, handling of currencies from sales around the world, and debt after the iPhone maker sold $17 billion in bonds last year. He will supervise how Apple handles taxes, which drew the ire of U.S. senators last year for policies that helped the company avoid paying some fees. Maestri also takes the reins of the acquisitions team, which has stepped up its dealmaking. Apple, which hired Maestri as corporate controller last year, declined to comment or make the 50-year-old executive available. In a March 4 statement announcing Maestri’s promotion to CFO, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said, “When we were recruiting for a corporate controller, we met Luca and knew he would become Peter’s successor.”

Apple’s Chief of Design Jony Ive Expands Authority Over Software

Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s chief designer Jony Ive, who Steve Jobs called his “spiritual partner,” is gaining more authority over the look of the company’s products. Ive is taking full control of the team that designs Apple’s iOS software that powers iPhones and iPads. The move coincides with the retirement of Greg Christie, who led software design. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has turned to Ive to set the overall design aesthetic for products, from the shape of the iPhone’s hardware to the look of screen icons. Ive’s first major influence on Apple’s software was last year’s introduction of iOS 7, which featured brighter colors and eliminated many of the realistic designs for applications such as wooden bookshelves and leather-bound contact books.

Top 10 Best Airports in the World

For travelers weary of long lines at security checkpoints and overpriced fast food, the idea that any airport could be viewed as “best” may seem laughable. However, for travelers lucky enough to have flights that originate or end at any of the airports listed below, the word “best” is totally appropriate. These outstanding airports received the most votes from more than twelve million travelers who participated in a survey administered by Skytrax. Awards for the 2013 World’s Best Airport and nine runners-up were announced at passenger terminal EXPO in Geneva, Switzerland. The winning airports were located largely in Europe and Asia, with only one representative from North America and none from Australia, South America or Africa.  The United States was also notably absent from the list of winners.

1. Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore

Singapore Changi Airport claimed top prize for the fourth time since the Skytrax awards were initiated, having last won the title in 2010. In addition to winning the top overall award, Singapore Changi Airport, which served more than fifty million passengers in 2012, was named Best Airport in Asia and Best Airport for Leisure Amenities.

Millions of Android Devices Vulnerable to Heartbleed Bug

Millions of smartphones and tablets running Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system have the Heartbleed software bug, in a sign of how broadly the flaw extends beyond the Internet and into consumer devices. While Google said in a blog post on April 9 that all versions of Android are immune to the flaw, it added that the “limited exception” was one version dubbed 4.1.1, which was released in 2012. Security researchers said that version of Android is still used in millions of smartphones and tablets, including popular models made by Samsung Electronics Co., HTC Corp. and other manufacturers. Google statistics show that 34 percent of Android devices use variations of the 4.1 software. The company said less than 10 percent of active devices are vulnerable. More than 900 million Android devices have been activated worldwide. The Heartbleed vulnerability was made public earlier this week and can expose people to hacking of their passwords and other sensitive information.

A VC’s Take on Small-Cap Market Reform

ndreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s most visible venture-capital firms, is taking a stance on small-cap market reform. Scott Kupor, a managing partner at the Menlo Park, California-based firm, is publicly declaring his support for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s plan to widen the increments at which shares of small-cap companies — those with a market capitalization below $750 million — can trade.(Information Technology) The changes, if enacted, would increase the liquidity and value of the stocks by attracting institutional investors, who tend to trade in larger volumes, Kupor said. They would also benefit the economy because small companies could go public earlier and create more jobs, he said.(Information Technology) “Companies that go public tend to hire three times as many people as companies which stay private,” Kupor said. Startups that go public earlier will also spread more of their returns to retail investors, instead of venture-capital firms and others that ride most of a privately held company’s early growth, he said.(Information Technology) Those who oppose the reforms, such as some large retail brokers, are afraid to draw the SEC’s attention to their controversial trading practices, said Kupor, who co-chairs the Equity Capital Formation Task Force, a group that is working to remove barriers for small companies to raise public-market financing. Others fear reforms would make trading in small-cap stocks more expensive for retail investors, he said.(Information Technology) Kupor, who said Andreessen Horowitz isn’t trying to drive its own interests by weighing into the debate, added that the benefits of the reforms would more than offset objections raised by the plan’s opponents. The venture capitalist has penned a blog post to lay out his arguments, which follows below. Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, is an investor in Andreessen Horowitz.(Information Technology) By Opposing Small Cap Market Reform, Wall Street’s Largest Retail Brokers are Putting Their Economics Ahead of Customers’ Best Interests According to SEC Chairwoman Mary Joe White, implementing a pilot program to widen tick sizes for small-cap stocks (sub-$750 million market cap) is a “near-term project” for the SEC. In other words, it might actually happen, and that has some of the biggest players on Wall Street in a panic.(Information Technology) Widening tick sizes and restricting the increments at which small-cap stocks can trade – a change for which I and others have been advocating – would bring more liquidity to the small-cap marketplace.(Information Technology) To retail investors – who comprise about 80 percent of the small stocks – this would bring institutional investors back into small-cap stocks, helping both increase stock prices, reduce volatility and provide much needed expansion capital.

No Longer a Reader? Tribune Wants You to Listen to the News

While consumers may be reading daily newspapers less, one morning habit hasn’t changed: the commute. Now, the Tribune Co.’s innovation and technology unit wants drivers and bus riders to listen to audio versions of its stories.(Information Technology) Newsbeat, the first major consumer product by Tribune Digital Ventures, will use human readers and text-to-speech technology to create audio versions of the stories, according to Shashi Seth, president of the unit. Taking a page from Pandora Media, the application personalizes stories according to user interests and other signals. It even uses mapping tools to anticipate how long the audio should play before the commute ends.(Information Technology) Tribune is stepping up efforts to find more ways to attract customers as news habits change. With Newsbeat, the company is trying to tap into the growing demand for digital entertainment when users are in their vehicles. Apple and Google — whose operating systems dominate the smartphone market – have unveiled new efforts to get their software into cars.(Information Technology)

Tinder Narrows Down Its Options for How to Make Money

Tinder, which has been connecting love-seeking, smartphone-swiping millennials for more than a year, has narrowed its money-making plans to three possible matches. Barry Diller, chairman of Tinder-backer IAC/InterActiveCorp, said the dating app is considering three approaches: subscription, advertising or “freemium,” where basic access is free and additional services cost extra. (Information Technology) “We have got lots of little areas marked for revenue,” Diller said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. “You bleed into them over time.”(Information Technology) Tinder is a match-making app built around one simple question: Do I like what I see? Users sign in with their Facebook accounts to upload names, ages, photos and sexual orientations.

Highlighted Code to your Web Page

Highlighted Code to your Web Page:

<a href="http://www.freewebsubmission.com"><b>FreeWebSubmission.com</b></a> 

	Copy the Highlighted Code to your Web Page: <a href="http://www.freewebsubmission.com"> <img src="http://www.freewebsubmission.com/images/fwsbutton11.gif" width="88" height="31" border="0" alt="Submit Your Site To The Web's Top 50 Search Engines for Free!"></a>
Button #2	Copy the Highlighted Code to your Web Page: <a href="http://www.freewebsubmission.com"> <img src="http://www.freewebsubmission.com/images/fwsbutton7.gif" width="88" height="31" border="0" alt="Submit Your Site To The Web's Top 50 Search Engines for Free!"></a>
Button #3	Copy the Highlighted Code to your Web Page: <a href="http://www.freewebsubmission.com"> <img src="http://www.freewebsubmission.com/images/fwsbutton8.gif" width="88" height="31" border="0" alt="Submit Your Site To The Web's Top 50 Search Engines for Free!"></a>
Button #4	Copy the Highlighted Code to your Web Page: <a href="http://www.freewebsubmission.com"> <img src="http://www.freewebsubmission.com/images/fwsbutton9.gif" width="88" height="31" border="0" alt="Submit Your Site To The Web's Top 50 Search Engines for Free!"></a>
Button #5	Copy the Highlighted Code to your Web Page: <a href="http://www.freewebsubmission.com"> <img src="http://www.freewebsubmission.com/images/fwsbutton10.gif" width="88" height="31" border="0" alt="Submit Your Site To The Web's Top 50 Search Engines for Free!"></a>

How Aston Martin tracked down a site for its first showroom in Mexico

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/052a10a4-9f51-11e3-a48e-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2xpQtviEv If James Bond lived in Mexico City, where would he call home? Finding a suitably suave address – a place at once impeccably classy yet effortlessly discreet – was the mission for the Mexican entrepreneurs who last month opened a dealership for Aston Martin, maker of the spy’s favourite cars. Its sheer size means Mexico City has no shortage of property options, but finding the right place to showcase half a dozen luxury British sportscars was tricky. Though many multinationals plump for the gleamingly modern Santa Fe, a sea of skyscrapers on the western fringes of the city, the area is bedevilled by nightmarish traffic and is more a work destination than a chic place to see and be seen. Meanwhile, some banks, lawyers and the like see the city centre as de rigeur: they prefer the elegant towers along the Paseo de la Reforma boulevard, such as the Torre Diana, which, when it is finished in 2015, will be the capital’s tallest building. High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/052a10a4-9f51-11e3-a48e-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2xpRECWPK In the end, the lure of Mexico City’s equivalent of Rodeo Drive won out, and the Aston Martin team zeroed in on the Presidente Masaryk boulevard in the neighbourhood of Polanco, close to the centre and the western residential neighbourhoods. The street is one big shop window for global luxury brands in a district that is a social and business destination for the wealthy customers most likely to splurge on a handmade car they can not only customise at will but, as Martin Josephi, the dealer principal, says, can even carry their wife and children to church. The neighbourhood had the cachet Aston Martin was seeking, but finding the right spot in an area where prices are rocketing and space is shrinking proved a considerable challenge. Here the principals involved in the move – and the building itself – give their thoughts about how it went.

Atop the Electronics World, Samsung Now Chasing Innovation

When 10 of Samsung Electronics' top executives met in Shanghai last December, they weren't there to celebrate the company's dominance in the gadget world. They convened to map out how the South Korean tech giant can survive the onslaught from a multiplying number of low-cost competitors — many of which are located just outside the meeting room's walls in China.  "Where they are today is great,” says Jenny Lee, a managing partner at technology investment firm GGV Capital in Shanghai, who dined with Samsung's management while they were in town. "But they are paranoid.” Paranoid because Samsung may have outgrown the formula that led it to the top of the consumer electronics business. The company owes much of its success to its mastery of what's known in the tech industry as "fast following." By owning each piece of hardware development from start to finish and then ruthlessly designing scores of products that cater to whatever is hip among users, Samsung has been able to catch up to and even surpass the companies it was chasing. Now that it's ahead of the pack in many parts of the industry, Samsung is trying to shed its copycat image and chart a path toward innovation. Last year, as rumors began to bubble up that Apple was working on a smartwatch, Samsung already had one ready to go. The Galaxy Gear wasn't a commercial success, but the move indicated that the Asian company would no longer wait for others to prove a market. Successful Transformers Although rare, there are examples of fast followers that have transformed into innovators.

Lyft Becomes Alibaba's Latest Bet on Silicon Valley

Alibaba Group Holding, an online-shopping powerhouse in China, is using some of its cash to buy its way into Silicon Valley. Alibaba's latest target is Lyft. The Chinese company kicked money into a $250 million funding round for the ride-sharing app developer, Lyft announced today.
The backing of pink-mustachioed cars comes just two weeks after Alibaba led a $280 million investment in TangoMe, a messaging app company based in Mountain View, California. In October, Alibaba led a $206 million investment in ShopRunner, a subscription service similar to Amazon Prime that offers two-day shipping from major U.S. retailers, as well as a $50 million investment in Quixey, a search engine for mobile apps.

What It's Like to Build a Tech Startup in One of the Oldest Cities on Earth

Like most Israeli tech entrepreneurs, Lia Kislev lives in Tel Aviv. But her online styling company isn’t based in the country’s startup capital alongside the nation's fledgling fashion industry. Instead, she and her co-founder commute every day to Jerusalem. Kislev's startup WiShi sits in a whitewashed building about a kilometer from the ancient stone walls of Jerusalem's Old City, a popular tourist attraction that houses sites holy to all three monotheistic religions. The tech complex in the holy city was built by Erel Margalit,
 
 the founder of Jerusalem Venture Partners, who is now a lawmaker for the Labor party.

Tech Venture Capitalists Finally Pay Attention to Europe

Many technology entrepreneurs in Europe have grown accustomed to flying coach on the 11-hour haul to San Francisco. The marathon of meetings with venture-capital firms in Silicon Valley is a ritual they must frequently undertake to raise money for their startups. Simply put, that’s where most of the cash is.
cmneaz.blogspot.com/ This is starting to change. The latest firm to make a big commitment to European tech is Berlin-based Earlybird Venture Capital GmbH, as reported by Bloomberg.com’s Global Tech blog. LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Konstantin Guericke is joining Earlybird to provide a Silicon Valley perspective. Guericke, 46, invested some of his own money into Earlybird’s new $200 million fund aimed at European startups.