Apple iPhone 5 and iPad mini event planned for September 12, iPhone 5 release date for September 21[iMORE]

The iPad mini will be announced at the same September 12 event, as will the new iPod nano. We haven’t heard a release date for the iPad mini yet, but it could be the same as the iPhone 5. It seems likely the new iPod touch will make an appearance on September 12 as well, though we haven’t heard any specific information about that yet either.

Apple says it didn’t copy iPhone from Sony, releases ‘Purple’ prototype to prove it [THE VERGE]

When we last checked in on the Apple vs Samsung trial, filings revealed Samsung’s aggressive plans to beat Apple, but also suggested a glimpse at Apple’s Sony-inspired design process. Apple claims otherwise: the latest documents have revealed prototype “Purple,” a concept device that bears all of the hallmarks of the iPhone while predatingthe “Jony” concept that suggested Sony’s ethos had heavy influence in Apple’s internal brainstorming sessions.

Want to graduate? First, create a company [THE NEW YORK TIMES]

CAN you build a technology entrepreneur from scratch in four months flat? Yes, contends a global training program called the Founder Institute, which was started in 2009. For tuition of less than $1,000, students attend classes with one goal in mind: to create a fully operational company. In fact, they are required to incorporate before they can graduate.

In Week Two, Marissa Mayer Googifies Yahoo: Free food! Friday afternoon all-hand! New work spaces! Fab swag! [ALLTHINGSD]

Wasting little time, Mayer has added a weekly Friday afternoon all-hands meeting, which kicked off this past week at the company’s Sunnyvale HQ. Just like it has been done at the search giant for eons. And, at the 4:30 pm PT confab, she announced — to the shock of some bean counters at Yahoo, worried about the cost, but to the thrill of hungry engineers — that henceforth the food in Yahoo’s URLs Cafe — but only in Silicon Valley for now — will be free.

Firms take online reviews to heart [THE WALL STREET JOURNAL]

As retailers such as L.L. Bean, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and others mine billions of social-media conversations and customer product reviews, they are using the information as a sort of quality-control system. Many say the data can offer clues into supply-chain snafus, flawed products and poorly written instruction manuals.