Why Sprint’s CEO says his company is ‘doing the right thing’; is channel surfing coming to an end?
Square partners with Starbucks, raises $25M for Series D; Howard Schultz joins the board [TECHCRUNCH]
Beginning this fall, Square will begin processing all U.S. credit and debit card transactions at participating Starbucks stores across their 7,000 locations. Pay with Square users will be able to find a nearby Starbucks in the Square Directory from their iPhone or Android smartphone. Additionally, Starbucks will be investing $25 million in Square for the company’s Series D financing round, which clocks in at a $3.25 billion valuation. (Just shy of the $4 billion valuation we’d been hearing about.) Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, will also be joining Square’s Board of Directors.
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse’s plan to fight AT&T and Verizon: ‘doing the right thing’ [THE VERGE]
Hesse didn’t mince words about those larger competitors: “There’s no question that the industry does have an issue with the size of the duopoly of AT&T and Verizon.” As for how Sprint itself will deal with that issue, it’s probably not a mistake that Hesse’s next comment was to express his belief that there would be “more consolidation” in the industry. Smaller players will have to try to size-up so they can compete “because the gap between the top two and number three is so large.”
The end of channel surfing? [THE WALL STREET JOURNAL]
App developers are updating the traditional channel guide to show viewers programs that are uniquely relevant to them based on their social circles. Instead of channel-surfing or scrolling through a long list of shows, viewers can use these mobile apps to display shows that they or their friends like based on their preferences. Some of the apps integrate with Facebook Inc.’s social network to identify and recommend TV shows and sports teams liked on the social network.
Oracle calls on Google to out paid bloggers [WIRED]
Did Google have a shill blogger during its recent Java smackdown with Oracle? That’s what Oracle would have you believe. Shortly after Judge William Alsup issued an unusual order Tuesday, compelling both parties in the dispute to name writers who they’d paid to publish comments in the lawsuit, Oracle said that Google needs to come clean in the case. “Oracle has always disclosed all of its financial relationships in this matter,” said Oracle spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger in an email message. “It is time for Google to do the same.” Google declined to comment on the order.