Morning Tech Crawl: Microsoft phone biz exit, Apple to open up Siri, Hulk Hogan's secret investor
Microsoft is taking a $950 million charge and laying off 1,850 jobs to exit the consumer phone business, putting an end to the saga of a $7.2 billion deal to acquire Nokia's phone business that, let's just say, did not end well.
The Information reports that Apple plans to open up its voice assistant Siri to third-party developers, which means the feature could be used by any developer, not just the ones hand-picked by Apple such as Fandango and Yelp. Apple is also said to be working on an Amazon Echo-like device that would play music via Airplay and respond to voice commands. Hey, just like Google Home!
Google's Nexus Player set-top box appears to be going to the great HDMI-lined digital graveyard. Google will no longer offer it directly. It was introduced in late 2014.
It's been revealed that Paypal co-founder, entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel was reportedly paying former wrestler Hulk Hogan's legal fees in his invasion of privacy lawsuit against Gawker. Thiel has been vocally not-a-fan of Gawker-owned site Valleywag. More on it from Forbes.
Toyota has made a "Strategic investment" in Uber that will allow drivers to lease a Toyota vehicle and pay for it through their earnings. It will also likely lead to in-car apps and auto sales of Toyota and Lexus vehicles to Uber.
Pebble, the smart watch maker, yesterday introduced "Pebble Core" a combination smart button and fitness tracker. But why the heck would you want one? Cnet senior editor Scott Stein explains in the video below:
