Mobile Minutes: China blocks Gmail; Facebook vs. YouTube ads; Kodak-branded mobile devices; Xiaomi's valuable phones
Google's Gmail blocked in China
Google's Gmail was blocked in China after months of disruptions to the world's
biggest email service, with an anti-censorship advocate suggesting the Great
Firewall was to blame.
Read more on Reuters
As Facebook Takes On YouTube, What?s the Long Term Plan
for Ads?
If there was any remaining doubt, Facebook made it pretty clear last week that
it is taking YouTube head-on in the battle to own Web video with its big deal
with the National Football League. The league began distributing video content
on the social networking site last Tuesday; those clips were proceeded by video
ads for Verizon Wireless.
Read more on Wall Street Journal
From film to smartphones: Kodak-branded phones, tablets
coming in 2015
Kodak, a household name in photography, is coming out with its own range of
smartphones and tablets with - you guessed it - image management tools. The
iconic imaging brand announced a partnership with Bullitt Group to build
Android-based mobile devices that may debut in 2015.
Read more on GMA News
Smartphone maker you never heard of valued at $45
billion
Xiaomi just raised $1.1 billion in funding from some of the tech industry's
most powerful players. That values the company at $45 billion -- bigger than
LG, Motorola and Sony put together. Xiaomi is currently the world's most
valuable startup -- worth more than than Uber, Airbnb or Pinterest.
Read more on CNNMoney