Welcome to this morning's edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. We’re keeping our eyes on five particular stories of interest today.
Amazon to Launch Color Tablet
Amazon is expected to unveil an Android tablet, allegedly named the Kindle Fire, at a press event at 10 a.m. ET in New York today.
Apple Announces iPhone Event for October 4
Apple has begun sending invites for an iPhone event at Apple’s Cupertino campus on Oct. 4, where the company is likely to unveil the iPhone 5 and a second, cheaper iPhone model based off the current iPhone 4. Rumors suggest the company might also it may also retire some of its most popular products, including the iPod classic and iPod shuffle.
Facebook Gives $10 Million in Free Advertising to Small Businesses
Facebook is cozying up to small businesses with a new program that gives away $10 million in free advertising.
MeeGo to Be Replaced With Tizen, a New Linux-Based Mobile OS
Imad Sousou, director of Intel's Open Source Technology Center, announced that MeeGo is being replaced by Tizen, an open source OS for smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle infotainment devices.
Microsoft Releases Mango
Microsoft has begun rolling out Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango,” the newest version of its smartphone software.
Further News
Google+ received a 13-fold growth in traffic following its release to the public last week, according to third-party measurements.
Mozilla has released Firefox 7.
Pixar has launched a mysterious photo blog for its next film.
Ashton Kutcher is leveraging his new gig on Two and a Half Men to provide exposure for some of his most prominent startup investments.