Google doubles size of Seattle-area campus as X Lab sparks interest, Android chief steps aside and loss of Google Reader upsets loyal users.

Time Inc. spinoff rattles employees.

Volkswagen warns of a tough year ahead and focuses on China.

Apple exec attacks Google, Android and Samsung on eve of Galaxy S4 introduction.

AMC Theaters seeing stellar results.

Amazon pares price of large-screen Kindle Fire HD.

American Express, Audi and Griffin's "get" social media, execs say.Continue reading...

What an interesting, paradoxical time for Starbucks. Once regarded as a bullet-proof brand that engendered the fiercest form of customer loyalty, Starbucks has of late been somewhat shunned by cost-conscious consumers. Feeling the effects of the economy, Starbucks' customer base has shrunk as coffee drinkers move to McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, and other less expensive alternatives.

While the company watches its own retail empire contract, with 600 stores closed in the past two years, Starbucks is putting its energy into driving the sales of Seattle's Best Coffee, a former rival the company acquired in 2003. Starbucks aims to expand the brand to more than 30,000 locations, up from 3,000, by the end of its fiscal year in September.

Starbucks is pursuing an aggressive strategy to place Seattle's Best Coffee in U.S. Burger King and Subway restaurants, AMC movie theatres, and in a number of varied outlets, including Alaska Airlines, Borders bookstores, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The company also plans to sell the brand in convenience stores and supermarkets, and via all forms of on-street distribution, such as coffee carts, kiosks, mobile trucks, and vending machines.

The distribution push is accompanied by the launch of a new Seattle's Best logo and slogan. The brand will move away from its type-only treatment to a contemporary graphic that highlights a drop of coffee in what could be interpreted as a wide-open smiling mouth.Continue reading...

Bumper Stickler: Comcast founder Ralph Roberts wants bumper stickers on its trucks that say "I love cable." His son, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, told the US cable show in Los Angeles this week he'd worry about the trucks being vandalized, adding "We need to learn from the content industry how to market." Roberts also demonstrated (above) the first iPad TV-remote-control application at the conference today, while an "international airline" will introduce the iPad for inflight entertainment in July.

Top Hat Curtails? BP prepares new cap for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, releases first photo and reveals site's "not satisfactory" pre-disaster test.

AndroidStar: GM is in talks to link OnStar with Google phones.

Welcome Home: Haim Saban bought back $5 billion Power Rangers franchise from Disney.Continue reading...