VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled its latest Galaxy S smartphones featuring a slim body made from aircraft-grade metal, in a bid to reclaim the throne of undisputed global smartphone leader from Apple Inc.

Visa Europe has announced a new, more secure way for consumers to pay retailers via smartphones, a move that could set the stage for Apple's Apple Pay and rival payment services to be introduced into Europe in the coming months.

Google Inc has partnered with several large U.S. wireless carriers to pre-install its electronic payment service on phones, as the companies seek to counter Apple Inc's recent entry into the nascent market for mobile payments.

Google Inc is in talks to buy mobile-payments company Softcard, technology news website TechCrunch reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Drug retailers CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) and Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N) have disabled Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) new electronic payments service Apple Pay from their stores over the weekend, the New York Times reported.

PayPal's biggest threat as it prepares to split from eBay (EBAY.O) next year may come from former employees who back a crop of new businesses serving shoppers who increasingly prefer to pay with mobile phones rather than personal computers.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is set to launch two new iPads and release the next version of its Mac operating system at its next event on Oct. 21, a Daily Dot report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Apple Inc said many customers will need to wait until next month for their new iPhones after a record 4 million first-day pre-orders were logged, double the number for the iPhone 5 two years ago.