Google Launches Wallet for Web Content and Two Other Stories You Need to Know

Google Launches Wallet for Web Content
Google has launched a micropayments service, enabling publishers to charge small amounts of money for web content.
The service gives users the ability to sample the content (e.g. text or image) before they buy, which can be done with a single click. Those who are not satisfied can get their money back within 30 minutes. Of course, Google has safeguards in place to prevent users from abusing the refunds to get free content.
As the official Google Wallet site describes, it’s “an experiment to see if users will be prepared to pay for individual web pages if the buying process is sufficiently easy. Several top content creators are participating in this experiment.”

Samsung Galaxy S III Sales Weren’t Hurt by Samsung-Apple Patent Trial
Although Samsung had a recent setback in its ongoing court battle with Apple — the jury awarded Apple $1 billion for Samsung’s patent violations — the sales of its flagship phone haven’t declined.
Sales of Samsung Galaxy S III were actually boosted by the verdict, with the smartphone seeing an average growth of 9% in new devices each week since Aug. 1, according to a report by Localytics.

Microsoft in Talks to Acquire Rdio [RUMOR]
Microsoft is currently in talks to acquire the digital music streaming and subscription company Rdio, according to a rumor unearthed by The Next Web.
The rumor goes hand-in-hand with the upcoming Xbox Music service, rumored to be launched Oct. 26. The multi-platform service will offer both subscription and free streaming service supported by ads, the Verge reports.