Securing its position as a bona fide purveyor of original, premium programming, Netflix officially entered the Emmy race this morning with nominations for its Web-based series "House of Cards" and "Arrested Development." Making the achievement all the more impressive, “The Internet was not considered an eligible platform for the Emmys until 2008,” PaidContent notes. 

LivingSocial, the once high-flying daily deal service, is closing its New York offices, this week, and shutting down its local events division. “This news comes less than one month after LivingSocial closed the doors on its Seattle office and reportedly requested that Seattle employees work remotely,” The Next Web reports. “Now, the company’s NY office is facing a similar fate.” Amazon invested a $175 million LivingSocial in 2010. 

Mobile chat service WhatsApp is shedding it 99 cents-purchase price, and will henceforth be free. “This might not seem like a big deal,” Forbes writes. “But for some people, shelling out anything to just try an app is a barrier, so WhatsApp is likely to become even more well used.” Apple recently listed WhatsApp as the sixth-most-popular paid app of all time. 

Social network Path is reportedly in the process of raising a $50 million Series C round at a $500 million valuation. “Sources tell us the company is still seeking a lead investor,” TechCrunch reports. “We’ve also heard rumors that Path has been in acquisition talks with several industry giants.” Last April, company raised $30 million at a $250 million valuation. 

Once thrilled by the prospect of a shiny new smartphone, consumers are less inclined than ever to upgrade their devices. “The rates at which American cellphone users have traded in their devices for more advanced models have declined over the last few years,” The Wall Street Journal reports, citing analysts at UBS AG. “They turned negative last year, when about 68 million people upgraded their phones in the U.S., down more than 9% from a year earlier.” 

As part of its highly anticipated Web TV service, Apple reportedly wants to let users skip ads, then pay media companies for those skipped views. “In recent discussions, Apple told media executives it wants to offer a ‘premium’ version of the service that would allow users to skip ads and would compensate television networks for the lost revenue,” former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin writes on her blog.

Google this week is rolling out a revamped Web interface for its Google Play store. “With this new design, users will find that it’s a lot simpler to understand what an app is about,” The Next Web reports. “What’s more, if you look at the details of a specific app, you’ll notice that the screenshots have been enlarged … In looking at the store, users will see that it takes up the entire screen with all of the information listed on the single page.” 

When Facebook bought Gowalla last year, Josh Williams, co-founder of the location-based social network, was seen as a valuable part to the deal. At Facebook, Williams became Product Manager for Facebook Pages, Locations and Events, where he most recently revamped the Pages product with a focus on user ratings and reviews. Now, however, Williams is moving on, AllThingsD reports. Sources say Williams will likely start a new company. 

In other Apple news, the tech giant is reportedly taking a close look at PrimeSense -- best known for developing Microsoft Kinect’s technology -- for upwards of $300 million. “The purchase would bolster Apple’s living room TV interface offerings and allow Apple to add controls with body movements and hand gestures to its products,” reasons 9To5Mac. 

Microsoft really wants to get its mobile hardware into the hands of consumers, not to mention make room for new inventory. On Sunday, the company cut prices on its Surface RT tablets by as much as 30%, with the entry-level models now selling for $349. “The prices are another attempt by Microsoft to clear its existing inventory in preparation for a second-generation line of Windows RT devices,” Computerworld reports.