Amazon lights up Kindle Fire advertising [video]
Amazon's new Kindle Fire tablet may be nearly two months from shipping, but that's not stopping the retailer from building buzz now. Amazon only just announced the Android 2.1-based tablet this morning, and the first commercials are ready to go. The 7-inch Kindle Fire goes on sale November 15 for $199. Wanna guess what the hot Christmas gift this year is gonna be? Hint: It ain't iPad 2.
While geeks, tech writers and Apple fanatics will get all hung up on what's missing -- no camera, no Bluetooth, no 3G, no Android 3.x "Honeycomb" -- ignore their complaints. Amazon isn't selling techie features but a digital lifestyle -- that's crystal clear from this one video, and it resonates with marketing for Kindle ebook readers.
How does Amazon Kindle Fire compare to iPad 2? [chart]
Amazon's unveiling of the Kindle Fire on Wednesday took the eReader ever closer to becoming a full-fledged tablet device. With the move, Amazon will now have its devices ever-more increasingly compared to tablets rather than other e-readers in its class.
The most obvious comparison is price. At $199, Amazon is clearly aiming to get as many Fires in the hands of consumers as possible. It could see the device as a loss leader, hoping to make up any lost margins on the sales of content from its music and entertainment services.
The three big ways Amazon's Kindle Fire wins
Online retailer Amazon on Wednesday officially launched its first Android tablet, the 7" Kindle Fire.
Taking its name from the company's already successful line of e-readers, the Kindle Fire introduces a handful of new features to the Android tablet business.
Amazon unveils three all-new Kindle e-readers
Amazon on Wednesday unveiled the fifth generation of its dedicated Kindle e-readers: the $79 Kindle, the $99 Kindle Touch, and the $149 Kindle Touch 3G. All three go up for pre-order today and will begin shipping on November 21.
The three models each offer the latest high-contrast 6" E Ink Pearl display and an even smaller profile than previous versions, but they're not all the same. The low-end Kindle offers a much smaller chassis, and weighs only 5.95 ounces, while two flagship models, Kindle Touch, and Touch 3G, have infrared touchscreen interfaces like the Nook Simple Touch and Sony Reader and slightly larger bodies.
Streaming is big business: Amazon signs Fox, Netflix signs Dreamworks
Monday, Amazon and Netflix, two major competitors in the video streaming space announced new content partnerships that broaden their catalogs and represent the next generation of carriage agreements that occur every three years in the cable and pay TV business.
Amazon announced it had signed a licensing deal with 20th Century Fox that would bring streaming movies and TV shows to its Amazon Prime Instant streaming service. It will join CBS, NBCUniversal, Sony, Warner Brothers, and Amazon's other current partners, who now bring a total of 11,000 movies and TV shows to the premium service.
Amazon launches Kindle Library Lending program
Last April, Amazon announced the Kindle Library Lending program would let Kindle users borrow books from more than 11,000 U.S. libraries. Today, the program officially launched at all participating libraries.
Users can search their local library's website, and when they find a book, they can choose "Send to Kindle," which then redirects them through Amazon.com and syncs their book down to their e-reader or Kindle app for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, BlackBerry or Windows Phone, or to the browser-based Kindle Cloud Reader.
Amazon tablet will 'completely disrupt the status quo'
If Amazon's rumored Android tablet ever indeed becomes a reality, it could quickly become one of the bestselling tablets on the market. That's the claims of Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps, who expects the tablet to sell up to five million units in the fourth quarter of this year.
At that rate, sales of the Amazon tablet would surpass the 4.19 million iPads that Apple sold in the first full quarter of its availability from July through September 2010. Amazon would roughly be doing that in about two to three months.
Kindle comes to Linux and ChromeOS, but it's the iPad users that Amazon wants
As of today, Amazon's Kindle e-reader is available on all platforms. The retailer on Wednesday launched Kindle Cloud Reader, an HTML5 Web app that gives users browser-based access to their Kindle library and the Kindle store on platforms that have no dedicated Kindle app, such as Linux and ChromeOS.
Similar to the Amazon MP3 Cloud Player, Kindle Cloud Reader gives users the option to read their e-books while connected, or to cache content to their local machine for offline consumption, and the bookstore has been integrated into the web app's experience.
Why is Amazon supporting a proposed federal sales tax law?
Amazon can't keep running away from states that require sales tax collection. Even they are now supporting a Democratic proposal to create an interstate agreement for standardized and simplified collection of taxes. Everyone's a winner except for those of you who have not been paying the use tax you're supposed to pay. It's a good and fair idea and it has no chance whatsoever of passage.
The remote buyer sales tax problem is an old one going back to the days of mail order and catalogs. The Internet has made it worse for states because the volume is so much greater, but the nature of the problem hasn't really changed. In that sense, the established court precedents might seem to close the books on the case.
Is Amazon's tablet positioned to be an iPad killer?
The Wall Street Journal shook the tech world Wednesday with news that Amazon plans to release its own Android-based tablet in October, a clear effort to take Apple head on now that it has nearly dominated the e-reader market with its market-leading Kindle device.
While the device is not a replacement for the Kindle, it's likely that the e-retailer will make it compatible with its array of services. Amazon already has a stable of offerings that could make any tablet successful: its cloud-based music service, its own music store, the Kindle e-bookstore, and its streaming and downloadable video offerings.
Amazon terminates Associates Program in California over tax law
Whoa, look what I pulled out of my Junk Mail folder -- a "notice of termination" email from Amazon. Last year I signed up to be an Amazon Associate and collected not one cent, never having participated. For active participants, this must be a troubling day -- make that Friday.
California is broke and looking to raise cash any way it can. Earlier today, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new tax law that would compel online retailers like Amazon to collect sales tax. The new provisions go into effect Friday. Well, hell, what can I still order online during the next 40 hours?
AmazonLocal brings daily deals to Boise, Idaho, but not to you (yet)
Amazon apparently is getting into the Groupon coupon-like business by aggregating deals from LivingSocial. But don't rush out to the AmazonLocal website, unless you live in Boise, Idaho. That appears to be the only city where there are local deals.
Tip of the hat goes to TheNextWeb for uncovering AmazonLocal and its apparently one-city offering. I've got a call in asking for more details and will update this story should Amazon respond.
Why can you download Office for Mac 2011 from Amazon but not Apple?
If you've seen Amazon's new Mac Software Downloads store it's the question to ask. Amazon offers digital downloads from the Mac's two largest developers, Adobe and Microsoft. Apple does not. Well, Windows Phone 7 Connector is available from Apple's shop. But, hey, where's Microsoft Office?
Perhaps the answer to that question will come next month during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, where Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" takes center stage. The Mac App Store, which debuted in January as an add-on to v10.6 "Snow Leopard," will be built into Lion.
Amazon drops cost of ad-supported 3G Kindle as e-readers near generational shift
In a veritable repeat of the events of 2010, Amazon on Wednesday dropped the cost of its 3G-equipped Kindle with Special Offers to $164 after new, cheaper Kobo and Nook e-readers were debuted by its competitors.
Kobo, the e-reader brand associated with Borders and Indigo bookstores debuted a new 6" touchscreen e-reader on Monday called Kobo eReader Touch Edition. The new device cost $129.99, and last year's Kobo model dropped in price to $99.
E-books now more popular than books, says Amazon
In three and a half years, Amazon's Kindle has grown from a single dedicated e-reader to a full-blown e-book platform available on nearly every popular operating system. Today, Amazon announced that Kindle-format e-books have finally begun to outsell traditional paper-bound books.
Since April 1, 2011, Amazon has been selling 105 Kindle books for every 100 print books it sells. It's only a small lead, but just one year ago, Amazon was only selling 60 Kindle books to every 100 paper books, so sales growth has been extremely rapid.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.