Amazon already has a number of apps on iOS. There’s Kindle, Cloud Player and Price Check to name a few. And over this past week, the company added another one to the list: Amazon Local.
As the name suggests, Amazon Local is a new iOS app that helps you find things based on your location. In this case, those things are deals for restaurants, concerts and other events… Read More
We love the new Kindle lineup of e-readers and tablets, especially the brand new Kindle with Paperdisplay and the super-charged Kindle Fire HD. At last week’s unveiling, the CEO Jeff Bezos underscored that Amazon wants to make money when people use their devices.
That’s why all Kindle devices display ads on the lock screen (don’t worry, you can opt-out for fifteen bucks). And just like Google, Amazon is selling hardware below cost, hoping to recoup losses through content sales on Amazon.com. The only problem with this strategy: Amazon’s profitability doesn’t even close to Apple’s…. Read More
Amazon, hot off of Thursday’s Kindle Fire HD announcement, is downplaying a report the Internet retailer is being courted by some studios to take on Netflix. Studios would love Amazon to spin-off the video-streaming portion of Amazon Prime, according to one report.
“Some content owners I’ve talked to say they like the idea so much that they’ll compel Jeff Bezos to do it whether he wants to or not,” reports All Things Digital‘s Peter Kafka. However, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is playing hard-to-get… Read More
Should Apple be nervous following Amazon introducing the Kindle Fire HD Thursday? No, says Wall Street. However, Google and Microsoft could be sweating bullets, analysts are telling investors Friday.
“Apple still rules the tablet world,” writes Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets. Indeed, the expected release of a 7.85-inch ‘iPad mini‘ will expand the the company’s customer base, “potentially even surpassing sales of the regular-sized iPad.” In short, Apple investors should relax… Read More
Amazon just wrapped up its news-packed event that saw the company update its Kindle lineup and add two new notable products to the mix: the Kindle Paperwhite with a stunning new display combining the best of LCD and e-ink technology and the Kindle Fire HD, a tablet meant to take Apple’s iPad on the high-end.
You should care because Amazon has the ecosystem, the game plan and the devices to take on Apple from every angle. If you don’t have time to read through our extensive coverage of Amazon’s presser, have a look at two new ads that highlight headline features of the two new tablets… Read More
Following recent product launches by technology giants Samsung, Googlerola and Microkia, the online retail giant Amazon summoned select members of the press to a media event in Los Angeles, California. As previously hinted, the company is expected to unveil half a dozen new Kindle devices, including a ten-inch tablet to take Apple’s iPad head on.
Some people even hope the company will launch a smartphone of its own, just to make fall phone options a tad more interesting. As always, iDB is watching the announcement so you don’t have to, bringing you everything worth knowing. Here are the goodies Amazon has in store for us (just don’t call them gadgets, will ya’?)… Read More
We’re nearing the end of the two-week run of product announcements leading up to Apple’s iPhone event. Last week, Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Note 2. And today, both Nokia and Motorola showed off new hardware.
Tomorrow, Amazon will play the final opening act with a media event in Los Angeles, where it’s expected to unveil a handful of new Kindle tablets. But according to a new report, it may have a few surprises up its sleeves… Read More
Apple sent out media invites this morning for a September 12 event where many believe it will unveil the new iPhone. The handset is expected to become available for pre-order the same day, and launch in stores the following week.
The news has kickstarted the pre-announcement ritual of folks looking to sell off their old Apple gear to help pay for the new stuff. And if you’re looking to do the same, Amazon appears to be offering top dollar for old iPhones… Read More
As we get closer to the expected October launch of Apple’s “iPad mini,” details are emerging about how the Cupertino, Calif. company is reshaping its supplier base in the face of growing demand for handheld devices. AU Optronics, which made MacBook displays, is now building parts for the smaller iPad, Bloomberg reports Friday.
LG Display is also among the suppliers for the smaller tablet, according to Bloomberg. Read More
Amazon’s Kindle Fire owns 22 percent of the US tablet market, the online retail giant announced Thursday. The figure comes as Amazon preps to likely announce a new tablet next week, along with girding to take-on Google’s $199 Nexus 7 device.
According to Amazon, “in just nine months, Kindle Fire has captured 22 percent of sales in the US,” PaidContent reports. Accustomed to being fed amorphous Kindle marketing stats like “a lot” and “most in our history,” the concreteness of the announcement was surprising. However, after the initial shock, there began questions, like 22 percent of what? Read More
Amazon Prime, the online bookseller’s answer to Netflix, Friday expanded its licensing arrangement with NBCUniversal, allowing TV programming like “Parks and Recreation,” “Heroes” and “Battlestar Galactica” to be available to subscribers. The news follows the $79 annual service adding past seasons of “Parenthood,” “Friday Night Lights” and “The Starter Wife.”
Amazon’s video content acquisition head Brad Beale described the firm’s investment in Prime as “heavy,” reports the Wall Street Journal. The comment is borne out by the company’s 96% drop second-quarter earnings weighed by increased spending. Along with providing free two-day shipping of items and free Kindle book loans, Prime has offered streaming video since early 2011… Read More
Reports of the September 12 iPhone event started circling late last month. And although several publications have confirmed the date, Apple itself has yet to make any kind of announcement.
But the speculation must have been enough to catch the attentions of Apple’s competitors. In the last three weeks, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola and Amazon have all announced press events scheduled for the first week of September… Read More
Google’s Nexus 7 tablet launch a month ago has literally obsoleted Amazon’s seven-inch Kindle Fire overnight. Three weeks ago, Reuters claimed Amazon was working on half a dozen new Android tablets, among them one with a larger display designed to take the iPad on the high-end.
The rumors were true as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) yesterday cleared an Amazon tablet with a larger display. Meanwhile, Samsung today launched its 10.1-inch Galaxy Note tablet with much fanfare.
It comes with a stylus (please, no jokes), has juicy hardware (a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM) plus some interesting multitasking features, such as split-screen functionality and a pop-up video player… Read More
Yesterday Amazon launched Amazon Instant Video, its new video streaming app for the iPad. The app lets you either stream or mark for download and later offline viewing any previously purchased video from Amazon. It also allows Amazon Prime users to stream over 120,000 videos for free.
Jailbreak users were quick to note that Amazon put a block in place to prevent them from using the app. As we reported this morning, Amazon even confirmed the problem, basically saying that if you are using a jailbroken iPad, there is nothing they can do for you.
But don’t worry, as usual, the jailbreak community has your back… Read More
The iPad is increasingly looking like a big success story for Apple though investors have been largely ignoring the fact due to their fixation with the iPhone, which fell three million units short of predictions in Q2 2012.
During the June quarter, Apple sold 17 million iPads, an 84 percent increase over the 9.25 million iPads sold in the year-ago quarter and up from the 11.8 million iPads shipped in Q1 2012. In just twelve months, Apple increased its share by almost seven percentage points, from 61.5 percent in Q2 2011 to a whopping 68.2 percent in Q2 2012.
Samsung and Asus also gained, the former on the heels of its Galaxy Tab lineup that Apple thinks copies the iPad’s look and feel, and the latter based on strong sales of own products and the Nexus 7 which Asus makes for Google… Read More
Online retailer Amazon confirmed that its newly released video streaming client for iPad, the free Instant Video app, doesn’t run correctly on jailbroken iPads. Amazon yesterday released the program which enables its $79-a-year Prime subscribers and regular users to easily stream and synch via an iPad their video purchases and thousands of movies and television shows the company has on offer… Read More
Online retailer Amazon has stepped up its game on the iOS platform. Just as it updated its Cloud Player with a new scan-and-match service akin to iTunes Match and featuring high-quality 256Kbps song downloads for both music purchases and ripped CDs, the company today released a brand new video app which enables streaming of video content available through the company’s Prime service and Instant Video store.
It supports offline viewing, automatic syncing of your play state across various devices and platforms and more. More screenies right after the break… Read More
Apple first took Amazon to court over the App Store moniker in March of last year, just as the online retailer began using the ‘app store’ term in their developer portal.
Last November, Apple stepped up its fight as it saw Amazon promoting the Amazon Appstore for Android apps.
Today, we learn that Apple wants to summon an Amazon executive for court testimony over the decision to drop the words “for Android” from some of Amazon’s app store branding… Read More
Confirming an earlier AllThingsD story, Staple CEO Demos Parneros told Reuters today that Amazon is about to unleash half a dozen new Kindle Fire tablets, including a brand new ten-inch model obviously engineered to take Apple’s iPad head on.
The online retailer recently acquired 3D mapping startup UpNext, another indication that it means business when it comes to tablets. And of course, the company is also thought to be readying a smartphone of its own… Read More
The US Department of Justice says it has received nearly 1000 public comments since it lodged its lawsuit against Apple and a number of major book publishers earlier this year. The suit claims that Apple worked in concert with the publishers in an effort to raise e-book prices.
The DoJ has responded to the comments today, and has strong words for both Apple and the accused publishers. Despite the pushback, the Department says that it has every intention to move forward with its e-book lawsuits and settlement talks as planned… Read More
