Amazon

Google’s Eric Schmidt has the nerve to shoot down Amazon’s drones over privacy worries

Google chairman Erich Schmidt is definitely on a roll these days. He first posted a guide on how to convert from iPhone to Android which draw much ridicule in suggesting that the latest high-end phones from Samsung, Motorola and Google represent "a great Christmas present to an iPhone user" because these devices have "better screens, are faster and have a much more intuitive interface".

Now, Schmidt's attention turns to Amazon's conceptual sci-fi Prime Air service that will use miniature everyday drones to deliver packages at customers' doorsteps. This, according to Schmidt, constitutes a serious violation of privacy because the drone technology can be used to spy on neighbors and record your private activities...

Amazon Cloud Player now available in BMW Apps and MINI Connected-equipped vehicles

In time for today's rumored iOS in the Car launch across select Honda vehicles, Amazon has announced a new version of its free Cloud Player for iPhone and iPad which integrates straight with the dash. Cloud Player is the online retail giant's official cloud-storage client which lets you access your MP3 files residing in the Amazon cloud. Today's update makes it easy for music lovers to play songs through their BMW Apps and MINI Connected-equipped vehicles' in-dash system...

Amazon Prime Air service will use drones to deliver your packages

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98BIu9dpwHU

The future is coming, and it's flying drones to get there. The Verge writes:

Amazon's CEO loves a good reveal, and took the opportunity afforded by a 60 Minutes segment to show off his company's latest creation: drones that can deliver packages up to five pounds, to your house in less than half an hour. They're technically octocopters, as part of a program called "Amazon Prime Air." A drone sits at the end of a conveyer belt, waiting to pick up a package and can carry them up to ten miles from the fulfillment center. As soon as Amazon can work out the regulations and figure out how to prevent your packages from being dropped on your head from above, Bezos promised, there will be a fleet of shipping drones taking the sky.

Amazon takes on iPad, Jony Ive in new Kindle Fire HDX ad

They say the more successful you are, the bigger the target on your back gets. And that appears to be true with Apple and its iPad, as Amazon joins Microsoft and others in taking the popular tablet to task via TV spots.

In its latest commercial for the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9, the ecommerce giant compares its slate to the iPad Air. And if we're not mistaken, it sounds like the man with the smooth english accent is supposed to be Jony Ive...

Amazon app redesigned for iOS 7

Just in time for the holidays, Amazon has redesigned its iPhone and iPad app for iOS 7. The update comes a week before Black Friday—the beginning of the biggest shopping weekend of the year for most retailers.

The app gives users virtually full access to the ecommerce giant's staggering selection of products, which ranges from electronics to clothes, and everything in between. And now it looks right at home on iOS 7 devices...

Amazon (again) takes potshots at iPad in Kindle Paperwhite ad

On the surface, Amazon is seemingly supportive of Apple's iOS platform as the company updates its various iOS applications on a regular basis - even if it's just a courtesy to its iOS-loving users who want to enjoy Amazon services on their iPhone and iPad.

Scratch a little deeper and all hell breaks loose.

For starters, the online retailing giant is waging legal battle against Apple over e-book price fixing. And given the two tech titans increasingly compete on hardware, software and services, it's really no surprise Amazon's marketing department is taking direct jabs at Apple users every now and then.

This February, for example, the company aired a much-flawed screen comparison video pitting its 1080p Kindle tablet against Apple's better-than-1080p iPad with Retina display. This time around, an Amazon ad is challenging the e-reading experience on a tablet such as the iPad, versus that on the Kindle Paperwhite.

Have a look right below...

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX tops iPad Air in display shootout

With the recent releases of both the iPad Air and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX, the folks over at DisplayMate thought it was time to pit the two new tablets against each other (and against Google's Nexus 10 tablet) in one of its signature display shootouts.

DisplayMate, a highly-regarded authority on display technology, likes to measure various aspects of device displays such as screen reflectance and absolute color accuracy, to see who is using the best panels. And according to its latest test, Amazon is...

Amazon releases Cloud Player app for Mac

After releasing its native Cloud Player app on the iPhone back in June 2012 and adding the iPad edition eight months later, the king of online retailing, Amazon, today announced that the software is finally available to Mac owners as a free download.

Amazon Cloud Player lets you access your Amazon cloud storage for music and manage your music library, whether it's saved locally or in the cloud.

You can use the app to play your Amazon and iTunes music all from one place, even when offline, and even buy new tracks from the integrated Amazon MP3 Store with a catalog of more than 25 million songs...

Amazon listing suggests possibility of imminent Apple TV hardware refresh

The Apple blogosphere is rampant with news that the online retail giant Amazon somehow "confirmed" a new Apple TV hardware in a listing on its German website. Cooler heads caution northing could be further from the truth. What Amazon did is it changed availability date for the $99 Apple set-top box on Amazon.de to October 23. While this does not "confirm" or "prove" anything, the date is nonetheless interesting given Apple is set to reveal its next-generation iPad lineup next Tuesday, October 22.

Let the speculation begin...

Amazon said to be working with HTC to build smartphone

We've been hearing about Amazon's plans for the smartphone space for years now—at least since 2011. Pundits feel that since the tech giant has already waded into the hardware waters with a tablet, a handset is the obvious next step.

But the chatter has really picked up over the past week or so, with the Financial Times, and now Bloomberg, reporting that Amazon has been in talks with HTC since June to develop handsets for sale to users of Amazon's Prime service...

Amazon said to be launching Apple TV competitor before the holidays

Amazon is readying an Apple TV competitor, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The set-top box will offer access to the company's Instant Video and other streaming services.

Reportedly codenamed "Cinnamon," the device is said to be very similar in design and functionality to a Roku box. And Amazon is believed to be looking to launch it sometime before the holidays...