Commerce

Amazon’s Hit List: Which Books Are Screwed, and By How Much

As of today, Amazon’s crusade against book publisher Hachette is no longer an open secret, it’s outright confirmed. Shipments are being delayed, prices are elevated, and some listings are unavailable altogether. But how extensive is the fallout? Here’s your comprehensive look at the carnage. Hachette and its subsidiaries obviously have too many books—the company claimed…

What’s Your Favorite Non-Amazon Place to Buy Books?

Amazon is screwing with Hachette and, in turn, screwing with you. So, perhaps now more than ever, it’s a good time to celebrate different places to buy books. What’s your favorite? https://gizmodo.com/amazon-admits-its-screwing-with-hachette-and-will-until-1582531755 It might be the local indie that always welcomes you with a smile? A, ahem, niche website that caters for a specific kinds…

Amazon Admits It’s Screwing With Hachette—and Will Until It Gets Its Way

Amazon has been playing dirty in the shadows with publishing house Hachette all month, but now it’s openly admitted that it’s playing hardball with the company. https://gizmodo.com/when-amazon-plays-dirty-you-lose-1580596374 Amazon has written a blog post explaining what’s happening with Hachette. Those browsing Amazon will have noticed that Hachette books have suddenly started becoming more expensive, in many…

Maybe Amazon Should Make the Smile on Its Boxes a Little More Honest

Dominating the world of retail isn’t easy: you have to be mean, merciless and cut-throat—and Amazon certainly is that. So, maybe you shouldn’t be too surprised if it starts shipping you stuff with a new, more honest design on the side of the box. [Joy of Tech]

When Amazon Plays Dirty, You Lose

Amazon sends everything you could possibly need or want to your door in two days. That’s in addition to a growing stable of movies and TV shows, all for a great price. It’s easy to fall in love. But Amazon’s recent crusade against one book publisher is a nasty reminder that the company doesn’t love…

Amazon Prime Folks Can Watch HBO Shows Starting Today

Last month Amazon and HBO announced a deal that would give Amazon Prime members access to HBO content without an HBO membership. Today the first batch of shows are available on Amazon. Here’s what’s going to Amazon today: The Sopranos The Wire Deadwood Rome Six Feet Under Eastbound & Down Enlightened Flight of the Conchords…

Colbert Follows In Amazon’s Crazy Patent Footsteps and Patents Patents

Last week, we reported on the bizarre patent that Amazon was granted for photographing products against a white background. You might jump to condemn the actions of Amazon and the US Patent Office, but Stephen Colbert is smarter than that. He’s getting in on the action. Last night’s hilarious segment featured Colbert’s brilliant plan to…

Amazon’s Revolutionary New Patent: Taking Photos on a White Background

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is no stranger to making generally awful (and excessive) patenting decisions, but that doesn’t make its latest grant any less absurd. Amazon has officially been granted a patent for its brilliant idea to… take photos on a white background. Whether it’s a testament to the skill of Amazon’s…

Now You Can Add to Your Amazon Cart via Twitter

Amazon has just announced a new feature that allows you to add items to your shopping basket by including a hashtag in a tweet. Once you’ve connected your Twitter and Amazon accounts, you’ll be able to reply to Amazon product links seen on Twitter with the hashtag #AmazonCart — or #AmazonBasket in the UK —…

Report: This Is What Amazon’s Phone Will Look Like

That Amazon is getting ready to release a smartphone is no real secret or surprise at this point, rumors have been flying for ages. But what it will look like is still a mystery. BGR says it has had some time with a prototype in a case that hides its true form, but is now…

Amazon has expanded its same-day delivery service to San Francisco, Dallas, and Los Angeles. Good news for those who leave things to the last minute.

Amazon Prime Pantry: 45 Pounds of Groceries Delivered for $6

Jeff Bezos wants to feed you. No, really: Amazon’s latest venture is Prime Pantry, a service that allows you to have 45 pounds’ worth of household essentials, in everyday sizes, shipped to your door for $6. The service, first rumored late last year, is available to Prime members and is now live in 48 states…

Why the HBO-Amazon Deal Is Good for Everyone (Except Netflix)

HBO and Amazon just put a ring on it with a giant, multi-year deal that will put HBO originals on Amazon Prime exclusively. Woooooo! That means you don’t need an HBO subscription to watch old episodes of everything from the Wire to Eastbound & Down. And in this game of everything-but-Game-of-Thrones, everyone wins; Amazon, HBO,…

HBO Is Bringing a Ton of Its Shows to Amazon Prime

Amazon just announced an agreement that makes Prime Instant Video the only place you can watch HBO originals online without an HBO subscription. Starting May 21st, Prime members will get exclusive, unlimited streaming access to pretty much every HBO original you’re interested in except Game of Thrones. Right out of the gate, Prime members will…

A study by researchers at Ohio State University shows that households spent 10 percent less at Amazon in states where online sales tax introduced. Because, of course it did.

Amazon Fire TV‘s voice search is one of its best features, but at launch it only played nice with Amazon stuff. That’s about to change—last week it got support for Hulu Plus, Crackle, and Showtime, and later this year Fire TV is going to work with Netflix, says CEO Reed Hastings.

Report: This Could Be Amazon’s Rumored 3D Smartphone

BGR has photos it claims show the long-rumored Amazonsmartphone. According to the report, the phone sports six cameras, and a novel hardware interface that creates a glasses-free 3D effect. What you’re looking at in the image above is a photo of the phone covered in a protective case that obfuscates its design, so that unauthorized…

Kindle Fire HD and HDX On Sale, With Bonus Discounts For Prime Members

Amazon is running another promo on their Kindle Fire HD line, but today they’re taking things a step further by tacking on an additional 10% off for Prime Members. Here’s a free trial. Starting prices below, which of course go up if you up the storage. Extra 10% off shown at checkout. Kindle Fire HD…

Report: Amazon Is Showing Off a 3D Smartphone That Could Hit This Year

We’ve been hearing about the rumored 3D Amazon phone forever, but it’s never shown up. According to the WSJ, however, Amazon is getting ready to launch this phone this year. The WSJ says that Amazon has been showing privately showing the phone to some people in Seattle and San Francisco. It will be announced in…

Amazon Buys Popular Digital Comics Platform Comixology

Amazon is buying Comixology, one of the major players in digital comics. This is huge acquisition for Amazon which revolutionized the way we consume regular books with the Kindle. Can it lend some of that mojo to the world of comics as well? Comixology was founded in 2007, and distributes books by basically every publisher…