Commerce

Could This Possibly Be the New Kindle Fire?

The Verge claims it’s got its hands on an image of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire being announced next week. We’re dubious. It’s certainly possible, since we’re almost certain that we’ll see a new Kindle Fire, since the current Fire is sold out at Amazon. But gosh, that bezel looks weird (read: very possibly Photoshopped), and…

The Kindle Fire Is Sold Out

The Kindle Fire is sold out, Amazon says. Oh that’s funny. Maybe that means we will get those new Amazon tablets next week after all. https://gizmodo.com/110-says-all-the-new-kindles-are-coming-next-week-5933590 We’ve been anticipating a refresh for a while, and Amazon announced this morning that its best-selling device is no longer available. There’s an Amazon event next week, so perhaps…

Amazon Could Put LCD and E-Ink in the Same Read-Anywhere Tablet

Back in 2010, a company called Pixel Qi seemed to have neared perfection with its transforming display. In a flash, it could bounce between a glare-free black and white readable screen and a vibrant LCD offering. Two years later, and we’re still waiting to see a major product actually use it. https://gizmodo.com/e-ink-is-dead-pixel-qis-amazing-transflective-lcd-just-5443895 Well, some of…

Books from Amazon’s dead tree imprint will be sold digitally through Nook and Kobo. Big hugs all around! [paidContent]

Online Book Reviews Are Even Less Reliable Than You Thought

Skeptical of a little e-book you’ve never heard of that has 28 five-star reviews on Amazon? You should be. Turns out in many cases, the authors are paying for reviews. The New York Times takes a look at the business of for-hire review writing, through the eyes of Todd Rutherford, a guy who started the…

Kindle Touches are now out of stock. Hot new front-lit version on the horizon maybe? [Engadget]

Amazon Prime Delivery Now More Popular Than Free Super Saver Shipping

Amazon’s $79 per year Prime delivery service has passed its totally free Super Saver delivery in popularity. That’s, well, kind of a big deal. Amazon Prime has been the best deal in tech for a while now, even while Amazon loses about $11 per year on each customer. But it’s kind of amazing that more…

Amazon Prime Snags Friday Night Lights, Battlestar Galactica, and More for Unlimited Streaming

There is some really good TV coming to Amazon Prime thanks to a new partnership between Amazon and NBCUniversal. Among the new shows you’ll be able to stream are Parks and Recreation, The Starter Wife, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, and Friday Night Lights. Texas Forever. Amazon Prime is really beefing up its library. Last month it…

Amazon invites press to September 6th event in Santa Monica but provides no interesting details. Kindle Fire 2, maybe?

Would You Pay Less for Backup Storage You Can’t Immediately Access?

So Amazon Glacier is here as super cheap storage for “data that is infrequently accessed and for which retrieval times of several hours are suitable.” But that’s different from a lot of the storage you might have used in the past. https://gizmodo.com/amazon-glacier-locks-your-data-in-a-fortress-of-solitud-5936507 For your day-to-day life, would you want to take the discounted price Amazon’s…

Amazon Glacier Locks Your Data In a Fortress of Solitude

If you’ve got a lot of data that you rarely touch, Amazon wants to put it on ice. Amazon Glacier is a new ultra-cheap cloud storage offering from Amazon Web Services that’s designed for companies—or data-hoarding individuals—who have a lot to stow away for the long haul. The advantages of Glacier are prices as low…

Do You Buy Your Movies and TV Shows from iTunes or Amazon?

I don’t know how I’ve lasted this long on the Internet without deciding to sell my credit card’s soul to either Amazon or iTunes for movie watching and tv show buying purposes but I think it’s come to the point where I should pick one and move on with it. So which should I choose?…

Sony’s New eReader Is Light, Pleasant, and Massively Late to the Game

Sony’s got a new ereader. It’s actually quite nice. It’s just not as nice as all the other ereaders that are either out or about to be out. And sadly, it’s more expensive than its direct competitors, too. Poor Sony. The PRS-T2 (real catchy, guys) is a 6-inch e-ink reader with a touchscreen. It’s also…

The Most Ridiculous Kindle Fire Sleuthing You’ll Ever See

Does this FCC filing reveal information about the next Amazon Kindle Fire? It’s hard to say for sure because, as exhaustive detective work by the Digital Reader reveals, it was filed by a front company for a front company that’s fronting for someone that’s maybe/probably Amazon. Oh the joys of poring over FCC documents! Because…

Amazon has launched a new Chrome-to-Kindle browser app. Seems smoother than 3rd party alternatives. [Amazon]

$110 Says All the New Kindles Are Coming Next Week

If you want to know if Amazon’s new Kindles are coming out—and what they’ll be—don’t listen to analysts or supply chains or, yes, blogs. One trip to Amazon today will tell you nearly everything you need to know about when, and what, Amazon’s about to unleash on the world. Out With the Old When bargain…

Guy Orders TV from Amazon, Gets Giant Assault Rifle Instead

Talk about a dealzmodo! DC resident Seth Horvitz bought a new HDTV on Amazon, but when he opened the peculiarly not-TV-shaped box, he found a $2,000 Sig Sauer SIG716 semi-automatic rifle instead, DCist reports. A mistake has been made. Assault rifles are completely illegal in Washington, but that didn’t stop the accidental delivery. Transporting a…

Amazon Says It Closed Its Glaring Authentication Hack Exploit

Ty Rogers of Amazon PR has reportedly confirmed that the hole in Amazon’s authentication process that allowed Mat Honan to be hacked has been closed, “effective yesterday.” https://gizmodo.com/apple-and-amazon-know-about-a-massive-hack-exploit-and-5932176 The Amazon exploit had ben somewhat undersold, even in the Wired piece that explained the process. Most of the focus had been that the last four digits…

Spotify is now available in the Amazon App Store, meaning Kindle Fire owners can get in on the action. [Amazon]

Amazon launched a textbook rental service; a $170 title goes for $50/semester. Translation: more beer money. [The Verge]