Kindle Fire

Tablets
February 9, 2012
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Apple gets ‘Samsunged’ again, this time by Amazon [video]

By on February 9, 2012 at 11:01 AM.

Apple gets ‘Samsunged’ again, this time by Amazon [video]

With great power comes great responsibility — and a flurry of advertising campaigns that target your wares. Samsung tried to make its name a verb in a recent round of anti-Apple ads where senseless iPhone owners got “Samsunged,” and the South Korea-based vendor’s campaign culminated with a $10 million extravaganza that aired during the Super Bowl. Amazon is next up to the plate, and the company’s recent commercial takes aim at Apple’s iPad. A woman sunbathing and reading a book on her Kindle is approached by a passing iPad owner who is intrigued by the fact that she can read in the sunlight. When the man mentions the Kindle’s inability to play movies, she points to a cabana where her two children are sitting, each with a Kindle Fire tablet. As a final jab, the woman points out that her three Kindles — one $79 eReader and two $199 tablets — are still cheaper than a single iPad. Amazon’s full commercial can be viewed below. More →

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Business
February 8, 2012
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Amazon announces content agreement with Viacom for Kindle Fire, Prime customers

By on February 8, 2012 at 3:30 PM.

Amazon announces content agreement with Viacom for Kindle Fire, Prime customers

Amazon on Wednesday announced that it has entered into a new agreement with Viacom to provide a larger selection of television content to its Kindle Fire and Amazon Prime customers. Under the deal, Amazon’s customers will have access to episodes of The Real World, Chapelle’s Show and the The Sarah Silverman Program from Comedy Central, as well as a number of hit shows from Nickelodeon. “This deal with Viacom brings Prime customers and Kindle Fire users thousands of comedies, kids’ shows, reality TV and much more from some of the best cable networks available,” Amazon’s director of video content acquisition Brad Beale said. “We now offer more than 15,000 movies and TV shows in Prime Instant Videos and are working hard to add even more great content.” Amazon’s full press release follows after the break. More →

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Business
February 6, 2012
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Amazon reportedly plans to open a retail store this year

By on February 6, 2012 at 5:35 PM.

Amazon reportedly plans to open a retail store this year

Amazon is preparing to open a retail store in Seattle within the next few months, according to a report from Good eReader. Amazon is apparently looking to open a small boutique rather than a large shop in an effort to test the market. The store would feature the Amazon Exclusive book line and the company’s popular eReaders and tablets most prominently according to the rumor. Amazon’s headquarters is located in Seattle, which is known as being fairly tech savvy and may be the perfect location to gauge interest in such an endeavor. The company has reportedly already contracted the design through a shell company and it is expected that the first location will open ahead of the holiday season this year. More →

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Tablets
February 2, 2012
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Demand for Amazon’s Kindle Fire begins to cool off, study suggests

By on February 2, 2012 at 3:51 PM.

Demand for Amazon’s Kindle Fire begins to cool off, study suggests

Demand for Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet has started to cool off according to one study. ChangeWave published results of a survey on Thursday, which found that just 2% of customers in January were “very likely” to buy a Kindle Fire, down from 4% in December. Respondents who were “somewhat likely” to buy the tablet fell as well, from 13% in December to 10% in January, though demand following the holidays is expected to slow. Amazon’s tablet has better satisfaction ratings than several other tablets, however. ChangeWave’s survey found that 54% were “very satisfied” with the Kindle Fire, compared to 49% of those surveyed who were “very satisfied” with other tablets and 74% who were “very satisfied” with the iPad. Read on for more. More →

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Business
January 31, 2012
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Amazon reports $17.4B in revenue, sales up 35% but misses Street estimates

By on January 31, 2012 at 4:15 PM.

Amazon reports $17.4B in revenue, sales up 35% but misses Street estimates

Amazon on Tuesday reported its earnings for the fourth quarter, during which it took in $17.4 billion in revenue. While its net sales were up 35% from the $12.95 billion reported during the fourth quarter last year, the company missed analyst estimates of $18.26 billion in revenue for the quarter. Amazon’s net income decreased 58% to $177 million during the quarter, or $0.38 per diluted share, compared with the net income of $416 million it reported during the same quarter last year. Net sales for the year jumped 41% to $48.08 billion, up from the $34.20 billion the company reported in 2010. Amazon said its Kindle Fire tablet has been the #1 best-selling, most wished-for and most gifted product on its website for the past 17 weeks. In addition, the company said the nine-week holiday period ended December 31st, 2011 resulted in a 177% increase in Kindle unit sales, which includes the Kindle Fire. Amazon expects net sales to fall between $12 billion and $13.4 billion during the first quarter of this year, up between 22% and 36% from the first quarter last year. Amazon’s full press release follows after the break.  More →

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Tablets
January 30, 2012
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Kindle Fire ‘defined and dominated’ low-end tablet market with 6 million units sold

By on January 30, 2012 at 2:00 PM.

Kindle Fire ‘defined and dominated’ low-end tablet market with 6 million units sold

When it comes to tablets there is no denying the iPad’s dominance, selling more than 15 million units last quarter alone. Not everyone can afford nor do they want a high-end device, however, and that is where Amazon’s Kindle Fire comes into play. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jordan Rohan said on Monday that fourth-quarter Kindle Fire shipments likely reached 6 million units, placing the tablet on par with the original iPad. Rohan says it was “quite impressive” that the online retailer used “distribution prowess to define and dominate the low end of the device ecosystem” even with stiff competition from Apple and a number of other Android manufacturers. Read on for more. More →

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Software
January 30, 2012
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First look at SlingPlayer for Amazon’s Kindle Fire

By on January 30, 2012 at 11:01 AM.

First look at SlingPlayer for Amazon’s Kindle Fire

Sling Media has been the go-to provider for video placeshifting solutions for nearly seven years now. The California-based company launched its first Slingbox in 2005, enabling users to watch live television exactly as it was being broadcast to their homes on any Internet-connected PC. The company rolled out its first SlingPlayer Mobile application the following year and it hasn’t looked back, continuing to expand its mobile offering to support a wide range of popular platforms and devices. Sling Media will launch the latest addition to its mobile app lineup on Tuesday when it releases SlingPlayer Mobile for Amazon’s popular tablet, and we spent much of our weekend enjoying placeshifted live television on our Kindle Fire to test the new app. Check out a small gallery of screenshots below and hit the break for our early impressions of SlingPlayer Mobile for the Amazon Kindle Fire.

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Business
January 25, 2012
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Amazon’s Kindle Fire had no impact on iPad sales, Apple CEO says

By on January 25, 2012 at 9:15 AM.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire had no impact on iPad sales, Apple CEO says

Amazon’s Kindle Fire had a huge holiday season by all accounts, with fourth-quarter sales that may have exceeded 4 million units according to analyst estimates. While a number of analysts made predictions that Amazon’s $199 tablet would take a bite out of iPad sales — Morgan Keegan’s Travis McCourt thought the Kindle Fire could cost Apple as much as $1 billion in holiday sales — it looks as though Apple’s iPad business emerged unscathed. Read on for more. More →

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Tablets
January 23, 2012
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Tablet and e-book ownership nearly doubled during holiday season

By on January 23, 2012 at 1:40 PM.

Tablet and e-book ownership nearly doubled during holiday season

Pew Research conducted a pre-holiday survey among people age 16 and older between November 16th and December 21st, and two additional surveys of adults age 18 and older in January. The data found that during the holiday gift giving season, sales of tablets and eBook readers nearly doubled from 10% to 19%. In the same time frame, the number of Americans owning at least one of these devices jumped from 18% to 29%. More than 33% of those living in households earning more than $75,000 a year own a tablet, with almost a third of those with college educations or higher owning the device. The eReader data revealed that more woman own the devices than men and those with both a high level of education and income showed the highest percentage of ownership. More →

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Tablets
January 20, 2012
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Kindle Fire demand cooling off? Amazon sales charts say otherwise

By on January 20, 2012 at 10:01 AM.

Kindle Fire demand cooling off? Amazon sales charts say otherwise

Following what Amazon reported to have been a huge holiday season for the company’s debut tablet, demand for the Kindle Fire has slowed according to new claims. Citing unnamed sources from within Amazon’s component supply chain, DigiTimes on Friday stated that Amazon’s tablet orders with original device manufacturers have been cut in half from roughly 6 million tablets in the fourth quarter last year to 3 million units this quarter. The Kindle Fire had a hot holiday season so a drop-off in orders is expected in the quarter that follows, though it is unclear if a 50% decrease in device orders is industry standard. What is clear, however, is that Amazon — one of the largest electronics retailers in the country — is still selling plenty of Kindle Fires. We reviewed the Kindle Fire in November and called it a clear winner that would top Amazon’s best-selling electronics list for quite some time. Now, more than two months after being released on November 15th last year, the $199 Kindle Fire tablet still holds the No.1 spot on Amazon’s best-sellers list.

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Tablets
January 6, 2012
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Web traffic patterns suggest Apple’s iPad was a dud this holiday season

By on January 6, 2012 at 10:50 AM.

Web traffic patterns suggest Apple’s iPad was a dud this holiday season

Countless analysts predicted Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet would be a big seller this holiday season, and new data suggests that the slate may have been the most gifted tablet this past Christmas. Advertising network Chitika saw traffic across its network from the Kindle Fire grow roughly 20% each day leading up to Christmas, and traffic then exploded by more than 120% between December 24th and 25th. Research In Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook saw the second biggest spike on Christmas Day, up  just over 50% thanks to deep discounts during the holiday shopping season, and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab line of tablets saw traffic jump about 15% on the 25th. Traffic from Apple’s iPad didn’t increase at all on Christmas Day, suggesting that rival tablets may have had an even bigger impact on holiday iPad sales than previously predicted. Read on for more. More →

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Opinions
January 5, 2012
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Google’s Nexus tablet may push Android partners out of the picture

By on January 5, 2012 at 10:35 AM.

Google’s Nexus tablet may push Android partners out of the picture

Media tablets powered by Google’s Android operating system have for the most part been unable to capture consumers’ interest. With just a few exceptions, sales of individual Android tablet models have been extremely low by all accounts. Amazon’s new Kindle Fire is one such exception thanks to an attractive price point and tight integration with Amazon services. Google has seemingly taken note of Amazon’s success, and a new report suggests the company is working on a budget-priced slate of its own that will launch in the next few months. Read on for more. More →

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Software
January 4, 2012
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Kindle Fire’s Silk browser hacked to run on other Android devices

By on January 4, 2012 at 2:00 PM.

Kindle Fire’s Silk browser hacked to run on other Android devices

Amazon’s Silk Web browser has received mixed reviews from the media and from consumers. In our review of the Amazon Kindle Fire, we noted that loading Web pages in the cloud-assisted browser on the tablet seemed to stall at first but once content finally began downloading, it indeed seemed to move very quickly. Other reviews found Silk to be much slower than other comparable browsers, however. Curious Android device owners who aren’t among the millions who purchased the Kindle Fire ahead of the holidays can now install Amazon’s Silk browser on a variety of rooted handsets and tablets thanks to the work of an xda-developers forum member. Results are mixed so far, and the port will not work on the Galaxy Nexus, among other handsets. Many users have successfully installed the browser on a variety of devices including the Motorola ATRIX and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, however. More →

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