Clearing out stock? Barnes & Noble extends Father’s Day discount for Nook

nook12.jpg

Father’s Day may be over, but that isn’t keeping Barnes & Noble from continuing its weekend sale. The Nook was heavily discounted this past weekend, and today Barnes & Noble announced that the low prices will stick around for an unknown time. The Nook HD tablet is currently selling for $129 (previously at $199), while the… Read More…

With Apple’s iBook coming to desktop, Amazon has new competition

ibooks-logo-180x180

Among Apple’s bevy of upgrades to its new desktop operating system, there is one change that likely caught the attention of the folks at Amazon. The new OS, named Mavericks, will see the arrival of iBooks on the Mac desktop. Any book a user is able to get on their iOS device will also be available through the… Read More…

Lighting a fire in Beijing: Kindle now available in China

kindlefirehd123

Amazon’s Kindle lineup just made its debut in the world’s most populous nation. Last month, Amazon launched its Android app store in China, and at the time we speculated that might indicate the upcoming launch of the Kindle. Today, Amazon announced the official release of its Kindle e-book reader and Kindle Fire tablets in China,… Read More…

Reading revolution: e-book market set to pass print books by 2017

paperwhite copy

As the e-book battle between Apple and the U.S. Justice Department continues in court this week, new reports are out showing the rapid growth of the e-book market itself. New projections from PwC indicate that the consumer e-book market will reach $8.2 billion in sales by 2017 and pass that of the printed book market for… Read More…

Trial details hardball tactics by Apple, Amazon and publishers in battle for control of e-books

ibooks_hero

Major publishers threatened to withhold new e-books from Amazon’s Kindle store if the Seattle company didn’t give them control over pricing, according to testimony from an Amazon executive, Russell Grandinetti, in the DOJ’s price-fixing trial against Apple. How did Amazon respond? ”They yelled, screamed, and threatened,” said Penguin Group’s CEO David Shanks on the stand, counter to assertions… Read More…

Welcome back: Amazon selling Kindle DX again

kindledxsmallss

The Kindle DX is making a comeback. After disappearing from the Amazon storefront last October, it looks like the Seattle online giant is once again selling the 9.7-inch tablet for $299. The DX, which debuted in 2009 and features a keyboard with an e-ink display, was first spotted late last month by Digital Reader. We’ve reached… Read More…

Amazon knocks $20 off Kindle Fire HD for Father’s Day

kindlefirehd123.jpg

From now until June 8, Amazon is discounting its Kindle Fire HD tablets by $20 for a Father’s Day sale. You can get $20 off the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD ($199), the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ ($269), or the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G ($399) by entering in the code “DADSFIRE” at checkout. That’s the price of the tablets with the “special offers”… Read More…

Kindle newspapers: How the experience needs to improve

nytkindle

There’s something great about subscribing to a newspaper on a dedicated e-reader for automatic daily delivery. Goodbye, wet rolls of paper on the lawn. I love to read the New York Times at all hours on my Kindle Paperwhite. But the overall newspaper experience on Amazon’s Kindle is in need of a major upgrade. Lately I’ve… Read More…

Amazon expands Android Appstore to reach nearly 200 countries

appstore1

On the same day Amazon rolled out Kindle Fire HD availability to 170 countries, the Seattle online giant also announced that its Appstore for Android is now available internationally to countries such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, India, South Africa and South Korea — reaching nearly 200 countries around the world. The Appstore was previously available only… Read More…

Going global: Amazon to offer Kindle Fire HD in 170 countries

kindlefirehd123.jpg

Previously available to only a handful of countries, Amazon announced today that it will be shipping both its 7-inch and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD tablets to 170 countries around the globe starting June 13. The 8.9-inch version is available for preorder starting today for $284, while the 7-inch tablet is also available for preorder at… Read More…

Amazon to pay royalties for fan fiction in new ‘Kindle Worlds’ program

kindleworlds

Ready to write some fan fic? Amazon may have some money for you. The company says it will license rights to popular books, games, movies and other content to let independent authors write their own stories based on those worlds, and receive royalties from sales of their fan fiction through the company’s Kindle Store. The… Read More…

Fraction calculator invented by 12-year-old now Amazon’s Free App of the Day

aidanhughesfraction.jpg

It started with some frustation over math homework at the dining room table, but now, the ideas of 12-year-old Isabel Hughes are front-and-center on Amazon’s App Store. Earlier this year, we wrote about the cool story of how Isabel and her father, Aidan, teamed up to develop best-selling calculator apps sold across several platforms. Today marks… Read More…

Amazon inks deal with NBCUniversal to stream Grimm, Smash, Curious George

amazonprime

Amazon signed yet another streaming deal today, this time inking a content licensing agreement with NBCUniversal to stream a bevy of shows exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video. Shows like Covert Affairs, Grimm and Suits are available today, while Hannibal and Defiance will be released later this year. Through Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, shows like Curious George and Land Before Time will also be available for kids and… Read More…

Love line: Amazon debuts Kindle Love Stories podcast, will tap into Goodreads network

kindlelovestories.jpg

For those who love talking, hearing and discussing everything about love, Amazon may have an answer. Looking to reach out to romance novel fans and tap into its recent acquisition of social network Goodreads, Amazon Publishing today debuted a weekly romance podcast called Kindle Love Stories. The focus is all about romance novels and will… Read More…

Amazon opens Appstore in China; Kindle coming next?

amazonchinasmall

Amazon’s app store is officially open for business in China. The Seattle online retail giant debuted its app store for Chinese customers this past weekend, Reuters reported. Amazon’s newest store offers an alternative to Google Play for those in China. Unlike Google, Amazon’s store features both paid and free options. Reuters noted that Amazon is… Read More…

Bookworms unite! Amazon says these are the nation’s most well-read cities

booksmall

Knoxville is full of romantic people, Cambridge has lots of entrepreneurs and Alexandria is a flat-out well-read city. Those are some of the conclusions we can make after seeing Amazon’s third annual list of the Most Well-Read Cities in America. Alexandria, Va. topped the list for the second consecutive year, while Seattle finished at No. 13 and… Read More…

Update: Amazon disputes our report that it’s ending Kindle e-ink app developer program

amazonsignage2

Updated throughout to reflect Amazon comment disputing this story.  Two developers of third-party apps for Kindle readers say they were informed by Amazon.com representatives this week that the company would be winding down its “Active Content” app developer program for Kindle e-ink devices and would no longer accept any new app submissions. Following the initial publication… Read More…

An e-book projector? Kindle vet sees big hardware changes, and lower prices

projector

A new book by Jason Merkoski, a former Amazon manager who was an early leader of the company’s Kindle team, tells the inside story of the company’s efforts to reinvent reading, and looks ahead to envision how the future of digital books could unfold. One of his predictions: the devices that we use to consume books… Read More…

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ LTE coming to AT&T stores for $249 with two-year contract

kindlefirehdx

Amazon’s biggest Kindle is coming to AT&T stores later this week on April 5 and buyers can get $150 off the 4G 32GB LTE version (normally $399) with an optional two-year data plan contract. A $249 price tag is the lowest we’ve seen for the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD with 4G. This announcement comes a… Read More…

Amazon’s ‘X-Ray’ feature expands to TV shows, with help from IMDb

xray

Amazon’s ownership of IMDb, the widely used Internet Movie Database, might have been a head-scratcher or a novelty in years past. But all that data is becoming increasingly useful to the company, and an announcement this morning is the latest case in point. Amazon is expanding its “X-Ray” feature to television shows, leveraging the IMDb database…. Read More…