Tag Archives: kindle

Target Stores Stop Selling Amazon Kindle

Target Stores Stops Selling Amazon Kindle

Target, signaling its growing irritation with its rival Amazon, announced on Wednesday that it would stop selling the online retailer’s Kindle e-readers.

Target, with almost 1,800 stores, is one of the bigger carriers of Kindles in the offline world, though most of the devices are sold at Amazon’s Web site.

Like other big retailers, Target has been trying to figure out how to stop Amazon shoppers from visiting Target stores to check out products, and then buy them online from Amazon.

Target dropping the Kindle, of course, won’t stop Amazon shoppers from checking out other products at Target, but analysts said it would send a message to Amazon about Target’s alliances. Target, for example, will continue to carry Apple’s iPad, Ms. Snyder said, and it is testing expanded displays of Apple products. Target will also sell other e-readers and accessories, from Barnes & Noble’s Nook to rather obscure ones like the Aluratek Libre.

Starting at $79, and selling at $199 for a color version, the Kindle is the dominant e-reader in the market, although Amazon does not release sales figures.

via Target, Upset With Amazon, Will Stop Selling Kindles – NYTimes.com.

Google Gets Into The Tablet Game

Google Gets Into The Tablet Game

Google’s long-awaited tablet might finally be on the way to becoming a reality. For at least two years, there have been reports that the search giant was working on something that could compete with Apple’s iPad. A Google employee briefed on the project now says it will be out later this year. The employee declined to be named because the product has not been announced.

Google’s target audience, however, seems to be as much those who use Amazon’s Kindle Fire as people who favor the more expensive iPad. The device, which would naturally run Google’s Android operating system, would compete not only with Apple and Amazon but also with other tablet makers using Android.

via With Tablet Plan, Google Goes After Apple and Amazon – NYTimes.com.

Holiday Sales Of The Kindle Were On Fire!

Kindle Fire

Apple may have sold as many as two million fewer iPads than expected this holiday season, and Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablet may be to blame.

Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt pruned his forecast for Apple’s fiscal first quarter today, saying that while iPad sales for the period did exceed those of the previous quarter, he believes they fell well short of his estimates.

McCourt had been looking for iPad shipments of 16 million. Now he thinks that they’ll top out at 13 million, and that a portion of that shortfall is due to the Fire. “Based on data from Amazon, we believe the Amazon Fire likely sold 4-5 million units this holiday season, which probably means maybe 1-2 million cannibalized iPad sales at most,” McCourt wrote in a note to clients.

via Kindle Fire May Have Pared iPad Holiday Sales by a Couple Million – John Paczkowski – News – AllThingsD.

If You Gotta Have A Kindle, Get Free 2-Day Shipping

Amazon Kindle Fire

Amazon.com, Inc. today announced free two-day shipping for the Kindle family, Amazon’s most gifted, most wished for, and bestselling products, for delivery before Christmas. Customers who order by 8 pm PT on December 21 will receive their Kindle in time for Christmas with free 2 day shipping to any address in the continental U.S. As the holiday approaches, customers still looking for the perfect gift can order the $79 Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/kindle, the $99 Kindle Touch at http://www.amazon.com/kindletouch, the $149 Kindle Touch 3G at http://www.amazon.com/kindletouch3G, and the $199 Kindle Fire at http://www.amazon.com/kindlefire.

via Amazon Media Room: Press Releases.

A Smaller iPad Coming Next Year? Look Out Kindle!

Apple is likely to launch a 7.85-inch iPad prior to the fourth quarter of 2012 in addition to a new iPad scheduled to be released at the end of the first quarter, according to sources in the supply chain.

Global shipments of tablet PCs are expected to reach 60 million units in 2011, of which 70% will be Apple’s iPads.

via Apple to launch 7.85-inch iPad in 2012, say sources.

A Smaller iPad Coming Next Year? Look Out Kindle!

Apple is likely to launch a 7.85-inch iPad prior to the fourth quarter of 2012 in addition to a new iPad scheduled to be released at the end of the first quarter, according to sources in the supply chain.

Global shipments of tablet PCs are expected to reach 60 million units in 2011, of which 70% will be Apple’s iPads.

via Apple to launch 7.85-inch iPad in 2012, say sources.

Hey Kids, Be Careful Clicking Your Kindle!

Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet, one of the hottest gadgets this holiday season because of its low price, has some parents bristling over the simplicity at which children can order from the retail giant and the inability to stop them without crippling the device.

Another concern is over theft or losing the device, which can be then easily be accessed for purchases unless a user sets a password to lock the screen when it’s not in use.

What happens is that when you order a Kindle Fire – which differs from the Kindle reader by allowing users to browse the web, play games, video and music – it comes with your Amazon account information preloaded, along with “1-Click” ordering. That means anyone who is holding that device can place an order, whether it’s their account or not. No prompts come up to confirm the purchase or ask for a password.

So that means that the itchy fingers of toddlers can click way, including the 3-year-old daughter of Scenic Labs founder Jason Rosenfeld. He says his daughter was using the device and clicked on an image of a children’s product that appeared on the screen because it was in his shopping history — he had browsed the item while holiday shopping on his PC.

Source: Yahoo!

Thinking Of Getting A Kindle Fire? You Might Want To Think Again

Kindle Fire

Amazon.com’s new Kindle Fire offers a disappointingly poor user experience. Using the web with the Silk browser is clunky and error-prone. Reading downloaded magazines is not much better. Still, user testing with the Fire did help us understand what the new generation of 7-inch tablets is good for: Are they more like 10-inch tablets (e.g., the iPad) or more like 3.5-inch mobile phones? To give away the conclusion, the answer is: “a bit of both.”

via Kindle Fire Usability Findings (Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox).

Thinking Of Getting A Kindle Fire? You Might Want To Think Again

Kindle Fire

Amazon.com’s new Kindle Fire offers a disappointingly poor user experience. Using the web with the Silk browser is clunky and error-prone. Reading downloaded magazines is not much better. Still, user testing with the Fire did help us understand what the new generation of 7-inch tablets is good for: Are they more like 10-inch tablets (e.g., the iPad) or more like 3.5-inch mobile phones? To give away the conclusion, the answer is: “a bit of both.”

via Kindle Fire Usability Findings (Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox).

Kindle Fire Adds Some Hulu For You

Those concerned about Amazon’s curated Kindle Fire app approach have less and less reason to be concerned; in addition to the slew of games, Netflix, and Pandora announced earlier this week, Amazon’s got ESPN and Hulu Plus in its stable.

That takes care of a lot of heavy hitters, although the fact that Amazon feels compelled to announce which apps will be available in some way only underscores the fact that many won’t. Any app that requires GPS, for instance. But as long as I can get pushed my horribly depressing Redskins score updates, maybe I’ll be too distracted to notice.

via Kindle Fire Adds Hulu Plus and ESPN to Its App Bounty.