Amazon Coming Out With a Set-Top Box?
Seems like everyone is coming out with a streaming set-top box these days and now Amazon is…
April 25, 2013
July 31, 2012
Amazon Cloud Player Gets iTunes-Like Scan and Match
Amazon just updated its Cloud Player music storage service with an iTunes Match-like feature that allows Amazon to just scan a user’s music library and add matching songs to that user’s library without having to upload those songs one by one.
Like Apple’s service, it costs $25 per year. Apple’s service only makes sense if you have an iPhone and iPad, whereas Amazon’s service makes sense for everyone else with large music libraries that want access from any device and any location.
I really like Amazon’s Cloud Player, but stopped using it because of storage limitations. As someone with a huge music library, it just didn’t make sense to continue using it. Google’s music locker let me store practically all my music and Spotify is great when I’m at work. I’m tempted to give it another shot with this update.
July 23, 2012
The Main Reason for the iPad Mini Rumors
Apple is great at covering the entire umbrella for any market it enters. What that means is for the iPhone and iPod the company offers a range of products across a range of prices (inexpensive to costly) to appeal to everyone. With the iPod, Apple created new products in the iPod Shuffle and Nano. With the iPhone, they used older phone models (specifically the 3GS) to offer a free product.
It remains to be seen strategically what they will do with the iPad to cover the umbrella, but the sure bet is Apple will. The reason for the iPad mini rumors is that Apple can’t really get anyone to subsidize older iPad models like they can with the iPhone, so that leaves making and selling older hardware at a loss or developing a new product, according to Ryan Jones at I Am Concise.
This becomes especially important for Apple as Amazon gets ready to announce a new lineup of Kindle Fires and Google has found success with the Nexus 7.
July 13, 2012
Amazon’s Push For Same-Day Delivery
One of the major advantages Amazon has had over brick-and-mortar stores has been the lack of a sales tax. One of the disadvantages has been the lack of immediate gratification by consumers purchasing items. You buy something, you want to use it immediately. Recently, Amazon has stopped fighting the sales-tax war, which seems like a curious move to give up such a huge advantage over places like Walmart and Best Buy.
Slate’s Farhad Manjoo argues that by giving up the sales tax fight, Amazon is pushing ahead with another disruptive plan: same-day delivery that will all but destroy local retail.
Now that Amazon collects state sales tax, it can legally set up distribution centers within those states. So, instead of having to ship items to NYC from Kentucky or wherever, it can establish a myriad of warehouses across the country to ship ordered good within hours of the purchase time. Manjoo theorizes that next-day delivery will eventually become the default and same-day delivery will be a cheap upgrade or included in its Amazon Prime service.
If that happens it could be game over for many big box stores.
June 24, 2012
Amazon Studios Picks up Four TV Shows
Amazon is developing three animated shows and a mockumentary with the intention of offering original content for its Instant Video service, which competes against Hulu, Netflix, etc. What are the four shows you ask?
- Magic Monkey Billionaire When their magician owner dies after winning the lottery, Rabbit and Monkey are shocked to learn that he left his money to happy moron Monkey and donated evil genius Rabbit to a 2nd grade class. In each episode, Rabbit hatches a plan to steal Monkey’s billions.
- Buck Plaidsheep Buck Plaidsheep, the courageous critter from Fleecy farm, will face any danger and solve any problem. Armed with a variety of vehicles, whether it be a jet pack, rowboat, hang glider or even a jeep, he always has the best vehicle to get the job done.
- Doomsday This comedy mockumentary follows Gabriel Bell, a new age prophet, conspiracy theorist, public speaker, and self-proclaimed ‘Wisdom Warrior,’ as he seeks to spread the word of (and perhaps even generate a little money from) his prophecy that the world will end on December 6th 2012. We also explore the lives and supposed final days of four fans of Gabriel, who all believe in his theories for very different reasons.
- The 100 Deaths of Mort Grimley In this animated comedy, Hell desperately needs new customers. Mort Grimley, a middle-aged suicide, is forced by Belphegor, Hell’s corporate slave, to get 100 more people to kill themselves or be doomed to spend eternity right next to the cruel mother he tried to escape.
‘Bucky Plaidsheep’ is aimed at kids and the other three are for adults. The question is, however, do any of these original shows make you want to sign up for Amazon’s Instant Video? No, no they don’t. This isn’t like Netflix’s original show with Kevin Spacey that has David Fincher’s fingerprints on it.
April 19, 2012
Amazon Acquires Rights to Ian Fleming’s Bond Novels
From a press release: “Amazon.com, Inc. and Ian Fleming Publications Ltd today announced that Amazon Publishing has acquired a ten-year license for North American rights to the entire list of James Bond books by Ian Fleming in print and ebook.”
Fleming’s two works of non-fiction — a collection of travel writings called Thrilling Cities (1963) and an expose of the illegal precious stones trade entitled The Diamond Smugglers (1957) — are also included in the agreement.
The question not answered by Amazon is whether or not people will be able to purchase the Bond books in North America from anywhere other than Amazon.
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