Amazon

Google is the undisputed king of search in all but one lucrative and vital category: Product searches. Over the past decade, Amazon has transformed itself from a seller of books online to the place Americans turn to when they want to search and buy just about anything — from diapers to flat-screen TVs. In some Continue Reading →

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants Amazon to update some of its policies regarding in-app purchases, but the retail giant is having none of it. According to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal the company is facing a lawsuit that would require it to pay hefty fines and dramatically alter its record keeping and Continue Reading →

As Amazon and Hachette’s contract dispute wears on, Amazon has had little to say publicly about it: The company released an unattributed statement on the Kindle forums at the end of May, but until now no executive from the company had commented. That changed Tuesday, when Russ Grandinetti, Amazon’s VP of Kindle content, gave a Continue Reading →

Brick-and-mortar book stores have clearly been on the decline for a while — just look at Barnes & Noble’s rocky finances. However, there’s now some tangible evidence that the pendulum has swung in favor of internet-based sales. BookStats estimates that US publishers made more money from online orders and e-books in 2013 ($7.54 billion) than Continue Reading →

Amazon recently unveiled its long-awaited smartphone, the Fire Phone. Built around the Amazon Prime experience, the Fire Phone runs the same heavily tweaked version of Android found on the Kindle Fire –that means it has a lot of apps, but not every app in Google Play – most notably no Snapchat or YouTube. The phone’s Continue Reading →

Amazon has been tipped to launch a local services marketplace this year to rival the likes of Thumbtack, Angie’s List and Yelp. Now one part of that effort looks like it’s about to go live: the company is now rolling out a food takeout service, “a direct competitor to GrubHub, Seamless and DeliveryHero,” in the Continue Reading →

The Federal Aviation Administration has said that online shopping powerhouse Amazon may not employ drones to deliver packages, at least not anytime soon. The revelation was buried in a FAA document (PDF) unveiled Monday seeking public comment on its policy on drones, or what the agency calls “model aircraft.” The FAA has maintained since at Continue Reading →

Amazon and Warner Bros. are close to resolving a dispute that has kept customers from being able to pre-order movies from the studio, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Home-video customers can now pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray version of “Transcendence,” due out in disc format from the Time Warner studio on Continue Reading →

Even though Amazon is investing heavily in its Fire platform including new Fire TV and Fire Phone, it still is showing some chops for iOS. Monday’s free update brings the latest features of Amazon’s Video service to its iOS apps. Amazon upgraded the iPad and iPhone apps today with all new video playback controls, including Continue Reading →

Amazon finally unveiled its long-awaited smartphone, the Fire Phone. #epicfail #at&texclusiveareyoukidding #tooheavyandawkward #toolate #seenitbefore #wherearetheapps #shouldhavecalledzuckandaskedfirst #jeffwhatwereyouthinking Built around the Amazon Prime experience, the Fire Phone runs the same heavily tweaked version of Android found on the Kindle Fire. That means it’ll have access to the 240,000+ apps in the Amazon Appstore, but not every Continue Reading →