Amazon’s boosting the minimum order eligible for free shipping to $35, a $10 increase. That’s the first time in more than ten years the price has gone up. [Amazon via Lifehacker
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It does seem as though the upcoming smartphone from Amazon has been confirmed to feature a real world 3D object recognition/matching service confirmed, and this particular bit of confirmation has arrived via a patent app. Additional information is leaking out at this point in time concerning the upcoming Amazon smartphone, where it also carries the codename “Smith”. As for the vaunted an image recognition feature/service, it would basically enable you to snap a photo of an actual 3D object in the real world, match it to an Amazon product and place a purchase.
This particular new service has been described in Amazon’s patent application as the “User guided object identification”. Should this particular service be implemented, we do wonder just how widespread its use will be, and will this idea actually catch on in the long run? No longer do you need to make some sort of lettered query, as a photo query of a particular object would do.
As for the other items, the process would be a little bit more complicated. In order to locate and match a shoe, a handbag or other real world item, you will need to do your bit when snapping a photo. For instance, you will need to align a sneaker or a boot in the camera viewfinder/screen so that it will match an outline provided by Amazon, in order to increase its accuracy level.
Amazon Smartphone Confirmed To Feature 3D Object Recognition original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Back in August, Amazon made a preemptive move when it altered its pricing policy for third-party traders amid an investigation being conducted in the UK and Germany. In August, Amazon removed a rule that prevented third-party sellers using its marketplace from offering their goods at a lower price elsewhere. It appears Amazon’s preemptive move hasn’t […]
Due to a delay in production of two key game titles, Target is canceling all PlayStation 4 bundle preorders. The cancellation is prompted by the lack of availability of Watch Dogs and Driveclub. Both of those titles were supposed to be ready by fall 2013, but their releases are being pushed into next year. Target […]
Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch has begun shipping, the company’s third-generation Android tablet, complete with Amazon’s new remote support “Mayday” system that puts a real assistant at your fingertips. Priced from $229 for the 16GB, WiFi-only model, though also available with up to 64GB of storage and a choice of Verizon or AT&T LTE connectivity, […]
That’s right. It’s Gadgets Podcast time once again, and all I can say is TGIF.
Here are some of our topics this week:
Who’s already upgraded to Windows 8.1? John had no trouble with it but Matt seems to be lost.
Meanwhile, we’ve been testing out the new Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, and we all pretty much agree that it’s a fine media-centric tablet and a perfect gift for a mother-in-law.
And finally, we discuss the newest trend in smartphones: a curved display. (Here’s Nokia’s concept for a bending display smartphone, which is many years away from commercialization, and also completely different from the curved displays we’re seeing out of Samsung and LG).
Oh, and we’ll be launching our holiday gift guide in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for that.
We chat about all this and more in this week’s episode of the TC Gadgets Podcast, featuring John Biggs, Matt Burns and Jordan Crook.
Enjoy!
We invite you to enjoy our weekly podcasts every Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern and noon Pacific. And feel free to check out the TechCrunch Gadgets Flipboard magazine right here.
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Intro Music by Rick Barr.
Sometime near the end of last month, we saw the introduction of a spanking new Kindle Fire HDX tablet, but back then, it was just announced, without the device being made immediately available to those who want one. Amazon.com knows that folks have been patient with them, and has today announced that the spanking new 7” Kindle Fire HDX has started to ship. Well, is there anything that you need to know about the Kindle Fire HDX before you arrive at a purchase decision? Let us help you by going through the hardware specifications.
For starters, the Kindle Fire HDX will merge groundbreaking hardware, the latest version of Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito,” as well as a bunch of exclusive new features and services such as X-Ray for Music, Prime Instant Video downloads, and the revolutionary new Mayday button. Apart from that, we do know that the Kindle Fire HDX will be powered by a quad-core 2.2GHz processor and additional memory to boot. The Mayday button is something new that you can take advantage of – pressing it will see an Amazon expert appear on your Fire HDX display, where you will be guided through any feature via drawing on your screen, or even walking you through how to perform something by yourself – for free, and it is also available round the clock throughout the year, now how about that?
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Begins To Ship original content from Ubergizmo. 
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![HTCs Amazon Device Could Be Exclusive To Prime Subscribers [Rumor]](https://i0.wp.com/cdnrss.ubergizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/htc_logo.jpeg?resize=640%2C323 "HTCs Amazon Device Could Be Exclusive To Prime Subscribers [Rumor]"){kind=logo}
The other day thanks to a report, it was suggested that Amazon’s own Android smartphone could have been designed by HTC, and with HTC making some pretty decent phones, why not, right? Well now the rumors are shifting slightly and while HTC is still the company that has been pegged to design Amazon’s Android smartphone, interestingly enough this new rumor is suggesting that the smartphone will only be offered to Amazon Prime subscribers. While this sounds like a great exclusive offer to Amazon Prime subscribers, we’re not sure if it makes sense that Amazon will want to limit their potential market share.
Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets have gone on and sold well, so we wouldn’t be surprised if their smartphone efforts would net the same success, but limiting it to just their Prime subscribers is an odd move. Then again it is speculated that perhaps Amazon and HTC are trying something like the Facebook phone, where HTC got the exclusive to build the handset (even though it wasn’t exactly a commercial success). Either way we’ll keep our eyes peeled but in the meantime, what do you guys think? Is Amazon shooting themselves in the foot with this possible strategy?
HTC’s Amazon Device Could Be Exclusive To Prime Subscribers [Rumor] original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Rumor has it Amazon is talking to HTC
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The Financial times (FT) came up with a report (link: subscription required) that suggested that Amazon was partnering with HTC to build Amazon smartphones which are supposedly the ones using the new Amazon 3D user interface as mentioned in our previous coverage. According to FT, the smartphones have reached an “advanced” stage of development, but they don’t believe that a 2013 launch will happen. (more…)
Amazon Phone, Allegedly Designed By HTC original content from Ubergizmo. 
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