Hasta La Gadget!

One of the great things about Amazon is that shoppers don’t have to pay sales tax on their items. However, the online retailer is slowly adding exceptions to various states around the US, Connecticut being the newest one added to the list. The state of 3.6 million people will begin to pay a 6.35% sales tax on Amazon starting in November. Meanwhile, however, the company is planning to build a $50 million fulfillment center that is said to create hundreds of jobs.

From the Connecticut sales tax alone, Amazon will generate about $8 million in the first year it collects it, and anywhere from $13 million to $15 million in the second year. The company will begin charging the sales tax on November 1, 2013, which is just in time for the start of the holiday shopping season when Amazon usually see its highest revenue figures.

So far, several states have are currently paying sales tax on Amazon or are set to begin charging it sometime this year, including New Jersey, Texas, and Massachusetts. The reason why Amazon and other online retailers don’t charge sales tax is because state governments cannot force a company to collect sales tax unless the business has a physical presence in the state. However, as previously mentioned, state governments are working hard to change that specific law.

As for the new facility, Amazon is planning to invest $50 million in Connecticut over the next two years to build a fulfillment center somewhere in the state. Other details are not yet known at this point, including where the plant will be located, but the company plans to create hundreds of new full-time jobs from the project. It’s not known whether or not the sales tax levy has a connection with the funds necessary to build the new facility.

[via SFGate]

Amazon prepping $50m facility in Connecticut, will start collecting 6.35% sales tax is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As expected, Amazon made a ton of money during Q4 2012, proving that the holiday season is Amazon’s most wonderful time of the year. The company pulled in revenues of $21.27 billion, thanks mostly to Kindle sales and ebook sales. However, Amazon also spent a lot during the quarter, and only profited $97 million out of all those billions.

Compared to a year ago, revenue was up a respectable 22% from $17.43 billion in Q4 2011. Operating income increased a whopping 56% to $405 million during the past quarter, compared to $260 million last year. However, net income took a huge hit this time around, dropping 45% from the same time last year with $97 million, compared to $177 million in Q4 2011.

However, it seems CEO Jeff Bezos was expecting these kinds of numbers. He says that “after 5 years, eBooks is a multi-billion dollar category” for the company, and it’s “growing fast.” Physical book sales have dropped, and Q4 2012 saw the “lowest December growth rate” in the company’s 17 years, up just 5%.

For the entire year, Amazon hit revenues of $61.09 billion, which is up 27% from $48.08 billion in 2011. Operating income decreased by 22% to $676 million, compared with $862 million in 2011. Overall, as far as 2012 profits go, Amazon actually lost $39 million altogether, compared with the net income of $631 million in 2011.

Amazon posts $21.27b revenue in Q4 2012 earnings, only profits $97m is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Both Kia and Hyundai were recently slapped for embellishing their respective fuel economies, something that was blamed on procedural errors. Both companies promised to pay owners for the extra fuel consumption, however, a move that will amount to quite a hefty sum. The companies have made good on that claim, setting aside a combined $412 million to reimburse owners.

Both companies were found to have exaggerated the fuel economies of 13 vehicle models available in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency. This amounted to nearly 900,000 vehicles, a figure large enough to penalize the manufacturers millions of dollars in reimbursements. For its part, Kia will pay out $187 million, and Hyundai will pay out $225 million.

The false fuel economy advertisement was said to have started back in 2010, and to affect 2011 through 2013 vehicle models. At the end of the probe, the two companies ended up having to reduce the fuel economy claims for the cars, the largest adjustment that has ever taken place. In most instances, the mileage claims were reduced between 1 and 4 MPG.

Vehicle owners will be sent debit cards with a specific amount of funds unique to them, which is based on the vehicle they own and how many miles they have driven. Hyundai’s CEO is quoted by Auto Blog as being “extremely sorry” about the mileage errors, with both companies stating that the mistakes were not an intentional effort to mislead consumers.

[via Auto Blog]

Kia and Hyundai prepare to spend $412 million in exaggerated fuel-economy debacle is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Chrysler debuted the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee at the recent Detroit Auto Show in Michigan, where it gave us a variety of details, minus one particularly relevant one – price. Much speculation has swirled around the rumorsphere in regards to the model’s price range, but nothing concrete has surfaced. That has apparently changed, with a user over at the Jeep Garage forums stating that he managed to grab a pricing sheet, which he then published for all to see.

According to the leak, the 2WD Grand Cherokee Laredo will be the cheapest option with a starting price of $28,795, with a couple rungs higher being the Grand Cherokee Summit at $47,995. Things keep going north from there, with Grand Cherokee SRT coming in at $62,995, a $2,700 increase over the previous model, according to Auto Blog. Fully loaded, buyers are looking at a cool $72,000+.

In addition to the pricing, a full breakdown of each Cherokees’ features is also provided, also said to be a leak of official data, which you can view here. Jeep has not made a comment on the leak, and nothing official has been stated in terms of price. As with all leaks, rumors, and speculation, don’t take it as indisputable fact.

This follows an announcement by Jeep on January 15 that it plans to start back up manufacturing in China after it ceased operations back in 2009. Currently, only import models are available in the nation, where they enjoy moderate popularity. The company also plans to increase its number of dealers in China to 200 by the end of this year.

[via Auto Blog]

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee’s price leaks, will start at $28,795 is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft‘s quarterly report is in, folks, and as expected, the company posted some impressive numbers. Microsoft reported revenues for Q2 2013 (fiscal year) at $21.56 billion, with pure profits reaching $6.38 billion for the quarter — up from $5.87 billion in profit a year ago and $5.31 billion last quarter.

Splitting the revenues up between the company’s different divisions, Windows accounted for almost $6 billion of the company’s revenues, which is up 24% from last year, and that’s mostly thanks to the release of Windows 8 back in late October. However, Microsoft’s business division saw a drop, with revenues down 10% to $5.7 billion year-over-year. The Server & Tools department’s revenue increased by 9% to $5.19 billion.

Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices division, which is responsible for the Xbox and Surface, saw an 11% decline from last year, with only $3.77 billion of revenue. This comes after Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 was the top-selling gaming console for two years straight. It looks like holiday sales weren’t as great as the company expected.

Microsoft’s Online Services division saw more growth, however, with $869 million in revenue, which is an 11% increase year-over-year. Thanks to the upcoming Office 365 suite and SkyDrive, Microsoft’s online services don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, especially with the deal that Microsoft made with the city of Chicago to bring Office 365 services to city employees.

Microsoft Q2 2013 earnings show $21.56b revenue, $6.38b profit is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.