Hasta La Gadget!

When you pick up that new Kindle Fire HD this fall, one of the first things you’ll notice is an updated version of Amazon’s Silk web browser with a Trending Now section. It’s a clever trick that takes advantage of Silk’s server-based caching to find out what sites are popular among owners. That sounds good on the surface, but it doesn’t take much effort to realize that there are privacy concerns already in the air — Amazon is sharing personal web habits with a wider audience, after all. While the section is unlikely to include any identifying information, there’s no immediate sign that tablet owners can keep their behavior private, and that could create some indignation among those who’d prefer to surf in isolation. We’ve asked Amazon if there will be an opt-out escape hatch and will let you know if there’s a definitive answer. In the meantime, we wouldn’t necessarily worry. Silk shouldn’t be caching your e-mail, and it’s only likely to ever show pages that have far more traffic than anything you’d be embarrassed to show to others. As far as we can tell, your secret knitting obsession should be safe.

Update: A spokesperson has confirmed that the option to disable Silk’s caching is still available, and that switching it off will cut you out of Trending Now; that’s a very all-or-nothing approach, but it’ll likely suit those put off by the browser’s predictive approach in the first place. Secure pages are still out of the picture as well, which should keep those private Twitter messages out of the equation.

Filed under: Tablets, Internet

Amazon Silk browser on Kindle Fire tracks page visits to generate trends, isn’t as spooky as it sounds (update: opt-out exists) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The new Kindle Fire range was barely out of the oven before Amazon drew flak for its plans to include Special Offers on the lock screen for US models. In plainer language, the tablets ship with ads built-in — and unlike e-paper Kindles, there’s no option to pay for an ad-free variant from the start. But don’t cancel your pre-order just yet. Amazon’s support has since confirmed to an Engadget reader that the option to remove the ads will be “announced soon.” Although full details aren’t forthcoming, we wouldn’t be surprised if history repeats and owners have to pay a fee to cover the lost ad subsidies. You can see the relevant snippet of Amazon’s response e-mail, in all its tenuous grasp of English, after the break.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Update: Since we’ve posted, CNET has talked to a spokesperson who claims that there will be “no way” to remove ads. We’re getting to the bottom of this, although it’s clear there’s at least a schism between what PR and support staff understand.

Update 2: We’ve gotten in touch with Amazon ourselves, and they say that there’s been a mix-up in support — there won’t be any opt-out choice. Sorry, folks. If you don’t like ads, you’ll have to hope there’s a change of heart between now and launch.

Continue reading Amazon says: yes, you can opt out of ads on new Kindle Fire models (update 2: not likely)

Filed under: Tablets

Amazon says: yes, you can opt out of ads on new Kindle Fire models (update 2: not likely) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon will only offer advertising-supported Kindle Fire tablets, injecting “special offers” into the standby screen of its Android slates, and giving no option to pay more to remove the promotions. The “special offers” concept was launched for e-paper Kindles some time back, subsidizing the upfront cost of the ereader in return for showing adverts on the homescreen (though not during actual ebook display); now, that same concept has been included in the new range of Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD tablets.

However, whereas Amazon charges $20 more to opt out of the advertising from the e-paper Kindles, including the new Paperwhite model, no such option is available for the Kindle Fire tablets. Amazon has already undercut Google’s Nexus 7 with the cheapest Kindle Fire, bringing it in at $159.

According to Amazon, potential offers for the Kindle Fire to display include a $5 credit for the MP3 Store and $5 for “select titles” in Amazon’s Instant Video Store. Third-party brands involved include AT&T, Discover, and Intel – one such promo is a $10 Amazon gift card for those who use a Discover card to buy an Amazon digital product – and they may also show up on advertising screensavers.

The Kindle has always been considered something of a loss-leader for Amazon, the Kindle Fire particularly, with the retailer using the hardware to encourage content sales of ebooks, video, music, and apps. It appears the assurance of that long-tail revenue stream isn’t quite enough to satisfy Amazon with the second-gen Kindle Fire line-up, however.

More on the Kindle Fire in our full hands-on with the 7-inch and 8.9-inch versions. Check out our wrap-up for all the news from Amazon this week.

Update: Looks like this won’t always be the case; however. An Amazon support team member told one customer that “options for unsubscribing [from] special offer [sic] will be announced soon,” Engadget reports.

Update 2: Bad news – Amazon PR says there’s actually no plan to release a non-Special Offers version of any Kindle Fire model, despite what a (presumably misinformed) customer services rep might claim.

Amazon forces “Special Offers” ads on all Kindle Fire tablets [Update 2] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

So, Amazon revealed a number of new Kindle Fire HD tablets today. The company gave away a lot of details about the new line in the process, but one specification that was mysteriously absent from Amazon’s long list was the operating system these tablets are running. Ahead of Amazon’s press conference today, rumors claimed that these tablets would be running a modified version of the Android OS under the hood, and it turns out that’s just what they’re doing.

Amazon reps confirmed to us today that the Kindle Fire HD is running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich under the hood, though you’d be forgiven if you weren’t able to pick the OS out. Ice Cream Sandwich is very nearly unrecognizable behind the Kindle Fire HD’s UI, and it seems like this is something Amazon didn’t want to talk about too much. After all, Amazon will be pushing its own storefront with the Kindle Fire HD, whereas other Android devices are expected to come with the Google Play Store on offer.

You won’t find the Google Play Store on any of the Kindle Fire HD tablets, you can rest assured of that. Obviously, if you pick up a Kindle Fire HD, don’t expect an update to Jelly Bean anytime in the future either. It’s unknown if the refresh of the original Kindle Fire is running Ice Cream Sandwich, but with the HD tablets running it under the hood, it seems that the chances of ICS on the standard Kindle Fire are pretty good.

In any case, we can now lay any debate about the operating system used on the Kindle Fire HD tablets to rest. It’s Ice Cream Sandwich, but don’t expect Amazon (or Google for that matter) to make a big deal about it. We’ll likely see this trend continue in future iterations of the Kindle Fire, and who knows – maybe if that rumored Amazon smartphone exists, it’ll run a more recognizable version of Android.

Amazon confirms Kindle Fire HD is running Ice Cream Sandwich is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon has recently announced the new Kindle Fire HD, a successor to its popular Kindle Fire tablet. The new tablet is available in a 7-inch or an 8.9-inch model. Measuring at only 8.8 millimeters thin and weighing 20 ounces, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD features a TI OMAP 4470 processor, a pair of speakers, a front-facing HD camera, an HDMI out and two separate Wi-Fi antennas (MIMO technology) that run on both the less-used 5GHz band and on the standard 2.4GHz band to maximize data efficiency. Amazon claims that the Kindle Fire HD’s WiFi is 41% faster than the new iPad (iPad 3). The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD with a 16GB of storage space will be released on November 20th, 2012 for $299. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE retails for $499. The smaller version of the Kindle Fire HD with a 7-inch screen will start at $199 and will ship on September 14th, 2012. [Engadget]