Hasta La Gadget!

Game devs looking to enhance “engagement” (read: monetization) for their mobile titles now have an ally in Amazon. The Bezos-backed company has just made plug-ins available free to Kindle Fire developers using the popular Unity game engine. Now those devs will have access to APIs for In-Game purchasing and GameCircle which, in the latter case, allows for the addition of Achievements, as well as the ability to Whispersync across devices. So, what does this mean for you, the end user? Well, aside from the ability to continue playing from where you last left off on any of the company’s tabs, it also brings mobile gaming that much closer to the console experience. But mostly that you can look forward to a future bill filled with micropayments.

Continue reading Amazon offers Unity plug-ins to Kindle Fire devs, makes in-app payments possible

Filed under: Gaming, Tablets, Amazon

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Via: The Next Web

What a difference a generation makes. While the original Kindle Fire impressed, there was only one thing that really made it worth considering: it was cheap. Really cheap. But, when we got our hands on the 7-inch, 720p Kindle Fire HD a few months back we had an honest-to-gosh nice device — that happened to be cheap. And what do we have here? Why, it’s a slightly larger version of that very same tablet, but at a significantly higher cost.

It’s the Kindle Fire 8.9, a tick under two inches larger at the diagonal but with a starting price of $299 for 16GB, $100 more than the cheapest 7-inch Fire HD. It goes way up from there, though, with the 32GB LTE version we tested starting at a rather more dear $499. That’s far beyond the threshold of cheap, but does it still make for good value? Join us as we find out.

Continue reading Amazon Kindle Fire HD review (8.9-inch, 4G LTE)

Filed under: Tablets, Amazon

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See the end of the editorial for an important update.

When Google unveiled the Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and a refreshed Nexus 7 in October, the moment was arguably the crescendo of a change in the Android ecosystem that had been building ever since Amazon’s Kindle Fire first braved the marketplace in 2011. Along with a widely expanded Amazon lineup that includes multiple Kindle Fire HD models and a price-cut tweak to the original Fire, two of the largest players in the mobile world now have top-to-bottom device businesses built around selling at break-even prices and recouping their money through content. That might sound good on the surface, but it’s a bad omen for competitors that genuinely can’t respond in kind — and it could erode some of the values of diversity and innovation that we’re supposed to hold dear as technology fans.

Continue reading Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone (updated)

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, ASUS, Google, Amazon, LG, RIM

Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Nov 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As promised, Amazon has started shipping its latest Kindles on the other side of the Atlantic, with the Kindle Paperwhite as well as the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD making the trip. Amazon’s branded video services did not make the trip, so Lovefilm is filling in, offering a free month to buyers of either Fire tablet. Despite the switch in names, the Kindle Fire / Fire HD Lovefilm app will support features owners have gotten used to in the US like Whispersync pause / resume across devices, watch list and X-Ray for Movies that brings in extra info about any actors or scenes that are being watched. The Kindle Fire 8GB is available for £129/€159, while the Fire HD in 16GB or 32GB editions costs £159/€199 and £199/€249, respectively. The Kindle Paperwhite isn’t invited to the video party, but it starts at £109 for the basic model or £169 with 3G.

Continue reading New Kindles start shipping today in Europe, Lovefilm launches on Kindle Fire

Filed under: Tablets, HD, Amazon

New Kindles start shipping today in Europe, Lovefilm launches on Kindle Fire originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon purchased UK movie streaming site Lovefilm nearly two years ago and only now are the two showing some sign of integration. In order to make the app work on Kindle Fire and Kindle HD devices users have to link their Amazon and Lovefilm accounts, and from then on they can sign in with their Amazon credentials on the web or other devices. According to the FAQ posted to announce the switch, anyone that isn’t rocking a Kindle but wants to login with their Amazon info anyway will be able to eventually, just not yet. Of course, this is all just a bit premature since the Amazon tablets are still a few days away from launching in Blighty, but if you’re carrying around a US import you should see Lovefilm’s service pop up in the next week. What this means for Lovefilm as a standalone brand in the future — as the streaming wars continue to heat up — remains to be seen, but one less password to remember is a a movement we can easily get behind.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Lovefilm to start letting users log in with their Amazon info, Kindle owners are up first originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 06:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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