Hasta La Gadget!

Phillip R. Greaves II became something of a minor celebrity
yesterday, when Amazon fans threatened to boycott the site for its decision to
carry the author’s book, The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: A
Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct. After an outpouring of protest in the form of
some 2,000 largely negative comments on the book’s page, Amazon ultimately
opted to pull the title.

The increased publicity has made Greaves, the target of
threats. Greaves, for his part, maintains that the book is an “attempt to make
pedophile situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in
them, by establishing certian [sic] rules for these adults to follow.”

Local police in his home of Pueblo,
Colorado are protecting the writer in
response to the threats. The police have also begun to monitor Greaves for
illegal activities, but have yet to find any indication that he has committed a
crime. 

Magazine and newspaper publishers are about to get a larger piece of the Kindle pie — 70 percent, to be exact. That’s what Amazon’s now offering, in an effort that’s clearly aimed to attract more periodicals to the service. Only catch is, all versions of the periodical have to work for all version of Kindle, in all geographical regions where the publishers has the rights to distribute — a small price to pay, especially since it keeps the customer base pretty wide open. Interested parties, you probably already know where to look.

Amazon to enact 70 percent revenue share for Kindle newspaper and magazine publishers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 23:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon’s Disc+ is simple and smart: buy a DVD or Blu-ray disc and get a free digital copy to stream right away and keep for later. It’s based on the premise that physical and streaming media go better together. Now, the program is expanding, going from just a few hundred titles at launch to over 10,000 today.

“Customers love instant gratification,” says Amazon’s Steve Oliver, “and this program allows customers to watch Disc+ On Demand titles instantly, without having to wait for their DVD or Blu-ray to arrive in the mail.”

Disc+’s expansion means more than it would have just a few months ago, as more televisions and set-top boxes offer direct support for Amazon’s VOD, including the new Roku Player, TiVo Premiere and Google TV. This makes the downloads much more valuable than just streaming the device to your laptop. And it’s a natural way for new customers who might be reluctant to pony up for download-only or streaming video to get familiar with the service.

Amazon started offering digital downloads with physical media purchases to customers years ago with music, leveraging their unique position as a top retailer of both physical and virtual media. The model is slowly growing in movies and television. Now we just need a Book+ program for books offering a Kindle edition bundled with hardcovers. Then we’re really talking about something.

See Also:

• Amazon Will Offer Video On Demand, Streaming Direct to TV
• Streaming Wars Heat Up: Now Amazon Reportedly Is in the Hunt …
• Amazon Prepares to sell HD TV Shows on Demand
• 7 Ways to Watch Web Video Without Google TV
• Amazon's Online Video Gambit

A report this morning from the South China Morning Post claims that Amazon’s 3G-boasting Kindle is selling fast on the so-called “gray” market in China because of its 3G internet connectivity and browser. The device, it seems, offers the Chinese a rare opportunity to side-step the “great Firewall” of the Chinese government, which restricts access to sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Amazon does not officially sell the Kindle in China, which has the world’s largest internet-connected population at 420 million. The Kindle, which seems to have been overlooked by the Chinese authorities thus far, makes use of Amazon’s own network, Whispernet.

3G Kindle a hit on the Chinese gray market for its ability to bypass the ‘Great Firewall’? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, the dual-screen (9.7-inch E Ink and 10.1-inch LCD) Entourage Edge was too big for you, eh? That’s understandable. But what about the Pocket Edge, the self-described “world’s first mini dualbook” with a 6-inch E Ink panel and 7-inch resistive touchscreen LCD. It’s an eBook reader and 7-inch tablet all in one and it’s up for a $399.99 pre-order on Amazon right now. What could possibly go wrong?

Entourage Pocket Edge ‘dualbook’ up for $399.99 Amazon pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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