Amazon to enact 70 percent revenue share for Kindle newspaper and magazine publishers

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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Kindle for Windows Phone 7 revealed, due ‘in the coming months’

As sure as the sun, Amazon’s just announced it’ll be bringing Kindle to the Windows Phone 7 platform sometime “in the coming months.” The app was shown briefly today at Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference (PDC 2010) and, based both on that and the official screenshot from Amazon’s teaser page (above), it’s definitely wearing that stylish WP7 aesthetic quite well. Press release after the break, and check out More Coverage for a couple screenshots from its PDC presentation (care of istartedsomething’s Long Zheng and his Flickr account). And while you wait for its inevitable release, we have full confidence you’ll be able to find another platform to enjoy your Kindle books. Trust us.

Continue reading Kindle for Windows Phone 7 revealed, due ‘in the coming months’

Kindle for Windows Phone 7 revealed, due ‘in the coming months’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PDC10 Press (Twitter)  |  sourceAmazon  | Email this | Comments

Amazon announces 14-day lending feature for Kindle books, newspapers and magazines for Kindle apps

Nook users can already lend ebooks they’ve purchased to others, and it looks like Kindle users will soon be able to do the same. Amazon has just announced that it will be offering a similar feature “later this year” that will let folks lend books they’ve purchased to other Kindle users for a 14-day period, during which the person that actually purchased the book won’t be able to read it themselves. That feature won’t be available for all ebooks, however, as it will be up to individual publishers and rights holders to enable it for a particular book. What’s more, Amazon has also announced that Kindle newspapers and magazines will soon be readable on the various free Kindle apps available for other devices — look for that feature to launch in the “coming weeks.”

Amazon announces 14-day lending feature for Kindle books, newspapers and magazines for Kindle apps originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon bringing Kindle app to BlackBerry PlayBook, loves making Kindle apps

One of the great original fears when Amazon built the Kindle was that they were after some iTunes / iPod-style walled garden ecosystem. And while, sure, Kindle is a walled garden ecosystem, those walls sure are extensive! Amazon just announced that it will be supporting the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, in addition to the BlackBerry mobile app they’ve already got. There aren’t any specific details about this app, but Amazon is all about the consistent user experience, with features like WhisperSync keeping your copy of Neal Stephenson perfectly synced across a myriad of devices, so there’s nothing much to say we suppose. We are sure, however, that page turns will be blazing with that dual core processor.

Continue reading Amazon bringing Kindle app to BlackBerry PlayBook, loves making Kindle apps

Amazon bringing Kindle app to BlackBerry PlayBook, loves making Kindle apps originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Kindle gets its first premium app: Scrabble

It’s still a long way from a full-fledged app store, but the Amazon Kindle has just taken one step in that direction with its very first premium app: Electronic Arts’ Scrabble. That’s available right now for $4.99, and it’ll work on both the second and third generation Kindle, and both Kindle DX models. It also looks like it’s already off to a strong start in terms of sales — it’s currently sitting at number four on the Kindle bestseller list, right behind two Stieg Larsson novels and the latest Oprah book club pick.

Amazon Kindle gets its first premium app: Scrabble originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Kindle demo unit arrives in Best Buy, should populate shelves soon

Last week, Amazon decided to expand the B&M presence of its famed e-reader by throwing Best Buy the same bone already thrown to Staples and Target, and it looks as if “this fall” is about to get going. We’ve received word that demo units are already popping up in Best Buy locations (for running advertorial loops to entice you and yours, we’re surmising), and mere mortals should be able to procure them starting next week. We suspect the $139 Wi-Fi and $189 3G model will both be making their yellow-tag debut, and we fully expect this ad right here to be looped ad naseum in whatever aisle BB decides to slot these in.

Amazon Kindle demo unit arrives in Best Buy, should populate shelves soon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Kindle comes with microphone, seeds of possibility

Amazon’s new Kindle has plenty of desirable features — like a month-long battery, double the storage and a more responsive screen — but some exciting new additions weren’t highlighted on the press release. Diving through the official User’s Guide for just such unheralded items, the Kindle World Blog discovered the unit will come with a second English dictionary, a PDF contrast adjustment and… a microphone. As you can see immediately above, that last won’t be accessible out of the box — and may just lead to audio annotations down the road — but the hacker community (or more legitimately, Kindle developers) could do very interesting things with the discovery. We hesitate to even mention for fear the feature will get pulled, but we’re dreaming of Skyping across that free 3G connection already.

New Kindle comes with microphone, seeds of possibility originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired, TeleRead  |  sourceA Kindle World Blog  | Email this | Comments

Amazon’s third-generation Kindle ‘temporarily sold out,’ bookworms curse the universe

Gone so soon, Kindle? Due to what we can only assume is unprecedented demand or a terrible shortfall in supply, Amazon’s third-generation Kindle (you know, the one with 3G and WiFi) is already sold out. Just days after being pushed into the world, the $189 e-reader is now hoisting a “temporarily sold out” sign, with Bezos and Company urging prospective consumers to place their order now in order to “reserve a place in line.” So, what’ll it be? Reserve now, or throw a temper tantrum? Tough call, we know.

[Thanks, Philip]

Amazon’s third-generation Kindle ‘temporarily sold out,’ bookworms curse the universe originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony refuses to get caught up in a price war with Kindle, intends to compete on quality

Boy, Sony sure loves to drag its heels when it comes to obvious industry trends. First netbooks were “a race to the bottom,” now the company’s saying it “won’t sacrifice the quality and design” of its e-readers in order to lay claim to being the cheapest. This comes as a reaction to the Kindle’s aggressive new $139 entry price point and continues Sony’s reluctance to fiddle with what it sees as a successful formula. We’re not going to second-guess the reasoning (too much), but it’s not like there’s that much room to differentiate yourself when you’re using the same E Ink tech as the competition, is there? Guess if all else fails, Sony can always innovate the hell out of those leatherette cases and bundle them with the Reader.

Sony refuses to get caught up in a price war with Kindle, intends to compete on quality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon sees e-book sales surpassing paper versions, has Mirasol technology in the Kindle labs

Following the launch of Amazon’s third-generation Kindle, company CEO Jeff Bezos sat down to discuss the e-reader business with USA Today. We’d recommend giving the whole piece a look-see if you just can’t get enough Kindle in your life, but a few choice quotes caught our attention. For starters, Bezos predicted that Kindle e-book sales will “surpass paperback sales sometime in the next 9 to 12 months,” and that “sometime after that, we’ll surpass the combination of paperback and hardcover.” Considering that the Kindle platform is but 33 months old, and that books are just a wee bit older, that’s pretty impressive. In a separate sit-down with Pocket-lint, Steve Kessel — Amazon’s senior vice president of Worldwide Digital Media — teased us all with regard to a color version of the company’s famed e-reader. ‘Course, we’ve known that Bezos and Company aren’t too hopeful about such a thing in the near-term, but we’ve yet to actually hear the company confess to having specific color alternatives in the lab. If you’ll recall, we found Qualcomm’s Mirasol demonstration worthy of laud back at CES, and according to Kessel, “that’s in the lab.” We’re also told that a slew of other color options are always in testing, though, so we’re doing our darnedest to not get those hopes too high. It ain’t working, but still…

Amazon sees e-book sales surpassing paper versions, has Mirasol technology in the Kindle labs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink All Things D  |  sourcePocket-lint, USA Today  | Email this | Comments