KINDLE FIRE STOPS BLOCKING ANDROID MARKET

Some of you may have noticed, when perusing the interwebs on your Kindle Fire, that a certain Google-branded Market refused to load in the slate's Silk browser. In fact, it automatically redirected you to the Amazon App store in an unsettling bit of URL hijacking. Well, with the latest update to the tablet, that slightly befuddling restriction has been lifted and the questionable behavior rectified. Presumably this was originally intended to save customers confusion and support staff headaches when trying to install an app from the Android Market failed. But, actually intercepting and redirecting a user isn't becoming of a company that expects us to trust it with our data -- especially our browsing and financial info. Thankfully now, you can visit the Market in all its glory on your Fire, just don't expect to install apps from it any time soon

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER....AMAZON TRIED TO BUY RIM

Based on a new Reuters report, Amazon was hot-to-trot on the idea of buying RIM, but those desires seemingly cooled after the BlackBerry maker decided that it'd rather "fix its problems on its own." Wildly enough, the report states that an investment bank was hired earlier this summer "to review a potential merger with RIM," but no formal offer was ever extended.

Of course, it's not atypical to hear of Amazon buying unusual assets -- it's snapped up everything from a touchscreen startup to a UK-based movie streaming and rental service -- and sources have affirmed that "other kinds of commercial partnerships" could still be in the cards. In fact, the two are rumored to be actively discussing ways to "expand their commercial ties, which currently include a service launched last year to make Amazon's music catalog available to some BlackBerry users."

LEAK: GOOGLE LAUNCHING AMAZON STYLE PRIME PROGRAM

Sources are saying that Google is in talks with various retailers and shippers to create a service that lets customers receive within 24 to 48 hours. According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, the company's effort is motivated by the success of Amazon's Prime service, which allows customers to receive many purchased items within a day or two for an annual fee of $79. Google, in turn, has apparently pitched the project to retailers such as Macy's, Gap and OfficeMax. Under the proposed system, when shoppers place an order on an affiliate's website, Google's system could kick in to offer them an option for same-day or possibly next-day delivery, said a person familiar with the matter. Sources indicated that Google plans to start a pilot test of the service in the San Francisco Bay Area sometime in 2012.

RUMOR: AMAZON WORKING ON SMARTPHONE

Amazon could have a smartphone on store shelves by the fourth quarter of next year according to Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney. “Based on our supply chain check, we believe FIH is now jointly developing the phone with Amazon,” Mahaney wrote in a research note. “However, we believe that Amazon will pay NRE to FIH but the device and multiple components will actually be manufactured by Hon Hai’s TMS business group.” Additionally, Mahaney said that Amazon will likely use a Texas Instruments OMAP 4 processor, and that it will adopt Qualcomm’s dual-mode 6-series baseband chip as well. Read on for more.

“For a normal brand like HTC, they need to price the product at US$243 to make 30% gross margin,” Mahaney wrote. “If Amazon is actually willing to lose some money on the device, the price gap could be even bigger,” he explained, noting that Amazon’s device could be sold for between $150 and $170, or about the price it will cost to build the phone.

KINDLE FIRE GETS ROOTED IN ONE DAY

Android Forum contributor "death2all110" has posted instructions on how to root the just launched Kindle Fire by Amazon. The procedure seems relatively straightforward, requiring only a copy of SuperOneClick 2.2, an Android SDK, and a bit of hacktastic know-how. For the full instructions click here.

AMAZON BRINGING 400 MAGAZINES AND NEWSAPERS TO FIRE ALONG WITH "THOUSANDS" OF APPS

Last week Amazon announced they would be bringing Facebook, Hulu and "several thousand" other apps to their upcoming Kindle Fire tablet. Now, they are announcing that more than 400 "full-color" titles will be available on the Kindle Fire Newsstand, including Us Weekly, The New Yorker and Reader's Digest, among others. Users who subscriber before March 1st, meanwhile, will be able to access a full 17 Condé Nast titles for free, as part of a three-month offer.

AMAZON UPS KINDLE FIRE ORDERS FROM MANUFACTURERS AGAIN

Amazon has reportedly increased Kindle Fire orders with its manufacturing partners, for the second time, following stronger than expected demand for its premier tablet. DigiTimes reports that more than 5 million units are now on order in 2011 as pre-orders for the $199 tablet remain strong; the online retailer took nearly 100,000 pre-orders on the first day of pre-sales availability alone. Amazon had already increased its orders last quarter according to the site’s anonymous industry sources, from 3.5 million to 4 million units. The Kindle Fire will launch on November 15th featuring a 7-inch display, a soft-touch case and deep integration with numerous Amazon services, granting users access to streaming music, streaming movies and of course, a huge library of eBooks.

AMAZON CHANGES KINDLE FIRE ROADMAP

Amazon’s follow up to the Kindle Fire tablet may feature an 8.9-inch touchscreen display rather than the 10-inch panel we have been expecting. According to a new report from DigiTimes, Amazon has introduced a third tablet into its roadmap and it is now scheduled to launch ahead of the 10-inch model, or even in place of the large-form slate. The site’s sources claim Chunghwa Picture Tubes and LG Display, Amazon’s display suppliers, have already begun to prepare for production of the 8.9-inch panels.

AMAZON PRIME MEMBERS GET NEW LENDING LIBRARY

Amazon's home page has a new message for Prime members from CEO Jeff Bezos, indicating that their membership plan has a new bonus: free books. The Kindle Owners Lending Library service offers up to one book per month from a selection of thousands of titles, including "over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers" with no due dates. That's in addition to the free two-day shipping and access to TV shows and movies offered through Prime Instant Video as a part of the $79/year package.

RUMOR: NOOK COLOR 2 LAUNCHING NOVEMBER 7

Three Barnes & Noble employees have all but confirmed that the company will release its new e-reader, the Nook Color 2, on November 7, reports The Digital Reader.
Its most direct competitor will be Amazon's upcoming Kindle Fire tablet, slated for release on November 15.

AMAZON FILES PATENT ON RESTRICTED GIFT CARDS

We all have that one friend or family member that's nigh impossible to shop for, whether it's because they have everything or like nothing. Gift cards are the quick and dirty solution to this gifting conundrum, but what if you don't trust that special someone to make a purchase you'd be proud to call your present? Never fear, Amazon is here... with a new patent that lets you, the gift-giver, control which of the retailer's wares can be bought with its gift cards. Of course, those who aren't such control freaks can simply have the card make purchase recommendations instead. Plus, this gift card of tomorrow can also let you know what was bought with the card to give you some insight for future gifting occasions

AMAZON ORDERS MILLIONS MORE KINDLE FIRES TO MEET UNEXPECTED DEMAND

Two weeks ago, more than a quarter million had been added to Amazon shopping carts — and during the company’s Q3 2011 earnings report, CEO Jeff Bezos made it clear that the early sales had exceeded expectations. Bezos announced that Amazon would be ramping up production to produce “millions more” of the Kindle Fire to meet the obviously strong public demand. If reports about Amazon’s initial order — which pegged the first run of the Kindle Fire at 5 million units — were accurate, the company is clearly anticipating moving the tablets at an iPad-like pace.

LEAKED SALES DATA SHOWS AMAZON HAS SOLD OVER 250,000 FIRES IN FIVE DAYS

According to some leaked internal sales data Amazon has sold over 250,000 Kindle Fires in just five days. When put in comparison with iPad sales per day, the Fire is still lagging behind, 80,000 for the iPad and ~50,000 for the Fire. That's not bad, but when you look at sales for non-iPad tablets the Fire is uh...on fire!

On the e-reader front however things are not as rosy. The Kindle Touch has only sold about 32,000 units in the same five day period as the Fire. There could be a few reasons for this. The Fire could be cannabalizing the Touch's sales and/or the Kobe and Nook Color have already locked up the advanced feature e-reader market.

IS AMAZON SELLING THE KINDLE FIRE AT A LOSS?

A preliminary virtual estimate conducted by the IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service places Kindle Fire’s bill of materials (BOM) cost at $191.65. With the addition of manufacturing expenses, the total cost to produce the Kindle Fire rises to $209.63. Could Amazon be trying to keep the retail price down to move more units and ultimately more merchandise?

IHS goes on to say the real benefit of the Kindle Fire to Amazon will not be in selling hardware or digital content. Rather, the Kindle Fire, and the content demand it stimulates, will serve to promote sales of the kinds of physical goods that comprise the majority of Amazon’s business. Amazon doesn’t make a substantial profit on sales of Kindle hardware and content such as e-books and music. Instead, the Seattle-based online-retail giant generates its profits on sales of shoes, diapers, and every other kind of physical product imaginable. Similar to Walmart and other large brick-and-motor retailers, Amazon’s content business is designed to lure in consumers to buy such everyday goods as well as other money-making items.

RUMOR: AMAZON IN TALKS TO BUY PALM FROM HP

A well-placed source is saying that HP is currently looking to rid itself of Palm as soon as possible, and that Amazon is the closest to finalizing the deal, among a handful of contenders. There is no word on price or conditions of the sale. When asked for comment, an HP spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on rumors and speculation. Amazon has ignored all requests for comment.

AMAZON UNVEILS NEW TABLET AND TOUCHSCREEN E-READERS

Amazon this morning launched new touchscreen e-readers as well as the much talked about Kindle Fire tablet. The readers will use infrared touch, which puts an infrared touch screen over e-ink. The screens appear to be roughly the same size as the current crop of Kindle e-readers. The e-readers will come in three flavors, two having touchscreens. The 3G will be $149, the WiFi only will be $99 and the non-touch version will be $79. According to an Amazon rep these prices are for the ad supported versions and the Wifi only and non-touch version without ads will be $149 and $109 respectively.

In addition to the new e-readers, a software update was also announced. Some of the new features include X-ray, which allows users to quickly look up words, get character synopsis and location information directly from the ebook. WhisperSync was also beefed to make it quicker.

Finally, Jeff Bezos unveiled the Kindle Fire. The Fire is Amazon's new 7" IPS touchscreen tablet that runs a customized version of the Android OS. It has a dual core processor, weighs 14.6 ounces and comes with free Amazon cloud storage. The browser for the Fire will be the Amazon Silk which is a new hybrid browser with part residing on the tablet and the other part on the cloud server. The Fire will retail for $199.

No mention was made on the rumored 10" tablet Amazon is expected to unveil sometime in the first quarter of 2012.

AMAZON CALLS PRESS CONFERENCE FOR SEPTEMBER 28TH; ANNOUNCEMENT OF TABLET EXPECTED

Amazon's been cooking something in a supposed Android-based oven for quite some rumored time. Now, an invite has gone out from the Bezos-backed company for an event on the 28th of this month at 10AM. Will the e-retailer officially announce a pair of 7- and 10-inch Kindle refreshes we've heard about, or is this the heavily-skinned Android tab that TechCrunch got its hands-on earlier this month?

AMAZON KINDLE LIBRARY LENDING LAUNCHES

Amazon’s Kindle Library Lending service, first announced in April, is now live in the United States. The service allows Kindle users to borrow eBooks from more than 11,000 participating libraries across the country. Here’s how it works: simply visit the website of a U.S. library with support for OverDrive and then, provided you have a library card, check out a Kindle book by clicking “Get for Kindle.” The eBook will then be delivered to your Kindle via Wi-Fi or USB. Library Lending is supported on any device that has Amazon’s Kindle application installed, which means it is available for multiple platforms including the PC, Android, iOS, Blackberry and Windows Phone. There are no limitations to titles borrowed from a library, and users can still view real page numbers and synchronize notes, highlights and more across multiple devices.

RUMOR: AMAZON LAUNCHING NETFLIX STYLE SERVICE FOR EBOOKS

Details are still sketchy here, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon's looking to launch a Netflix-like subscription service for digital books, much to the chagrin of some publishers. According to unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Amazon is currently "in talks" with several publishers about the program, which would provide access to an online library in exchange for an unspecified annual fee. The insiders also claim that the service would be available for Amazon Prime subscribers (who currently pay $79 per year for free shipping and access to shows and movies) and that the proposed library would feature primarily older works, with monthly restrictions on the number of books a subscriber could read for free. Publishers would reportedly pocket a "substantial fee" for signing on to the program, though some are reluctant to participate, for fear that doing so would "downgrade the value of the book business," according to one publishing exec.

GAMESTOP STARTS iOS TRADE-IN PROGRAM, MIGHT SELL iPHONE 5

GameStop is hopping on the mobile bandwagon. The company announced it will begin selling iPhones, iPods, and iPads as well as offer a trade-in program for those old iOS devices you want to upgrade. Starting this week, GameStop stores will start taking your old iOS devices for in-store credit.

The game selling store will be up against some fierce competition in the trade-in program department. Over the past few years companies such as Verizon, Amazon, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble have all created such programs with varying degrees of success.