Amazon

Later this month, Amazon will launch two original TV series for its Amazon Instant Video on-demand streaming platform, in a bid to compete with and emulate the success enjoyed by Netflix’s own content offerings. Alpha House, a comedy about four misfit US senators who rent a house together in Washington DC, will begin airing on Continue Reading →

Amazon is determined to make the Kindle the default e-reader and e-book marketplace around the globe, and to that end it’s launched an intriguing new service that will give readers access to new titles before their official release date. Editors at Amazon Publishing will choose four upcoming titles and highlight them for the Kindle First Continue Reading →

Beginning Friday, the majority of U.S. consumers will have to pay sales tax on their Amazon.com purchases. That’s a milestone of sorts for the retail giant, which has spent years trying to avoid collecting the tax, a leg up over brick-and-mortar retailers. Laws that take effect in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Wisconsin Friday mean about 163 Continue Reading →

Amazon on Wednesday launched “a literary journal for the digital age,” Day One (not to be confused with the journaling app of the same name), which will publish the work of one writer and one poet each week. An annual subscription will normally be $19.99 but is $9.99 for “a limited time.” Issues will be Continue Reading →

Amazon is looking to prove its credentials as a philanthropic organization through AmazonSmile, a new scheme which means it will make a fresh donation to charity every time one of its customers submits an eligible order. When you visit the AmazonSmile website, you’ll be asked to select your favored charity from almost a million eligible Continue Reading →

Almost two months after Amazon first announced it, the Kindle MatchBook service has now officially been launched in the US, letting you purchase discounted ebook equivalents of the printed editions you’ve already bought from the online retailer. To qualify for the scheme, a publisher must first greenlight their titles, and prices will range from free Continue Reading →

Amazon has been rushing to finalize and release a set-top box in time for the holidays, designed to compete directly with the Apple TV and Roku. However, The Verge has learned that the company recently made the decision to delay the device, possibly beyond the holiday season. Sources say that the box is based on Continue Reading →

With free two-day shipping on millions of items, Netflix-style video streaming, and a library of Kindle books that you can borrow for free, Amazon Prime is a no-brainer for anyone who shops online. Starting Tuesday, a policy change for non-Prime customers makes a membership more valuable than ever. Amazon has long offered free five-day shipping Continue Reading →

When will we see Amazon’s smartphone? It’s widely known that the e-commerce giant is working on smartphones – reports say Amazon is working on up to three different models – but Amazon shot down the idea that the phone would launch this year and that it would be free. The most recent reports from Bloomberg Continue Reading →

Amazon, the world’s biggest e-commerce company, and HTC have been in talks since at least June to develop handsets for sale to users of the Amazon Prime service, according to two people familiar with the talks. A final decision hasn’t been made on whether to proceed with a product or when it would be delivered, Continue Reading →