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Tag: Amazon

  • Amazon Updates Kindle For iOS App

    Amazon Updates Kindle For iOS App

    Amazon just launched an update to its Kindle for iOS app, introducing a bunch of new features, including a book browser for iPad, a new welcome experience, Goodreads integration, “Next in Series” info, book detail pages in the library, and Audible Progressive Play.

    With the browser feature, Kindle Unlimited subscribers can now browse over 700,000 books, and start reading them without leaving the app. Amazon launched Kindle Unlimited back in the summer. It’s basically the company’s Netflix for reading. Users can tap on a book cover to display a detail page that provides the book description and customer reviews. The Browser also gives users the ability to search for any title from Amazon’s catalog of Kindle books.

    The new welcome experience lets new users select their favorite genres, rate books they’ve read, and choose books they want to read. It will provide personalized book sample suggestions (powered by Goodreads) to download and read for free.

    “Goodreads customers can now share reading progress updates, highlights, and more from inside the Kindle book they are reading,” says Amazon. “Once connected (click on the Settings icon in the bottom right hand corner of the Library or Home page, then click on Social Network and select Goodreads to link accounts), customers can share reading progress updates using the new [g] button in the reader controls; share quotes on Goodreads, Facebook or Twitter; or rate and review a book on Goodreads and Amazon from the ‘Before You Go’ screen at the end of a book.”

    Users who finish a book in a series can learn about the next book, and add it to their wish list from the ‘Before You Go’ screen.

    Additionally, book details can now be viewed by long pressing a book cover in the library and selecting “Book Details.” Users will see a synopsis of the book, Amazon reviews, etc.

    With the Audible Progressive Play feature, you can start playing audiobooks as they’re downloading. They can be played once you’ve downloaded past your current reading location.

    The Goodreads blog has more on the Goodreads integration.

    Last week, Amazon announced its best-selling books of the year.

    Image via Goodreads

  • Software Glitch Causes Major Problems On Amazon

    Software Glitch Causes Major Problems On Amazon

    Over the weekend, a lot of Amazon sellers got screwed by a software glitch, according to multiple reports. The glitch was in Amazon repricing software RepricerExpress, which reduced the price of millions of items from various sellers to just a penny.

    According to a report from Business Insider, as many as 75 million items were affected.

    As a result, customers bought up what they saw as amazing deals, and sellers were left scratching their heads, with some reportedly wondering if they’d be able to stay in business.

    The Guardian reports: “Amazon is working to cancel orders that have not been dispatched, but sellers complained that the cancellations were ruining their seller ratings on the site.”

    It also quotes a seller: “He said Amazon appeared to be having huge problems trying to stop items being dispatched from its warehouses. ‘You can imagine what it’s like, once the computer has set everything in motion it’s very hard to put a human being into the process and get it stopped.’”

    And this comes as Amazon begins to implement a more robotic approach to its warehouses. Does this foreshadow bigger problems to come?

    RepricerExpress CEO Brendan Doherty said:

    Firstly, I’d like to apologise again for the disruption this has caused. I am truly sorry for the distress this has caused our customers. We experienced a problem with RepricerExpress yesterday at about 19:00GMT and worked to fix the original issue by 20:00GMT. We continued to work over the following few hours in conjunction with Amazon to revert any incorrect prices to their original prices. We have received communication that Amazon will not penalise sellers for this error. We are continuing to work to identify how this problem occurred and to put measures in place to ensure that it does not happen again. We’ve been in business for over 10 years and we’ve always taken pride in the levels of service we provide- so everyone here is devastated and disappointed that you have experienced this problem. We understand that you are angry and upset and we will endeavour to work to make good on this issue and to work to restore your confidence in our product and service.

    From the sound of it, there is a pretty huge mess to be cleaned up here, and it remains to be seen if things are put right for all parties involved, if that’s even possible.

    Amazon did say the majority of orders placed on affected items were stopped immediately and that no costs or fees will be incurred by sellers for cancelled orders.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Names Best-Selling Books Of The Year

    Amazon has become such a giant in online retail that it’s easy to forget sometimes that it used to be all about books. Even its line of hardware started with the Kindle, which was simply a new way to read books.

    While Amazon has a whole lot more going for it these days, book sales are still a major component, and the company just announced its list of the top 20 best-selling titles of the year.

    “This year’s best seller lists include a lot of familiar authors and characters—over half of the books on the lists are part of a series,” said Sara Nelson, Editorial Director of Books and Kindle. “It’s also exciting to see our January Best Books of the Month pick—and Oprah Book Club pick—The Invention of Wings take the top spot overall. We hope all of these lists will help our customers explore great books this holiday season, whether it’s a gift for a loved one or a treat for themselves.”

    Here are the top 20 best-selling books on Amazon in 2014:

    1. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

    2. Gray Mountain by John Grisham

    3. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

    4. Twenty Seconds Ago (Jack Reacher, #19) by Lee Child

    5. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

    6. The Target (Will Robie Series) by David Baldacci

    7. The Fixed Trilogy by Laurelin Paige

    8. The Heroes of Olympus Book Five: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

    9. Top Secret Twenty-One (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich

    10. Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General by Bill O’Reilly

    11. Unlucky 13 (Women’s Murder Club) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

    12. Edge of Eternity: Book Three of The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett

    13. Shadow Spell (Cousins O’Dwyer) by Nora Roberts

    14. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

    15. Blood Magick (Cousins O’Dwyer) by Nora Roberts

    16. Field of Prey by John Sandford

    17. Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (Outlander) by Diana Gabaldon

    18. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney

    19. City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare

    20. Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

    Amazon also shared the top 20 best-selling kids and teens books:

    1. The Heroes of Olympus Book Five: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

    2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney

    3. City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare

    4. Rush Revere and the First Patriots: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans by Rush Limbaugh

    5. The One (The Selection) by Kiera Cass

    6. Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

    7. The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak

    8. Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children) by Ransom Riggs

    9. Rush Revere and the American Revolution: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans by Rush Limbaugh

    10. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

    11. Unlucky 13 (Women’s Murder Club) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

    12. A Day in the Sun (Disney Frozen) by Frank Berrios

    13. The Staff of Serapis by Rick Riordan

    14. The Finisher by David Baldacci

    15. The Revenge of Seven (Lorien Legacies) by Pittacus Lore

    16. Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

    17. Minecraft: Construction Handbook: An Official Mojang Book by Scholastic

    18. Cress (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

    19. The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story by R. J. Palacio

    20. Silver Shadows: A Bloodlines Novel by Richelle Mead

    Amazon has a landing page available here, which lets you browse through collections of the “best of” the year. This includes their top 100 editors’ picks.

  • Amazon Launches ‘Pickup Points’ At Canada Post Locations

    Amazon Launches ‘Pickup Points’ At Canada Post Locations

    Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Pickup Points in Canada. This is a new delivery option for Canadians where they can pick up orders at Canada Post retail locations throughout the country.

    “We’re continuously working to introduce new programs and shipping options that make our customers’ lives easier,” said Alexandre Gagnon, country manager for Amazon.ca. “We know the holidays get busy, so we’re excited to introduce Amazon Pickup Points which give customers who are always on the go a convenient and secure alternative to receive Amazon.ca packages.”

    “Canadians want delivery options that suit their busy lifestyles,” said Canada Post CEO Deepak Chopra. “By providing access to our 6,200 locations across the country, Amazon.ca is adding unparalleled convenience for its customers.”

    Here in the U.S., Amazon has a similar service called Amazon Locker, which consists of lockers at various retail locations, where customers can pick up their orders. Meanwhile, the company continues to experiment with numerous ways of delivering goods and services to customers.

    The company has been testing taxis for package delivery as well as bike messengers. As you probably also know, it wants to get its Prime Air drone program off the ground (so to speak), though that faces some significant regulatory hurdles.

    For customers to use Pickup Points, packages must have a length of no more than 2 meters or a length + girth of no more than 3 meters, and have a shipping weight of no more than 30 kilos.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Forced To Remove Appstore From Android [Report]

    A few months ago, Amazon started including access to its Appstore in its main Android app, essentially enabling users to purchase Amazon apps (which would typically be used on the company’s Fire devices), and use them on Android devices.

    In other words, this provided Android users with a place to get apps other than Google Play, which of course hosts true Android apps.

    Google apparently didn’t take too kindly to this, as there are reports out now that Amazon has pulled its app with the Appstore access in it. From the sound of it, Google forced them to remove it after some changes in wording to its own policy.

    The policy used to prohibit apps whose primary purpose was to distribute apps outside of Google Play. Clearly, Amazon got around this by making its Appstore a feature of its main app, so that it wasn’t actually the app’s primary purpose. The policy was changed to prohibit any apps that do “have a purpose” of selling apps outside of Google Play.

    Frankly, I can’t imagine that Amazon was really selling many apps this way in the first place. Android users have plenty of apps to choose from in Google Play, and for the most part aren’t really looking for additional marketplaces.

    Still, Google has always billed Android as an open platform (which is why Amazon’s exists in the first place). This move isn’t exactly of an “open” nature.

    Obviously it’s all about competition (which is thriving, according to a new report commissioned by Google), and Google considers Amazon one of its main competitors – its top competitor, in fact, when it comes to search.

    Android Police has the full story on the Amazon app removal.

    Image via Amazon

  • Golden Globe Nominations See Netflix and Amazon Battling It Out for the First Time

    Golden Globe Nominations See Netflix and Amazon Battling It Out for the First Time

    The nominations for the Golden Globe Awards – where lovers of the big and the small screen alike can see their favorite stars/productions honored – are here. In an early morning ceremony, Kate Beckinsale, Peter Krause, Paula Patton, and Jeremy Piven announced who will vie for the coveted statutes next month.

    As has been the case with other award shows over the past couple of years, Netflix is making a push for press accolades. And for the first time, Amazon is getting in on the fun.

    House of Cards was nominated for three awards, including Best Television Series (Drama). Robin Wright was nominated in the Best Lead Actress category for her role as Claire Underwood. As expected, Kevin Spacey was also nominated in the Lead Actor category.

    Orange Is The New Black was also invited to the party, nabbing a few nominations. Taylor Schilling was given the nod in the Best Lead Actress (Comedy of Musical) category, and Uzo Aduba was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Crazy Eyes on the popular Netflix original.

    But what’s really interesting is the Best Television Series (Comedy of Musical) category where, for the first time, Netflix and Amazon are going up against one another for a Golden Globe. In the red corner, Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black. And in the other corner, Amazon Studios’ Transparent.

    Transparent’s Jeffrey Tambor was also nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series (Comedy or Musical).

    The Hollywood Foreign Press has given Amazon some ammo here in its fight for legitimacy. Tune in on January 11, 2015, to see if the studio can take one home.

  • Amazon Releases 4K Ultra HD Video Content

    Amazon Releases 4K Ultra HD Video Content

    Amazon announced that it has added 4K Ultra HD video to Amazon Instant Video. And guess what. It’s not only for Prime members! I’ll bet you didn’t see that coming. Of course Prime members do still get the perk of not having to pay extra for the quality.

    Amazon’s Ultra HD movies and TV shows are accessible through the Amazon Instant Video app on compatible Ultra HD smart TVs from LG, Samsung and Sony.

    Among the included television titles are the second season of Alpha House, Transparent, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, Orphan Black, and the upcoming Mozart in the Jungle, Bosch , Hand of God, The After and Red Oaks. The seven new pilots from Amazon Studios—Cocked, Down Dog, Mad Dogs, Man in the High Castle, Point of Honor, Salem Rogers and The New Yorker Presents—will also be offered in Ultra HD. Movie titles include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Funny Girl, Hitch and Philadelphia. Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek LIVE! is also available.

    “We want to deliver the best entertainment experience, and offering Ultra HD movies and TV shows raises the bar on quality and innovation that customers have come to expect from Amazon,” said Michael Paull, Vice President of Amazon Digital Video. “We’re also excited that Ultra HD is the latest benefit of the Amazon Prime membership, giving members instant access to great movies and TV shows in a premium picture resolution at no additional cost.”

    Movies available for purchase in 4K include After Earth, American Hustle, Captain Phillips , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Elysium, Godzilla, Hancock, Moneyball, The Mask of Zorro, The Monuments Men, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, The Da Vinci Code, The Patriot, Think Like a Man Too, This Is the End, etc.

    Image via Amazon

  • Is Amazon’s New Feature A Game-Changer?

    Is Amazon’s New Feature A Game-Changer?

    Amazon has a new feature that it’s calling a game-changer, and could really make selling Amazon all the more attractive to people looking to unload items. This could have an effect sellers listing on eBay and other auction sites. It’s not an auction feature, but it enables price negotiation, and that means consumers can get lower prices, and sellers can make more sales.

    Amazon announced the launch of a new “Make an Offer” feature, which is pretty self-explanatory. The feature is starting out with 150,000 items across the Sports and Entertainment Collectibles, Collectible Coins and Fine Art categories, but will be expanded to hundreds of thousands of items from sellers next year.

    Will this negotiation feature spawn significantly more sales on Amazon? Let us know what you think.

    Sellers can enable the feature, and when the customer selects “Make an Offer” on an item’s product detail page, they can enter and submit a new price of their choosing. The seller will receive the customer’s offer through email, and can accept, reject, or counter it. The negotiation by email can continue until it’s complete. When the seller accepts an offer, the customer is notified, and can put the item in their shopping cart.

    Enabling the feature also adds a visibility element to items. Users can browse eligible items at the Make an Offer landing page.

    The feature is likely to increase sales for a lot of sellers.

    “The new ‘Make an Offer’ experience is a game-changer for Amazon customers looking for great prices on one-of-a-kind items, and for sellers looking to communicate and negotiate directly with customers in an online marketplace environment just like they do normally in their own physical store or gallery,” said Peter Faricy, VP for Amazon Marketplace. “In a recent survey of our sellers, nearly half of the respondents told us that the ability to negotiate prices with customers would be important to drive more sales on Amazon. ‘Make an Offer’ delivers that functionality and makes customers feel confident they are getting an item they want at the lowest price possible.”

    “The ‘Make an Offer’ experience gives customers more control and better deals than they may have received prior to this program,” said Steven Costello, Executive Vice President of Steiner Sports Memorabilia. “The negotiation experience will hopefully get more communication between us and our customers to help us better gauge the price for certain items. We love the ‘Make and Offer’ program, and it is only going to get bigger. Once customers know this is an available feature more offers will come, leading to more sales.”

    “The ‘Make an Offer’ experience is unique as it provides a new and engaging way for Amazon customers to negotiate lower prices. I think it will broaden my customer base,” said Spencer Eggers, owner of Coast to Coast Collectibles. “This new shopping experience could also increase customer loyalty because it will give serious buyers the opportunity to have direct communication with the seller to determine a fair, agreed upon price. It will be like a Black Friday sale 365 days a year.”

    Amazon is careful to note that the “Make an Offer” feature is not an auction format, and that.all negotiations are one on one and private. You won’t always get that at local sales.

    Amazon also notes that the intention of the feature is to lower prices, and a customer negotiating with a seller will never pay more than the listed price.

    The feature could indeed be a game-changer. As Consumerist notes , while haggling over prices at garage sales is very common, most people wouldn’t dream of going to large national retailer and just trying to negotiate a price on an item. Amazon is obviously a huge retailer, and is now enabling customers to do just that. Sure, the items come from third-party sellers, but as far as consumers are concerned, they’re just going to Amazon and buying something.

    Still, as the publication points out, the process could prove to be slow and burdensome. Sellers have three days to respond to an offer made, which means if you’re shopping for holiday gifts at this point, you might be cutting it close. It’s also unclear if the seller can entertain more than one offer at a time.”

    These are legitimate concerns, but don’t put too much of a damper on a feature that could genuinely help people sell more and get better deals.

    What do you think? Game-changer? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Tries Bicycle Messengers For Package Delivery

    Amazon Tries Bicycle Messengers For Package Delivery

    This probably doesn’t surprise anyone, but Amazon is now trying out bicycle messengers for package delivery, because why wouldn’t it? MarketWatch reports:

    In its latest attempt to take on brick-and-mortar retailers, Amazon.com Inc. is testing plans to offer deliveries within an hour in New York City by using bike messengers.

    The new service is being referred to as Amazon Prime Now and mimics the immediacy of in-store shopping by bringing some merchandise to customers in Manhattan within one hour or two, according to a person familiar with the test.

    According to the report, bicyclists were seen at the Manhattan building where Amazon recently signed a seventeen-year lease.

    This follows another recent report that has Amazon testing same-day deliver by taxi.

    Amazon is up to quite a bit of different things in the realm of delivery. Last week brought news of a new restaurant delivery service and its own brand of diapers for Prime members.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Cable TV Cutters Have Plenty Of Options This Christmas

    Cable TV is one of the worst investments a family can make today. There’s only so much to watch, and lot of it is never on when you want it to be. That’s why cable cutters are on the rise, and it’s easier than ever to say goodbye to your cable TV provider over the holidays.

    Cable cutters have a multitude of options when it comes to streaming video solutions with Google, Amazon, Roku and Apple all offering compelling hardware. The question during the holidays is which company offers the best value. For the purposes of this article, we can ignore any potential sales and focus solely on base value.

    First off is the Google Chromecast – the $35 streaming stick that connects to your TV via HDMI. It’s small and unobtrusive, but it requires that you either own an iOS or Android device. If you have a mobile device, you can “cast” video from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and many others onto the Chromecast. It also interacts with Google Play so you can watch all the movies and listen to all the music that you’ve bought via the service. What’s that? You haven’t bought anything on Google Play? Well, Google is offering Chromecast buyers $20 in Google Play Movies credit and free trials to Google Play Music and Hulu Plus during the holidays.

    Starting out, Amazon couldn’t really compete with Google on price as its Fire TV was a full-fledged set top box that went for $99. That all changed this year, however, when Amazon introduced the Fire TV Stick – a $40 streaming stick that directly competes with the Chromecast. Amazon promises a device with 4x the storage and 2x the memory of the Chromecast hence the $5 markup. It also has access to Amazon Instant Video so Prime members will be right at home with this one. Another benefit is that the device ships with a dedicated remote so users don’t have to own a mobile device to use it.

    Roku, the first company to really nail the set-top box concept, also has a streaming stick in stores this holiday. The Roku Streaming Stick, which retails for $50, is kind of a best of both worlds between the Chromecast and Fire TV Stick. It offers all the same services as the previous two while allowing users to control either via included remote or their smartphone. Roku is also offering a special deal where first time buyers get over $40 of movies, TV and music from Hulu Plus and Rdio Unlimited.

    Finally, Apple is offering its premium Apple TV to buyers looking for something that keeps them in the comfy, conformist Apple ecosystem. Staring at $99, the Apple TV is the only set-top box you’ll see on this list as the company has not released a streaming stick. It’s also likely that Apple will never do so. The set-top box format allows the Apple TV to do a lot more than a streaming stick, like play games. The only problem is that it’s a set top box so those looking for something that won’t stick out won’t find it on the Apple TV.

    So, which one of these fine products should you get for the aspiring cable cutter this Christmas? It really depends on their needs, but there’s a simple question that can easily decide which to get. Do you or the person in question own a mobile device, and are they comfortable using it? If so, the Chromecast is a great choice thanks to its low price and compatibility with dozens of mobile apps. If they don’t own a mobile device, the Fire TV is the next best bet.

    Image via Google Chrome, Twitter

  • Amazon Elements Is About More Than Diapers

    Amazon Elements Is About More Than Diapers

    Amazon just announced the launch of Amazon Elements, a new line of “premium, everyday essentials with transparent origins.” On the surface, the announcement just sounds like Amazon is offering its own line of products, which so far includes diapers and baby wipes. On a strategic level, this is a pretty big move from the ecommerce giant.

    Amazon Elements is being pitched as an ethical brand of products with transparency and an “unprecedented level of information” available about them to buyers. Such information includes when and where items were made, why each ingredient was included, where the ingredients were sourced, etc.

    “Our obsession with customers and drive to continuously innovate on their behalf has led us to create Amazon Elements. The two things customers told us they want are premium products that meet their high standards, and access to information so they can make informed decisions, Amazon Elements offers both,” said Sunny Jain, Amazon.com Consumables Vice President. “We’ve leveraged our strengths in technology to bring customers an unprecedented level of information about these products, all with just the click of a button. We’re excited to offer Amazon Prime members added selection, beginning with diapers and baby wipes.”

    It’s that last part that represents one of the major points about Amazon Elements as a strategic move. The products are only available to Prime members, which studies have found spend twice as much at Amazon.com as non-Prime members.

    The move isn’t surprising by any means. Pretty much everything Amazon does anymore (at least when it comes to consumer-facing products) involves some kind of Prime perk. That’s even the main selling point of Amazon’s Fire phone. Amazon thinks it will get you to become a Prime member one way or another, whether that’s through original television content or through diapers. It does not seem as though they’ll stop until they’ve hooked just about everybody.

    Jason Del Rey At Re/code describes the other major strategic element of Elements:

    For years, Amazon naysayers have warned that the e-commerce giant’s ambition would drive it to compete ever more directly with the merchants who sell goods on Amazon’s popular online marketplace. On Wednesday, the company is introducing its own line of diapers and baby wipes, which will only raise these fears…By working directly with a manufacturer, Amazon will be able to price the brand aggressively, with a 40-count package of diapers starting at $7.99. That works out to about 19 cents a diaper, compared to competitor prices that mostly range from 24 cents to 34 cents.

    As a result, some people will view the launch as a shot across the bow at the big diaper brands, Huggies and Pampers, that sell their products on Amazon. Sellers on Amazon already gripe that Amazon sells the same products as they do. Now it is building a direct relationship with a supplier that allows it to undercut some of its own partners in a more significant way.

    It seems very likely that the Amazon Elements brand will grow to include more products, which will mean Amazon selling more and more items on its own. Given that Amazon is the place on the web where products almost have to be listed, this is no doubt a scary thought to a lot of product makers. As Del Rey points out, Amazon is already selling its own brand of other products including furniture, bedding, batteries, etc. With Elements, it’s getting into the real essentials. Combined with its other grocery-selling initiatives (yes, that’s plural), its new restaurant delivery service, its handymen for hire, and its increasing focus on getting products to consumers more quickly (even if by taxi), Amazon is very aggressively looking to be the one that provides you with everything you need. At least if you’re a Prime member.

    Google, by the way, considers Amazon its top competitor in search.

    Image via Amazon

  • Job Listings: Seasonal Workers In Demand

    Job Listings: Seasonal Workers In Demand

    Are you on the lookout for job listings? There are certainly plenty of job listings, but many of those jobs are for positions that many of us don’t have the qualifications for. Depending on your preference, you may be happy to know that seasonal jobs are on the rise.

    WaayTV reports that more retailers are hiring seasonal workers this year than in past years. Specifically, it has found that Wal-Mart is looking to hire 60,000 workers for seasonal positions this holiday season. It’s a 10 percent increase over last year. While a seasonal job only lasts about two months, it’s much easier to obtain than a full time job. Many retailers will hire seasonal positions on the spot so those looking for a quick job over the holidays are likely to get it.

    If retail isn’t your forte, Amazon is also a big seasonal employer. The two months leading up to Christmas are considered the peak season at the online retailer, and it’s always looking for people to work during these peak periods. If you happen to live in an area with an Amazon returns center, the two months following Christmas are considered peak at those locations. Amazon frequently hires seasonal workers on as full-time workers so those looking for more permanent work may be able to find it at Amazon.

    Another opportunity in Colorado is specifically targeted at veterans. The Denver Post reports that the Colorado Department of Transportation is looking for veterans to fulfill snowplow driver and heavy equipment mechanic positions. The city feels that veterans are uniquely trained to tackle the responsibilities inherent to these jobs.

    Full-time work is still hard to come by these days, but seasonal positions will hopefully help some families make ends meet until they can find more permanent work.

  • Amazon Launches Restaurant Delivery Service

    Amazon Launches Restaurant Delivery Service

    Back in June, while I was on vacation, there were reports about Amazon readying the launch of a food takeout service. This followed earlier reports that the company was working on a new local services offering, and was said to be a smaller part of that larger endeavor.

    Today, TechCrunch is reporting that the takeout service has gone live within the Amazon Local app, but only for about 20 restaurants in the Seattle area. While Amazon hasn’t made any formal announcements that we’ve seen, you can actually find the service on the web with a simple Google search here.

    The offering lets you choose between takeout and delivery options. You can browse restaurants, and place orders right from the site/app.

    “From Pizza to Sushi, find a variety of your favorite neighborhood restaurants,” Amazon says. “Get your food delivered or order takeout by paying with your secure Amazon account. Enjoy the food and our service. If you ever need us, we’re available 24/7.”

    As others like TechCrunch have pointed out, this gives Amazon a way to compete with services like Seamless, Grubhub, and DeliveryHero. Uber recently entered the food delivery space as well, just as it got into grocery delivery, which Amazon is also experimenting with.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Reports Big Increase In Black Friday Sales Of Its Devices

    Amazon Reports Big Increase In Black Friday Sales Of Its Devices

    This year was a lot better than last year when it comes to Black Friday sales of Amazon’s tablets and e-readers, according to the company.

    Amazon said Black Friday sales of Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets on Amazon.com grew “significantly” year over year. Fire tablet sales on the site were up over 3x year over year on Friday, while Kindle e-reader sales on Black Friday grew nearly 4x.

    The company didn’t provide exact figures, nor did it mention sales of its Fire TV, Fire Stick, or Fire Phone devices.

    “This holiday there are going to be a lot of customers opening up new Amazon devices,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice President of Amazon Devices. “We’re energized by the year over year growth of tablet and e-reader Black Friday sales on Amazon.com, plus the success of the new product categories we’ve launched this year.”

    In September, Amazon unveiled its latest lines of tablets and e-readers, including the Kindle Voyage, a new $79 Kindle, a new Fire HD tablet, the Fire HDX, and the Fire HD Kids Edition.

    Amazon is running a Cyber Monday deal today for its Fire TV device at $69, which puts it at a 30% discount. Of course this is still twice as much as its Fire Stick streaming device, which is more of a direct competitor to Google’s $35 Chromecast.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Upgrades Fulfillment Centers With 15,000 Robots

    Amazon Upgrades Fulfillment Centers With 15,000 Robots

    Amazon announced the launch of its new robot-driven, eighth-generation fulfillment centers. There are ten locations in California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Washington with 15,000 robots.

    The warehouses are not only utilizing robots, but also vision systems and other high-end technology aimed at speeding up order delivery times.

    “The Amazon fulfillment teams are dedicated to innovating in our fulfillment centers to increase speed of delivery while enabling greater local selection at lower costs for our customers. The advancements in our latest fulfillment centers hit all three of these customer desires while continuing to provide a work environment that is great for employees,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations and customer service.

    The robots are Kiva robots, which came to Amazon courtesy of the company’s $775 million acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012. Here’s what they looked like in 2008:

    The bots are 320 pounds, and will move around warehouses on wheels.

    Amazon will also employ “Robo-Stow,” which it describes as one of the world’s biggest robotic arms. This will move large quantities of inventory for order fulfillment. New vision systems, it says, will enable the unloading and receipt of a whole trailer of inventory in as little as 30 minutes, as opposed to hours.

    Finally, the new centers will utilize high-end, graphically oriented computer systems, which employees will use while fulfilling orders.

    It’s unclear when Amazon expects to roll the new fulfillment center approach out to the rest of its locations.

    The company recently announced it will hire 80,000 seasonal employees to fulfill customer orders throughout the holiday season. This is 14% more than last year. Amazon also says it expects thousands of these people to stay on in regular, full-time positions after the holidays.

    Image via Amazon

  • Cyber Monday Sales: Best Deals On Video Games

    Cyber Monday is like the rushed sequel to Black Friday. That doesn’t make it any worse than America’s annual celebration of cheap TVs and trampling old people though. In fact, it might even be the superior holiday since you don’t have to brave the elements or that jerk down the block to score cheap goods.

    We’ve already previewed a few of the Cyber Monday deals coming from major retailers, but the video game fans out there are going to want to pay attention to this year’s Cyber Monday. For starters, Amazon is hosting a week of Cyber Monday sales starting today. One of the standout deals is half-off Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor for Xbox One and PS4. For only $30, you too can explore the vastness of Mordor while making enemies out of every orc you let live. Other notable deals on Amazon include Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition on PS4 for $18 or the recently released Lords of the Fallen for $40.

    For more deals, be sure to check out Amazon’s landing page for Cyber Monday. There will be new sales all week as the world’s largest online retailer attempts to siphon money out of gamers across the country.

    What about GameStop? Does the nation’s largest games specialty retailer have any good Cyber Monday sales in mind? While the retailer has yet to send out its annual Cyber Monday ad, it has already lowered the prices on the games that will be seeing discounts come December 1. Of particular note is recently released The Evil Within – the $60 PS4/Xbox One title has seen its price slashed in half for Cyber Monday.

    If you’re in the market for some last gen consoles, GameStop has you covered with some rather generous bundles. For starters is the Wii Holiday Blast from the Past bundle that throws in a Nintendo Wii and five games – New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Wii Sports, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Just Dance 2. The bundle retails for only $90 on Monday.

    If the Wii is a little too underpowered for you, GameStop is also offering a first gen Xbox 360 with a 60GB hard drive for $99. To make the deal even sweeter, the bundle throws in a free copy of last year’s excellent Tomb Raider reboot.

    Best Buy’s Cyber Monday sales are a little more disappointing. The best deal available is the Destiny White PS4 bundle for $419. It’s safe to assume that most of those bundles were picked up at better prices on Black Friday so it’s probably not worth the $30 unless you really want Destiny and a PS4.

    Last but not least, PC gamers still have the Steam Exploration Sale that lasts until Tuesday. We won’t know what Cyber Monday deals are in store for us until 9 a.m. PST tomorrow, but there’s likely to be some good deals. In fact, there are already over 5,000 titles on sale right now.

    Like all Cyber Monday deals, we may not be seeing the full picture until the namesake day rolls around at Midnight. Be sure to keep checking back at your favorite online retailer all day on Monday to see if the game you want for Christmas goes on sale.

  • Black Friday 2014: The Best Deals

    Black Friday 2014: The Best Deals

    Black Friday, which historically has occurred on the day after Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday of November), is often regarded as the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

    Some of the most notable deals from various businesses include:

    Best Buy, which opens at 8 a.m., local time, and closes at 10 p.m.:

    – a Panasonic 50″ Class LED 1080p HDTV for $199.99
    – a 15.6″ Dell Touch Screen Laptop for $299.99
    – a 7″ DigiLand Quad-Core Tablet for $39.99
    – a Samsung 55″ Class LED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $899.99

    Regarding the 50″ Panasonic HDTV for $199.99, a Greenville, South Carolina man has been spotted camping outside a Best Buy store since Monday, in hopes of snagging the television.

    Kohl’s Black Friday deals include:

    – a Toshiba 40″ 1080p LED HDTV for $329.99
    – a 7″ Polaroid Tablet for $59.99
    – a Beats Pill 2.0 Portable Bluetooth Speaker System for $179.99
    – a Toshiba 50″ 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV with Smart TV for $549.99
    – a Vizio 15.6″ Thin + Light Ultrabook Laptop for $1,169.99

    Walmart’s Black Friday event commences at 6 a.m., and lasts through the weekend. Select merchandise is 30% off from 6 a.m. until noon. Items include Samsung TV’s and home audio, all music CD’s and all artificial Christmas trees and lights.

    Black Friday Walmart deals include 20% off all firearms, 30% off all hunting apparel and discounts on Goodyear tires.

    Notable Sears Black Friday deals include:

    – an RCA 52′ 1080p HDTV for $379.99
    – an RCA 40″ 1080p HDTV for $249.99
    – a Kenmore stainless steel refrigerator for $999.99
    – a Kenmore washer/dryer duo for $799.98

    Home Depot is selling poinsettias for $.99 all day, and expects to move roughly 3.75 million of the plants this Black Friday.

    Lowe’s is offering:

    – a GT 35-inch steel firepit for $39
    – a Studio Sync Speaker Shelf for $49.98
    – a SHOP-VAC 12-gallon 6.0 PEAK HP VAC for $39.98
    – a 6.5-foot Pre-Lit Color Changing LED Artificial Tree for $59

    Here enthusiastic consumers challenge one another over underwear:

    Amazon’s electronics deals include:

    – a Samsung 40-inch Smart 1080p LED TV for $328
    – a Samsung 55-inch Curved Smart 4K Ultra HD LED TV for $1,298.

  • Amazon Fire Phone Is Now Ridiculously Cheap, Even Without a Contract

    Amazon has once again made a price adjustment to its flagship smartphone, and it’s a pretty significant one.

    As of right now, you can buy an unlocked Amazon Fire Phone for $199. As you’re probably aware, that’s usually what customers pay for a top-tier smartphone when they also agree to a two-year contract with a carrier. The unlocked 32GB Fire Phone was originally priced at $649 and was most recently available for $449.

    This isn’t the first time Amazon has made a drastic cut to the Fire Phone’s price. Back in September, the company dropped it to 99 cents, with the two-year contract agreement. That was pretty significant, but $199 for a current-gen, unlocked smartphone is more than unusual.

    Amazon’s clearly trying to do everything it can to get people to buy its new phone. Reviews haven’t been great and sales have been even worse. Just a few weeks ago, the company flat out admitted that it made a mistake with the smartphone.

    “We didn’t get the price right,” Amazon Senior Vice President of Devices David Limp told Fortune. “I think people come to expect a great value, and we sort of mismatched expectations. We thought we had it right. But we’re also willing to say, ‘we missed.’ And so we corrected.”

    As the holiday shopping season gets underway, it’ll be interesting to see if Amazon can practically give them away.

    The Fire Phone sports a 4.7-inch display, and 2.2Ghz quad-core processor and a 13 MP camera. It also comes with a free year of Amazon Prime.

    Image via Amazon

  • Black Friday Ads 2014: Best of Amazon

    Black Friday Ads 2014: Best of Amazon

    Black Friday ads for 2014–what does Amazon offer? Quite a bit, especially if you’re shopping for electronics. In fact, they have a pretty impressive list of wares that Black Friday shoppers will likely make note of and compare to other retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy.

    Amazon has teased sales for more than a week now, with decent prices on everything from cameras to warm winter gloves. The official Black Friday 2014 ads were finally confirmed today, however, providing shoppers with plenty of gift options from which to choose.

    So what’s included in Amazon’s Black Friday ads for 2014? Make your list and check it twice, and you’ll be prepared to snag some fabulous online deals.

    1. Toshiba 50″ LED LCD HDTV for $199–this is a dollar less than the same size offered by Best Buy.

    2. 32″ LED LCD HDTV for $79–this one amazing deal finds Amazon undercutting both Target and Kohl’s.

    3. 40″ 1080p LED LCD HDTV for $119–t his deal is a direct response to Target’s Element 40″ HDTV–also priced at $119. Amazon doesn’t disclose the brand of the TV they are selling, however, so it’s hard to tell which will be the better of the two deals.

    4. LG G3 Android Smartphone for 1 cent with 2-year contract–this is a standout deal for anyone in need of a new Android smartphone, provided you were planning on signing on the dotted line for a 2-year contract.

    5. HTC One M8 Windows Smartphone for 1 cent with 2-year contract–this is a similar deal as the Android, as the contract is required.

    6. Roku LT HD Wireless Media Player for $28–this beats Walmart’s deal by $11.

    7. Panasonic 3D Blu-ray Player for $35–this is the least expensive anyone has seen since last December, when the price was $49.

    8. Beats by Dr. Dre Studio 2.0 Over-the-Ear Headphones for $199.99–the least expensive anyone has found these on sale is $210.

    There are additional 2014 Black Friday ads on Amazon, but these are the ones that beat out their competitors. Watch their website closely to see when shoppers can take advantage of these Black Friday ads 2014. Do they actually mean Friday or are some of these deals available on Thursday evening instead?

  • FAA’s New Drone Rules Could Be Bad for Business

    The Federal Aviation Administration is poised to propose new rules for commercial drones by year’s end, and if they look anything like what the Wall Street Journal is reporting – it’s going to be a rough day for businesses and drone enthusiasts.

    According to the report, the FAA is planning some rather restrictive new rules for commercial drones under 55 pounds. Apparently, the FAA wants all drones operators to be real pilots.

    “[P}ilot certifications likely to be proposed by the FAA would typically require dozens of hours flying manned aircraft, according to people familiar with the rule-making discussions,” reports the WSJ.

    There will also be other restrictions on the drones’ actual flight. The FAA wants limit commercial drone operation to daylight hours, make sure that drones never fly higher than 400 feet, and require that the drone operator never lose line of sight with the drone.

    This would make it very tough for a company like Amazon – who’s currently looking to get a fleet of delivery drones off the ground.

    And Amazon’s not the only one.

    Also a bummer for small drone enthusiasts – there might be no differentiation between super-lightweight drones and those weighing up to 55 pounds. From the WSJ:

    The agency also plans to group all drones weighing less than 55 pounds under one set of rules. That would dash hopes for looser rules on the smallest drones, such as the 2.8-pound Phantom line of camera-equipped, four-rotor helicopters made by China’s SZ DJI Technology Co. Similar-sized devices are seen as the most commercially viable drones and have surged in popularity in the last two years.

    Until the FAA sets new rules for commercial drones (which could take a couple years even after proposing them), the agency will continue to issue exemptions on a case-by-case basis. Back in September, the FAA approved drone use for certain film/TV production companies. These rumored regulations could put a damper on that end of drone use, as well.

    Image via Amazon

  • Rumors Of Ad-Supported Amazon Video Return

    Rumors Of Ad-Supported Amazon Video Return

    A new report from The New York Post claims that Amazon is readying an ad-supported streaming video service, which would be separate from Amazon Prime Video.

    It seems like most of Amazon’s newer offerings are ultimately ways to get people to sign up for Prime, so the move does seem a bit out of character. However, The Post’s sources say it is still ultimately a bid by the company to lure people to eventually pay for Prime.

    That actually makes a great deal of sense. Think about listening to the free, ad-supported version of Spotify. If you’ve ever used Premium, it’s hard to go back. Amazon could be counting on a similar mentality.

    This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Amazon considering such a service. The Wall Street Journal reported in March that the company was considering an ad-supported streaming video and music video service that would be free of subscription costs.

    Amazon, however, told Variety, “We’re often experimenting with new things, but we have no plans to offer a free streaming-media service.”

    The Post says its sources “confirmed that it’s a definite go”.

    I guess we’ll see.

    Amazon is also said to be readying a travel service, and it just signed a 17-year lease for a building across the street from the Empire State Building for a brick-and-mortar store and distribution center.

    Amazon this week began shipping its new streaming device the Fire TV Stick. It also debuted a new kids show.

    Image via Amazon