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Tag: Amazon

  • The Walking Dead Soundtrack Hits iTunes, Amazon

    AMC and Republic Records announced that the soundtrack to the hit television show The Walking Dead is now available for download at iTunes and Amazon.

    Actually, this is only the first volume, indicating that more will be on the way. The track listing is as follows:

    1. Jamie N Commons – “Lead Me Home”
    2. Bear McCreary – “Main Title Theme Song” (UNKLE Remix)
    3. Voxhaul Broadcast – “You Are The Wilderness”
    4. Baby Bee – “Love Bug”
    5. Fink – “Warm Shadow” (Dactyl Remix)
    6. Of Monsters And Men – “Sinking Man”
    7. Emily Kinney and Lauren Cohan (Beth & Maggie Greene)- “The Parting Glass”
    8. Delta Spirit – “Running”

    “Already, three incendiary tracks from the album have been released: Emily Kinney and Lauren Cohan’s powerful folk elegy ‘The Parting Glass,’ Baby Bee’s guitar-heavy zombie blues jam ‘Love Bug,’ and Jamie N Commons’ soulful ‘Lead Me Home’,” AMC says in a blog post. “The full compilation includes previously unreleased material like ‘Sinking Man’ from multiplatinum-selling Icelandic alternative folk sensation Of Monsters and Men, an UNKLE remix of composer Bear McCreary’s ‘Main Title Theme Song,’ Delta Spirit’s ‘Running’ and more. Just like the show, the soundtrack remains a dynamic powerhouse replete with unforgettable moments.”

    The soundtrack will hit stores on Tuesday, March 19.

    More The Walking Dead fun here.

  • Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ Gets A Permanent Price Cut, Launches In Europe And Japan

    The Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ launched late last year for a rather affordable $300. To perhaps undercut the competition even more, Amazon has decided to make its flagship tablet even cheaper.

    Amazon announced today that the 16GB Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ now retails for $269. The 32GB model now retails for $300. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G LTE also got a price cut as the 16GB model now retails for $400, while the 64GB model retails for $500.

    The price cut coincides with the tablet’s launch across select European countries and Japan. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ will set UK consumers back £229 ($341 USD) for the 16GB model or £259 ($386 USD) for the 32GB model.

    “We’re thrilled with customer reaction to Kindle Fire HD 8.9”. Customers tell us they love our large-screen version of Kindle Fire HD for web browsing, email, gaming, watching TV shows, reading magazines, and more,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “As we expand Kindle Fire HD 8.9” to Europe and Japan, we’ve been able to increase our production volumes and decrease our costs. Across our business at Amazon, whenever we are able to create cost efficiencies like this, we want to pass the savings along to our customers.”

    With the price cut, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ is now the most affordable tablet of its size. Apple and Google best be taking notes on how to subsidize costs through content sales because Amazon has proven that it’s still king of this rather risky, but so far profitable, venture.

  • Amazon Studios Working on a New Kids Show, One of 12 Pilots Currently in the Works

    Amazon Studios Working on a New Kids Show, One of 12 Pilots Currently in the Works

    Amazon today announced a new kids show in development from Amazon Studios. Prime Instant Video has greenlit the pilot for interactive math-based puzzle show Sara Solves It.

    Here’s Amazon’s official synopsis of the show:

    Viewers follow brother and sister duo Sara and Sam on absorbing and relatable mysteries that spring from the questions young children encounter in their daily lives. Each mystery is an interactive, math-based puzzle that the home viewer can solve along with the characters.

    Sara Solves It is created by Carol Greenwald, the Emmy award-winner who produced shows like Curious George and Arthur and Angela Santomero, who worked as a writer and producer on Blue’s Clues.

    Amazon says that this makes 12 different pilots currently being produced by Amazon Studios. Whenever those shows come to fruition, Amazon says that they will stream them on Prime Instant Video for free.

    Amazon is not just working on original series, but has also been busy snatching up content – much of it as exclusives. Last month, they bascially stole the popular PBS series Downton Abbey from Netflix and Hulu, and they also announced that they will be the exclusive online home of FX’s Justified and the upcoming CBS drama Under the Dome.

    Oh, ans speaking of original kids shows. Netflix will debut their first original children’s series in December.

  • Amazon Prime Now Serving Food Network, Travel Channel Shows

    Amazon has just announced a new content licensing agreement with Scripps Networks Interactive that brings a ton of popular cooking, travel, and do-it-yourself programming to Prime Instant Video.

    The deal will bring shows from five different Scripps networks: HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel.

    This means that starting today, Prime members can stream Rachael Ray’s Week in a Day; Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations; Cupcake Wars; Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives; House Hunters and House Hunters International; Iron Chef America; Man v. Food; Selling New York and Selling LA; Throwdown With Bobby Flay; Chopped; Ghost Adventures; Yard Crashers, and more for free.

    Amazon notes that this is the first online-only subscription distribution deal for Scripps.

    “The Scripps family of networks – including HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel – airs some of the highest-quality and most popular unscripted lifestyle programming on TV today,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. “We are excited to be the exclusive online-only subscription home for Scripps content and know our customers are going to love getting these great shows as part of Prime.”

    Amazon has been snatching up content as of late. Earlier this week they announced that Prime Instant Video will now be the exclusive online home of FX’s hit series Justified. And earlier this month Amazon nabbed the exclusive rights to both Downton Abbey and the upcoming CBS drama Under the Dome.

  • Amazon Cloud Player Updated And Optimized For iPad

    Just because somebody owns an iPad doesn’t mean they use iTunes. There’s a wealth of options available to the iPad owner looking for an app to store their music collection. Amazon’s Cloud Player could be a strong competitor, but the lack of a dedicated iPad app was a hurdle it didn’t overcome until today.

    Amazon announced that its Cloud Player app has finally been updated and optimized for the iPad. Just like the iPhone app, Cloud Player lets Amazon Cloud Player subscribers store up to 250 songs for free on the cloud, with support for 250,000 songs coming in at $24.99 a year.

    “We introduced our Cloud Player app for iPhone and iPod touch last summer and it’s been incredibly popular with our customers so we’ve now expanded it to iPad,” said Steve Boom, Vice President of Digital Music for Amazon. “Our goal is to make Cloud Player the most widely compatible cloud playback solution available, giving our customers the ability to buy their music once and enjoy it everywhere.”

    Amazon Cloud Player may not take over iTunes dominant position on the iPad, but it’s a good alternative for the rare consumer who owns an iPad and an Android phone. Cloud Player can sync songs between both devices for a relatively painless music listening experience.

    You can grab the newly iPad optimized Amazon Cloud Player from Apple’s App Store for free.

  • Amazon Nabs Exclusive Rights to FX’s Justified

    Another day in February, another exclusive content grab from Amazon.

    Today, the company announced that their Prime Instant Video service will be the exclusive online streaming home to the FX hit Justified. Also part of this new deal is the now-completed FX series The Shield.

    Justified has already been available to purchase from Amazon at $1.99 an episode, but now the series will be able to be streamed by Amazon Prime customers for no additional cost.

    Justified and The Shield are two fan-favorites on Amazon,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. “We’re consistently looking for ways to make Prime even better – and one of the ways we’re doing that is adding shows like these that we know customers love. Prime members have tens of thousands of episodes of their favorite series like Downton Abbey, Falling Skies, and now Justified and The Shield, to enjoy on hundreds of devices, at no additional cost.”

    Earlier this month, Amazon made a big play for the megahit PBS series Downton Abbey. They snatched it away from competitors like Netflix and Hulu, nabbing exclusive rights to past, current, and future seasons of the show.

    A week or so later, Amazon announced that they will be the exclusive streaming home to CBS’ upcoming drama Under the Dome. Episodes of the new series, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, will become available just three days after they air.

  • Amazon’s New Kindle Paperwhite Ad Is Making People on the Internet Argue

    Amazon’s new ad for the Kindle Paperwhite is the backdrop to a flame war on YouTube. Let’s see if you can figure out why.

    “I’m throwing away my kindle. I cannot believe they included a straight couple in this commercial. GROSS!!” said one user.

    That’s also what I thought when I first saw it. How reckless are you, Amazon?

    (Update: Thankfully, tolerance is winning out. Troll comments are being successfully thumbed down into oblivion. Carry on.)

  • Amazon Launches Shopping App For Canadian Customers

    Amazon.ca has launched a new Shopping app for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone. The app is presumably like its American counterpart.

    “We are excited to further enhance the customer shopping experience in Canada,” said Sam Hall, VP of Mobile Shopping for Amazon. “Customers in Canada can now use the Amazon Mobile App to conveniently shop, browse and buy from anywhere, all while accessing popular features such as Prime, 1-Click ordering, customer reviews and more, right from their mobile devices.”

    Here’s a snippet from the announcement:

    To make on-the-go shopping a seamless experience, customers can sign up for a new account using the Amazon Mobile App or they can use their existing Amazon.ca username and password to access the same account they view on the Web. Customers using the Amazon Mobile App can access many of the same features as on the Web, including their cart, Wish Lists, payments, 1-Click settings, Prime membership and more, and can shop the full selection of products available on Amazon.ca, including electronics, baby, kitchen, books, movies, music, watches, sporting goods, tools and more.

    With the simple click of a button on their mobile devices, customers can have millions of products delivered to their door while benefitting from Free Super Saver Shipping on orders of eligible products over $25 or by taking advantage of Free Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime. The Amazon Mobile App for tablets gives users an immersive shopping experience with larger, richer images and easy access to search filters to quickly find what they are looking for.

    The app lets users choose between English and French-language shopping.

  • IMDb iOS App Adds Amazon Prime Instant Video Links

    The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has updated its iOS app to provide seamless functionality with Amazon’s Prime Instant Video app.

    With the new version, any TV show or movie that’s available to stream using Prime Instant Video will feature a link on its IMDb page. This feature has been available on IMDb.com for some time now.

    All you have to do is click the “Watch Now on Amazon Prime Instant Video” button and you’ll be taken to that title on the Prime Instant Video app. This update applies to both the iPhone and the iPad.

    As you may remember, Amazon bought IMDb back in 1998.

    That’s not the only thing to ship with today’s update. the IMDb app now sports a new Oscars section as well.

    Here’s the full list of what’s new today:

    • Titles available on Amazon Prime feature a link to watch if the Amazon Instant Video app is also installed (iPhone/iPad)
    • Special Oscars® section: list of nominees and photos from the red carpet and ceremony and live winners on iPhone and iPad during the ceremony
    • Recommendations: tap on the “i” in the corner of the poster to see why it’s recommended for you, rate the title if you’ve seen it, or indicate “not interested” (iPad)
    • Improved accessibility for TV episode navigation (iPad)
    • Updates to side navigation (iPad)
    • Bug fixes include episode picker in VoiceOver (iPad)

    You can grab the new version right now on iTunes.

  • Amazon Launches New Store with 350,000+ Verified Entertainment Collectibles

    Amazon has just launched a new specialty store on its site for memorabilia from various entertainment industries – music, movies, and TV.

    It’s called the Amazon Entertainment Collectibles Store, and it features over 350,000 “unique and rare” collectibles – all authenticated. We’re talking records, instruments, playbills, photos, clothing, etc. The new store is browsable by category, autograph status, and year.

    “Entertainment Collectibles is an exciting new category offering a vast selection of past and present Movie, Music and TV memorabilia,” said Peter Faricy, vice president of Amazon Marketplace. “There is something for everyone. Fans will find keepsake items from their favorite artists, actors and icons of entertainment, and aficionados will discover some of the rarest items for their collections. With hundreds of thousands of items, the store has a wide range of memorabilia to delight any entertainment enthusiast.”

    Amazon says that you can find plenty of verified collectibles from big name people and projects like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, One Direction, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Johnny Depp, “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hobbit,” “Game of Thrones,” and “The Twilight Saga.”

    In February of 2012, Amazon launched a similar destination for sports memorabilia just in time for the Super Bowl called the Sports Collectibles & Memorabilia store. We can’t help but notice that the timing of this entertainment collectibles store coincides with Oscar week.

  • Amazon Redshift Now Available To All Customers

    In November, Amazon Web Services announced Redshift, a “fast and powerful, fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse in the cloud.” At the time, it was only available to a limited few customers as a preview service. Now it’s finally becoming available to all customers.

    Amazon announced today that any AWS customer can now launch a Redshift cluster from within the AWS management console. Customers can start with a few hundred terabytes, and then scale up to a petabyte or more. Redshift costs under $1,000 per terabyte per year.

    “When we set out to build Amazon Redshift, we wanted to leverage the massive scale of AWS to deliver ten times the performance at 1/10 the cost of on-premise data warehouses in use today,” said Raju Gulabani, Vice President of Database Services, Amazon Web Services. “With order of magnitude improvements in price/performance, Amazon Redshift makes big data analytics accessible to more people, allowing large organizations to analyze more of their data and smaller ones to afford fast, scalable data warehousing technology. We are delighted by the excitement from our preview customers as they’ve experienced the performance improvement and lower costs that Amazon Redshift delivers.”

    During its time in preview, Redshift proved to be popular among various small businesses and large organizations that leveraged the power of Amazon’s servers. Many of the reviews praise the speed and ease of use in using Redshift, while others say it has saved them countless dollars by moving massive datastores off of their own servers and onto Amazon’s.

    Those interested in Amazon Redshift, or AWS in general, can hit up the Web site. Just know that Redshift is currently only available on Amazon’s U.S. East servers in Virginia. It will be rolling out to other AWS locations in the coming months.

  • Amazon GameCircle Drives Engagement And Monetization In Kindle Fire Games

    Amazon introduced GameCircle in July of last year as a way to help developers easily add features like achievements, leaderboards and more into their Kindle Fire games. In a recent study, Amazon has found that GameCircle integration has proven to be most advantageous to developers.

    Amazon conducted a study into GameCircle’s engagement and monetization rates from November 2012 to January 2013. The three month period showed games that integrated GameCircle produced 38 percent higher conversion rates and 33 percent more in-app orders than games that didn’t integrate GameCircle. When those stats are combined, Amazon says that GameCircle enabled games drive 83 percent more average revenue per user.

    Game Circle Study

    So, where’s all this money coming from? Unsurprisingly, GameCircle has been kind to the free-to-play model where players can enjoy the game for free, but are offered in-app purchases. GameCircle’s leaderboards encourage players to compete with friends in FTP games like Temple Run 2. Those players will also be encouraged to buy in-game items to better compete with friends. That’s where part of the increased revenue comes from.

    GameCircle also offers a robust discovery mechanisms which help drive engagement. These discovery mechanisms are visible from the user’s game library, and include information on how many friends are playing each game, the number of achievements unlocked and leaderboard activity. This information encourages players to jump into games and compete with others.

    As such, a separate study conducted in January found that 32 percent more players will open a game when it has this GameCircle enabled information on the games screen than those that do not. It once again into ties into the idea that FTP gamers are more likely to play your game, and spend money, when they’re encouraged to compete with others.

    For those thinking about building a Kindle Fire game, you might want to check out GameCircle. It has helped other developers be successful on the Kindle Fire, and it might just help you as well. Check out the documentation here to get started.

  • Amazon Steals Downton Abbey From Netflix & Hulu – Past, Present, and Future

    Amazon Steals Downton Abbey From Netflix & Hulu – Past, Present, and Future

    As of right now, you can watch the hit Masterpiece Classic show Downton Abbey on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Some time this year, that will no longer be the case.

    Amazon has just announced a deal with PBS Distribution that will make Prime Instant Video the only place that Downton Fans will be able to stream the show.

    Eventually. Amazon will have exclusive rights to Downton Abbey Season 3 (currently airing) on June 18th, and will gain exclusive rights to the other two seasons “later this year.” No specifics on the actual date that you’ll see Downton disappear from Netflix and Hulu.

    Not only that, but Amazon is keeping Downton out of the hands of Netflix and Hulu for the foreseeable future. Prime Instant Video will continue to be the exclusive subscription home of season 4 and season 5, if that actually becomes a thing.

    “Our Prime customers have spoken—they can’t get enough of the MASTERPIECE CLASSIC series ‘Downton Abbey.’ The series is consistently in our top most watched TV shows each week, making it the most popular TV series with Prime Instant Video customers, ever,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. “Prime Instant Video will soon be the exclusive subscription video streaming home for ‘Downton Abbey.’”

    This is a big move by Amazon to secure the rights to an extremely popular show. Locking up exclusive rights to Downton Abbey’s past, present, and future is a pretty good wallop to other streaming services – a scheme that Thomas could surely approve of.

  • Amazon Cloud Player Comes To Ford SYNC Smart Cars

    Amazon Cloud Player Comes To Ford SYNC Smart Cars

    The smart car is the next big revenue driver for app developers. These cars may not be everywhere just yet, but app developers would be smart to jump on in its early stages before it takes off. Amazon is doing just that by bringing Cloud Player to Ford’s line of smart cars.

    Amazon announced today that Android devices with Amazon MP3 can now wirelessly connect with Ford SYNC Applink-equipped vehicles. Beyond being able to play your MP3 collection through your car’s speakers, the Ford SYNC version of Amazon MP3 also supports voice commands to keep drivers safe.

    “We want customers to be able enjoy their entire music library wherever they want, from whatever device they choose. And we know that cars and music go hand-in-hand. That’s why we’re excited to bring Cloud Player to the car,” said Steve Boom, Vice President of Digital Music for Amazon.

    The following features of Amazon MP3 are making their way to smart cars:

  • Access their music playlists with the convenience of using voice recognition or dashboard controls
  • Play music stored in Cloud Player or play back music stored on their mobile phone
  • Enjoy eligible music in high-quality 256kbps audio
  • Get rid of CDs, wires, and other ways they used to connect and listen to their music in the car
  • Free up local storage space on their phones by storing and accessing music in the cloud
  • The Amazon Cloud Player app is available in the following Ford models: 2013 Ford Fiesta, Mustang, Focus, E-Series, C-MAX Hybrid, Expedition, Fusion, F-150 and Super Duty.

    You can learn more about Amazon Cloud Player in Ford here.

  • Amazon, CBS Expand Content Deal to Bring More Shows to Prime Instant Video

    Amazon, CBS Expand Content Deal to Bring More Shows to Prime Instant Video

    Amazon and CBS have just announced an expanded content agreement that will see even more of the network’s programming become available on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service (Amazon and CBS already have a deal for some of the network’s catalog).

    The new, expanded deal will see CBS and Showtime content like America’s Next Top Model, Everybody Loves Raymond, Jericho, The L Word, Undercover Boss, United States of Tara, and more hit Prime Instant Video.

    “CBS was one of our earliest content partners for Prime Instant Video and our Prime customers have consistently told us how much they love having access to great CBS and Showtime shows,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. “Adding a wider selection of great TV series, while extending our already popular selection of CBS programming, continues to make Prime an even better deal for customers – and we love that.”

    This announcement comes on the heels of another one involving Amazon and CBS. Earlier this week we learned that Amazon Prime had snatched up the rights to stream CBS’ upcoming show Under the Dome, exclusively, as it airs (4 days after original airing). Under the Dome is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name It centers on a small New England town that is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world by an giant, transparent dome. It’s being produced by Steve Spielberg’s Amblin Television and will premiere on CBS on June 24th.

    Amazon also recently made a move to steal PBS’ Downton Abbey (past, present, and future episodes) away from Netflix and Hulu.

  • Amazon Beats Apple in Corporate Reputation Poll

    Today, Amazon beats Apple in a way that doesn’t specifically pertain to tablets, ebooks, digital music, streaming content, or any other area in which the two routinely do battle. Today’s victory is all about the consumers and their views on the companies as a whole.

    We’re talking Harris Interactive’s annual Harris Poll RQ, which measures the perceived reputations of the sixty most-visible companies in the United States.

    And this year, it’s Amazon that takes top honors.

    Last year’s winner, Apple, falls to second place in the 2013 poll.

    Google also had a strong placement, coming in 4th. Rounding out the top 5 were The Walt Disney Company and Johnson & Johnson.

    The RQ looks at 6 different dimensions to corporate reputation. Amazon ranked in the top five in five of the six dimensions.

    “Amazon had a five point advantage over any other company in the study in the dimension of Emotional Appeal, despite an entirely virtual relationship with the public. Amazon also achieved the top rating in the dimension of Products & Services,” says Harris.

    “Our results show that Amazon has managed to build an intimate relationship with the public without being perceived as intrusive,” said Harris Interactive VP of Reputation Management Robert Fronk. “And as the company that is so widely known for its personal recommendations, more than nine in ten members of the public would recommend Amazon to friends and family.”

    Here are the winners in each of the six different categories. You can see that five are tech companies.

    Unsurprisingly, AIG and Goldman Sachs logged the two worst RQ scores.

    [All Images via Harris Interactive]

  • Amazon Grabs Exclusive Streaming Rights to CBS’ ‘Under the Dome’

    Amazon Grabs Exclusive Streaming Rights to CBS’ ‘Under the Dome’

    Amazon has just landed another exclusive content deal for its Prime Instant Video service. This time it’s the upcoming CBS drama Under the Dome.

    Here are the specifics of the deal: Just four days after each episode airs on CBS, they will pop up on Amazon Prime Instant Video. The episodes will be available to stream on CBS.com, but only for the first three days after airing.

    Under the Dome is based on a 2009 Stephen Kings novel of the same name that’s about a small New England town that is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world by an giant, transparent dome. It’s being produced by Steve Spielberg’s Amblin Television and will premiere on CBS on June 24th.

    “With creative forces of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television behind Under the Dome, we think our customers will love this new show and we’re excited to be able to offer this highly-anticipated series at no additional cost to Prime members,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. “Adding a current season major network TV series like Under the Dome to the Prime Instant Video library so shortly after its live airing enables us to increase our exclusive selection of great TV shows and give customers access how, when and where they want to watch it.”

    Last week, Amazon made another big play when they stole Downton Abbey away from Netflix and Hulu. Per that deal, Prime Instant Video will be the only subscription-based streaming service where viewers can watch episodes of Downton Abbey – past, present, and future (starting some time this year).

  • Amazon Coins Bring Virtual Currency To Kindle Fire Apps And Games

    For the past year, Amazon has been making development for its Kindle Fire tablets easier and more lucrative. Now the retail giant is ready to enter into the next phase of setting up a thriving mobile marketplace – virtual currency.

    Amazon announced today that it will be launching Amazon Coins in May. The new virtual currency is expected to bring in even more revenue to apps and games on Kindle Fire devices. To help kickstart the new currency, Amazon says it will be giving away “tens of millions of dollars worth of Coins” to customers to spend on “Kindle Fire apps, games, or in-app items.”

    “Developers continue to report higher conversion rates on Amazon compared to other platforms,” said Paul Ryder, Vice President of Apps and Games for Amazon. “Now we have another new way to help developers reach even more of our millions of customers. Amazon Coins gives customers an easy way to spend money on developers’ apps on Kindle Fire in the Amazon Appstore—and we’re giving customers tens of millions of dollars in Amazon Coins to get started.”

    Does the advent of Amazon Coins signal the end of traditional payment methods on Kindle Fire devices? Not in the least as Amazon plans to support both payment methods going forward. Amazon Coins will function more like a wallet of sorts that parents can funnel money into.

    As for developers, integration of Amazon Coins will happen automatically. If your game is already on the Amazon Appstore, consumers can use Coins in it as soon as the service launches in May. Those who don’t already have an app in the Appstore will need to be approved by April 25 to take advantage of the launch of Amazon Coins.

    Developers will also be happy to know that Amazon Coins will not shortchange them. Amazon will still offer the standard 70 percent cut to all developers regardless of the currency used.

    Developers who want to learn more about Amazon Coins can check out the company’s handy new documentation. If you have yet to submit an app to the Amazon Appstore, you can learn how to do that here.

  • Amazon To Open Three New Texas Fulfillment Centers

    Amazon announced today that it intends to open three new fulfillment centers in Texas, which the company says will create over 1,000 new jobs in the state. They’ll be located in Coppell, Haslet and Schertz.

    Fulfillment by Amazon“We appreciate the state and local elected officials who have helped us make this exciting investment in the state of Texas,” said Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North American fulfillment.

    Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said, “We’re pleased Amazon is investing in Texas by bringing three fulfillment centers and more than 1,000 jobs to our state. I thank Amazon for working with us—making it possible to bring new jobs and revenue to the state of Texas.”

    The mayor of each city shared similar sentiments.

    “This is the biggest economic development partnership announcement in the history of our city,” said Haslet Mayor Bob Golden. “The jobs and potential tax base that this development will bring to our community is a major milestone in our city’s growth.”

    “Amazon, coming to Coppell, complements our strategy of building a quality business base that supports the community and the region,” said Coppell Mayor Karen Hunt. “We are thrilled Amazon chose Coppell for a new fulfillment center. We recognize their large capital investment and new jobs brought to this area.”

    Schertz Mayor Michael Carpenter added, “We are thrilled to formally and officially welcome Amazon to Schertz. The investment Amazon is making in our community is significant, and it is a manifest expression by yet another highly successful and well-respected company that Schertz is a great place to do business.”

    Amazon says its fulfillment center jobs pay on average 30% more than traditional retail jobs (not including stock grants).

    Last week, Amazon also announced that it will be opening a new California fulfillment center in Tracy.

    The company reported its Q4 and full-year 2012 earnings on Tuesday, missing analysts’ estimates, with a 22% increase in net sales, but a 45% decrease in net income.

  • Amazon Launches Elastic Transcoder In Beta

    Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Elastic Transcoder for Amazon Web Services for transcoding video files between different digital media formats. You can use the service, which Amazon says is highly scalable, to convert video files from their source format into versions that will play on smartphones, tablets and PCs.

    “For example, customers can use Amazon Elastic Transcoder to convert their large high resolution ‘master’ video files into smaller versions that are optimized for playback on websites, mobile devices, connected TV’s and other video platforms,” the company says. “Amazon Elastic Transcoder removes the need to manage infrastructure and transcoding software, providing scalability and performance by leveraging AWS services. The service manages all aspects of the transcoding process transparently and automatically. It also supports pre-defined transcoding presets that make it easy to transcode video for smartphones, tablets, web browsers and other devices. With Amazon Elastic Transcoder, customers can create enterprise, training, user-generated, broadcast, or other video content for their applications or websites.”

    On the product page, Amazon says:

    Amazon Elastic Transcoder manages all aspects of the transcoding process for you transparently and automatically. There’s no need to administer software, scale hardware, tune performance, or otherwise manage transcoding infrastructure. You simply create a transcoding “job” specifying the location of your source video and how you want it transcoded. Amazon Elastic Transcoder also provides transcoding presets for popular output formats, which means that you don’t need to guess about which settings work best on particular devices. All these features are available via service APIs and the AWS Management Console.

    Amazon Elastic Transcoder explained

    There are no contracts or monthly commitments to use the service. You pay based on the minutes you need to transcode and the resolution of the content.

    Check out Elastic Transcoder here.

  • Amazon Net Income Down 45% Year-Over-Year

    Amazon Net Income Down 45% Year-Over-Year

    Amazon announced its Q4 earnings today, which included a 22% increase in net sales, but a 45% decrease in net income, year-over-year for the quarter. The company’s numbers disappointed Wall Street analysts.

    CEO Jeff Bezos said, “We’re now seeing the transition we’ve been expecting. After 5 years, eBooks is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast – up approximately 70% last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just 5%. We’re excited and very grateful to our customers for their response to Kindle and our ever expanding ecosystem and selection.”

    The repot also includes full-year numbers, including a 27% net sales increase, a 22% operating income decrease, and a $39 million net loss (compared to a $631 million net income the previous year.

    Here’s the release in its entirety (slightly edited for formatting):

    SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012.

    “We’re now seeing the transition we’ve been expecting”

    Operating cash flow increased 7% to $4.18 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $3.90 billion for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2011. Free cash flow decreased 81% to $395 million for the trailing twelve months, compared with $2.09 billion for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2011. Free cash flow for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2012 includes fourth quarter cash outflows for purchases of corporate office space and property in Seattle, Washington, of $1.4 billion.

    Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards totaled 470 million on December 31, 2012, compared with 468 million one year ago.

    Net sales increased 22% to $21.27 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $17.43 billion in fourth quarter 2011. Excluding the $178 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales grew 23% compared with fourth quarter 2011.

    Operating income increased 56% to $405 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $260 million in fourth quarter 2011. The favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter on operating income was $2 million.

    Net income decreased 45% to $97 million in the fourth quarter, or $0.21 per diluted share, compared with $177 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2011.

    “We’re now seeing the transition we’ve been expecting,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “After 5 years, eBooks is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast – up approximately 70% last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just 5%. We’re excited and very grateful to our customers for their response to Kindle and our ever expanding ecosystem and selection.”

    Full Year 2012

    Net sales increased 27% to $61.09 billion, compared with $48.08 billion in 2011. Excluding the $854 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year, net sales grew 29% compared with 2011.

    Operating income decreased 22% to $676 million, compared with $862 million in 2011. The unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year on operating income was $14 million.

    Net loss was $39 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, compared with net income of $631 million, or $1.37 per diluted share, in 2011.

    Highlights

    • For the second year in a row, Amazon’s tablet was the most popular item for customers – Kindle Fire HD continued its run as the #1 best-selling, most gifted, and most wished for product across the millions of items available on Amazon worldwide. At year-end, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle held the top four spots on the Amazon worldwide best seller charts since launch.
    • Amazon announced the launch of AutoRip, a new service that gives customers free MP3 versions of CDs they purchase from Amazon. Additionally, customers who have purchased AutoRip CDs at any time since Amazon first opened its Music Store in 1998 will find MP3 versions of those albums in their Cloud Player libraries – also automatically and for free.
    • Amazon introduced Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, bringing together for the first time all of the types of content kids and parents love – books, games, educational apps, movies and TV shows – into one simple, unlimited, easy-to-use service for kids ages 3-8.
    • Amazon’s digital media selection has grown to over 23 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, and popular apps and games in 2012, an increase from 19 million at year-end 2011.
    • Amazon.com announced new licensing agreements with Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, and A+E Networks, for popular television series including Falling SkiesThe CloserPawn StarsStorage Wars, and Dance Moms, expanding its catalog of title offerings for Prime Instant Video to more than 36,000 movies and television episodes.
    • Amazon launched Kindle Stores for Brazil, Canada, China, and Japan, with a large selection of the most popular books, including thousands of local-language books.
    • Amazon announced that 23 KDP authors each sold over 250,000 copies of their books in 2012, and that over 500 KDP Select books have reached the top 100 Kindle best seller lists around the world.
    • Amazon announced that for the eighth consecutive year, the company ranks #1 in customer satisfaction during the holiday shopping season according to the ForeSee annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction Index. ForeSee surveyed over 24,000 customers between Thanksgiving and Christmas, asking them to rate their satisfaction with the top 100 retailers. For the second year in a row, Amazon’s score of 88 is the highest ever attained by any retailer in the study.
    • Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the launch of its newest Asia Pacific Region in Sydney, Australia, now available for multiple services including Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), and Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS). Sydney joins Singapore and Tokyo as the third Region in Asia Pacific and the ninth Region worldwide.
    • AWS announced that SAP Business Suite is now certified to run on the AWS cloud platform. Enterprises running SAP Business Suite can now leverage the on-demand, pay as you go AWS platform to support thousands of concurrent users in production without making costly capital expenditures for their underlying infrastructure. AWS also announced that SAP HANA, SAP’s in-memory database and platform, is certified to run on AWS and is available for purchase via AWS Marketplace.
    • AWS continued its rapid pace of innovation by launching 159 new services and features in 2012. This is nearly double the services and features launched in 2011.
    • AWS has lowered prices 24 times since it launched in 2006, including 10 price reductions in 2012.

    Financial Guidance

    The following forward-looking statements reflect Amazon.com’s expectations as of January 29, 2013. Our results are inherently unpredictable and may be materially affected by many factors, such as fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, changes in global economic conditions and consumer spending, world events, the rate of growth of the Internet and online commerce and the various factors detailed below.

    First Quarter 2013 Guidance

    • Net sales are expected to be between $15.0 billion and $16.6 billion, or to grow between 14% and 26% compared with first quarter 2012.
    • Operating income (loss) is expected to be between $(285) million and $65 million, compared to $192 million in the prior year period.
    • This guidance includes approximately $285 million for stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets, and it assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions or investments are concluded and that there are no further revisions to stock-based compensation estimates.

    A conference call will be webcast live today at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET, and will be available for at least three months at www.amazon.com/ir. This call will contain forward-looking statements and other material information regarding the Company’s financial and operating results.

    These forward-looking statements are inherently difficult to predict. Actual results could differ materially for a variety of reasons, including, in addition to the factors discussed above, the amount that Amazon.com invests in new business opportunities and the timing of those investments, the mix of products sold to customers, the mix of net sales derived from products as compared with services, the extent to which we owe income taxes, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, international growth and expansion, the outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, risks of inventory management, seasonality, the degree to which the Company enters into, maintains and develops commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, and risks of fulfillment throughput and productivity. Other risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to new products, services and technologies, system interruptions, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. In addition, the current global economic climate amplifies many of these risks. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

    Our investor relations website is www.amazon.com/ir and we encourage investors to use it as a way of easily finding information about us. We promptly make available on this website, free of charge, the reports that we file or furnish with the SEC, corporate governance information (including our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics), and select press releases and social media postings.

    About Amazon.com

    Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support, dual-antennas and MIMO for faster streaming and downloads, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7” and 8.9”. The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

    Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, … As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
    (in millions)
    Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
    December 31, December 31,
    2012 2011 2012 2011
    (unaudited)
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 2,980 $ 2,823 $ 5,269 $ 3,777
    OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
    Net income (loss) 97 177 (39 ) 631
    Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:
    Depreciation of property and equipment, including internal-use software and website development, and other amortization 662 359 2,159 1,083
    Stock-based compensation 235 159 833 557
    Other operating expense (income), net 36 43 154 154
    Losses (gains) on sales of marketable securities, net (1 ) (9 ) (4 )
    Other expense (income), net 100 (16 ) 253 (56 )
    Deferred income taxes (148 ) 67 (265 ) 136
    Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation (239 ) (1 ) (429 ) (62 )
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
    Inventories (974 ) (1,260 ) (999 ) (1,777 )
    Accounts receivable, net and other (1,024 ) (1,077 ) (861 ) (866 )
    Accounts payable 4,926 4,684 2,070 2,997
    Accrued expenses and other 1,412 1,076 1,038 1,067
    Additions to unearned revenue 545 358 1,796 1,064
    Amortization of previously unearned revenue (546 ) (300 ) (1,521 ) (1,021 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 5,081 4,269 4,180 3,903
    INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
    Purchases of property and equipment, including internal-use software and website development (2,025 ) (550 ) (3,785 ) (1,811 )
    Acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and other (35 ) (49 ) (745 ) (705 )
    Sales and maturities of marketable securities and other investments 506 912 4,237 6,843
    Purchases of marketable securities and other investments (1,528 ) (1,782 ) (3,302 ) (6,257 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (3,082 ) (1,469 ) (3,595 ) (1,930 )
    FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
    Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation 239 1 429 62
    Common stock repurchased (277 ) (960 ) (277 )
    Proceeds from long-term debt and other 3,083 47 3,378 177
    Repayments of long-term debt, capital lease, and finance lease obligations (156 ) (104 ) (588 ) (444 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 3,166 (333 ) 2,259 (482 )
    Foreign-currency effect on cash and cash equivalents (61 ) (21 ) (29 ) 1
    Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 5,104 2,446 2,815 1,492
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD $ 8,084 $ 5,269 $ 8,084 $ 5,269
    SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
    Cash paid for interest on long-term debt $ 10 $ 4 $ 31 $ 14
    Cash paid for income taxes (net of refunds) 52 15 112 33
    Property and equipment acquired under capital leases 239 187 802 753
    Property and equipment acquired, net, under build-to-suit leases (17 ) 39 29 259
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (in millions, except per share data)
    Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
    December 31, December 31,
    2012 2011 2012 2011
    (unaudited)
    Net product sales (1) $ 18,147 $ 15,309 $ 51,733 $ 42,000
    Net services sales (2) 3,121 2,122 9,360 6,077
    Net sales 21,268 17,431 61,093 48,077
    Operating expenses (3):
    Cost of sales 16,136 13,830 45,971 37,288
    Fulfillment 2,258 1,659 6,419 4,576
    Marketing 851 593 2,408 1,630
    Technology and content 1,345 862 4,564 2,909
    General and administrative 235 184 896 658
    Other operating expense (income), net 38 43 159 154
    Total operating expenses 20,863 17,171 60,417 47,215
    Income from operations 405 260 676 862
    Interest income 9 14 40 61
    Interest expense (28 ) (20 ) (92 ) (65 )
    Other income (expense), net (49 ) 19 (80 ) 76
    Total non-operating income (expense) (68 ) 13 (132 ) 72
    Income before income taxes 337 273 544 934
    Provision for income taxes (194 ) (86 ) (428 ) (291 )
    Equity-method investment activity, net of tax (46 ) (10 ) (155 ) (12 )
    Net income (loss) $ 97 $ 177 $ (39 ) $ 631
    Basic earnings per share $ 0.21 $ 0.39 $ (0.09 ) $ 1.39
    Diluted earnings per share $ 0.21 $ 0.38 $ (0.09 ) $ 1.37
    Weighted average shares used in computation of earnings per share:
    Basic 454 455 453 453
    Diluted 461 462 453 461
    (1) Represents revenue from the sale of products and related shipping fees and digital content where we are the seller of record.
    (2) Represents third-party seller fees earned (including commissions) and related shipping fees, digital content subscriptions, and non-retail activities.
    (3) Includes stock-based compensation as follows:
    Fulfillment $ 62 $ 42 $ 212 $ 133
    Marketing 18 12 61 39
    Technology and content 124 80 434 292
    General and administrative 31 25 126 93
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
    (in millions)
    Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
    December 31, December 31,
    2012 2011 2012 2011
    (unaudited)
    Net income (loss) $ 97 $ 177 $ (39 ) $ 631
    Other comprehensive income (loss):
    Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax of $(12), $3, $(30), and $20 60 (77 ) 76 (123 )
    Net change in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities:
    Unrealized gains (losses), net of tax of $1, $0, $(3), and $1 (1 ) 1 8 (1 )
    Reclassification adjustment for losses (gains) included in net income, net of tax effect of $0, $0, $3, and $1 (1 ) (7 ) (2 )
    Net unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities (2 ) 1 1 (3 )
    Total other comprehensive income (loss) 58 (76 ) 77 (126 )
    Comprehensive income $ 155 $ 101 $ 38 $ 505
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Segment Information
    (in millions)
    Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
    December 31, December 31,
    2012 2011 2012 2011
    (unaudited)
    North America
    Net sales $ 12,175 $ 9,902 $ 34,813 $ 26,705
    Segment operating expenses (1) 11,567 9,617 33,221 25,772
    Segment operating income $ 608 $ 285 $ 1,592 $ 933
    International
    Net sales $ 9,093 $ 7,529 $ 26,280 $ 21,372
    Segment operating expenses (1) 9,023 7,352 26,204 20,732
    Segment operating income $ 70 $ 177 $ 76 $ 640
    Consolidated
    Net sales $ 21,268 $ 17,431 $ 61,093 $ 48,077
    Segment operating expenses (1) 20,590 16,969 59,425 46,504
    Segment operating income 678 462 1,668 1,573
    Stock-based compensation (235 ) (159 ) (833 ) (557 )
    Other operating income (expense), net (38 ) (43 ) (159 ) (154 )
    Income from operations 405 260 676 862
    Total non-operating income (expense) (68 ) 13 (132 ) 72
    Provision for income taxes (194 ) (86 ) (428 ) (291 )
    Equity-method investment activity, net of tax (46 ) (10 ) (155 ) (12 )
    Net income (loss) $ 97 $ 177 $ (39 ) $ 631
    Segment Highlights:
    Y/Y net sales growth:
    North America 23 % 37 % 30 % 43 %
    International 21 31 23 38
    Consolidated 22 35 27 41
    Y/Y segment operating income growth (decline):
    North America 114 % (4 ) % 71 % (2 ) %
    International (61 ) (46 ) (88 ) (35 )
    Consolidated 47 (26 ) 6 (19 )
    Net sales mix:
    North America 57 % 57 % 57 % 56 %
    International 43 43 43 44
    100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %
    (1) Represents operating expenses, excluding stock-based compensation and “Other operating expense (income), net,” which are not allocated to segments.
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Supplemental Net Sales Information
    (in millions)
    Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
    December 31, December 31,
    2012 2011 2012 2011
    (unaudited)
    North America
    Media $ 2,903 $ 2,562 $ 9,189 $ 7,959
    Electronics and other general merchandise 8,503 6,881 23,273 17,315
    Other (1) 769 459 2,351 1,431
    Total North America $ 12,175 $ 9,902 $ 34,813 $ 26,705
    International
    Media $ 3,611 $ 3,447 $ 10,753 $ 9,820
    Electronics and other general merchandise 5,431 4,032 15,355 11,397
    Other (1) 51 50 172 155
    Total International $ 9,093 $ 7,529 $ 26,280 $ 21,372
    Consolidated
    Media $ 6,514 $ 6,009 $ 19,942 $ 17,779
    Electronics and other general merchandise 13,934 10,913 38,628 28,712
    Other (1) 820 509 2,523 1,586
    Total Consolidated $ 21,268 $ 17,431 $ 61,093 $ 48,077
    Y/Y Net Sales Growth:
    North America:
    Media 13 % 8 % 15 % 16 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 24 51 34 57
    Other 68 62 64 73
    Total North America 23 37 30 43
    International:
    Media 5 % 20 % 9 % 23 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 35 42 35 55
    Other 4 32 11 24
    Total International 21 31 23 38
    Consolidated:
    Media 8 % 15 % 12 % 19 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 28 48 35 56
    Other 61 58 59 66
    Total Consolidated 22 35 27 41
    Y/Y Net Sales Growth Excluding Effect of Exchange Rates:
    International:
    Media 7 % 18 % 12 % 16 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 37 41 40 47
    Other 5 31 15 18
    Total International 23 29 27 31
    Consolidated:
    Media 10 % 14 % 14 % 16 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 29 47 36 53
    Other 61 58 59 66
    Total Consolidated 23 34 29 37
    Consolidated Net Sales Mix:
    Media 31 % 34 % 33 % 37 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 65 63 63 60
    Other 4 3 4 3
    100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %
    (1) Includes sales from non-retail activities, such as AWS in the North America segment, advertising services, and our co-branded credit card agreements in both segments.
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (in millions, except per share data)
    December 31, December 31,
    2012 2011
    ASSETS
    Current assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 8,084 $ 5,269
    Marketable securities 3,364 4,307
    Inventories 6,031 4,992
    Accounts receivable, net and other 3,364 2,571
    Deferred tax assets 453 351
    Total current assets 21,296 17,490
    Property and equipment, net 7,060 4,417
    Deferred tax assets 123 28
    Goodwill 2,552 1,955
    Other assets 1,524 1,388
    Total assets $ 32,555 $ 25,278
    LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
    Current liabilities:
    Accounts payable $ 13,318 $ 11,145
    Accrued expenses and other 5,684 3,751
    Total current liabilities 19,002 14,896
    Long-term debt 3,084 255
    Other long-term liabilities 2,277 2,370
    Commitments and contingencies
    Stockholders’ equity:
    Preferred stock, $0.01 par value:
    Authorized shares — 500
    Issued and outstanding shares — none
    Common stock, $0.01 par value:
    Authorized shares — 5,000
    Issued shares — 478 and 473
    Outstanding shares — 454 and 455 5 5
    Treasury stock, at cost (1,837 ) (877 )
    Additional paid-in capital 8,347 6,990
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss (239 ) (316 )
    Retained earnings 1,916 1,955
    Total stockholders’ equity 8,192 7,757
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 32,555 $ 25,278
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Supplemental Financial Information and Business Metrics
    (in millions, except per share data)
    (unaudited)
    Y/Y %
    Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Change
    Cash Flows and Shares
    Operating cash flow — trailing twelve months (TTM) $ 3,903 $ 3,051 $ 3,222 $ 3,368 $ 4,180 7 %
    Purchases of property and equipment (incl. internal-use software & website development) — TTM $ 1,811 $ 1,899 $ 2,123 $ 2,310 $ 3,785 109 %
    Free cash flow (operating cash flow less purchases of property and equipment) — TTM $ 2,092 $ 1,152 $ 1,099 $ 1,058 $ 395 (81 %)
    Free cash flow — TTM Y/Y growth (decline) (17 %) (39 %) (40 %) (31 %) (81 %) N/A
    Invested capital (1) $ 9,680 $ 10,006 $ 10,250 $ 10,392 $ 11,181 16 %
    Return on invested capital (2) 22 % 12 % 11 % 10 % 4 % N/A
    Common shares and stock-based awards outstanding 468 464 468 469 470 0 %
    Common shares outstanding 455 450 452 453 454 0 %
    Stock-based awards outstanding 14 13 16 16 16 17 %
    Stock-based awards outstanding — % of common shares outstanding 3.0 % 2.9 % 3.6 % 3.6 % 3.5 % N/A
    Results of Operations
    Worldwide (WW) net sales $ 17,431 $ 13,185 $ 12,834 $ 13,806 $ 21,268 22 %
    WW net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 34 % 34 % 32 % 30 % 23 % N/A
    WW net sales — TTM $ 48,077 $ 51,404 $ 54,325 $ 57,256 $ 61,093 27 %
    WW net sales — TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 37 % 37 % 35 % 33 % 29 % N/A
    Operating income (loss) $ 260 $ 192 $ 107 $ (28 ) $ 405 56 %
    Operating income — Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (48 %) (38 %) (34 %) (137 %) 59 % N/A
    Operating margin — % of WW net sales 1.5 % 1.5 % 0.8 % (0.2 %) 1.9 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 862 $ 732 $ 637 $ 531 $ 676 (22 %)
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (44 %) (50 %) (50 %) (48 %) (15 %) N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of WW net sales 1.8 % 1.4 % 1.2 % 0.9 % 1.1 % N/A
    Net income (loss) $ 177 $ 130 $ 7 $ (274 ) $ 97 (45 %)
    Net income (loss) per diluted share $ 0.38 $ 0.28 $ 0.01 $ (0.60 ) $ 0.21 (45 %)
    Net income (loss) — TTM $ 631 $ 561 $ 377 $ 40 $ (39 ) (106 %)
    Net income (loss) per diluted share — TTM $ 1.37 $ 1.22 $ 0.82 $ 0.09 $ (0.09 ) (106 %)
    Segments
    North America Segment:
    Net sales $ 9,902 $ 7,427 $ 7,326 $ 7,884 $ 12,175 23 %
    Net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 37 % 36 % 36 % 33 % 23 % N/A
    Net sales — TTM $ 26,705 $ 28,667 $ 30,587 $ 32,540 $ 34,813 30 %
    Operating income $ 285 $ 349 $ 344 $ 291 $ 608 114 %
    Operating margin — % of North America net sales 2.9 % 4.7 % 4.7 % 3.7 % 5.0 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 933 $ 991 $ 1,120 $ 1,268 $ 1,592 71 %
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (2 %) 2 % 14 % 34 % 71 % N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of North America net sales 3.5 % 3.5 % 3.7 % 3.9 % 4.6 % N/A
    International Segment:
    Net sales $ 7,529 $ 5,758 $ 5,508 $ 5,922 $ 9,093 21 %
    Net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 29 % 32 % 28 % 27 % 23 % N/A
    Net sales — TTM $ 21,372 $ 22,737 $ 23,738 $ 24,716 $ 26,280 23 %
    Net sales — TTM % of WW net sales 44 % 44 % 44 % 43 % 43 % N/A
    Operating income (loss) $ 177 $ 49 $ 16 $ (59 ) $ 70 (61 %)
    Operating margin — % of International net sales 2.4 % 0.9 % 0.3 % (1.0 %) 0.8 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 640 $ 515 $ 359 $ 183 $ 76 (88 %)
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (41 %) (49 %) (57 %) (68 %) (77 %) N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of International net sales 3.0 % 2.3 % 1.5 % 0.7 % 0.3 % N/A
    Consolidated Segments:
    Operating expenses (3) $ 16,969 $ 12,787 $ 12,474 $ 13,574 $ 20,590 21 %
    Operating expenses — TTM (3) $ 46,504 $ 49,899 $ 52,846 $ 55,805 $ 59,425 28 %
    Operating income $ 462 $ 398 $ 360 $ 232 $ 678 47 %
    Operating margin — % of Consolidated sales 2.7 % 3.0 % 2.8 % 1.7 % 3.2 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 1,573 $ 1,505 $ 1,480 $ 1,451 $ 1,668 6 %
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (21 %) (22 %) (21 %) (15 %) 7 % N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of Consolidated net sales 3.3 % 2.9 % 2.7 % 2.5 % 2.7 % N/A
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Supplemental Financial Information and Business Metrics
    (in millions, except inventory turnover, accounts payable days and employee data)
    (unaudited)
    Y/Y %
    Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Change
    Supplemental
    Supplemental North America Segment Net Sales:
    Media $ 2,562 $ 2,197 $ 1,874 $ 2,215 $ 2,903 13 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 8 % 17 % 18 % 15 % 13 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 7,959 $ 8,270 $ 8,559 $ 8,847 $ 9,189 15 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 6,881 $ 4,772 $ 4,937 $ 5,061 $ 8,503 24 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 51 % 44 % 41 % 39 % 24 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 17,315 $ 18,784 $ 20,226 $ 21,652 $ 23,273 34 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of North America net sales 65 % 66 % 66 % 67 % 67 % N/A
    Other $ 459 $ 458 $ 515 $ 608 $ 769 68 %
    Other — TTM $ 1,431 $ 1,613 $ 1,802 $ 2,041 $ 2,351 64 %
    Supplemental International Segment Net Sales:
    Media $ 3,447 $ 2,513 $ 2,245 $ 2,385 $ 3,611 5 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 18 % 22 % 12 % 12 % 7 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 9,820 $ 10,261 $ 10,431 $ 10,590 $ 10,753 9 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 4,032 $ 3,203 $ 3,224 $ 3,497 $ 5,431 35 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 41 % 42 % 42 % 39 % 37 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 11,397 $ 12,314 $ 13,139 $ 13,956 $ 15,355 35 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of International net sales 53 % 54 % 55 % 56 % 58 % N/A
    Other $ 50 $ 42 $ 39 $ 40 $ 51 4 %
    Other — TTM $ 155 $ 162 $ 168 $ 170 $ 172 11 %
    Supplemental Worldwide Net Sales:
    Media $ 6,009 $ 4,710 $ 4,119 $ 4,600 $ 6,514 8 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 14 % 19 % 15 % 14 % 10 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 17,779 $ 18,531 $ 18,990 $ 19,437 $ 19,942 12 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 10,913 $ 7,975 $ 8,161 $ 8,558 $ 13,934 28 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 47 % 43 % 42 % 39 % 29 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 28,712 $ 31,098 $ 33,365 $ 35,608 $ 38,628 35 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of WW net sales 60 % 60 % 61 % 62 % 63 % N/A
    Other $ 509 $ 500 $ 554 $ 648 $ 820 61 %
    Other — TTM $ 1,586 $ 1,775 $ 1,970 $ 2,211 $ 2,523 59 %
    Balance Sheet
    Cash and marketable securities $ 9,576 $ 5,715 $ 4,970 $ 5,248 $ 11,448 20 %
    Inventory, net — ending $ 4,992 $ 4,255 $ 4,380 $ 5,065 $ 6,031 21 %
    Inventory turnover, average — TTM 10.3 10.4 10.1 9.7 9.3 (10 %)
    Fixed assets, net $ 4,417 $ 4,653 $ 5,097 $ 5,662 $ 7,060 60 %
    Accounts payable — ending $ 11,145 $ 6,886 $ 7,072 $ 8,369 $ 13,318 20 %
    Accounts payable days — ending 74 62 68 75 76 2 %
    Other
    WW shipping revenue $ 531 $ 461 $ 469 $ 517 $ 832 57 %
    WW shipping costs $ 1,466 $ 1,129 $ 1,054 $ 1,153 $ 1,798 23 %
    WW net shipping costs $ 935 $ 668 $ 585 $ 636 $ 966 3 %
    WW net shipping costs — % of WW net sales 5.4 % 5.1 % 4.6 % 4.6 % 4.5 % N/A
    Employees (full-time and part-time; excludes contractors & temporary personnel) 56,200 65,600 69,100 81,400 88,400 57 %
    (1) Average Total Assets minus Current Liabilities (excluding current portion of Long Term Debt) over five quarter ends.
    (2) TTM Free Cash Flow divided by Invested Capital.
    (3) Represents cost of sales, fulfillment, marketing, technology and content, and general and administrative operating expenses, excluding stock-based compensation.

    Amazon.com, Inc.

    Certain Definitions

    Customer Accounts

    • References to customers mean customer accounts, which are unique e-mail addresses, established either when a customer places an order or when a customer orders from other sellers on our websites. Customer accounts exclude certain customers, including customers associated with certain of our acquisitions, Amazon Payments customers, Amazon Web Services customers, and the customers of select companies with whom we have a technology alliance or marketing and promotional relationship. Customers are considered active when they have placed an order during the preceding twelve-month period.

    Seller Accounts

    • References to sellers means seller accounts, which are established when a seller receives an order from a customer account. Sellers are considered active when they have received an order from a customer during the preceding twelve-month period.

    Registered Developers

    • References to registered developers mean cumulative registered developer accounts, which are established when potential developers enroll with Amazon Web Services and receive a developer access key.

    Units

    • References to units mean physical and digital units sold (net of returns and cancellations) by us and sellers at Amazon domains worldwide – … – as well as Amazon-owned items sold through non-Amazon domains. Units sold are paid units and do not include units associated with certain acquisitions, rental businesses, web services or advertising businesses, or Amazon gift certificates.