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Tag: Kindle

  • Kindle Paperwhite Gets Goodreads, FreeTime Integration

    In September of this year, Amazon announced a new Kindle Paperwhite that boasted a better display and easier-to-read text. Now the retailer is delivering an update that will make its latest flagship eReader even more desirable to readers and parents alike.

    Amazon announced today that the new Kindle Paperwhite will be receiving Goodreads and Kindle FreeTime integration via an OTA update over the next few weeks. The Goodreads integration is one of Amazon’s first uses of the service since it purchased the book recommendation platform earlier this year. As for Kindle FreeTime, the feature was already available in Kindle Fire tablets so it only makes sense to see it show up on the Paperwhite as well.

    “The new Kindle Paperwhite is already the best e-reader in the world, and we’re excited to make it even better with new features we think readers will love,” said Peter Larsen, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “First, we’re combining the world’s largest e-reading community and the world’s largest community of book lovers with new Goodreads integration. Second, given the great customer response to our tablet version of Kindle FreeTime, we’re excited to extend this feature to Kindle Paperwhite, helping parents encourage their kids to read more.”

    With Goodreads integration, Amazon says you can expect the following on your Paperwhite following the update:

  • Share favorite passages with your Goodreads friends without leaving the book.
  • See what your friends are reading, read their reviews and discover new books to read.
  • When you finish a book, immediately rate it without putting down your Kindle.
  • Keep track of all your reading activity—update your “Currently Reading”, “Read”, and “Want to Read” shelves directly from your Kindle. Easily add your Amazon book purchases, print and digital, to your Goodreads account.
  • As for Kindle FreeTime, parents can now set reading goals for their children. For instance, you can set a goal for your child to read 30 pages a day. After completing the goal, the child will be rewarded an achievement to satiate their desire for instant gratification. Parents can also set milestones, like an achievement to be given when their child has read a combined 1,000 pages.

    If you don’t mind waiting, the above features will be delivered to Kindle Paperwhites via an OTA update in the coming weeks. If you can’t wait to get started on Goodreads, you can download the update today from Amazon’s Kindle software update site.

    [Image: Amazon]

  • Amazon Will Let You Personalize a Kindle Cover for No Additional Charge

    If your Kindle device is looking a bit…bland for your tastes, Amazon is now allowing you to spruce it up with a cool new cover.

    Not just any cover, but one that’s personalized with your own photos, if you’d like.

    Amazon has announced that if you purchase a cover or skin for your Kindle device, you can now put your own photos on it. Maybe your cute little dog, maybe your cute little kid. Maybe a picture from your last vacation – the sky is the limit.

    If you don’t have a cool image to offer up, Amazon is also opening up a library of hundreds of images, including some from movies, TV shows, National Geographic – as well as more generic patterns.

    The best thing about it is that it comes at no additional cost. As long as you pay for the cover, you can paste your own photo on it for free.

    “With this new service, we’re making it possible for customers to dream up virtually any design and seamlessly turn it into a Kindle cover – at no additional cost,” said Peter Larsen, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “We’ve also created designs exclusive to Amazon that work perfectly with our new Origami covers to give customers even more options. We’re excited to bring this all-new technology to Kindle accessories and we can’t wait to see what customers come up with.”

    Customization is available for Amazon Origami covers for the Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HDX, and Kindle Fire HDX 8.9.” Regular cover personalization is available for Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, Kindle Fire HD, and Kindle Touch.

    If you’re interested, the personalization portal is here.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Now Lets You Customize Your Kindle Accessories

    If you’re buying a Kindle Fire HDX for a family member this holiday season, you’re also probably buying a cover for the device. Now you can make your gift even more special by slapping your beautiful mug on the cover.

    Amazon announced today that consumers can now fully customize their Kindle accessories. In other words, you can take your own pictures, or a selection of designs from Amazon, and put them on your Kindle cover. The online retailer also offers a wide variety of covers featuring designs from comics, movies and TV shows, like Peanuts, Breaking Bad and Star Trek.

    “With this new service, we’re making it possible for customers to dream up virtually any design and seamlessly turn it into a Kindle cover—at no additional cost,” said Peter Larsen, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “We’ve also created designs exclusive to Amazon that work perfectly with our new Origami covers to give customers even more options. We’re excited to bring this all-new technology to Kindle accessories and we can’t wait to see what customers come up with.”

    If you just want a simple cover for your tablet, that will be $19.99 across all devices. If you’re looking into one of Amazon’s fancy Origami covers, you’re looking at a cost of $45 for the new Kindle Fire HD and $50 for the Kindle Fire HDX. Previous generations of Kindle Fire devices and the Kindle Paperwhite are also supported.

    You can begin making your own personalized Kindle covers at Amazon’s customization Web site.

    [Image: Amazon/Business Wire]

  • Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ Is Now Available

    In mid-October, Amazon unleashed the Kindle Fire HDX upon the world. The 7-inch tablet immediately became a critical and commercial darling thanks to its affordable price and superior specs. It’s now been a few weeks since its launch, and Amazon is letting its big brother have a chance in the spotlight.

    Amazon announced today that the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ is now available and shipping to all those who pre-ordered the device back in September. Much like the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ is a major improvement over its predecessor.

    “The 8.9” Fire HDX is startlingly light—at just 13.2 ounces, it’s the lightest large-screen tablet. This is combined with a 339 ppi, perfect-color HDX display, 3x the processing power, 2x the memory, 4x the graphics performance, and backed by Fire OS 3.0, with exclusive features like the revolutionary new Mayday button—and all of this is just $379, much less than you’d pay for a comparable tablet,” said Peter Larsen, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “This is the best tablet we’ve ever built, and we can’t wait to see what our customers think.”

    According to all the reviews that Amazon quotes in its press release, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ is the lightest and brightest large-screen tablet on the market. It’s even lighter than the iPad Air, and Dr. Raymond Soneira at DisplayMate Technologies says it’s the “best performing tablet display that [they] have ever tested.” According to the good doctor, it beat out the iPad Air in Brightness, Screen Reflectance, high ambient light contrast and Absolute Color Accuracy.

    Even if the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ is superior to the iPad Air, it won’t matter if Amazon can’t compete with iOS in software. That probably won’t be a problem, however, as Amazon has invested a lot into Kindle app development this past year in a bid to attract large and small developers to the platform. On that end, it seems to be working as the Kindle Fire sports most of the same apps that are on iOS, but with Kindle platform specific features, like Amazon Coins and Whispersync.

    If you’re looking to buy a Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ today, you’re out of luck for now. Much like the Kindle Fire HDX, the 8.9-inch model is backordered. The 16GB model will ship on November 15, the 32GB model will ship on November 20, and the 64GB model is set to ship on November 26.

    [Image: Amazon]

  • Amazon Says Thanks to the FAA with Kindle Sale

    In company-promotions-that-actually-feel-rather-joyous news, Amazon is celebrating the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to jump into the 20th century by offering a pretty significant discount on a few Kindle devices.

    Last week, the FAA made the friendly skies a whole lot friendlier by finally lightening up their regulations on the use of personal electronic devices on all stages of flights. Starting soon, you won’t have to power down your iPhones, e-readers, and tablets during takeoff and landing (making calls and texts will still be prohibited). The FAA is working with U.S.-based airlines to get the new rules implemented, and some airlines like Delta and JetBlue have already made the switch.

    The FAA hopes that by the end of the year, you’ll never have to be scolded by a flight attendant for playing Angry Birds ever again.

    Amazon, who says they’ve been lobbying for this rule change for years, is saying thanks to the FAA with a short Kindle promotion.

    With the “ThanksFAA” code, you can now receive 15% off a Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HDX 7”, and the $69 Kindle.

    “We’ve been fighting for our customers on this issue for years, and we are thrilled by the FAA’s recent decision—this is a big win for customers. Delta and JetBlue have already started flights with the new rules – we’re excited to see which airlines are next,” says Amazon VP Drew Herdener. “To say thank you, for one day only we’re offering 15% off Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HDX 7”, and the $69 Kindle – happy flying!”

    It’s one day only – so act fast if you’re in the need of a new Kindle. A $59 basic Kindle sounds like a pretty good deal – I mean, you’d pay close to that for an actual book at the airport, right? And the price of the Kindle Fire HDX 7” is actually under $200 now.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Read an E-book a Month Early with Amazon’s New Kindle First Program

    In its attempt to boost the brand value of the Kindle (and sweeten the Amazon Prime deal as well), Amazon has just announced a new initiative called Kindle First, which will give readers early access to a selection of e-books every month.

    The way it works is pretty simple. Every month, Amazon Publishing editors will choose a handful of books, sourced from Kindle’s most-popular categories. Kindle First will allows Kindle users to pick one of these books and read them weeks before their official release date.

    It will cost regular Kindle users $1.99 – but it will be free to Amazon Prime members. Another (albeit small) reason to pony up for Amazon Prime, it seems.

    “Customers can receive a monthly email alerting them of new Kindle First selections. Signup is free and there is no purchase obligation. Customers can visit the Kindle store on amazon.com or their Kindle device to select their book. All Kindle First books become part of your permanent Kindle library and can be read on any K,” says Amazon.

    The picks for November are:

    Things We Set on Fire, Deborah Reed
    We Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor and Sue Carswell
    No Place for a Dame, Connie Brockway
    Silent Echo, J.R. Rain

    Amazon’s next-gen Kindle Fire HDX started shipping a couple of weeks ago, and two months ago the company announced a new Kindle Paperwhite.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Appstore Is Giving Away 6 Apps For Free Today

    One of the best parts about the Amazon Appstore is its Free App of the Day program. Every day of the year, Amazon takes a popular app that regularly costs anywhere from $.99 to $5 and offers it for free to anybody with a Kindle Fire or Android device. Now Amazon is upping the ante for a special promotion today.

    As part of its Free App of the Day program, Amazon has decided to make six apps completely free. These apps, called “Kindle Hits,” presumably represent what Amazon sees as the best performing Kindle apps of the past year.

    Here are the free games included as part of the promotion:

  • Angry Birds Star Wars Premium HD
  • Splashtop Whiteboard
  • Diner Dash Deluxe
  • Fishdom Premium
  • Toca Builders
  • The Room
  • All of the above apps are free for the remainder of today. If that’s not a good enough deal, Amazon will be sweetening it with the addition of 20 free Amazon Coins for each of the above apps that you download. These coins can be used in place of money on in-app purchases within any Amazon Appstore game.

    Oh, and besides the above free apps, the Amazon Appstore is also offering Autodesk Sketchbook Mobile as part of its regular Free App of the Day promotion. Unlike the above apps, this isn’t a game, but rather an app similar to Adobe Illustrator. You can use your Android device to draw whatever you like and even import it to your PC through a convenient email feature.

    [Image: Amazon Appstore]

  • Kindle Fire HDX Ships Today, 16/32GB Models Already Backordered

    Late last month, Amazon announced its next generation of Kindle Fire tablets – the Kindle Fire HDX. Much like the new Nexus 7, the new Kindle Fire HDX sports a higher resolution than its predecessor and some blazing fast specs. Now it’s available to order, but you might have to wait a bit to get yours.

    Amazon announced that the Kindle Fire HDX is now shipping to those who preordered the tablet. You can also purchase the tablet now, but the 16GB and 32GB variants are backordered until October 25. It’s not that long of a wait, but it still speaks volumes of the Kindle Fire’s popularity.

    “With a beautiful 323 ppi perfect-color HDX display, 3x the processing power, 2x the memory, 4x the graphics performance, and Fire OS 3.0, we think customers are going to love the new Kindle Fire HDX,” said Peter Larsen, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “We can’t wait to get this tablet into our customers’ hands.”

    So, what makes the Kindle Fire HDX so special compared to other similar tablets on the market? For one, it will probably be the most powerful 7-inch tablet for the foreseeable future. Whereas Google opted to use the older Snapdragon S4 Pro in its new Nexus 7, Amazon equipped its tablet with the brand new Snapdragon 800 CPU.

    Outside of specs, the Kindle Fire HDX also has a leg up on the competition with its new Mayday button. When pressed, an Amazon tech support technician will pop up on your screen and walk you through whatever problem you may be facing. They can even take limited control of your tablet to show you exactly where any function or app may be. The service is available 24/7, 365 days a year and it’s absolutely free.

    As I mentioned above, the Kindle Fire HDX is currently backordered until October 25, but that only applies to the 16 and 32GB models. The 64GB model, which retails for $309, is still available and even eligible for Saturday delivery if you order within the next 8 hours.

    Of course, the Kindle Fire HDX isn’t the only new tablet from Amazon this year. The retailer will also be releasing the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ on November 7. The 16GB model will retail for $379 whereas the 64GB model will retail for $479.

    [Image: Amazon]

  • That Amazon Phone Might Be Made By HTC [Rumor]

    For the past two years, one of the most consistent rumors in tech was that Amazon would launch a Kindle smartphone. Over those last two years, we’ve only ever heard more rumors as each suggested release date comes and goes. The latest rumor, however, may indicate that we’re finally getting somewhere.

    The Financial Times reports that HTC has partnered with Amazon to create a line of Kindle smartphones that would be solely available through Amazon’s online retail portal. The report doesn’t go into any detail, but it does say that we may see Amazon’s first foray into the smartphone market as early as next year.

    So, is this the real deal? Like most rumors, it’s hard to say at this point. I’m a firm believer in the Amazon smartphone, but it’s existence as nothing but a rumor over the last few years doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. It’s good news that Amazon may have finally found a hardware manufacturer partner, but that partner being HTC brings with its own set of worries.

    Earlier this month, HTC announced that it took its first ever quarterly loss to the tune of $119 million. Before that, there were already whispers that the company’s efforts to secure a third place position behind Apple and Samsung weren’t exactly panning out. It didn’t help matters when the company spent $12 million on a weird ad campaign starring Robert Downey Jr.

    Of course, the Amazon deal could also turn out to be incredibly profitable for HTC. The Kindle Fire has been the best selling item on Amazon for the past few years, and a high quality, yet cheap, Kindle smartphone could prove equally successful. After all, Amazon believes in selling its hardware at a loss and making the money back on sales through its physical and digital retail ecosystem. It remains to be seen if such a model would work on smartphones, but Amazon is the only company with the cojones to try.

    [Image: HTC/YouTube]
    [h/t: TechCrunch]

  • Amazon Upgrades Whispersync For Voice For Kindle Books, Expands Available Titles

    Amazon announced today that it has launched some upgrades to its Whispersync for Voice technology to make it easier for people reading Kindle books to switch between reading and listening to the Audible audiobook version on a smartphone or tablet.

    For one, they’ve doubled the number of titles that support the technology. They’ve also launched a couple of new features.

    Audible has a new “Matchmaker” feature, which will find titles in the Kindle user’s library that are Whispersync for Voice-enabled, and let users upgrade the books to have narration available with one click. They’ve also made some changes to the checkout process so the technology can be added to purchases with a click.

    There are now over 30,000 titles that are ready to take advantage of Whispersync for Voice. More are being added every day, according to Amazon.

    Audible founder and CEO Donald Katz said, “Whispersync for Voice customers continue to marvel at how this innovation has changed their lives. Some customers love the feature so much that they are now only buying books that are Whispersync for Voice-enabled. Whether commuting to work, driving to a soccer game, taking a road trip, exercising or making dinner, Whispersync for Voice allows people to continue enjoying books even when their eyes are busy, so a great story can continue throughout an active day. It truly is the future of reading.”

    “Whispersync for Voice was invented by Amazon and Audible as a way to insert the myriad intellectual and emotional benefits of books into all available moments of a busy life,” says Amazon, who acquired Audible back in 2008. “To switch back and forth between reading and listening, all you need is a smartphone or tablet. Next time you buy a Kindle book, simply follow the Whispersync for Voice prompt on the purchase page to add the narration and activate the pairing (when available), and your ebook and audiobook will be automatically synchronized. When you stop reading the ebook on your Kindle, you can switch to listening to the corresponding audiobook on your smartphone once you select the title in your library—and the audio will begin wherever you left off in the text.”

    The company points to a recent poll from SodaHead.com, which found that 83% said they wish they had more time to read.

    Image: Audible

  • Amazon’s Fire OS 3.0 ‘Mojito’ Comes With A Ton Of New Features, Major ‘Mayday’ Customer Support Feature

    Amazon has unveiled version 3.0 of its Android-based Fire OS, named “Mojito.” The announcement comes with that of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HD & Kindle Fire HDX tablets.

    New Amazon Tablets

    The OS starts with Android, but adds a number of its own features. It does include native Android app compatibility, so apps that work on Android should work on Fire OS with “little to no work”. It also supports HTML5 apps.

    It includes GameCircle and Whispersync for Games so users can sync their game progress across devices. It also includes In-App Purchasing and Mobile Associates so users can buy digital and physical items using their Amazon accounts.

    “Amazon Device Messaging gives customers a single messaging platform for all their apps built on Amazon Web Services, which developers can take advantage of to send notifications to Kindle Fire tablets,” Amazon says. “Amazon Coins offers every new Kindle Fire customer 500 coins ($5) of virtual currency to use for purchasing apps, games, or in-app items on Kindle Fire. Amazon Coins is an easy way for customers to spend money on developers’ apps and offers another opportunity to drive traffic and app downloads increasing monetization even further.”

    The new OS includes some accessibility tools like Screen Reader, Explore by Touch and Screen Magnifier, which can be enabled across most of its features.

    There are a number of cloud services and interface improvements that come with Mojito. The redesigned interface includes carousel and grid views, for example. Cloud Collections make apps, books, newspapers and magazines easier to find, according to Amazon. They’re automatically stored in the cloud, and Whispersync syncs them across devices and apps. There’s a 1-Tap Archive feature that identifies items that haven’t been used recently and lets you easily store them in the cloud to free up device space.

    The Kindle FreeTime feature lets parents whitelist movies, books, apps and games that are appropriate for their Kids, and there’s a new “For Kids” suggestion feature.

    There is OS-level sharing with Facebook and Twitter. Goodreads is built into the reading experience, and X-Ray for Movies and TV now shows the names of TV theme and movie soundtrack songs as they play. It also shows trivia and “goofs” while watching a movie or show (powered by IMDb). X-Ray has also expanded for music with synced lyrics. The Second Screen feature lets users “fling” content from their device to their TV.

    “Quiet Time, directly accessed from the quick settings menu, lets you mute all incoming notifications or calendar reminders. In addition, Quiet Time can be tied to a particular activity such as reading,” Amazon says. “Quick Switch uses a global swipe gesture from anywhere in the system to go between multiple apps, and unlike standard Android, works with individual content items like different textbooks without navigating home.”

    Amazon has made improvements to the download manager so that it adjusts the number of simultaneous downloads per devices to not impact performance. It also pauses downloads when you go to watch Amazon videos so it doesn’t affect video quality.

    Amazon has replaced the standard Android graphics with its own Graphics Direct Texture system designed to load higher-res images quickly. As a result things like the Carousel and media libraries can quickly and smoothly load large, detailed images.

    Mojito has also improved touch responsiveness, and Reading Mode has been optimized to give users 17 hours of battery life when reading.

    Amazon is really looking to break further into the enterprise with Mojito and the new devices. Here’s the feature list the company is touting as making the new tablets enterprise-ready:

    • Wi-Fi networks with WPA2 support for secure access to corporate apps, documents and resources like SharePoint.
    • Email that makes it even easier for business customers to set up their accounts, group conversations by subject, sync their email and more.
    • Print documents and emails directly from Kindle Fire to a wireless printer.
    • Built-in OfficeSuite to read documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
    • Native VPN client, for instant access to corporate networks while on the road or at home.
    • Secure hardware data encryption on Kindle Fire HDX.
    • Kerberos authentication for single sign-on and the ability to browse secure Intranet websites from the Silk browser on Kindle Fire.
    • Native SCEP (Simple Certificate Exchange Protocol) client to retrieve digital certificates for secure resources.
    • Kindle-specific device management APIs that integrate with existing mobile device management (MDM) systems to make it easy for IT departments to manage Kindle Fire. Kindle Fire supports a wide range of MDM solutions including Amazon’s Whispercast service as well as third-party vendors like AirWatch, Citrix, Fiberlink, Good Technology, and SOTI.

    “Kindle Fire is already the second most popular tablet at work in the U.S.,” said Raghu Murthi, Vice President of Enterprise and Education at Amazon. “As employees increasingly bring their own devices to work, the new Kindle Fire tablets can be easily integrated into the workplace with the new enterprise features, including encryption, secure Wi-Fi, a native VPN client, integration with leading MDM solutions, and Kerberos support for Intranet access.”

    There’s one feature of Mojito that Amazon is calling “revolutionary”. That would be the Mayday button. This provides user with free on-device 24×7 tech support. It’s built into the Quick Settings. It allows you to call upon an Amazon expert, who will appear on screen, and can help a user with any feature on the device, even by drawing on the screen.

    Mayday button

    If it’s as good as it sounds, this certainly takes customer service up a notch. Amazon says it has a response time “goal” of 15 seconds or less. You can see the advisor, but they can’t see you.

    Fire OS 3.0 is available only on the new Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HDX tablets, though some features will make their way to other devices in an update in November.

    Images: Amazon

  • Amazon Announces A New Kindle Paperwhite

    The Kindle Fire may be Amazon’s major focus these days, but the retailer hasn’t forgotten its incredibly successful line of e-readers. In fact, it announced a brand new Kindle last year with the Paperwhite, and the retailer decided today that it was in need of an upgrade.

    Amazon announced today a brand new Kindle Paperwhite featuring a number of upgrades from last year’s model. The original Paperwhite set itself apart with a better display and a built-in backlight that made reading for hours on end even easier than on previous models. Now the defining features of last year’s Paperwhite are being made even better.

    “Kindle is the best-selling e-reader in the world for six years running,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “No one is investing on behalf of readers or pushing the boundaries of hardware, software and content for readers like this team: the new Kindle Paperwhite has brand-new display technology, the next generation of our built-in light, a faster processor, plus all of the exclusive benefits of the Kindle ecosystem like Kindle MatchBook, Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, over 400,000 exclusive titles, Goodreads, Kindle Singles, Kindle Worlds, Kindle FreeTime, and much more.”

    According to Amazon, here’s all the new features coming along with the new Kindle Paperwhite:

  • New display technology with higher contrast—Kindle Paperwhite’s display is the most advanced e-reader display ever constructed. Higher contrast and better reflectivity means whites are whiter and blacks are blacker, so the pages are virtually indistinguishable from a physical book. You won’t find this level of contrast with any other e-reader display.
  • Next generation built-in light—Guides light toward the surface of the display so you can read comfortably without eyestrain.
  • New, 25% faster processor—Books open and pages turn faster for a seamless reading experience.
  • New touch technology—19% tighter touch grid makes Kindle Paperwhite respond even more accurately to the smallest touches.
  • New Kindle Page Flip—Skim page-by-page, scan by chapter, or skip to the end of your book, all without losing your place. For example, it’s now easy to quickly flip back and forth to that map of Beyond the Wall in A Dance With Dragons.
  • New Goodreads Integration—Combines the world’s largest e-reading community and the world’s largest community of book lovers. Join over 20 million other readers and see what your friends are reading, share highlights, and rate the books you read with Goodreads on Kindle, available exclusively from Amazon.
  • New Kindle FreeTime—Built-in parental controls have been extended to give parents a simple, engaging way to encourage kids to spend more time reading. Hand-select books for your kids to read, and hand out achievement badges when they hit reading milestones. A progress report keeps parents updated on total time spent reading, number of words looked up, badges earned and books finished.
  • New Vocabulary Builder—Compiles words you look up in the dictionary into an easy-to-access list. Use these lists to quiz yourself with flashcards and instantly see words in context.
  • New Smart Lookup—Integrates a full dictionary definition with other reference information about a word, character, topic or book via X-Ray and Wikipedia. For example, using an ordinary dictionary to look up “credit default swaps” in Michael Lewis’ The Big Short would give the individual definitions of “credit,” “default” and “swaps.” Smart Lookup recognizes this is an important topic and phrase in the book, and gives you the correct definition of “credit default swaps” via X-Ray.
  • New In-line Footnotes—With a single tap, read the complete text of each footnote in-line without changing the page or losing your place in the book.
  • New Kindle MatchBook—New benefit lets customers purchase Kindle editions of print books purchased from Amazon—past, present and future—for $2.99 or less.
  • All the above features will be available at launch, except for Goodreads and FreeTime integration. Both will be delivered via a free update at a later date.

    So, when will you be able to get your hands on the new Kindle Paperwhite? The Amazon pre-order page lists it as having a launch date of September 30, and it’s available for $119 if you’re fine with having ads displayed on the home screen when you’re not reading. For an extra $20, you can get a Kindle Paperwhite without the ads.

    [Image: Amazon]

  • Amazon’s Kindle MatchBook Is AutoRip For Books

    Early this year, Amazon announced a new service called AutoRip that would give customers the mp3 version of any physical album bought through the retailer. It was only a matter of time before a similar initiative came to its book selling services, and that time is now.

    Amazon announced today a new service called Kindle MatchBook that allows customers who buy a physical book through Amazon to receive the Kindle edition for free or for a reduced price. To be more specific, the Kindle Editions will run you either $2.99, $1.99 or $0.99. It’s also retroactive so any physical book you purchased from Amazon since 1995 will now be available to you in a cheap, digital format.

    “If you logged onto your CompuServe account during the Clinton administration and bought a book like Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus from Amazon, Kindle MatchBook now makes it possible for that purchase—18 years later—to be added to your Kindle library at a very low cost,” said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. “In addition to being a great new benefit for customers, this is an easy choice for publishers and authors who will now be able to earn more from each book they publish.”

    But wait, there’s a catch, isn’t there? Unfortunately, the world of book licensing is a depressing world filled with greedy publishers who would love to charge you the full price twice for both the physical and digital versions of a novel. Amazon hopes this service will change their tune, however, as the retailer is calling on authors and publishers to embrace MatchBook.

    “I love this idea. It’s simple, brilliant, and good for everybody,” said best-selling author Marcus Sakey. “I love to have print books on my shelf, but I love reading my Kindle on the go, and there are plenty of titles I’d like both ways. It’s ridiculous to ask readers to pay full retail twice for the same book.”

    Starting out, Amazon announced that some top notch authors will have their books included as part of MatchBook’s launch, including Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, Blake Couch, James Rollins and others. The retailer also notes that any book published through Amazon Publishing will be automatically enrolled in MatchBook.

    Kindle MatchBook will launch at some point in October. Until then, check out Amazon’s landing page for the service to see a small selection of the books that will be made available at launch.

    [Image: Amazon]

  • Amazon To Launch Three New Kindle Fires This Year [Rumor]

    It’s another year and that means another Kindle Fire. It doesn’t look like Amazon will be introducing any new models this year, but it will be substantially upgrading all three of its current models though.

    BGR reports that it has learned Amazon will be upgrading the displays on the Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9″. With this latest rumored upgrade, Amazon will finally have HD displays in all of its Kindle Fire models.

    First up is the current $159 Kindle Fire. Amazon released an improved version last year, but it still had a measly 1024×600 display resolution. The company will be fixing that this year by using a 7-inch 1,280×800 display – the same display resolution seen in last year’s Nexus 7. The tablet is also expected to remain the low cost option, but it remains to be seen if the price will remain at $159.

    Moving onto last year’s new models, the Kindle Fire HD will be received a pretty substantial upgrade. The current model only sports a display resolution of 1280×800, but the new one will reportedly have a 1920×1200 display resolution. It’s a solid resolution for a 7-inch tablet, and one that the new Nexus 7 will probably also sport.

    The Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ is geting the biggest upgrade as it’s moving from a 1920×1200 display resolution to a 2560×1600 resolution. At only 8.9-inches, Amazon’s Kindle Fire 8.9″ will be the smallest tablet to features such a large resolution. In fact, most current 10-inch tablets can’t match that display, with Google’s Nexus 10 being its only current contemporary.

    As for general design, the rumors state that the new Kindle Fires will feature a more “chiseled” design with sharp, instead of round, corners. The power and volume buttons have also been moved from the side to the top sloping back to avoid accidental button presses.

    So, when can we expect the new Kindle Fires to start hitting stores? It’s currently rumored that Amazon is pushing for a September launch. The original Kindle Fire was announced and launched in September of last year so it makes sense to look forward to a similar scenario this year.

    It should be noted that all of this is merely speculation for now, but it does seem highly plausible. We also might just hear something about the oft-rumored Kindle Phone this year, but that’s far less likely than the above rumors.

  • Amazon’s Fan Fiction Store Is Officially Open

    Amazon’s Fan Fiction Store Is Officially Open

    Remember when Amazon announced Kindle Worlds back in May? The service would allow writers to create and sell fan fiction based on a number of licensed properties, like Vampire Diaries. It’s an incredibly innovative approach to fan fiction, and now it’s available to all.

    Amazon announced today that the Kindle Worlds Store is open for business. The store launches with over 50 commissioned works written by already accomplished authors. Now the submission portal has been opened to all so they can submit their own fan fictions to the store.

    “Today, we launch the Kindle Worlds Store and the platform that will enable any writer to benefit from writing in one of the Worlds we’ve licensed,” said Philip Patrick, Director, Business Development and Publisher of Kindle Worlds. “We look forward to hearing feedback from readers and writers, and hope to learn and improve as time goes on.”

    First things first – this isn’t fanfiction.net. You can’t just go writing about any property that you want. You must operate within the franchises that Amazon has been able to license thus far. Thankfully, the retail giant has secured licenses for a number of popular franchises that pretty much beg for fan fiction:

  • Warner Bros. Television Group’s Alloy Entertainment division for its New York Times best-selling book series Gossip Girl, by Cecily von Ziegesar; Pretty Little Liars, by Sara Shepard; and The Vampire Diaries, by L.J. Smith
  • Valiant Entertainment for Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, Harbinger and Shadowman
  • Best-selling authors Hugh Howey for Silo Saga, Barry Eisler for his John Rain novels, Blake Crouch for his Wayward Pines Series, and the Foreworld Saga by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo and more
  • To publish stories in any of the above worlds, you’ll have to do the following:

  • Choose Your World: Choose a World to write in and read the content guidelines.
  • Sign Up and Submit: Sign in (or sign up) with your Amazon account and submit your work using our self-service submission platform.
  • Review and Publish: Amazon Publishing will review your submission for compliance with the stated guidelines and we’ll publish your work once approved. Each sale of the Work will result in a royalty to the author.
  • Promote and Track Your Work: Post publication, sign into Author Central to track progress on your work.
  • Amazon says that it’s currently working to secure more licenses across books, movies, TV shows and video games, but has nothing more to announce at the moment. Let’s just hope they can get the license to Jurassic Park. The potential for Ian Malcolm fan fiction is too large to ignore.

    You can get started on your officially licensed fan fiction journey here.

  • Amazon Brings The Kindle DX Back For An Encore Performance

    Last year, Amazon killed a number of its Kindle products in anticipation of the Kindle Fire HD launch. One of those killed products was the Kindle DX – a large-format text e-reader. Now it has appeared once again on Amazon’s storefront as mysteriously as it had disappeared all those months ago.

    The Digital Reader reports that the Kindle DX is available once again for its usual price of $299. For that price, you get a 9.7-inch e-reader that displays text in large-format fonts for easy reading. In fact, some of our readers lamented its original passing saying that the device was better than others at displaying PDFs and manuals.

    So, why is it back? That’s the funny thing – nobody knows. All Amazon is saying is that it’s “excited to offer customers this option.” Well, it’s obviously excited to make money, but why offer a device that it unceremoniously killed over six months ago? Was there unseen demand for the device in the time between its removal and its resurrection this week? It’s hard to say, and Amazon isn’t being exactly being helpful.

    With all this in mind, it’s probably best that you pick one up now if you really need a 9.7-inch e-reader. You never know when Amazon will just outright kill it again without any warning. For all we know, Amazon could introduce a 10-inch Kindle Fire HD and kill off the DX once and for all. Granted, that wouldn’t be such a bad trade-off. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD is already a pretty great tablet, and making it just a hair bigger sounds like natural progression to me.

    Oh, one more thing – the return of the Kindle DX was made possible by the sacrifice of another. The Verge is reporting that the Kindle Keyboard was killed around the same time that the DX was brought back. It’s a good thing the Kindle DX has a keyboard, right?

  • Kindle Worlds Will Pay You To Write Fan Fiction

    Fan Fiction is awesome, right? It’s a way for fans to better engage with their favorite brands, and some franchises actually gain new fans thanks to fan fiction. Amazon wants to capitalize on it while paying authors for their trouble.

    Amazon announced Kindle Worlds today – a new publishing platform that licenses popular series and then allows amateur authors to publish fan fiction based on those series. Right out of the gate, Amazon has secured the rights to Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and Vampire Diaries. I can already see the latter inspiring plenty of fan fiction.

    “At Kindle, we’re not only inventing on the hardware and software side of the business, we’re inventing new ways to create books,” said Philip Patrick, Director, Business Development and Publisher of Kindle Worlds. “Our goal with Kindle Worlds is to create a home for authors to build on the Worlds we license, and give readers more stories from the Worlds they enjoy. We look forward to announcing additional World licensing deals in the coming weeks.”

    So, how will the payment system work? Here’s how Amazon describes it:

    Amazon Publishing will pay royalties to both the rights holders of the Worlds and the author. The standard author’s royalty rate (for works of at least 10,000 words) will be 35% of net revenue. As with all titles from Amazon Publishing, Kindle Worlds will base net revenue off of sales price—rather than the lower, industry standard of wholesale price—and royalties will be paid monthly.

    In addition, with the launch of Kindle Worlds, Amazon Publishing will pilot an experimental new program for particularly short works—between 5,000 and 10,000 words. For these short stories—typically priced under one dollar—Amazon will pay the royalties for the World’s rights holder and pay authors a digital royalty of 20%.

    It’s not a bad deal for something that people generally write while expecting no monetary return. It might even be a great platform for an aspiring author to launch their own career. There’s numerous stories out there of fan fiction authors getting their big break after somebody discovered their work.

    Kindle Worlds will officially launch in June with over 50 commissioned works from famous authors. After that, anybody can submit their fan fictions to the Kindle Worlds publishing portal. To get a head start, head over to the official site to learn more.

  • Kindle For Android Gets Design Update

    Amazon has released a new update for its Kindle for Android app, which has tens of millions of users, according to the company.

    The update includes a new design and interface, and easy access to samples.

    “Customers have told us they love the UI of Kindle Fire and how easy it is to access and navigate their digital content,” a spokesperson for Amazon tells WebProNews “We’re extending this design to Kindle for Android by optimizing the Kindle Store for tablets, improving the library interface, redesigning the home screen, and simplifying navigation through the app.”

    “For customers who are new to Kindle or Kindle apps, we’re making samples of many of the best sellers even easier to find, to help them get started,” the spokesperson adds. “Customers will find the samples on the home screen of their Kindle app.”

    Kindle for Android

    The app gives users acccess to over 1.5 million books in the Kindle Store, including 300,000 exclusive titles.

    The update can be downloaded from the Amazon Appstore for Android or from Google Play.

  • Amazon Sales Up 22% To $16.07 Billion For Q1, Profit Down

    Amazon reported its Q1 earnings today with sales up 22% to $16.07 billion.

    Operating cash flow was up 39% year-over-year to $4.25 billion for the trailing twelve months. Free cash flow was down 85% to $177 million for the trailing twelve months. This includes purchases of corporate office space and property in Seattle. Operating income was down 6% to $181 million in the first quarter, compared with $192 million in first quarter of 2012. Net income decreased 37% to $82 million in the quarter.

    Amazon is excited about its original content business moving forward.

    CEO Jeff Bezos said, “Amazon Studios is working on a new way to greenlight TV shows. The pilots are out in the open where everyone can have a say. I have my personal picks and so do members of the Amazon Studios team, but the exciting thing about our approach is that our opinions don’t matter. Our customers will determine what goes into full-season production. We hope Amazon Originals can become yet another way for us to create value for Prime members.”

    There is also talk of a pending Amazon ad network that would take on the likes of Google and Facebook, not to mention set-top boxes.

    Stock is up in after hours trading.

    Here’s the release in its entirety:

    SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apr. 25, 2013– Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2013.

    Operating cash flow increased 39% to $4.25 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $3.05 billion for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2012. Free cash flow decreased 85% to $177 million for the trailing twelve months, compared with $1.15 billion for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2012. Free cash flow for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2013includes fourth quarter 2012 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 471 million on March 31, 2013, compared with 464 million one year ago.

    Net sales increased 22% to $16.07 billion in the first quarter, compared with $13.18 billion in first quarter 2012. Excluding the $302 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales grew 24% compared with first quarter 2012.

    Operating income decreased 6% to $181 million in the first quarter, compared with $192 million in first quarter 2012. The unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter on operating income was $12 million.

    Net income decreased 37% to $82 million in the first quarter, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared with $130 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, in first quarter 2012.

    “Amazon Studios is working on a new way to greenlight TV shows. The pilots are out in the open where everyone can have a say,” saidJeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “I have my personal picks and so do members of the Amazon Studios team, but the exciting thing about our approach is that our opinions don’t matter. Our customers will determine what goes into full-season production. We hope Amazon Originals can become yet another way for us to create value for Prime members.”

    Highlights

    • Amazon.com expanded selection for Prime Instant Video, announcing new licensing agreements with A+E Networks, CBS Corporation, FX, PBS Distribution and Scripps Networks Interactive, bringing exclusive access to popular television series such as Downton AbbeyJustified and Under the Dome as well as shows from HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel. Prime Instant Video now includes more than 38,000 movies and TV episodes that are available for Prime members to watch at no additional charge.
    • Amazon Studios, the original film and series production arm of Amazon.com, debuted 14 original comedy and kids pilots. The pilots, which feature stars such as John Goodman, Jeffrey Tambor and Bebe Neuwirth, are available exclusively atwww.amazonoriginals.com and on the Amazon Instant Video app for Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, as well as hundreds of other connected devices. Viewer feedback will help determine which pilots Amazon Studios will produce into full series.
    • Amazon expanded the popular Kindle Fire feature “X-Ray for Movies” to TV shows, bringing the power of IMDb directly to the most popular TV shows on Kindle Fire. With a single tap viewers can discover the names of actors and what they’ve been in, without even leaving the TV show.
    • Kindle Owners’ Lending Library has grown to over 300,000 books available to borrow for free as frequently as a book a month, including many titles exclusive to Amazon.
    • Amazon announced the launch of the Amazon MP3 store optimized specifically for Safari browser. For the first time ever, iPhone and iPod touch users can discover and buy digital music from Amazon’s 22 million song catalog. Amazon also announced its Cloud Player app for iPad and iPad mini, enabling customers to play or download music stored in Cloud Player to their device, play music that is already stored on their device, and manage or create playlists.
    • Amazon announced it has extended its popular AutoRip services to vinyl records. AutoRip provides customers with free MP3 versions of CDs and vinyl records they purchase from Amazon. Additionally, customers who have purchased AutoRip CDs or vinyl records 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 for free.
    • Amazon announced the launch of Kindle Fire HD 8.9” — the large-screen version of its best-selling tablet —for the U.K.,Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan. With the expansion of Kindle Fire HD 8.9” to Europe and Japan, Amazon also announced a lower price on Kindle Fire HD 8.9” in the U.S., with the Wi-Fi version starting at $269 and the 4G version starting at$399.
    • Amazon Publishing, the publishing arm of Amazon.com, announced that it will start paying authors their royalties monthly, 60 days in arrears — allowing authors to receive payment more frequently than the twice-a-year industry standard.
    • Amazon acquired Goodreads, a leading site for readers and book recommendations that helps people find and share books they love. Goodreads members can discover new books by seeing what their friends are reading or by using the Goodreads Book Recommendation Engine; share ratings and recommendations; track what they have read, and list what they want to read.
    • Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the launch of Amazon Redshift, a fast and powerful, fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse service in the cloud for a fraction of the cost of a traditional data warehouse.
    • AWS launched AWS OpsWorks, an application management solution for the complete lifecycle of complex applications, including resource provisioning, configuration management, deployment, monitoring, and access control.
    • AWS announced Amazon Elastic Transcoder, a highly scalable service for transcoding video files between different digital media formats. Amazon Elastic Transcoder manages all aspects of the transcoding process transparently and automatically, providing scalability and performance by leveraging AWS services.
    • AWS announced AWS CloudHSM, a new service enabling customers to increase data security and meet compliance requirements by using dedicated Hardware Security Module (HSM) appliances within the AWS Cloud. The CloudHSM service allows customers to securely generate, store and manage cryptographic keys used for data encryption in a way that keys are accessible only by the customer.
    • AWS has lowered prices 31 times since it launched in 2006, including 7 price reductions so far in 2013.

    Financial Guidance

    The following forward-looking statements reflect Amazon.com’s expectations as of April 25, 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.

    Second Quarter 2013 Guidance

    • Net sales are expected to be between $14.5 billion and $16.2 billion, or to grow between 13% and 26% compared with second quarter 2012.
    • Operating income (loss) is expected to be between $(340) million and $10 million, compared to $107 million in the comparable prior year period.
    • This guidance includes approximately $340 million for stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets, and it assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions, investments, or legal settlements 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 atwww.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)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
    March 31, March 31,
    2013 2012 2013 2012
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 8,084 $ 5,269 $ 2,288 $ 2,641
    OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
    Net income (loss) 82 130 (87 ) 561
    Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash from operating activities:
    Depreciation of property and equipment, including internal-use software and website development, and other amortization 700 457 2,402 1,338
    Stock-based compensation 229 160 901 605
    Other operating expense (income), net 31 46 139 168
    Losses (gains) on sales of marketable securities, net (2 ) (7 ) (8 )
    Other expense (income), net 68 15 306 (78 )
    Deferred income taxes (80 ) (38 ) (307 ) 83
    Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation (40 ) (390 ) (56 )
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
    Inventories 535 747 (1,211 ) (1,374 )
    Accounts receivable, net and other 729 746 (877 ) (479 )
    Accounts payable (4,187 ) (4,258 ) 2,141 1,388
    Accrued expenses and other (703 ) (529 ) 864 721
    Additions to unearned revenue 684 397 2,083 1,252
    Amortization of previously unearned revenue (460 ) (269 ) (1,712 ) (1,070 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (2,372 ) (2,438 ) 4,245 3,051
    INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
    Purchases of property and equipment, including internal-use software and website development (670 ) (386 ) (4,068 ) (1,899 )
    Acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and other (103 ) (50 ) (798 ) (615 )
    Sales and maturities of marketable securities and other investments 599 1,738 3,098 6,641
    Purchases of marketable securities and other investments (776 ) (852 ) (3,227 ) (5,997 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (950 ) 450 (4,995 ) (1,870 )
    FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
    Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation 40 390 56
    Common stock repurchased (960 ) (1,237 )
    Proceeds from long-term debt and other 25 68 3,319 154
    Repayments of long-term debt, capital lease, and finance lease obligations (182 ) (153 ) (603 ) (483 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (157 ) (1,005 ) 3,106 (1,510 )
    Foreign-currency effect on cash and cash equivalents (124 ) 12 (163 ) (24 )
    Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (3,603 ) (2,981 ) 2,193 (353 )
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD $ 4,481 $ 2,288 $ 4,481 $ 2,288
    SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
    Cash paid for interest on long-term debt $ 13 $ 6 $ 37 $ 17
    Cash paid for income taxes (net of refunds) 86 19 179 45
    Property and equipment acquired under capital leases 340 149 993 721
    Property and equipment acquired under build-to-suit leases 150 17 163 207
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (in millions, except per share data)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2013 2012
    Net product sales $ 13,271 $ 11,249
    Net services sales 2,799 1,936
    Total net sales 16,070 13,185
    Operating expenses (1):
    Cost of sales 11,801 10,027
    Fulfillment 1,796 1,295
    Marketing 632 480
    Technology and content 1,383 945
    General and administrative 246 200
    Other operating expense (income), net 31 46
    Total operating expenses 15,889 12,993
    Income from operations 181 192
    Interest income 10 12
    Interest expense (33 ) (21 )
    Other income (expense), net (77 ) (99 )
    Total non-operating income (expense) (100 ) (108 )
    Income before income taxes 81 84
    Benefit (provision) for income taxes 18 (43 )
    Equity-method investment activity, net of tax (17 ) 89
    Net income $ 82 $ 130
    Basic earnings per share $ 0.18 $ 0.29
    Diluted earnings per share $ 0.18 $ 0.28
    Weighted average shares used in computation of earnings per share:
    Basic 455 453
    Diluted 463 460
    (1) Includes stock-based compensation as follows:
    Fulfillment $ 61 $ 37
    Marketing 16 12
    Technology and content 120 85
    General and administrative 32 26
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
    (in millions)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2013 2012
    Net income $ 82 $ 130
    Other comprehensive income (loss):
    Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax of $(9) and $(38) (78 ) 137
    Net change in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities:
    Unrealized gains (losses), net of tax of $1 and $(3) (2 ) 7
    Reclassification adjustment for losses (gains) included in “Other income (expense), net,” net of tax effect of $0 and $1 (2 )
    Net unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities (2 ) 5
    Total other comprehensive income (loss) (80 ) 142
    Comprehensive income $ 2 $ 272
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Segment Information
    (in millions)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2013 2012
    North America
    Net sales $ 9,391 $ 7,427
    Segment operating expenses (1) 8,934 7,078
    Segment operating income $ 457 $ 349
    International
    Net sales $ 6,679 $ 5,758
    Segment operating expenses (1) 6,695 5,709
    Segment operating income (loss) $ (16 ) $ 49
    Consolidated
    Net sales $ 16,070 $ 13,185
    Segment operating expenses (1) 15,629 12,787
    Segment operating income 441 398
    Stock-based compensation (229 ) (160 )
    Other operating income (expense), net (31 ) (46 )
    Income from operations 181 192
    Total non-operating income (expense) (100 ) (108 )
    Benefit (provision) for income taxes 18 (43 )
    Equity-method investment activity, net of tax (17 ) 89
    Net income $ 82 $ 130
    Segment Highlights:
    Y/Y net sales growth:
    North America 26 % 36 %
    International 16 31
    Consolidated 22 34
    Y/Y segment operating income growth (decline):
    North America 31 % 20 %
    International (133 ) (72 )
    Consolidated 11 (15 )
    Net sales mix:
    North America 58 % 56 %
    International 42 44
    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)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    March 31,
    2013 2012
    North America
    Media $ 2,513 $ 2,197
    Electronics and other general merchandise 6,128 4,772
    Other (1) 750 458
    Total North America $ 9,391 $ 7,427
    International
    Media $ 2,545 $ 2,513
    Electronics and other general merchandise 4,086 3,203
    Other (1) 48 42
    Total International $ 6,679 $ 5,758
    Consolidated
    Media $ 5,058 $ 4,710
    Electronics and other general merchandise 10,214 7,975
    Other (1) 798 500
    Total consolidated $ 16,070 $ 13,185
    Y/Y Net Sales Growth:
    North America:
    Media 14 % 17 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 28 44
    Other 64 66
    Total North America 26 36
    International:
    Media 1 % 21 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 28 40
    Other 14 24
    Total International 16 31
    Consolidated:
    Media 7 % 19 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 28 43
    Other 59 61
    Total consolidated 22 34
    Y/Y Net Sales Growth Excluding Effect of Exchange Rates:
    International:
    Media 7 % 22 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 32 42
    Other 18 26
    Total International 21 32
    Consolidated:
    Media 10 % 19 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 30 43
    Other 60 61
    Total consolidated 24 34
    Consolidated Net Sales Mix:
    Media 31 % 36 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 64 60
    Other 5 4
    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)
    March 31, December 31,
    2013 2012
    ASSETS (unaudited)
    Current assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 4,481 $ 8,084
    Marketable securities 3,414 3,364
    Inventories 5,395 6,031
    Accounts receivable, net and other 2,516 3,364
    Deferred tax assets 507 453
    Total current assets 16,313 21,296
    Property and equipment, net 7,674 7,060
    Deferred tax assets 123 123
    Goodwill 2,535 2,552
    Other assets 1,732 1,524
    Total assets $ 28,377 $ 32,555
    LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
    Current liabilities:
    Accounts payable $ 8,916 $ 13,318
    Accrued expenses and other 5,416 5,684
    Total current liabilities 14,332 19,002
    Long-term debt 3,040 3,084
    Other long-term liabilities 2,573 2,277
    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 — 479 and 478
    Outstanding shares — 455 and 454 5 5
    Treasury stock, at cost (1,837 ) (1,837 )
    Additional paid-in capital 8,585 8,347
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss (319 ) (239 )
    Retained earnings 1,998 1,916
    Total stockholders’ equity 8,432 8,192
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 28,377 $ 32,555
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Supplemental Financial Information and Business Metrics
    (in millions, except per share data)
    (unaudited)
    Y/Y %
    Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Change
    Cash Flows and Shares
    Operating cash flow — trailing twelve months (TTM) $ 3,051 $ 3,222 $ 3,368 $ 4,180 $ 4,245 39 %
    Purchases of property and equipment (incl. internal-use software & website development) — TTM $ 1,899 $ 2,123 $ 2,310 $ 3,785 $ 4,068 114 %
    Free cash flow (operating cash flow less purchases of property and equipment) — TTM $ 1,152 $ 1,099 $ 1,058 $ 395 $ 177 (85 %)
    Free cash flow — TTM Y/Y growth (decline) (39 %) (40 %) (31 %) (81 %) (85 %) N/A
    Invested capital (1) $ 10,006 $ 10,250 $ 10,392 $ 11,181 $ 12,019 20 %
    Return on invested capital (2) 12 % 11 % 10 % 4 % 1 % N/A
    Common shares and stock-based awards outstanding 464 468 469 470 471 2 %
    Common shares outstanding 450 452 453 454 455 1 %
    Stock-based awards outstanding 13 16 16 16 16 17 %
    Stock-based awards outstanding — % of common shares outstanding 2.9 % 3.6 % 3.6 % 3.5 % 3.4 % N/A
    Results of Operations
    Worldwide (WW) net sales $ 13,185 $ 12,834 $ 13,806 $ 21,268 $ 16,070 22 %
    WW net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 34 % 32 % 30 % 23 % 24 % N/A
    WW net sales — TTM $ 51,404 $ 54,325 $ 57,256 $ 61,093 $ 63,978 24 %
    WW net sales — TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 37 % 35 % 33 % 29 % 27 % N/A
    Operating income (loss) $ 192 $ 107 $ (28 ) $ 405 $ 181 (6 %)
    Operating income — Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (38 %) (34 %) (137 %) 59 % 1 % N/A
    Operating margin — % of WW net sales 1.5 % 0.8 % (0.2 %) 1.9 % 1.1 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 732 $ 637 $ 531 $ 676 $ 665 (9 %)
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (50 %) (50 %) (48 %) (15 %) (6 %) N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of WW net sales 1.4 % 1.2 % 0.9 % 1.1 % 1.0 % N/A
    Net income (loss) $ 130 $ 7 $ (274 ) $ 97 $ 82 (37 %)
    Net income (loss) per diluted share $ 0.28 $ 0.01 $ (0.60 ) $ 0.21 $ 0.18 (37 %)
    Net income (loss) — TTM $ 561 $ 377 $ 40 $ (39 ) $ (87 ) (116 %)
    Net income (loss) per diluted share — TTM $ 1.22 $ 0.82 $ 0.09 $ (0.09 ) $ (0.19 ) (116 %)
    Segments
    North America Segment:
    Net sales $ 7,427 $ 7,326 $ 7,884 $ 12,175 $ 9,391 26 %
    Net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 36 % 36 % 33 % 23 % 26 % N/A
    Net sales — TTM $ 28,667 $ 30,587 $ 32,540 $ 34,813 $ 36,777 28 %
    Operating income $ 349 $ 344 $ 291 $ 608 $ 457 31 %
    Operating margin — % of North America net sales 4.7 % 4.7 % 3.7 % 5.0 % 4.9 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 991 $ 1,120 $ 1,268 $ 1,592 $ 1,700 72 %
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 2 % 14 % 34 % 71 % 72 % N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of North America net sales 3.5 % 3.7 % 3.9 % 4.6 % 4.6 % N/A
    International Segment:
    Net sales $ 5,758 $ 5,508 $ 5,922 $ 9,093 $ 6,679 16 %
    Net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 32 % 28 % 27 % 23 % 21 % N/A
    Net sales — TTM $ 22,737 $ 23,738 $ 24,716 $ 26,280 $ 27,201 20 %
    Net sales — TTM % of WW net sales 44 % 44 % 43 % 43 % 43 % N/A
    Operating income (loss) $ 49 $ 16 $ (59 ) $ 70 $ (16 ) (133 %)
    Operating margin — % of International net sales 0.9 % 0.3 % (1.0 %) 0.8 % (0.2 %) N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 515 $ 359 $ 183 $ 76 $ 11 (98 %)
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (49 %) (57 %) (68 %) (77 %) (83 %) N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of International net sales 2.3 % 1.5 % 0.7 % 0.3 % 0.0 % N/A
    Consolidated Segments:
    Operating expenses (3) $ 12,787 $ 12,474 $ 13,574 $ 20,590 $ 15,629 22 %
    Operating expenses — TTM (3) $ 49,899 $ 52,846 $ 55,805 $ 59,425 $ 62,267 25 %
    Operating income $ 398 $ 360 $ 232 $ 678 $ 441 11 %
    Operating margin — % of Consolidated sales 3.0 % 2.8 % 1.7 % 3.2 % 2.7 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 1,505 $ 1,480 $ 1,451 $ 1,668 $ 1,711 14 %
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (22 %) (21 %) (15 %) 7 % 15 % N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of Consolidated net sales 2.9 % 2.7 % 2.5 % 2.7 % 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 %
    Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Change
    Supplemental
    Supplemental North America Segment Net Sales:
    Media $ 2,197 $ 1,874 $ 2,215 $ 2,903 $ 2,513 14 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 17 % 18 % 15 % 13 % 14 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 8,270 $ 8,559 $ 8,847 $ 9,189 $ 9,506 15 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 4,772 $ 4,937 $ 5,061 $ 8,503 $ 6,128 28 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 44 % 41 % 39 % 24 % 28 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 18,784 $ 20,226 $ 21,652 $ 23,273 $ 24,629 31 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of North America net sales 66 % 66 % 67 % 67 % 67 % N/A
    Other $ 458 $ 515 $ 608 $ 769 $ 750 64 %
    Other — TTM $ 1,613 $ 1,802 $ 2,041 $ 2,351 $ 2,642 64 %
    Supplemental International Segment Net Sales:
    Media $ 2,513 $ 2,245 $ 2,385 $ 3,611 $ 2,545 1 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 22 % 12 % 12 % 7 % 7 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 10,261 $ 10,431 $ 10,590 $ 10,753 $ 10,785 5 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 3,203 $ 3,224 $ 3,497 $ 5,431 $ 4,086 28 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 42 % 42 % 39 % 37 % 32 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 12,314 $ 13,139 $ 13,956 $ 15,355 $ 16,238 32 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of International net sales 54 % 55 % 56 % 58 % 60 % N/A
    Other $ 42 $ 39 $ 40 $ 51 $ 48 14 %
    Other — TTM $ 162 $ 168 $ 170 $ 172 $ 178 9 %
    Supplemental Worldwide Net Sales:
    Media $ 4,710 $ 4,119 $ 4,600 $ 6,514 $ 5,058 7 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 19 % 15 % 14 % 10 % 10 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 18,531 $ 18,990 $ 19,437 $ 19,942 $ 20,291 9 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 7,975 $ 8,161 $ 8,558 $ 13,934 $ 10,214 28 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 43 % 42 % 39 % 29 % 30 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 31,098 $ 33,365 $ 35,608 $ 38,628 $ 40,867 31 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of WW net sales 60 % 61 % 62 % 63 % 64 % N/A
    Other $ 500 $ 554 $ 648 $ 820 $ 798 59 %
    Other — TTM $ 1,775 $ 1,970 $ 2,211 $ 2,523 $ 2,820 59 %
    Balance Sheet
    Cash and marketable securities $ 5,715 $ 4,970 $ 5,248 $ 11,448 $ 7,895 38 %
    Inventory, net — ending $ 4,255 $ 4,380 $ 5,065 $ 6,031 $ 5,395 27 %
    Inventory turnover, average — TTM 10.4 10.1 9.7 9.3 9.5 (8 %)
    Property and equipment, net $ 4,653 $ 5,097 $ 5,662 $ 7,060 $ 7,674 65 %
    Accounts payable — ending $ 6,886 $ 7,072 $ 8,369 $ 13,318 $ 8,916 29 %
    Accounts payable days — ending 62 68 75 76 68 9 %
    Other
    WW shipping revenue $ 461 $ 469 $ 517 $ 832 $ 633 37 %
    WW shipping costs $ 1,129 $ 1,054 $ 1,153 $ 1,798 $ 1,396 24 %
    WW net shipping costs $ 668 $ 585 $ 636 $ 966 $ 763 14 %
    WW net shipping costs — % of WW net sales 5.1 % 4.6 % 4.6 % 4.5 % 4.7 % N/A
    Employees (full-time and part-time; excludes contractors & temporary personnel) 65,600 69,100 81,400 88,400 91,300 39 %
    (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 – for example www.amazon.comwww.amazon.co.uk… – 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.

     

    Source: Amazon.com, Inc.

  • Aspiring Authors Looking To Self-Publish Have A New Option In Nook Press

    Self-publishing is increasingly becoming the norm, instead of the exception, in today’s digital world. Services like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and Apple’s Breakout Books make it easy for new authors to publish their books and get plenty of exposure. Now Nook wants in on it, and is using its parent company’s own self-publishing business as the backbone.

    Nook announced today the launch of Nook Press, a new self-publishing portal for authors that want to get on the Nook store. The service is being built upon the foundation laid by PubIt!, Barnes & Noble’s self-publishing business. Authors who are already on PubIt! will be able to transition to Nook Press without any problems.

    “We’re thrilled to bring all the new and exciting features of Nook Press to existing PubIt! authors and new writers looking for a quick, effective and free one-stop self-publishing platform that delivers high-quality eBooks to millions of book-loving Nook customers,” said Theresa Horner, Vice President of Digital Content at Nook Media. “Nook Press authors bring variety, new voices and value to Nook’s ecosystem that allows us to continue to offer our customers a great selection of noteworthy eBooks by independent authors at unbeatable prices.”

    Authors who choose to go with Nook Press can look forward to the following features:

  • Instant Access: The “Quick Start” option lets writers try out the tools before they commit to becoming a vendor, all they need to sign up is an e-mail address. “Live Chat” offers writers instant support and personalized answers to questions at every stage of the publishing process. The service is available Monday through Friday between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm EST.
  • One-stop Service: Authors can write, edit, format, and publish their work in one place with exclusive content tools all at no cost, and sell books to millions of Nook customers within 2-3 days.
  • Easy ePub Creation and Editing: With new content creation tools, authors can easily upload a manuscript just once, then continue to write and edit directly within Nook Press, quickly and easily turning their work into a professional-quality ePub file.
  • Integrated Collaboration: Nook Press allows authors to safely and quickly invite their network of friends and editors to read and comment on any Nook Press project in a secure environment.
  • Easier-to-Read Sales Reporting: Visually-enhanced sales report allows authors to easily track daily sales and track month-over-month progress.
  • Pathways to Passionate Readers: With Nook Press, authors can publish once and reach millions of customers using Nook and Nook Reading Apps in the US and UK.
  • Unbeatable Merchandising Opportunities: Nook Press offers authors robust merchandising opportunities in the Nook Store and Nook ecosystem, including a new Nook Press Nook Channel on Nook HD and Nook HD+ coming soon. Select content will be in social media campaigns, e-mails and newsletters directed to millions of Nook customers, resulting in broader audience reach, more sales and new independent bestsellers.
  • All of that sounds nice, but what about royalties? Authors publishing on Nook Press can expect compensation royalties of 65 percent for books between $2.99 and $9.99. Authors will receive compensation royalties of 40 percent for books costing less than $2.98 or more than $10. Authors can charge up to $199.99 for their books.

    If all the above sounds good to you, you can get started on your self-publishing journey by visiting the official Nook Press site.

  • Reagan Daughter’s Lesbian Novel Self-Published on Kindle

    It turns out that not even having a U.S. president for a father can guarantee a publishing contract.

    This week, Patti Davis, born Patricia Reagan, self-published a novel in the Kindle book store. Titled Till Human Voices Wake Us, the book deals with a woman’s lesbian relationship with her sister-in-law. From the book description on Amazon:

    In the empty days after her son’s death, left alone in her grief by her husband, Isabelle Berendon falls in love with the unlikeliest person in the world: her sister-in-law.

    Davis has previously written 8 books, including The Long Goodbye, which chronicled her father’s, Ronald Reagan’s, battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Now that she has penned a fictional novel (and one dealing with lesbianism at that), she states in her author biography that she finds herself in the same boat as other authors who can’t get an offer from a publishing house. However, she is also embracing the self-publishing model that ebooks are making more possible:

    I’ve written a lot about my famous family, the Reagans — maybe this non-autobiographical novel was too much of a departure for publishers to wrap their heads around. But now there is KDP and the room to publish a book yourself. It’s exciting to me — a new era in publishing. Most writers have books they have labored over for years and long to put out into the world. Till Human Voices Wake Us is one of those books.