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Category: Amazon

Internet Video & TV: Can they ever join forces successfully?

Posted on December 12, 2007August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell 1 Comment on Internet Video & TV: Can they ever join forces successfully?

Sony TVWe here at TechConsumer are no strangers to trying new ways of getting quality entertainment onto our living room big screens. Regular old cable TV doesn’t cut it, what with frequent commercial breaks, horrible selection, and inopportune timing. Surprisingly (at least to us), though, cable TV is what most of the free world uses (the part of the free world with TVs, that is).

To recap, Logan reviewed using Amazon Unbox on TiVo without a computer, Paul reviewed using both CinemaNow and Vongo on the Xbox 360, and each of us took a turn at pointing out why Netflix is amazing. But each service has its disadvantage ranging from “too complicated” to “inconvenient” with “too expensive” and “too slow” somewhere in the middle.

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Amazon, Apple, Do-It-Yourself Tech, Media, Microsoft, Netflix, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0

Amazon Releases Kindle, Its eBook Reader: Top 10 (Un)Answered Questions *Updated*

Posted on November 19, 2007 By Bob Caswell 7 Comments on Amazon Releases Kindle, Its eBook Reader: Top 10 (Un)Answered Questions *Updated*

Amazon Kindle*Update* Thanks for the emails and comments that answer some of the questions posed below. Each of the questions has been updated with the latest answer (even if not all are satisfying). The product page for the Amazon Kindle provides some good information as well. Also, check out Boing Boing’s excellent review plus read here for more on the polarized responses this new technology is creating.

So the big technology news for today comes from Amazon. The company is trying to reinvent one of the forms of media which hasn’t taken off digitally: the book. Here’s what we know:

The eBook reader is called the Amazon Kindle and is priced at $399. It weighs 10.3 ounces and has a keyboard. It can hold 200 books via built-in memory and has a long battery life of approximately 30 hours (with 2 hours to recharge)

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Amazon, Gadgets, Tech News

FriendFeed: A Solution to Fragmented Social Networking?

Posted on October 5, 2007July 13, 2008 By Bob Caswell 9 Comments on FriendFeed: A Solution to Fragmented Social Networking?

FriendFeedAnyone familiar with digg, Netflix, del.icio.us, flickr, Picasa, LinkedIn, Last.fm, StumbleUpon, reddit, etc. knows that any sort of social networking at any of these sites (that is, sharing / commenting / befriending) happens in isolation. Want to see what your friends are up to in terms of music listening, picture uploading, movie watching, career changing, or Internet bookmarking? Well, clear your schedule because you’ll need the time to log in to your dozen or so favorite social networks. Being social has never been so fragmented and time consuming.

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Amazon, Internet, Tech News, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0

Amazon MP3 Gets It Right: Cheaper, DRM-Free, Higher Quality, and No Switching Costs

Posted on September 25, 2007July 16, 2008 By Bob Caswell 18 Comments on Amazon MP3 Gets It Right: Cheaper, DRM-Free, Higher Quality, and No Switching Costs

Amazon MP3So everyone and their dog is talking about Amazon’s announcement today to offer MP3 downloads. In brief, Amazon MP3 songs are DRM-free and start at $0.89/track with the top 100 best-selling albums priced no higher than $8.99. The store opened with 2 million songs from 80,000 artists. EMI and Universal are the two big labels on board. Song quality is even very high – 256 kbps. All of this, of course, is available via iTunes for $1.29/track or $9.99/album.

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Amazon, Apple, Internet, Music, Tech Reviews

Sony’s Latest Secret Revealed: Focus on TV, Movie Downloads… Good Luck

Posted on September 3, 2007August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell 3 Comments on Sony’s Latest Secret Revealed: Focus on TV, Movie Downloads… Good Luck

Sony TVThe Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has an article out quoting the usual mix of analysts, speculators, and “people privy to Sony’s plans.” I must say that the article’s title of “Sony to Challenge Apple In TV, Movie Downloads” makes the news sound more exciting than it really is.

Perhaps I should give Sony a chance rather than point out the obvious that the company has a very long way to go. Meaning, it’s a bit of a late comer in an already crowded space (Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Netflix all compete here just to name the big boys). I suppose it’s true that first movers don’t always win, and there isn’t a clear leader yet. But good luck to Sony on this one…

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Amazon, Apple, Gaming, Media, Microsoft, Music, Netflix, Sony, Tech News

Amazon Profit Triples, Consumers Love Free Shipping & Harry Potter

Posted on July 25, 2007August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell 1 Comment on Amazon Profit Triples, Consumers Love Free Shipping & Harry Potter

Harry PotterAmazon reported that profit more than tripled in the second quarter and was optimistic enough to raise its forecast for the year. And the sales momentum is set to continue, especially considering more than 2.2 million copies of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” were ordered on the site in advance of the July 21 release. That sets the record for Amazon’s largest new product release ever.

The company’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, is attributing the success to its membership program, Amazon Prime. Incidentally, I tried out Amazon Prime for the first time this past month (if you haven’t used it before, you can usually sign up for a one month free trial here). Here are the details:

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Amazon, Tech News

Death of DRM Roundup: The World Wants Unrestricted Music

Posted on January 24, 2007August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell No Comments on Death of DRM Roundup: The World Wants Unrestricted Music

AppleitunesWow. We’re not even through January and DRM is knocking at heaven’s (hell’s?) door. The latest news comes today with Norway proclaiming that Apple’s DRM via the iPod and iTunes is illegal. France, Germany, and Finland joined with Norway in releasing the following statement:

“We believe consumers have a right to play material purchased online on a portable device of their own choice.”

Read More “Death of DRM Roundup: The World Wants Unrestricted Music” »

Amazon, Apple, Music, Tech News

What’s Your Google / Microsoft / Yahoo Usage Breakdown?

Posted on January 23, 2007August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell 2 Comments on What’s Your Google / Microsoft / Yahoo Usage Breakdown?

So Yahoo released earnings info today, which was followed by mildly negative even if hopeful commentary. Google, of course, being cited as the major obstacle. It got me thinking about the fact that I don’t use any of Yahoo’s major offerings (meaning: search, email, or advertising). I don’t do this on purpose; it’s just the way my online habits have evolved, I suppose.

Read More “What’s Your Google / Microsoft / Yahoo Usage Breakdown?” »

Amazon, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0, Yahoo

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