*Kindle with Special Offers for only $114 is already the bestselling member of the Kindle family*
SEATTLE, May 19, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon began selling hardcover and paperback books in July 1995. Twelve years later in November 2007, Amazon introduced the revolutionary Kindle and began selling Kindle books. By July 2010, Kindle book sales had surpassed hardcover book sales, and six months later, Kindle books overtook paperback books to become the most popular format on Amazon.com. Today, less than four years after introducing Kindle books, Amazon.com customers are now purchasing more Kindle books than all print books – hardcover and paperback – combined. (more…)
*70 Percent of Mobile Users “Checking-In” from an Android or Apple Phone*
*Check-In Service Users Demonstrate Strong Propensity for Mobile Media Usage*
RESTON, VA, May 12, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results from a study of mobile social networking check-in service users based on data from its comScore MobiLens service. The study found that 16.7 million U.S. mobile subscribers used location-based “check-in” services on their phones in March 2011, representing 7.1 percent of the entire mobile population. 12.7 million check-in users did so on a smartphone, representing 17.6 percent of the smartphone population. The study also found that check-in service users showed a high propensity for mobile media usage, including accessing retail sites and shopping guides, and displayed other characteristics of early adopters, including a stronger likelihood of owning a tablet device and accessing tech news, when compared to the average smartphone user. (more…)
*BizSpark One startup Soundtrckr lets listeners discover, play and share music on their terms — alongside their friends.*
REDMOND, Wash. — April 27, 2011 — Soundtrckr, a BizSpark One startup, mashes Internet radio with social networking and location-awareness to help users create a soundtrack for their lives.
Sometimes, opportunity presents itself when least expected. That’s what Daniele Calabrese, founder and CEO of Soundtrckr, discovered as he boarded a plane bound to Philadelphia from Madrid. Calabrese was launching a new concept in radio called Soundtrckr, a geo-social Internet music service. In its infancy, Soundtrckr just needed the right connections to take it to the heights Calabrese was convinced it could reach. He sat down and met his seat mate. (more…)
*Amazon’s Free “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” Kindle Apps Now Available in German*
*Thousands of Free German Classics Available on Kindle*
LUXEMBOURG, Apr 21, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.de today launched the Kindle Store (www.amazon.de/kindlebuecher), the biggest e-bookstore in Germany, with the largest selection of ebooks including more than 650,000 titles, 71 of 100 Spiegel bestsellers, and over 25,000 German-language titles with thousands of German classics downloadable for free only on Kindle. Amazon also announced that its series of free “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” apps for the most popular devices, including iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac and Android-based devices, are now available in German-language versions. In addition, in response to customer demand, Amazon is now offering the latest-generation Kindle and Kindle 3G with an English user interface directly from Amazon.de. (more…)
It’s official. Yale is making the switch from its current email system to Google Apps for Education — a move that is expected to cut costs and free up resources, while expanding the features available to the Yale community.
“This will be a huge improvement for students, who will benefit not only from a better Web-based email client, but also from the entire suite of Google Apps for Education: Google Talk, Groups, Docs, Sites and Calendar,” says Chuck Powell, associate CIO for operations, support and services at Information Technology Services (ITS). He also noted that the switch means that ITS has one less commodity service to provide, which frees up time to work on more institutionally-important initiatives that outside vendors like Google can’t deliver. (more…)
*Authors and publishers can now earn more money on every book sold to Canadian customers Kindle Digital Text Platform changes name to Kindle Direct Publishing*
SEATTLE, Jan 21, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that the popular Kindle Digital Text Platform (DTP) is extending the 70 percent royalty option to include books sold to Canadian customers. This royalty option is available for books sold to Canadian customers from the Kindle Store for Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, or one of the Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC, Mac, Windows Phones and Android-based devices. Kindle Digital Text Platform is also changing its name to Kindle Direct Publishing. (more…)
*All of the features customers love about Kindle newspapers and magazines coming to Kindle for Android, including convenience of automatic overnight delivery of subscriptions, buy once and read across multiple devices and platforms, full text search and instant Wikipedia and dictionary lookup*
SEATTLE, Dec 17, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon today announced that Kindle for Android is the first Kindle app to receive an update that enables users to buy, read, and sync over 100 Kindle newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Newsweek, The Atlantic, and many more. Kindle for Android users can now buy a single issue or subscribe to the most popular newspapers and magazines, have them automatically delivered to their Android-powered device, and enjoy a full color reading experience optimized for the touch interface of Android-powered devices. Additional new features include the ability to seamlessly buy and download Kindle books and periodicals within the Kindle for Android app, share reading progress via social networks, and zoom closer to images and other graphics. Kindle for Android is the first major e-book app to offer periodicals on the Android platform. The new Kindle for Android app is available from Android Market. Customers who have already downloaded Kindle for Android will receive the update automatically. Learn more about Kindle for Android at www.amazon.com/kindleforandroid. (more…)
*The works of Charles Dickens and millions of other out-of-copyright works are available on Kindle for free*
SEATTLE, Dec 06, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The 65th Oprah Book Club pick is a Charles Dickens double-header. The selections are “A Tale of Two Cities” and “Great Expectations,” and Amazon.com today announced that both are available on Kindle for free, along with millions of other out-of-copyright works. These free Kindle books can be read on the bestselling $139 Kindle (www.amazon.com/kindle) with new, high-contrast Pearl e-ink or on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry, Android-based devices, PC, and Mac using free Kindle reading apps (www.amazon.com/kindleapps). (more…)