From kindling to inferno: Full specs for next-gen Amazon Kindle Fire HD tablets

Amazon’s first-generation Kindle Fire was absolutely not an iPad killer, and that’s exactly why it was so successful. The online retail giant sought not to compete with Apple’s juggernaut but rather to open a new door, one that would focus on a more compact design and far more affordable pricing. At $499, the iPad was a tremendous value. At $199, the Kindle Fire was a steal. But the Kindle Fire was just the beginning and affordability alone would only take Amazon so far. The company’s current Kindle Fire HD models were the result of that realization, though they were merely the tip of the iceberg. With its next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets that are set to debut this fall, Amazon is taking things to a completely different level — and its rivals should be worried.

Google recently unveiled a brand new Nexus 7 tablet and the tech media fawned over it for days. The new Android 4.3 software looked nice, the specs looked powerful, the high-resolution display looked beautiful and the hardware looked adequate. But these factors alone weren’t enough to get people so excited. The truly impressive aspect of Google’s announcement was that sleek new software, cutting-edge specs and high-resolution display were all available on a tablet that started at just $230.

If you think the new Nexus 7 is impressive, just wait until you see what Amazon is preparing to debut this fall.

In a recent report, BGR exclusively revealed preliminary details on three new tablets Amazon plans to launch in the coming months. The first will be a replacement for the entry-level Kindle Fire tablet, while the other two will be replacements for both current flagship Kindle Fire HD models. Now, multiple trusted sources have provided BGR with a more complete picture of the company’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets that includes the devices’ complete specs.

Beginning with the upcoming new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet, we already reported that the slate will feature a high-resolution 1,920 x 1,200-pixel display and a new design, and now we can fill in the blanks. We’re told the tablet will be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) system on a chip, which includes four Krait 400 CPUs and Adreno 330 graphics. Prototypes are said to be clocked at about 2GHz.

With Texas Instruments no longer producing mobile processors, Qualcomm was the obvious choice but we’re not sure anyone expected Amazon to go with the high-end Snapdragon 800 chipset for its next-generation tablet lineup.

The new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD set to launch later this year also includes an upgrade to 2GB of RAM, a front-facing camera, Wi-Fi and available cellular connectivity. It will ship with either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage according to our sources, and internal test units are currently running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Amazon’s heavy customizations. Considering how close we are to Amazon’s target launch timeframe, this will likely be the device’s operating system version at launch.

The larger 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD model Amazon is planning to release this fall features specs similar to the 7-inch model behind its 2,560 x 1,600-pixel high-definition display. Sources state that the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset will power the tablet and it will also feature the same front-facing camera, optional cellular data support, internal storage sizes and 2GB of RAM. The 8.9-inch model will also feature an 8-megapixel rear camera though, while the 7-inch model will not include a rear camera.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

We’re told that the look and feel of Amazon’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets are vastly improved compared to the current models, and we detailed several design changes in our earlier exclusive report. The new tablets are said to be more comfortable and lighter than the models they will replace; the current 7-inch Kindle Fire HD model weighs 13.9 ounces and the 8.9-inch model weighs 20 ounces.

One source also noted that the bezel around the screen on the 7-inch model measures about half an inch all around and the 8.9-inch model’s bezel is about three-quarters of an inch wide.

Beyond the look and feel of the tablets, their performance is also vastly improved. This is obvious on paper from the specs listed above but more importantly, it is very evident in practice. Even in their current pre-launch states, benchmark test results reveal performance that is roughly three times better than the scores achieved by Amazon’s current Kindle Fire HD lineup.

If the current tablets are kindling, Amazon’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablet lineup is a full-blown inferno.

Multiple sources tell BGR that Amazon is shooting for a fall launch, possibly as early as late September, and all three devices are said to currently be on track. Pricing is apparently still not finalized but as we mentioned in our earlier report, Amazon is said to be trying hard to maintain its current tablet price points. There will be some variation though, since the new Kindle Fire HD tablets will each be available with three different storage options instead of two, as noted above, and the entry-level Kindle Fire tablet will also come in three sizes: 8GB, 16GB and 32GB.

Google’s cards are now on the table, Samsung’s newest tablets are beyond boring, Barnes & Noble is out of the game and Apple’s iPad mini might only get a minor update this year, which means its specs will not be competitive at all and it will cost a minimum of $100 more than rival devices.

If ever there was a time for Amazon to wow us with impressive new Kindle Fire HD tablets, that time is now.

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From kindling to inferno: Full specs for next-gen Amazon Kindle Fire HD tablets

Amazon’s first-generation Kindle Fire was absolutely not an iPad killer, and that’s exactly why it was so successful. The online retail giant sought not to compete with Apple’s juggernaut but rather to open a new door, one that would focus on a more compact design and far more affordable pricing. At $499, the iPad was a tremendous value. At $199, the Kindle Fire was a steal. But the Kindle Fire was just the beginning and affordability alone would only take Amazon so far. The company’s current Kindle Fire HD models were the result of that realization, though they were merely the tip of the iceberg. With its next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets that are set to debut this fall, Amazon is taking things to a completely different level — and its rivals should be worried.

Google recently unveiled a brand new Nexus 7 tablet and the tech media fawned over it for days. The new Android 4.3 software looked nice, the specs looked powerful, the high-resolution display looked beautiful and the hardware looked adequate. But these factors alone weren’t enough to get people so excited. The truly impressive aspect of Google’s announcement was that sleek new software, cutting-edge specs and high-resolution display were all available on a tablet that started at just $230.

If you think the new Nexus 7 is impressive, just wait until you see what Amazon is preparing to debut this fall.

In a recent report, BGR exclusively revealed preliminary details on three new tablets Amazon plans to launch in the coming months. The first will be a replacement for the entry-level Kindle Fire tablet, while the other two will be replacements for both current flagship Kindle Fire HD models. Now, multiple trusted sources have provided BGR with a more complete picture of the company’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets that includes the devices’ complete specs.

Beginning with the upcoming new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet, we already reported that the slate will feature a high-resolution 1,920 x 1,200-pixel display and a new design, and now we can fill in the blanks. We’re told the tablet will be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) system on a chip, which includes four Krait 400 CPUs and Adreno 330 graphics. Prototypes are said to be clocked at about 2GHz.

With Texas Instruments no longer producing mobile processors, Qualcomm was the obvious choice but we’re not sure anyone expected Amazon to go with the high-end Snapdragon 800 chipset for its next-generation tablet lineup.

The new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD set to launch later this year also includes an upgrade to 2GB of RAM, a front-facing camera, Wi-Fi and available cellular connectivity. It will ship with either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage according to our sources, and internal test units are currently running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Amazon’s heavy customizations. Considering how close we are to Amazon’s target launch timeframe, this will likely be the device’s operating system version at launch.

The larger 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD model Amazon is planning to release this fall features specs similar to the 7-inch model behind its 2,560 x 1,600-pixel high-definition display. Sources state that the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset will power the tablet and it will also feature the same front-facing camera, optional cellular data support, internal storage sizes and 2GB of RAM. The 8.9-inch model will also feature an 8-megapixel rear camera though, while the 7-inch model will not include a rear camera.

Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

We’re told that the look and feel of Amazon’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets are vastly improved compared to the current models, and we detailed several design changes in our earlier exclusive report. The new tablets are said to be more comfortable and lighter than the models they will replace; the current 7-inch Kindle Fire HD model weighs 13.9 ounces and the 8.9-inch model weighs 20 ounces.

One source also noted that the bezel around the screen on the 7-inch model measures about half an inch all around and the 8.9-inch model’s bezel is about three-quarters of an inch wide.

Beyond the look and feel of the tablets, their performance is also vastly improved. This is obvious on paper from the specs listed above but more importantly, it is very evident in practice. Even in their current pre-launch states, benchmark test results reveal performance that is roughly three times better than the scores achieved by Amazon’s current Kindle Fire HD lineup.

If the current tablets are kindling, Amazon’s next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablet lineup is a full-blown inferno.

Multiple sources tell BGR that Amazon is shooting for a fall launch, possibly as early as late September, and all three devices are said to currently be on track. Pricing is apparently still not finalized but as we mentioned in our earlier report, Amazon is said to be trying hard to maintain its current tablet price points. There will be some variation though, since the new Kindle Fire HD tablets will each be available with three different storage options instead of two, as noted above, and the entry-level Kindle Fire tablet will also come in three sizes: 8GB, 16GB and 32GB.

Google’s cards are now on the table, Samsung’s newest tablets are beyond boring, Barnes & Noble is out of the game and Apple’s iPad mini might only get a minor update this year, which means its specs will not be competitive at all and it will cost a minimum of $100 more than rival devices.

If ever there was a time for Amazon to wow us with impressive new Kindle Fire HD tablets, that time is now.

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Overstock aggressively challenges Amazon on book prices

"If they go to 10 cents, I'll go to 9 cents," Overstock CEO Patrick M. Byrne told CNET on Monday about his plan to continue to undercut Amazon on books.

On Thursday of last week, Overstock sent out a daring press release announcing that it would beat Amazon by 10 percent on its books.

On Friday, Amazon appeared to match those prices.

"Not true," CEO Byrne insisted. Byrne explained that Overstock dropped the prices of 360,000 titles ("three times the size of Barnes & Noble's stock") by 10 percent below Amazon. According to Byrne, Amazon matched those prices on a few thousand. "On the books that people look at, they dropped their prices below ours. But on Friday, we dropped our prices even on those 10 percent again. So we're back to 10 percent below [Amazon]."

Amazon has not replied to requests for comment.

If you've been waiting for Dan Brown's "Inferno" to come out in paperback, you might want to check out how much the hardcover is selling for on both Overstock and Amazon on Monday. Discounted from the list price of $29.95, you can grab the book for $10.48 right now. That's a 65 percent savings on a relatively new best seller.

I went searching for more obscure titles to put Byrne's assertions to the test. The book I just finished, "Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walter, is selling for $8.10 on Amazon and $7.29 on Overstock. Ridley Pearson's mystery "The Risk Agent" is going for $8.99 on Amazon, but only$8.09 on Overstock. Not quite 10 percent, but close. What about a slightly older book? One of my all-time favorites, "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss, goes for $20.07 on Amazon and$19.66 on Overstock.

So though I found that while Overstock does consistently beat Amazon on many book prices right now, it's not necessarily 10 percent. Byrne said Amazon updates its prices more often than Overstock, "but we'll know tomorrow. If they drop the prices, we'll just keep going."

(Credit: Screengrab by Emily Dreyfuss)

If you're like me, you may not have realized Overstock even sold books. I thought the Web site was strictly about home goods. "That's a problem," Byrne told me. "What you say does not fall on deaf ears. We've sold books for 10 years. Maybe this event will get people to change their thinking."

How long does Overstock plan to undercut Amazon on books this way? "It well might be permanent," Byrne said.

When asked if the promotion was worth it to Overstock's bottom line, Byrne reported that the company has more than doubled its book sales in the last four days. Although he wouldn't share the absolute numbers of those sales, he said book sales are an eight-figure number annually.

So is Overstock losing money on this promotion? Executives aren't sure yet. I was told they are "evaluating the economics of it, but so far, it looks good."

Picking this fight with Amazon is a risky business, of course, but, as Byrne said, "It's all part of the game.

"As my old football coach used to say, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog," he said.

Does Overstock have plans to battle with Amazon on other products?

"We are already 9 percent cheaper than Amazon on other products," Byrne answered. "We have better customer service, and we're nicer people."

Them's fighting words.

In the battle for low prices, it's the customer who's coming out on top -- at least as long as they can afford to keep up the fight.

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Perfect for price checks, but needs better search

 Amazon Mobile for Windows Phone makes it easy to search for products and check prices on Amazon on your mobile phone.

The app is missing the advanced search filters found on Amazon.com and other platform versions of the app.

 Though Amazon Mobile lacks features found on other Amazon apps, it's still worth downloading for mobile shopping and price checks.

Amazon Mobile for Windows Phone 8 brings Amazon's massive product library to wherever you are. You can easily search for any item, browse your Amazon recommendations, and pull the trigger on a purchase when you're away from the computer.

Though the app is missing the more robust search filters found in the iOS and Android Amazon apps, it will get the job done when you're standing in a brick-and-mortar store, trying to find out if what you want is cheaper online.

Search 

The app gives you two ways to search for a product, by keyword and with a barcode scanner. The barcode scanner uses your camera and a line acting as a guide to capture the barcode and then search Amazon by the universal product code. From my tests, the scanner accurately recognized almost every product I scanned. You can also pin the barcode scanner to the Windows Phone start screen, so you can get to it quickly when you're out shopping.

When you search for an item, you'll get a list of results with brief summaries of the product name, brand, price, new and used options, an average star rating, and whether the product is eligible for Amazon Prime shipping. When you select a result, you'll see a product page with photos, price, color and size options, user reviews, and purchase buttons.

In my testing, I was disappointed to find that you can only filter search results by product department, such as Toys and Games or Books. All of the filters available in the Android and iOS Amazon Mobile apps are absent, including size, color, price, user rating, shipping options, and availability.

Browsing for products 

Comparing the Amazon for Windows Phone app to its equivalents on iOS and Android, there's one glaring omission -- you can't browse for products. Since I hardly ever window shop on Amazon, opting instead to type in "SanDisk" when I'm standing in Target checking the price of a SD card, I wasn't too bothered that I couldn't browse. My shopping habits aside, I'll bet there are those who will be irked that the feature is missing.

However, you can browse the products that Amazon recommends for you based on your search and purchase histories. The recommendations are the sames ones you'll find on Amazon.com and other Amazon apps. You'll find them if you swipe left from the app's main welcome screen.

Making a purchase 

At the bottom of a product's page, you can add it to your cart or wish list, or buy it immediately with Amazon's One Click feature. Once you tap "Buy Now," (or "Two-Day Free" for Prime items) Amazon will immediately charge your presaved payment method and ship it to a presaved address.

If you'd rather review your order first, you can add it to your cart, which you can get to from the welcome screen or the cart icon in the bottom menu bar. You can then edit your items before you check out. All of the items you've added to your Amazon shopping cart via the Web or other Amazon apps will show up in the Windows Phone app. The same is true for all of your wish lists and the products you've saved for later.

Once you make a purchase, you can track your package or cancel the order before it ships.

It's worth noting that you can't purchase Kindle books, Amazon Instant Videos, or Amazon Appstore apps from the Windows Phone. You're only able to add them to your wish list.

To buy Kindle books on Windows Phone, you'll have to download the official Kindle app. Currently, Amazon Instant Videos are available for purchase only on the iOS and Android Amazon Instant Video apps, and the Amazon App Store is available only on Android.

Performance 

My only complaint about the app's performance is that it can be slow. Occasionally, I noticed an obvious lag after making a selection or searching for a product, though this will vary based your phone's processor and connection speed.

Conclusion 

Amazon Mobile for Windows Phone 8 is a must-have for anyone who comparison shops on their phone. The barcode scanner helps you find the exact product online, and the keyword search works well to find prices and information on any Amazon product. The checkout process is streamlined to make purchasing from your phone as foolproof as buying on a desktop.

The app falls short when it comes to filtering search results beyond shopping department, so you'll want to stick to Amazon.com for more intense comparison shopping instead of relying on Amazon Mobile for Windows Phone. That said, the app is well worth downloading for checking prices on the fly and the occasional can't-wait purchase.

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Super-hotcakes? Chromecast wait now up to 4 weeks

Well, that was quick. The Chromecast disappears from Amazon in mere hours.

Chromecast, Google's new $35 HDMI dongle that seeks to create a bridge between laptops, mobile devices, and televisions or other larger screens, has quickly become the hot item of the day. I'm talking measured-in-Kelvin hot here, folks.

Since being unveiled Wednesday morning at a Google breakfast event and going on sale shortly thereafter, Chromecast is already listed as "temporarily out of stock" on Amazon and on theGoogle Play store, you're now looking at three to four weeks before your dongle will ship. I ordered mine from Best Buy which is still offering relatively speedy service (and free shipping) by promising to ship me a Chromecast in the first week of August.

Helping to drive the rush to snag the already inexpensive gadget is a bonus, limited-time offer of three months of free Netflix streaming with the purchase of a new Chromecast from Amazon, Google or Best Buy. Rather unbelievably, the offer is valid for both new and existing Netflix subscribers. Factor in that deal, and the net cost of your dongle is just $11.This comes after availability and ship dates bounced around shortly after going on sale online, as my colleague Josh Lowensohnreported earlier.

Did you already order a Chromecast? Let us know in the comments when you've been told to expect that yours will ship.

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Google’s Product Listing Ads are a big threat to Amazon

If that term is unfamiliar to you, I promise the concept isn’t. If you go do a Google search for any kind of consumer product, like coffee machines, you’ll see some results populate at the top of the page. Pictures, with prices under the name of the product, and where it can be found for that price.

Sounds familiar, right? It’s a lot like Amazon, except these are Google sponsored results. That little sponsored box at the top of the results screen, which is surprisingly functional, is paid advertising space. If you click on the actual product, you’re redirected to the landing page for that product, on the site selling it.

Amazon, who for years has asked us to skip the middleman retail store, is virtually gone from those search results.

These Product Listing Ads, or PLAs, have been there for some time. Last fall, Google began to charge for the ability to have products in there. A revamped, cleaner look would bring more clicks, and more ad revenue. This is, after all, Google. Nobody knows search, or ads, better.

Where we sometimes lose sight of search is in the name itself. Google has become a verb as much as a noun, where “Googling” is often used in place of “web search”. Because they run the search engine, and control the algorithm, Google has the ability to manipulate how things on the page manifest. That’s not to say they alter the search algorithm to suit their whims, but it’s clear their ad dollars are paramount to them with the placement and pay-to-play nature of PLAs.

Ama-who?

This is great for retailers, like Macy’s or Target, who are always looking to drive traffic to their websites or retail stores. They pay for advertising, or rather a premium for a PLA spot, and we see their offerings prominently displayed on our screen. In one fell swoop, the old school retailers are back in the game.

You don’t get to be a Walmart or Macy’s without knowing a thing or twelve about how retail works.

This also affects the entity which helped to damage the brick-and-mortar retail model, which is probably a welcome effect of all this. Amazon, who for years has asked us to skip the middleman retail store, is virtually gone from those search results. When I did that search for coffee machines, Amazon was right under the PLA spot, but it was a normal Google blue-text result. Amazon, though toward the top of the results page, is now relegated to being the runner-up.

This isn’t always the case, though. When I did a search for “Chromebooks”, the PLA results were once again right at the top. Amazon, however, was much further down the list, behind official product sites and Google+ listings. This, despite the Samsung ARM Chromebook being a top seller on Amazon for quite some time.

Why it may not matter

This is great for Google, as it generates ad revenue, but not so much for consumers. The reason we shop with Amazon is ease of use, as well as price. With Amazon, we can set up an account, then shop with ease. Redirecting to partner sites drives traffic, but may not result in sales, simply due to the process we have to trudge through in purchasing the item.

Amazon is, by now, its own unique destination, capable of generating its own traffic.

Amazon is, by now, its own unique destination, capable of generating its own traffic. For many doing online research, Amazon is a site they visit for reviews as well as price comparison. If this PLA strategy were to become a problem for Amazon, they could simply pay to have their results in the PLA box like anyone else. Right now, they barely register on the list of top PLA advertisers, which may be a missed opportunity for them.

Not so fast, Amazon

If the Jefferies research team is correct, Google will soon allow for in-ad purchases to be made from PLAs. The only feasible way to do so would be to have those purchases occur with our Google Wallet accounts. This would be intrinsically dangerous for a company like Amazon, which shows losses year-to-year.

If Google allows for in-ad purchases, which are linked to our Google Wallet account, they will have turned their Google Shopping page into a true Amazon competitor. Couple that with their interest insame-day delivery and purchase of Buffer Box, and you have some very competitive practises happening.

You don’t get to be a Walmart or Macy’s without knowing a thing or twelve about how retail works. Those happen to be two companies who advertise more via PLA than Amazon does. They also happen to be two companies with positive earnings, whereas Amazon continues a downward trend of middling results.

It’s just a box with pictures and prices to you and me, but to retailers it could mean getting their piece of the pie back from the likes of Amazon.

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Amazon drops price on Kindle Fire HD 7″

Amazon drops price on Kindle Fire HD 7″

For the Amazon faithful, the Kindle series of tablets is exactly what they need. The tablets were instrumental in setting the pace for modern tablet pricing, and their tie-in to Amazon’s ecosystem is great for Prime members. Their attention to safety for kids is great, and their media selection is nearly unbeatable.

Even at the regular price, these tablets were well worth the money. Amazon has discounted them, though, making them even more attractive. Whether as as second tablet for the family or a first for you, the Kindle Fire HD is a great choice. The 7-inch screen is perfect for all use-case scenarios, and is perfect for little hands.

The timing is strange, but could just mean Amazon has quite a bit of stock on hand they wish to unload. The typical release time frame for Kindle tablets is in the fall, so we don’t expect a new one any time soon. The Kindle Fire HD was released in September of 2012, so we have a few months before we can expect another.

The price drop is international, as we’re seeing new pricing on the UK site as well as a few others. The domestic discount seems to be fairly applicable elsewhere, as the UK site shows a £20 drop in price. The 16GB is $169, while the 32GB is $199.

If you’re interested, head over to Amazon and check them out! If you have one, let us know what you think of it in the comments section below.

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Rumor: Amazon smartphone to feature a 4.7-inch display

Ever since Amazon first entered the Android tablet space with the Kindle Fire back in 2011, there has been rumors floating around about the company working on a smartphone as well. Two years later and we’re still waiting for the alleged device that was “guaranteed” to be released in July last year. The speculation has been all over the place, ranging from a“confirmed” order received by Foxconn for 5 million Amazon smartphones, to just Amazonbuying more office space being indicative of the company working on a phone.
While the launch of a smartphone by Amazon can be good, especially it manages to stick to its pricing policies it applied for the Kindle Fire, the eventual availability of the device is still unconfirmed, but that hasn’t slowed the rumors down any. A Digitimes report three weeks back suggested that the initial Q2 2013 release of the smartphone will be pushed back, according to sources. Now, another report by Digitimes says that according to industry supply chain sources, the Amazon smartphone (Kindle phone?) will feature a 4.7-inch display.
The sources added that the company was initially considering a 4.3-inch display, but reconsidered after witnessing increasing consumer demand for larger displays. Amazon may also be upgrading other specifications of the device to keep up with the current crop of smartphones. The source also added that this could lead to an even further delay than the previously mentioned release date, since production hasn’t progressed as smoothly as expected.
Remember, this is the alleged display size of an alleged smartphone that will allegedly release by the end of the year. Pass the salt please? All we know at this point is if Amazon does release a smartphone, it will feature the company’s highly-customized Android-based OS.
What are your thoughts? Are you excited about the possibility of an Amazon smartphone? Do you think the rumored display size is the way to go? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Amazon launches X-Ray for TV, helps you identify actors with a single tap

Following the introduction of X-Ray for Movies last year, Amazon is expanding the feature to TV shows offered on Amazon Instant Video.
Powered by IMDB, possibly the world’s biggest reference website for anything that has to do with films and television, X-Ray for TV allows viewers to tap into the wealth of information from the massive online database. If you’re wondering just who plays the kick-ass samurai-wielding Michonne on The Walking Dead, just tap on the screen as her character appears to get her name and other gigs.
Other supported TV shows include Justified, Downtown Abbey, The West Wing, Sons of Anarchy, Falling Skies, American Horror Story, Grey’s Anatomy, Doctor Who, Lost, Glee, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones. Amazon said that more shows will be added in the future.
A similar feature was introduced for Google Movies & TV app yesterday. In their case, the data is pulled from Google’s Knowledge Graph and then presented as info cards that pop up on the screen a la Google Now.

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Rumor indicates Amazon is preparing to release a $99 7-Inch Kindle Fire HD

The 7-inch and 8-inch tablet market continues to heat up with plenty of new players joining all the time. Amazon might be one of the leaders in the cheap tablet space, but they need to do something big if they want to keep it that way. If a new rumor is to be believed, that ‘something big’ is a $99 Kindle Fire HD.
At $99, the Kindle Fire HD is said to come equipped with a 1280 x 800 resolution display, just like the current 7-inch Kindle Fire HD. As for the processor, Amazon supposedly will continue using chips from Texas Instruments. Beyond that, it isn’t clear how Amazon will adjust the specs to reach such a low price tag.
It might seem a little odd that Amazon is still planning on going with TI, considering Texas Instruments has essentially moved away from the mobile chip business. The idea, as suggested by IDC Research Director Tom Mainelli, is that Amazon might be cutting a deal with TI to buy up remaining stock from TI on the cheap.
Keep in mind that this is all rumor and speculation at this stage, but it does make sense for Amazon to bring down their pricing structure even more than they have already. Amazon is continually seeing pressure from both ‘true’ Android tablets and even the iPad Mini. Let’s not forget that the Nexus 7 2 could be just around the corner, and then there is the low cost Android tablets from brands like Coby.
The idea of a $99 Amazon tablet seems crazy-cheap, but if vendors like Coby can do it, so can Amazon. This is especially true when you consider that Amazon doesn’t need to make money on its tablets, it can sell at cost and make back the money through its services.
Despite the writing on the wall that indicates Amazon needs a cheaper offering to stay competitive, Amazon actually denies a price drop of this magnitude is coming. “We are already at the lowest price points possible for that hardware,” a company representative claimed to TechCrunch. Of course they did say that hardware, and didn’t directly deny that they could be preparing a cheaper version with similar hardware.
What do you think, would you pay $99 for a Kindle Fire HD, or does its locked-down Android fork keep you from being interested?

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Well-liked: Zuckerberg tops employee-driven CEO rankings

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at TechCrunch Disrupt last September.

Lots of CEOs make the news for being gruff, domineering, or brilliant, but oftentimes their employees have different impressions. Every year, careers site Glassdoor surveys hundreds of thousands of employees across all industries and then publishes its rankings of the 50 highest rated CEOs (see list below).

And, for 2013, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg took the top honor.

Despite shareholder lawsuits over its botched IPO and mixed reaction to Timeline and Graph Search, the social network's employees gave Zuckerberg a 99 percent approval rating over the past 12 months, which ended February 24. This is up 14 percentage points from last year.

A Facebook employee told Glassdoor that Facebook has "an open community from Zuck on down" and that there is "mutual trust companywide and sense of community and drive, instilled by our CEO who we all truly respect."

Twenty tech CEOs made the top 50 list this year, starting with SAP's Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe sacking 2nd place. Also on the list were Qualcomm's Paul Jacobs in 8th place, Google's Larry Page in 11th place, Salesforce's Marc Benioff in 13th place, Amazon's Jeff Bezos in 16th place, Oracle's Larry Ellison in 46th place, Dell's Michael Dell in 49th place, and more.

Apple's Tim Cook was voted the top CEO last year with a 97 percent approval rating. Cook still made the list this year, but he dropped to the 18th spot with a 93 percent approval rating.

While women are making more of a splash in the tech world as of late, no female tech CEO made the list this year. HP's Meg Whitmanmade the list last year but her approval rating fell by one percentage point this year to 79 percent and she wasn't able to crack the top 50. Yahoo's Marissa Mayer received an 87 percent approval rating, but she didn't make top 50 because too few employees reviewed her to make Glassdoor's list.

While Glassdoor's list is a survey, it's voluntary rather than scientific. The figures come from employees who actively go to Glassdoor's site to rate their companies and bosses. Glassdoor says that this top 50 CEOs report only includes CEOs who received at least 100 employee ratings over the past year. Overall, more than 500,000 employees rated their CEO on Glassdoor over the past 12 months. The average CEO approval rating on Glassdoor for all CEOs is 68 percent.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 offerings get a price cut in US, expands international availability

Amazon announced Wednesday that it has reduced the price of its largest tablet offering, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, and would be making it available in Europe and Japan.

The Seattle based company reduced the price of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 to a more appealing price of $269 from yesterday’s price of $299; the 64GB model took the $299 price tag. Expect Amazon’s sales to go up as its  largest price cut is its 4G LTE-enabled offering. The 32GB version now sits at $399 — a whole $100 cheaper. However, the 64GB model now houses the $499 price tag.

Amazon, in addition to the price cuts, is expanding its Kindle Fire HD 8.9 offering to the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Japan. The hardware will go for £229, €269 and ¥24,800, respectively. Japan was previously able to pre-order the hardware in late February, and Amazon said that the tablet would begin shipping out on March 12.

Amazon originally launched its Kindle Fire HD 8.9 in September 2012 to contend with Apple’s iPad Mini. The online retailer also upgraded its 7-inch Kindle Fire in the fall, which starts at $199and comes with ads on its lock screen. The 7-inch offering is already available in Japan and Europe, and won’t be seeing a price cut.

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Google's rival to Amazon Prime eyes Target as partner -- report

Google's rumored Amazon Prime competitor, Google Shopping Express, has at least a couple of major retail partners, according to a report published yesterday.

In an e-mail reportedly sent to employees, Google said that its Shopping Express platform works at several retailers, including Target and Babies R Us, according to TechCrunch, which obtained a copy of the message. Google employees who are currently testing out the service and have opted to become members are allowed free shipping. Those who are simply testing it out but won't become members pay $4.99 per delivery, according to the e-mail.

TechCrunch last week reported that Google was working on an Amazon Prime competitor that would deliver same-day shipping to customers. At that time, TechCrunch said that Google would price the offering at around $64 to $69 per year, but it said yesterday, citing sources, that the price has yet to be nailed down.

In addition to the larger big-box stores, Google Shopping Express will work with several local San Francisco-based stores, according to TechCrunch. There's still no word on when it might launch.

CNET has contacted Google for comment on Shopping Express. We will update this story when we have more information.
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Amazon Cuts Prices For Its SSD-Based NoSQL DynamoDB, Adds Reserved Capacity Option

Amazon just announced a large price reduction for its cloud-hosted NoSQL DynamoDBdatabase service. Provision throughput capacity – that is, the number of reads and writes your application uses – now costs 35 percent less, and the price for indexed storage dropped by 75 percent.

DynamoDB launched just over a year ago and provides developers with a cloud-based NoSQL database that is meant to be ultra-scalable and highly reliable. Amazon, of course, already offered a database service with Amazon RDS, a more traditional SQL-based service. DynamoDB works differently, though, and automatically spreads data and traffic across different servers for increased performance. All the data is also automatically replicated across three of Amazon’s availability zones to improve reliability and data durability.

DynamoDB uses SSD-backed storage servers that “are specifically designed to support DynamoDB,” Amazon CTO Werner Vogels writes on his personal blog today. The company was able to reduce costs by tuning the hardware based on what the team learned over the last year and bringing the cost of the hardware platform down. Amazon also found ways to improve its storage engine and other internal components. He also notes that the service has grown quickly, “which allows us to take advantage of economies of scale.”

In addition to the price reduction, Amazon also announced that it is launching a new Reserved Capacity pricing model for DynamoDB that allows developers to buy a set number of read or write capacity units and pay for them upfront. This is similar to Amazon’s EC2 Reserved Instances, and users can expect savings between 54 percent and 77 percent compared to the on-demand pricing.

As Vogels notes in his blog post today, DynamoDB was born out of the company’s experience with scaling relational databases. There are still good reasons to choose a relational database for some applications, Vogels writes, but “from our own experience designing and operating a highly available, highly scalable ecommerce platform, we have come to realize that relational databases should only be used when an application really needs the complex query, table join and transaction capabilities of a full-blown relational database.” In his view, no single database technology can meet every need, so “a combination of NoSQL and relational database may better service the needs of a complex application.”

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