Amazon Smartphone to Rival Apples iPhone

Bloomberg is reporting that the behemoth that is Amazon is developing a smartphone to go head-to-head with that other behemoth that is Apple.

According to the report, Foxcon – yes, that other tech behemoth – is working with Amazon on the device.

Amazon is apparently seeking to beef-up the smartphone stretegy by acquiring patents that cover wireless technologies.

A smartphone would put Amazon in a much stronger position to do what it does best, sell digital content, ebook, books, tunes and movies. Expect a low priced smartphone from Amazon in the not so distant future! :: Read the full article »»»»

The Future of Publishing

PART ONE: The behemoth that is AMAZON

The e-book has been called the biggest change to publishing since the printing press, and perhaps its biggest challenge. And although digital publishing is still a relatively small business in Australia, sales of ebooks and digital reading tablets are expected to bust all previous sales records this Christmas.

So does this mean death for the humble hard copy book, will we all be reading only from screens in years to come? It’s a stupefying question that publishers and technorati have been pitching back and forth  for the past 5 years, can paper, print and pixels live together?

Amazon began selling hardcover and paperback books in July 1995, twelve years later in November 2007, Amazon introduced the Kindle ebook reader and promptly began selling ebooks. By July 2010, Amazon ebook sales had surpassed hardcover book sales, and six months later, ebooks overtook paperback books to become the most popular format on Amazon.com. Today, less than four years after introducing ebooks, Amazon.com now sells more ebooks than all print books – hardcover and paperback – combined ::

Read the full article »»»»

Facebook Share Price Proposal

Facebook plans to raise as much as $12 billion from its initial public share offering, dwarfing the coming-out parties of tech companies like Google.

The eight-year-old social network that began as Mark Zuckerberg’s college dorm room project has priced its initial public offering at between $28 and $35 a share.

This will see Facebook attain a valuation of as much as $95.9 billion at the high end and grant the world’s largest social network a market value close to Amazon.

If an over-allotment or “greenshoe” option is triggered, Facebook could end up raising close to $13.6 billion, according to a prospectus.

Investors are expected to flock to the highly anticipated IPO, though some have voiced concerns about Facebook’s longer-term growth :: Read the full article »»»»

Amazon Considers Opening Bricks and Mortar Retail Outlet in Seattle

Online retail behemoth Amazon is apparently exploring ways to open bricks and mortar stores. Amazon has experimented in the past with superneat pop-up stores,  a permanent storefront would however represent a fundamental shift in the company’s business model after remaining online only for over 15 years

The rumour also comes as analysts suggest Amazon may open an Australian presence, with the company already setting up data centres and experiencing rising business from local shoppers keen for cheap deals.

According to GoodReader.com, a blog which focuses on electronic reading technology, unnamed sources have suggested Amazon is planning on opening a retail store in Seattle within the next few months in order to determine whether a chain of stores would become profitable. GoodReader.com says that the stores would focus on a “boutique” appearance, the, which would sell books from its own publishing line along with Amazon-branded eReader devices and tablets.

By establishing and building its own line of Kindle eReaders and tablets, as well as its own book publishing line, Amazon is beginning to move away from being viewed solely as a discount channel, toward being a more traditional provider of products and services. Although Amazon still maintains cheap prices,  a bricks and mortar strategy may provide the brand with a higher value proposition. Whether they look at opening a store through traditional property, or just look at some of the more innovative pop-up options, there are plenty of inovative options for Amazon to get a street presence.

AMAZON KINDLE FIRE: Let the Tablet Wars Begin!

Let the Tablet Wars Begin: Amazon’s unveiling of the Kindle tablet will certainly shake up the industry and pose one of the biggest threats to the Apple iPad – which is why the technology world has its eyes on the online retailer as it launches itself into the ubergadget world…

Before Amazon even had a chance to release the Kindle Fire at their press event, the big news had already slipped out. The Amazon Kindle Fire will be a 7-inch Android tablet with a $199 price tag. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos took center stage to unveiled the company’s latest branding icon. Slotted for release on November 15, 2011, the Kindle Fire is about to shake it up. Read the full article »»»»