Amazon bringing apps to Kindle with Kindle Development Kit

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Software

Amazon is getting into the apps game, with “active content” coming to the Kindle later this year with the announcement of the Kindle Development Kit (KDK.) You’ll be able to download these apps wirelessly using the Kindle Store once they launch, and we already know that there are some devs that are already hard at work on their Kindle active content.

Amazon says it has already released the Kindle Development Kit to a select number of partners, including the video game giant Electronic Arts, and will make it more widely available when a limited beta period starts next month. It anticipates formally adding what it calls “active content” to the Kindle store sometime later this year.

Some are seeing this as a reaction to the many, many new ereaders that we saw debut at CES 2010, while others think it is a preventative measure to take some steam out of whatever it is that Apple will be announcing next week at the January 27th Apple Event. Regardless of what it is, having more value added to a device is never a bad thing.

Read More | Amazon

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Barnes and Noble nook vs. Amazon Kindle: Size comparison shots

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds

Hot on the heels of our Barnes & Noble nook unboxing gallery, we got a ton of requests from you guys asking us to compare the nook directly against the Kindle 2. So we put the nook right up against Amazon’s Kindle 2, and shot some photos. In a nutshell, the nook is smaller in length and width, but is a little but thicker than the Kindle 2. I personally don’t think one has an advantage over the other in terms of size, but hey, check out the nook vs Kindle size comparison gallery, and judge for yourself, mmkay?

Gallery: Barnes and Noble nook vs. Amazon Kindle: Size comparison shots

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Hit Amazon for some great Black Friday deals

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, HDTV, Hot Deals, Internet, Movies, Music

Okay guys, if you are looking to do some Black Friday 2009 shopping, we think that the Amazon Black Friday deals page is a great place to start. Why? Well, so far today they’ve had full music albums for 75% off, The Dark Knight on Blu-ray for 72% off, and a Garmin nuvi GPS for 50% off. Oh, and there’s plenty more where that came from.

Sound interesting? Head on over to the Amazon Black Friday Deals page to scope out what else they’ve got going on.

Read More | Amazon Black Friday 2009 Deals

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Amazon Kindle 2: Now with PDF support, 85% more battery life

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Software

In what we are guessing is an attempt to make the Kindle a bit more attractive when compared to the B&N nook, Amazon announced today that the Kindle 2 now ships with PDF support and a battery that lasts almost twice as long as previous Kindle 2s. The battery bump, in particular, gives you 7 days of use with wireless on as opposed to 4.

Even cooler, though, is the fact that if you already own a Kindle 2, there will be a firmware update released over-the-air that will give you the same functionality, including the 85% increase in battery life! No date has been announced for the release of that update, but we’d be surprised if it didn’t arrive any day now. Gotta love competition. You can pick up the Kindle 2 on Amazon.

Read More | Amazon Kindle

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Black Friday 2009: Amazon sale ad

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Cameras, GPS, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Video Games

Yup, Black Friday 2009 is in three days, and the Black Friday sale leaks are happening fast and furiously at this point. The latest ad that we have for you gives you a look at everything that Amazon will have available at a nice discount for their Black Friday sale. Since Amazon sells pretty much everything under the sun, we’ve pared the offerings down to cover just the things we’re interested in, no clothing deals here, but we’ve got all the tech and gadgets that’ll be on sale at Amazon come Black Friday for you, after the break. Be sure and take notice of all the Blu-ray disc sales, which should go nicely with the $78 Blu-ray player in the Walmart Black Friday 2009 ad!

Click to continue reading Black Friday 2009: Amazon sale ad

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Amazon has a big Blu-ray sale going on

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, Movies

So, we’ve been trying to keep you updated on the various Black Friday 2009 sales that are coming up, but we felt obliged to tell you about this Blu-ray sale that Amazon has going on right now. The sale includes 15 Blu-ray titles, like Army of Darkness, Shaun of the Dead, Casino, King Kong, and more. If you buy three titles, you save $20. If you buy six, you save $50. If you buy 10, you save $100. Head on over to the Amazon Blu-ray sale to get all the details.

Read More | Amazon Blu-ray Sale

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Windows 7 launch imminent! Order your copy now for delivery tomorrow

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Software

It’s the eve of the Windows 7 launch, and if you haven’t heard, it’s pretty great. So great, in fact, that this is the first version of Windows that we are recommending people upgrade to on day one. We are that impressed. In a nutshell, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been back in 2007.

You can order Windows 7 today from Amazon, and they’ll have it on your doorstep tomorrow:

• Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade
• Windows 7 Professional Upgrade
• Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade

You can purchase the upgrade version of WIndows 7 if you are currently running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Anything earlier, and you’ll need to buy the full version.

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Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader: $260, color touchscreen, pre-order now

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds

Someone over on the Barnes & Noble web team seems to have jumped the gun, because the official Nook site was up for a few minutes, before quickly being pulled down. Luckily, we were able to get in, and even pre-order a unit, before things got pulled. The B&N Nook e-reader runs Android, and looks like it’ll give the Amazon Kindle a run for its money.

The device features a 6-inch screen, with a 3.5-inch color touchscreen beneath it. This gives you a quick method to browse your library, the store, and input text into the device. Definitely much easier than the Kindle’s hard keyboard. The device measures in at 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5-inches, and weighs 11.2 ounces. You get 10 days of battery life if you turn off wireless, and the battery takes 3.5 hours to go from empty to full when plugged into a wall outlet. Speaking of wireless, the Nook actually sports both a 3G connection from AT&T, as well as built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. Definitely an advantage over the Kindle, because even if you have poor cell reception, you can just connect to Wi-Fi to download a book. The Nook also includes 2GB of internal storage (enough to hold 1500 books,) a microSD slot for adding even more storage, MP3 playback, built-in speaker, headphone jack, and micro USB port for charging and syncing.

So, aside from the above, what sets this thing apart from the Kindle? For starters, you can lend books to friends for up to two weeks at a time, and they don’t even need a Nook of their own. They can access the Nook book content on an iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC, or Mac. The lending of literature is one thing that went away with the Kindle, and we are happy to see it return with Nook. The Barnes & Noble store also has over a million titles available for download, with more than 500,000 of those being free ebooks. The Nook can also read PDFs, something the Kindle 2 can’t do.

The Barnes & Noble Nook is available now for pre-order.

Read More | Nook

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Wii is now $199, in stock at Amazon

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Nintendo, Wii

Hey guys, just a reminder, the Nintendo Wii dropped in price over the weekend, to $199, down from $249. That’s the first price cut we’ve seen here in North America for the wildly popular console. If you’ve been on the fence, now’s your chance at picking one up. Near me, both a Gamestop and a Target sold out of them this week, so the tactic may prove successful for Nintendo. Amazon does have Wii in stock right now, so go ahead and grab one, if it strikes your fancy.

Read More | Wii on Amazon

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AmazonBasics: Amazon’s budget in-house accessory brand

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Accessories, Hot Deals, Peripherals

Not being content at being the world’s biggest bookstore or having the lion’s share of the reader market, Amazon has just recently announced their line of audio/video and computer cables, launched under the AmazonBasics brand.  Right now, the Amazon cable line will include HDMI, USB, and FireWire cables, CD-Rs, DVR+R, DVD-R, networking cables and other various home theater cables. 

The prices here are similar to what you’d find on Monoprice, so you know they’re affordable.  If they are quality products, then Amazon could easily make a killing here. You can check out the full AmazonBasics line now.

Read More | AmazonBasics

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