Amazon weighed buying RIM but interest cooled

[ via Reuters ] 20 Dec

Research In Motion Ltd has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com Inc and other potential buyers because the BlackBerry maker prefers to fix its problems on its own, says Reuters.

Amazon hired an investment bank this summer to review a potential merger with RIM, but it did not make a formal offer, said one of the sources. It is not clear whether informal discussions between Amazon and RIM ever led to specific price talk, or who else had approached RIM about a takeover.

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Amazon Sells 1 Million Kindle Products Each Week

[ via Mashable ] 16 Dec

Amazon shoppers have purchased more than 1 million Kindle devices for the third week in a row, the company announced this week.

Kindle line has been wildly successful for Amazon, and its Kindle Fire tablet — which debuted just 11 weeks ago — is the company’s bestselling item ever. Other popular devices in the line include the Kindle Touch 3G ( $149), the Kindle ($79) and Kindle Touch ($99).

Although the Kindle Fire has been selling at unprecedented levels, the tablet has also been met with criticism about its less-than-stellar performance. In fact, the company recently confirmed with Mashable that it is planning a major software update to help improve the user experience.

Read full story for details 

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Steve Jobs Bio: Amazon’s Best-Selling Book of the Year

[ Mashable ] 6 Dec

Walter Isaacson’s bio of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs topped Amazon’s list of the top-selling books of 2011, though the title is still number three for best-selling Kindle titles.

Nielsen BookScan had reported that Steve Jobssold 379,000 copies in its first week of release. With 25 days left this year, Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the best-selling Kindle book. Number two isThe Litigators by John Grisham.

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Kindle Fire popularity on the rise

Full Story: Chip Hazard  / Wahaab JB 21 Nov

According to new data from ChangeWave Research, Amazon’s revently released Kindle Fire is the second most popular tablet among people. The first most popular tab is Apple’s iPad.

A November survey of 3,043 people show that Apple’s iPad has finally encountered after a long time some competition with the Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The survey shows that 22% of the people planned on picking up the new Amazon’s tablet Kindle Fire and the majority of the people (65%) wanted to pick up iPad, reports Chip Hazard.

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Beware of Android Security Bugs

Fill Story: Information Week 21 Nov 

There have been concerns about Android being a malware magnet, Information Week's  Laurianne McLaughlin reports quoting McAfee. Maybe you've seen the big scary numbers, too, like Juniper's claim that the ranks of mobile malware have risen 472% since July.

Looking ahead, Amazon also plans an Android Kindle phone in 2012--though InformationWeek's Thomas Claburn fears it could flop if Amazon makes a me-too design choice.

Read full story for more details

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Apple Sues Amazon Over Using The Term “App Store”

Full Story: Chip Hazard / Wahaab JB

After dragging Samsung and Android in courts for long, Apple has now turned its guns towards Amazon for using the term "App Store," which Apple considers its very own propriety. 

Since March, Apple has been suing retailers/tablet makers of using that term and now Amazon by calling its app center for Kindle ” Amazon Appstore, Amazon has risked to get chased by Apple’s lawyers. The new battle begins in October 2012.

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Ozon may one day be Amazon of Russia

Full Story: Bloomberg Businessweek 18 Nov

Russia has its own business dynamics, where one finds new names quite alien to the outside world. Ozon.ru is one such emerging online retailer that aims to be to Russia what Amazon is to the Western World. 

Talking to media, the Ozon CEO Maelle Gavet sounded optimist when she said that they intend growing by 35% in 2011, from a modest $140 million in 2010. That is the start - Ozon is aiming at $ 1 billion mark in just five years.

Would Ozon be Russia's Amazon one day? Everyone is keeping the fingers crossed.

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Amazon Kindle cost you less than Amazon

Full Story: Huffington Post

Buying Kindle for $79 may be feeling you low for paying so much for it - but Amazon feels more mellow than you as it costs them $84. Amazing isn't it - who says capitalists are ruling.

A recent analysis from IHS iSuppli determined that Amazon's $79 Kindle e-reader, which is the online retailer's cheapest Kindle thus far, costs $84.25 to make.

Read more about this interesting revelation at Full Story..

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5 million shipments of Amazon Kindle Fire being claimed

Full Story: Electronista 10 November 2011

Electronista reports: Amazon's claims of ordering "millions more" Kindle Fire units may have been borne out by a leak Wednesday. Having already bumped its original order from 3.5 million to four million, Amazon was said by Digitimes' purported supply chain sources to be boosting production to "more than five million."

Amazon expected demand to keep increasing after the end of 2011, leading it to ask for more to keep up its supply.

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