Oyster, the ‘Netflix for books’ service that provided unlimited access to over a million books for a $9.95 monthly subscription, is closing, with Re/code reporting that its CEO and two co-founders have been ‘acquihired’ by Google.

It’s not known at this stage whether Google plans to relaunch the service as a Google-branded product. Oyster said in a blog post that members that they will receive an email with more information in the next few weeks, and Google declined to comment …  expand full story

In news which will surely be no surprise to anyone, Amazon is no longer selling the unloved Fire Phone. Head on over to the Amazon Fire Phone’s product page and you’ll notice the phone is “currently unavailable” in both the 32GB and 64GB storage flavors. Despite many attempts to get people to notice its first smartphone, it seems Amazon didn’t do enough to make it appealing. Amazon confirmed to GeekWire that “the company sold out of its inventory of Fire Phones in the U.S. and globally at the end of August.”

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Amazon announced today new sharing functionality for its Kindle app that’s exclusive to the Android version until later this year. The new functionality provides the ability to share quotes, highlights, and book recommendations with friends over a host of different messaging services, and instant book previews for those who are on the receiving end of these shares.

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Amazon is expected to announce its first smartphone tomorrow, but the outfit seems to have a lot more in its pipeline. The folks at Lab126, the company’s secretive hardware division are reportedly busy working on several unannounced projects. According to Bloomberg, one group is rumored to be working on a gadget that projects a computer image onto any surface. Another team within the company’s R&D fold is laboring away on a wireless speaker that responds to voice commands and a third crew is working on a payment accepting device said to be in the vein of Square.

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Amazon’s new Fire TV set-top box may seem like every other solution on the market, but there’s one big difference. Fire TV has built-in gaming features that will allow you to play compatible Android games that are available within Amazon’s app store. The bad news is, if you’ve previously purchased any of the compatible titles from the Google Play Store, you’ll need to repurchase them from Amazon. Check out the video overview above for an overview and demo of Fire TV gaming.

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Amazon is pulling out all the stops to get a Kindle Fire HDX into your hands this holiday season with a brand new payment plan. Amazon unveiled the new plan (as discovered by PC Mag) in the past 24 hours that will allow customers to split the payments across a total of 270 days from the initial date of purchase.

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Kindle’s Fire tablet lineup is already among the best tablet options geared toward kids and Amazon is boosting that message with some new offerings. The newest update adds more educational and goal-oriented options to make sure kids are getting their work complete before moving to play time.

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Far be it from me to pass judgement on which Android tablet is the true “gamers” tablet, but a new survey via AllThingsD suggests the Kindle Fire is the people’s choice for gaming. According to a survey conducted this past June by IDC and App Annie, Amazon’s Kindle tablets received around 12% of the votes, far more than all other Android tablets combined. 

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Rockstar has announced that Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is coming to mobile platforms next month. Following on from Vice City (also available on Android), San Andreas is the third 3D instalment in the 3D GTA franchise.

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Amazon’s recently released new line of Kindle Fire hardware and 3.0 Fire OS software is certainly making inroads thanks in no small part to Mayday. Well, Amazon isn’t wasting any time making improvements as they introduce Fire OS 3.1 this morning which includes Goodreads integration, “Second Screen” technology which lets you “fling movies and tv shows from your tablet to your TV” and enterprise-ready features.

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We got a tip (Thanks Guy!) that Amazon had trademarked the name ‘Firetube’ in Canada and the US. With all of the news surrounding the Amazon Phone lately – I immediately thought that is a dumb name for a phone.

[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/385746818480742400]

Seconds later it hit me. Tube=TV. Amazon needs a TV product to counter Apple and Google.

[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/385748077677936640]

It makes a lot of sense.  Amazon has all of this content on the Fire and no way to put it on a TV yet. They have to release some type of Chromecast competitor and quick. There are, of course, rumors of an Amazon TV. Lots of rumors. Bloomberg thinks Fall 2013 is the planned launch window. That’s right now.

Quick thoughts: Will it play from the iOS app? Will it be cheap and cost ~$35 like the ChromeCast?  Bundled with Kindle? Will it work with older devices? I’ve reached out to Amazon for a comment.

With the name now public and the holidays approaching, it would be surprising not to see an announcement soon.

From 9to5Toys.com:

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If you are a student (or have access to a .edu email address), Amazon is having a special New Years Day deal on the Kindle HD 8.9. The online retailing giant is offering $50 off the price of an 8.9-inch Kindle Fire that yields a $249 price.

Exclusive Discount on Kindle Fire 8.9″ Special pricing available only to Amazon Student Members with an active Prime account (free six-month or $39/year plan). Join Amazon Student or start your [$39/year] discounted Prime membership to take advantage of this sale. The promo codes below will become available 24 hours after activation of your account, through January 30. New members, don’t forget to check your .edu email and verify your account.

How to Redeem This Deal Place a Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ or a Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G LTE Wireless in your cart. At checkout, enter the promo code KNDL4STU. If you are an Amazon Student member in a free or paid Prime plan, the discount will be applied to the items in your cart. This promo code may be redeemed once per customer. offer good only while supplies last. expand full story

We know Apple has had a lot of success pushing iPads in education, and during Apple’s Q3 conference call, CEO Tim Cook said the company would continue to be “very aggressive”. Apple’s iPad 2 sales in the K-12 market doubled y-o-y in Q3 thanks to a price drop to $399. In Q2, Apple said it sold about a million iPad units to the United States education market. With Apple’s upcoming iPad mini announcement possibly bringing an even lower price point for iPads in education, Amazon is announcing its plans today to get Kindle tablets into schools.

Reuters reported today that Amazon is launching a service, called “Whispercast”, aimed at allowing schools to easily deploy and manage multiple kindle devices:

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Walmart apparently sent a memo to store managers on Sept. 19. announcing plans to stop selling Amazon’s line of Kindle products.

“We have recently made the business decision to not carry Amazon tablets and eReaders beyond our existing inventory and purchase commitments,” said Walmart in the memo. “This includes all Amazon Kindle models current and recently announced.”

Reuters, which cited the memo and an unidentified source “familiar with situation,” first reported the news:

In the memo, Wal-Mart said the decision was consistent with its overall merchandising strategy. While Wal-Mart dwarfs other retailers in overall sales, it trails Amazon and others online and has been stepping up efforts to increase its presence there. Consumers who buy Kindle tablets such as the new Kindle Fire HD can shop on the devices for more than just digital books, pushing Amazon into further competition with stores.

The publication did not provide additional details, but Walmart.com currently reflects the reported change. When searching for “Kindle” on the national retailer’s website, no Kindle-related products appear in the queue. It is unclear if Walmart’s website ever offered the tablets, however.

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Amazon just announced a new gaming experience for developers and the Kindle Fire: GameCircle.

According to the Amazon Mobile App Distribution blog, GameCircle is a “new set of services designed to make it easier for you to create more engaging gaming experiences and grow your business on Kindle Fire,” by making “achievements, leaderboards and sync APIs accessible, simple and quick for you to integrate, and will give gamers a more seamless and entertaining in-game experience.”

Amazon offers a growing suite of developer services. Its new GameCircle is geared specifically for game developers too, which is great news for the Kindle Fire since it is facing a firestorm of Android-based content competition from the new Nexus 7. Game Circle also helps players to better experience their games through three key features —achievements, leaderboards, and sync—that will surely continue to entice folks to the dominating Android-based eReader.

Achievements allow players to “track all earned trophies, treasures, badges, awards, and more without leaving the gaming experience,” while leaderboards give an “in-game view of score comparison information and percentile ranking, allowing players to quickly and easily check standings against top players or competitors, without ever leaving your game.”

Sync autosaves players’ in-game progress to the cloud for immediate pick-up exactly where they ended when switching devices or restoring a deleted game. Losing progress, scores or achievements is not a problem with GameCircle, because as all data is safely stored in the cloud.

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The next Kindle Fire is eyeing a July 31 launch date.

CNET just reported that Amazon’s next version of the widely popular Kindle Fire, otherwise dubbed the “Kindle Fire 2” or the second-generation Kindle Fire, would unveil next month. The publication cited “a credible source” but could not confirm the summer date, and it pointed to DigiTimes for specs, which claimed the rumored 7-inch eReader will release with a $199 price tag and 1,2800-by-800 pixel display at the beginning of the third quarter.

According to CNET:

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Amazon just bulked its Kindle app for Android, iOS, and its Cloud Reader by adding children’s books, comics, and graphic novels that were previously exclusive to Kindle Fire owners.

The apps now offer over 1,000 titles for children with features like Text Pop-Up, which help to improve and simplify the reading experience, and Kindle Panel view for comics and graphics to allow panel-by-panel viewing. A few of the literary additions include Brown Bear, Curious George, Batman, and Superman.

Android tablet owners, or those with Cloud Reader on a widescreen display, will also notice the ability to customize their reading experience with new margin and line spacing controls. The update also brings side-by-side viewing of two pages in landscape mode. Meanwhile, iOS users have a new Search option to locate content by title or author.

This article is cross-posted on 9to5Mac.

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Amazon finally nixed AmazonWireless.com‘s beta mode by officially launching the website with two new advantages for the online retailer’s customers.

AmazonWireless first launch in July 2009 as a beta to ease the process of buying cell phones while allotting the best value for top devices. A new benefit for the website is “AmazonWireless Best Price Guarantee.” As the name indicates, Amazon now promises the best cell phones prices with service from the main carriers.

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Amazon is rolling out a big 6.3 update for the Kindle Fire right about now with the following updates: expand full story

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Epson America announced it is now shipping the world’s first Android-powered wearable display—the Epson Moverio.

With Google’s impending entry into the glasses space, Epson’s $699.99 offering is essential due to its 80-inch perceived projection display, Dolby Mobile surround sound, Wi-Fi connectivity, 6-hour battery life, 1GB of built-in storage, and 4GB microSDHC with accompanying slot.

Google’s mobile platform powers the track-pad controller and allows a user to watch YouTube or Vimeo videos, play apps and games, browse the Internet, and more. According to Epson America’s Director of New Business Development Anna Jen, there is even support for side-by-side 3D technology:

“The Moverio BT-100 see-through display is poised to significantly impact not only the way people interact with content for personal enjoyment, but the development of content for future applications – from virtual training platforms to a new way to interact with 3D CAD environments to visualizing 3D design renderings.”

The Epson Moverio BT-100 is now available through Epson’s retail website, select resellers, or by pre-order through Amazon. The Tokyo, Japan-based electronics manufacturer also recommended a few apps that take full advantage of its latest achievement, such as Netflix, Pandora, Amazon Kindle, and the Angry Birds suite.

The full presser and additional promo shots are below.

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J.K. Rowling’s widely popular Harry Potter series is at-last available electronically.

The author’s own online Pottermore Shop displays all seven titles in ePub format, and prices vary between $8 each and $10 each, per copy. Fans can also purchase the entire series for $57.54.

The ePub files are unprotected and compatible with most Android devices, iOS devices, and any other eReader, tablet, or smartphone that accepts ePub format. In addition, the Harry Potter eBooks are available in Amazon Kindle formats. A full list of compatible devices and reading services is also available on the Pottermore Shop website.

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Amazon just updated the “Kindle” for Android app to support Kindle Format 8, and it brings a variety of children’s books, comic books, and graphic novels with vivid color and illustrations.

“Shop for over 1000 children’s titles such as Brown Bear and Curious George, and comics such as Batman and Superman. Plus, richer formatting in thousands of other Kindle titles,” announced the app’s description on the Google Play Store.

The new collection of reading materials compliment an already existing catalog of over 850,000 Kindle books and 100 different newspapers and magazines hosted through Amazon’s free application that does not need a Kindle slate. For those that already own a Kindle, Whispersync seamlessly beams a user’s last page read, and any bookmarks, highlights, and notes across all compatible devices.

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We heard about this before: AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski reported (via Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartley) that Amazon will launch a 9-inch version of the Kindle Fire by mid year. Amazon will play off the wide success of its 7-inch version. With the introduction of a 9-inch Kindle Fire by mid year, analyst Bartley is raising his sales estimate f0r the Kindle Fire from 12.7 million to 14.9 million units shipped in 2012. Bartley reported:

We are raising our 2012 sales forecasts to 14.9 million from 12.7 million,” he wrote. “But we believe there is an upward bias, particularly from the new 7- and 9-inch models, which we expect to launch in mid-2012.”

We heard rumors in late 2011 that Amazon was to launch a 10.1-inch version to compete with the iPad. At any rate, we expect Amazon to announce a larger version at some point.

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ChangeWave Research published an interesting survey today proving that people are really loving their Kindle Fire tablet, with more than half of the respondents (54 percent) being “Very Satisfied” with Amazon’s Android-driven tablet versus 74 percent for Apple’s iPad and 49 percent for other tablets. Whilst Amazon is believed to be selling the $199 tablet at a loss, content spending among the Fire owner benefits the online retailer over time.

Specifically, post-purchase spending at Amazon.com is up, with nearly one-third of respondents (29 percent) claiming they will spend more at Amazon in the next 90 days versus just 19 percent for non-Kindle owners. ChangeWave Research, a service of 451 Research, included a look at the reaction of Kindle Fire owners to their gizmo. Price was the determining factor for a whopping 59 percent of owners, followed by its color screen at 31 percent, ease of use at 27 percent and selection of e-reading material at 20 percent…

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Amazon just released software version 6.2.2 for the Kindle Fire. While Amazon has yet to release an official change log, users are reporting it on the Kindle Fire support forums, and it can be found as an over-the-air download. The minor software release brings full-screen Silk browsing for your enjoyment. We will keep an eye out for other changes. (via The Verge)

In a clearing up the “confusion” around Andy Rubin’s recent numbers releases (here and here), the Verge spoke to a Google source on what constitutes an “Android device activation.”

We’ve now gotten some additional clarification from trusted sources on what Google considers an “Android device” for the purposes of counting activations (which would presumably apply to every activation count Google has released in the past). It’s actually really simple: you need to activate Google services on the device. In all likelihood, Google’s counter actually jumps the moment you sign into your Google account on the phone or tablet, whether that be the first time you turn it on or when you’re prompted after jumping into something like Gmail or the Android Market. And as Rubin says on Google+, it only happens once per physical device.

It turns out that Google is only counting activations it activates (I know!). It is not counting devices that use Android code, because it does not have control over -or no way of- counting like the Kindle Fire or Barnes and Noble Nook (I know!).

Perhaps Amazon, who is very transparent with its Kindle numbers, could help Google out there.

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A faithful developer on the DroidForums has ported Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the Droid Bionic. The Ice Cream Sandwich port is based off Cyanogenmod 9 that was also used in the Ice Cream Sandwich port to the Kindle Fire and more. As of today all seems to be working well and dandy in this alpha, except 3G/4G data, camera, and stable USB mounting support. This might be worth checking out if you are daring, or in the mean time, you can wait for the official release by Motorola in early 2012. For those interested in installing, hit up the DroidForums for the full list of details.

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Plex, the very popular streaming media application, is on its way to the Nook Color and Nook Tablet’s Store, reports GigaOm. For those unfamiliar with Plex, it is a popular application available on iOS and Android that lets users manage their home’s media content through a custom server.

Plex’s wide variety of supported media formats, available plug-ins, and the Windows and Mac application make it arguably the best solution for controlling media across the household. The Barnes and Noble review team approved Plex, so it should see its way onto the Nook Store in the coming days.

The Nook’s Plex app will be very close to the Android app, but it will have an added layer of approval process for software titles, GigaOm reports.

The Nook Color and Nook Tablet’s popular competitor, the Kindle Fire, also has Plex. The addition of Plex to the Nook Store will give customers the ability to better manage their media — something that customers love to do with their cheaper tablets.

As the production of the iPad 2 winds down, 7-inch panels are seeing a sales boost, reported trade publication DigiTimes. The sales boost of 7-inch panels is so high that they have passed the 9.7-inch panels for the first time in November. The 7-inch panels power popular tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire that is selling like crazy and Barnes and Noble’s Nook. They are both a very cheap buy for consumers this holiday season.

Earlier in the week, DigiTimes also reported that sources told them Apple was going to begin the production of a 7-inch tablet in the second quarter next year, for release in the fourth quarter. We doubt the 7-inch sales boost is due to any Apple orders just yet, even if the report is true. The 9.7-inch panel sales will most likely go up has Apple prepares for the launch of the iPad 3 that is rumored to hit in the Spring.

Rest easy folks…Amazon’s Kindle Fire no longer blocks access to Google’s Android Market website through the built-in browser. The Kindle Fire saw some criticism recently for redirecting market.android.com to Amazon’s AppStore. The move raised many eyebrows; however, yesterday’s OTA update addressed the controversial issue. Nevertheless, there is still no way to download applications from market.android.com. Users can only browse the catalog.

The concern at hand can be viewed as a matter of principal. Does one want a company regulating the content viewable? It might make the process less confusing for some users, but others question whether Amazon has the right to regulate. GigaOm pointed out that users still receive a security certificate warning, but at least Amazon has rethought this strategy. (via GigaOm)

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Archos unveiled a new tablet to their lineup: the Archos 70b. The Archos 70b is an updated version of the Archos 70 IT Gen 8 tablet, and it is priced at $199 to potentially compete with others. The Archos 70b packs a 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 7-inch 1024×600 pixel multitouch screen, and 3D graphics accelerator, 512 MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, front webcam, and Android 2.1 Honeycomb. It is not clear when the device will get Ice Cream Sandwich…if ever.

Most likely seeing some play at CES, the Archos 70b will release in January at $199. This will be a great competitor to the Kindle Fire, due to its front webcam and Android Market support, but most likely will not see sales even close to the Kindle fire that is off to a blazing start. (via CNET)

Amazon started to roll out another over-the-air update to the Kindle Fire, putting the device at version 6.2.1. The company announced tonight that the update would improve performance and touch responsiveness, allowing a user to choose the items appearing in the carousel. It also gives the ability to add a password lock on Wi-Fi access. To install version 6.2.1, tap the ‘sync’ button in the right corner, or a user can manually install it by downloading the file.

Tonight’s fixes come after many users complaining since getting their device. Our own Seth Weintraub even gave his two cents about the device’s speed in his review:

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As part of their 2011 Zeitgeist, Google ranked the Kindle Fire “as the fastest selling gadget of 2011,” followed by Apple’s iPhone 4S. The Kindle Fire has seen explosive growth since it was released earlier this fall. It topped charts as Amazon’s best selling product — breaking their records — and it is top selling at retailers such as Target. With great sales numbers and interest, the Kindle Fire would see many search hits.  The rest of the list makes sense, as well:

1. Kindle Fire
2. iPhone 4S
3. Sidekick 4G
4. HP TouchPad
5. HTC Thunderbolt

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Amazon Kindles are selling like wildfire, at least that’s the latest from the company. Amazon announced in a press release this morning that they’re selling more than 1 million Kindles per week — for the last 3 weeks. Granted this includes all three Kindles, but Amazon specifically mentioned the Kindle Fire, saying that it has broken records since it was released 11 weeks ago. Not only has it broken their records, but also is the best selling tablet at Target and others reports The Next Web.

We’ve embedded the press release after the break.

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Following the release of Cyanogenmod 7 on the Kindle Fire, an Xda-Developers user has ported the latest and greatest Ice Cream Sandwich to the device. The port is currently a bit sketchy — missing audio, Wi-Fi, accelerometer, and light sensor — but does have a working touch panel and hardware graphics. The forum user promises a release of the code in the near future, and we can promise you this project isn’t for the feeble. You have to remember there’s no going back if you mess up. But it doesn’t hurt to look does it? Head on after the break to see the port in action.

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A user on the SlickDeals forums spotted the Kindle Fire at both Target and Walmart available for only $123.88, on Sunday. That’s almost $80 off the original price! The sale is apparently unadvertised and it is unclear if it is still running in select stores, so we suggest you head over to your local store to check out this hell of a deal. You may even want to bring the above image with you to see if they can hook you up if the deal isn’t currently running (there’s also more after the break). It looks like you won’t be the only Kindle Fire user, seeing as Amazon had record sales (in the Kindle family) with the Kindle Fire this weekend — the company announced in a press release today. Check out the receipt after the break for more proof.

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We’re not exactly sure how this happens, but the ZTE Score, which we covered last week when it was at a “hefty” $80, just dropped to $49.99 at Amazon.  Seriously, how do they do this?

You can buy the score as an ‘iPod touch” type of device and be on your way with a nice little music, video, wifi player with an older iPhone like 480-320 3.5 inch display.  or you can sign up for Cricket’s very capable service.

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ChangeWave Research in a new survey polled 3,043 consumers on consumer tablet demand for the holidays, including a close-up look at demand for the Amazon Kindle Fire vs. the Apple iPad. Overall, tablets are big this holidays as sales in the United States increase an estimated 130 percent.

Everybody wants a tablet, it seems. A total of 14 percent of respondents plan on buying a tablet in the next 90 days, an eight percentage points increase over an August ChangeWave survey and more than triple the level of a year ago. However, nowadays shoppers no longer have to pick between an iPad or an array of same-looking Android tablets because Amazon is now the second most-popular tablet brand (people clearly want an Amazon tablet).

According to ChangeWave:

The Amazon Kindle Fire is going to leapfrog the competition and become the number two product in the tablet market, as long as it can provide a quality user experience. But the Amazon surge may also contain a silver lining for Apple, by damaging the tablet market hopes of the remaining competitors in the field.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) plan on buying an iPad, or two out of three tablet buyers. People are loving their iPads and it shows in satisfaction ratings. A total of 74 percent of all iPad owners are Very Satisfied versus 49 percent for all other tablet manufacturers combined.

More than one in five, or 22 percent, eye an Amazon tablet and just four percent plan on buying a Galaxy Tab from Samsung. Apple’s score is in line with iPad’s IDC-estimated 68 percent share of the tablet market. In addition, Canalys projected Apple will overtake Hewlett-Packard to become the #1 PC maker globally on the heels of iPad 3 release, although not everybody is down with counting iPad as a computer. More tidbits and charts after the break.

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A few days after becoming available to customers, a few early Kindle Fire owners are reporting Wi-Fi issues plaguing the device frequently. Some users have reported fixing the bug by changing settings on their router or fully resetting it. This is obviously a big issue for Fire users, seeing as Wi-Fi is a crucial part to streaming content — one of the Fire’s key focuses. Amazon has yet to comment, but this seems like an issue that could easily fixed via software update. For those of you who have already gotten their hands on the Kindle Fire, are you experiencing Wi-Fi issues? (via TechCrunch)

It you want access to all of the apps on the Android platform (including all of Google’s great apps) on your Kindle, you’ll want to get the Android Market on there.  Once rooted, it is a pretty straightforward process as outlined in the steps below.  Is the Kindle going to replace the Nook as the go-to cheap hacking Android Tablet? expand full story