Samsung’s Galaxy S3 made its way to Amazon today with a number of listings for the device at $799 and others at $829 after being unveiled earlier this month. The device was slated for an international rollout towards the end of May, and the listings on Amazon are set to ship June 1. However, at least one seller noted an expected arrival date of “on/after 4th June 2012”.
The Galaxy S3 packs a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, 8-megapixel camera (1.9MP front camera), and quad-core 1.4Ghz processor. Following the launch, we got some early benchmarks of Samsung’s new flagship Galaxy device—as well as a few hands-on impressions from around the Web.
LG displayed its Google TVs at Internet Week New York yesterday, and Venture Beatmet with the company’s Georg Rasinski, director of home electronics brand management, for a brief demonstration on the G2 Series.
As showcased in the video above, the LG sets feature—among many things—a speedy dual-core CPU, motion control technology through the “Magic Remote,” and passive 3D. They also run Google TV 2.0 with a customized home screen and 3D interface, as well as immediate access to apps and bookmarks.
The sets will be available next week through retailers like Amazon in 47-inch and 55-inch models at $1,699 and $2,299, respectively.
LG’s full press release for the two Google TVs is available [here] as a PDF.
Amazon notified its developers a part of the Amazon Appstore this evening that they can now charge over $20 for in-app purchases, according to TechCrunch.
“With our parental controls functionality now updated, in-app items over $20 may now be submitted via the developer portal.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Online retailer Amazon is offering the Motorola Droid 4 4G Android smartphone for $100 less than Verizon Wireless’ price during a limited-time only sale.
The discounted $99 smartphone demonstrates top-notch Android power, fast Verizon LTE, and a premium QWERTY keyboard. The device is hefty at 5-by 2.7- by 0.5- inches and 6.3 ounces, coupled with a large battery and slide-out keyboard. However, its rear and front facing HD cameras, 4-inch 960-by-540 LCD panel and Super Amoled Advanced screen make this Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread-powered smartphone worth the buy.
Amazon allows customers to check their upgrade eligibility before getting too excited over the temporary deal.
Do you want to be paid to surf the web using the Google Chrome browser? A new Google program called “Screenwise panel” (first reported bySearchEngineLand) is apparently providing users with that exact opportunity. In exchange, Google requests that you give up your privacy and provide your personal browsing data to Google. There has not been an official announcement, but there is already a signup page available here.
A few requirements for users of the service are listed on the signup page. You have to be 13 years of age or older to sign up (for Chrome and a Google account anyway), and —as mentioned before—you will have to give up your browsing data. Participants will get a $5 Amazon gift code after installing a special browser extension, and another $5 Amazon code for every three month period they spend in the program. The signup page noted a maximum payout of $25; however, Google noted in fine print that it would consider giving out additional gifts to users who participate for longer than a year.
Amazon is not actually a partner in the program. Instead, Google has enlisted Knowledge Networks as its “panel management partner.” A Google spokesperson reached out with a brief description and clarification of the program:
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…
Tablets powered by Google’s Android software are picking up steam. Even though Apple’s iPad maintained its market lead throughout fourth quarter of last year, Amazon’s dirt-cheap Kindle Fire device that costs just $199 helped Android gain share. This is the gist of the latest survey by research firm Strategy Analytics that was released this morning.
Global tablet shipments reached 26.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011— up 150 percent from 10.7 million from the year-ago quarter. Global tablet shipments hit 66.9 million units throughout 2011— a 260 percent increase from just 18.6 million units in 2010. Looking at how tablet vendors performed throughout Q4 2011, the survey recorded a 39.1 percent share for tablets powered by Android. Even though it is a record for tablets driven by Google’s software, Apple sold 15.43 million iPads during the holiday quarter for a healthy 57.6 percent share. This left the remaining 3 percent for tablets outside the Android/iOS tablet duopoly, with Microsoft-driven devices holding onto 1 percent share of the market.
These statistics compare to a Strategy Analytics’ survey for the September 2011 quarter that depicted a 27 percent share for Android tablets in Q3 2011 (up from 2.3 percent in Q3 2010) and 67 percent for iPad (down from 96 percent in Q3 2010). It is fair to assume that Android tablets gained momentum thanks, in no small part, to the success of the Amazon device that launched Oct. 15, 2011. Still, the iPad is still king of the hill as some analysts expect its lead to maintain throughout 2012.
Strategy Analytics Research Director Peter King opined:
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)
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)
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:
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:
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 reportsThe Next Web.
When Barnes & Noble unveiled the new Android-powered Nook Tablet, it was clear it would be a Kindle Fire competitor and not necessarily compete in the broader tablet market. Well we already learned earlier this month that Amazon is set to ship around four million units by the end of 2011, but despite that the Nook Tablet is also posting strong numbers with DigiTimesreporting the company has shipped a million units since launch.
Barnes & Noble should have so far taken delivery of one million units of Nook Tablet PCs from OEM production partners… The market had originally expected Barnes & Noble to pull in orders for 800,000 Nook Tablet PCs before year-end 2011, indicated the sources, adding that the increased orders from Barnes & Noble has strengthened Inventec’s position in the OEM tablet PC segment.
At the beginning of December, research firm IHS iSuppli expected Amazon to take estimated 13.8 perfect share of the global tablet market. At that time, the report had Barnes & Noble at 4.7 percent of the market in comparison to Amazon’s 13.8%. These numbers were of course before we learned the Kindle Fire’s initial shipment numbers today. DigiTimes contributes the increased shipments due to strong sales of the Kindle Fire during the Thanksgiving shopping holiday and in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas holidays. Barnes & Noble could potentially begin to close the gap depending on how it performs against the Kindle Fire in the coming weeks. Expand Expanding Close
In a move to combat Amazon’s dominance in the delivery of physical products, Google is said to be in talks with “major retailers and shippers” to create their own rival service, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The companies that are reportedly considering partnering with Google — Macy’s, OfficeMax, and Gap Inc– are some of the same that recently signed up to integrate the company’s Google Wallet NFC platform into their retail locations. Google’s service will compete directly with Amazon’s Prime, which offers same-day or next-day shipping on all of their products.
Google plans to meld an existing product-search feature that directs shoppers to retail websites with a new quick-shipping service that the Internet giant will oversee. The quick-shipping service will be based on a Google behind-the-scenes system that allows shoppers to figure out whether stores have a product in stock and that allows them to find out whether they can get that product shipped to them within a day.
Amazon has seen huge success with their $79 a year Prime program. Not only do customers get expedited shipping on products, but get added bonuses on Amazon’s Kindle Fire when it comes to media downloads and their MP3 store. The report mentions that Google has talked to UPS to also partner in the program.
It’s not clear if the program will cost a subscription fee like Amazon Prime, or if it will be offered free through the help of their partnerships. Google seems to like to stick with the free model more than anything, so I wouldn’t discount the possibility.
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.
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.
It looks like the first quad-core Tegra 3 tablet is getting one step closer to a final release with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime officially going up for pre-order on Amazon today. We knew it would be landing for $499 sometime in December, but today it’s listed at a slight discount for $492.20 for the entry-level 32GB model ($584.22 for 64GB).
Asus also today officially listed the device on their website with full specs, however we don’t learn much more than we already found out last month. Some new pieces of information– ‘SonicMaster’ audio tech brings the “most precise processing protocols and codecs, superior speaker construction and large resonance chambers”, and a power saving mode which according toSlashGear lets you switch off three of the CPU’s four cores. Asus notes their battery life estimates are measured using the powering saving mode.
We also learn there will be a bunch of preloaded apps including the SuperNote note taking app, MyCloud for cloud storage and remote access, MyNet for streaming over home networks, and My Library which stores all downloaded publications in one convenient location. There will also be the Asus launcher, Asus sync app, and TegraZone, and a full list of accessories can be found here.
The page confirms an Ice Cream Sandwich update will be coming, while Nvidia (via TheVerge) gives us our first look at Android 4.0 ICS running on the Transformer Prime in the video above. Expand Expanding Close
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.
![[brightcove vid=1532728417001&exp3=88243316001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=88246127001&pk=AQ~~,AAAAFIvhCZk~,7xyzJ_9_m5Guzgt0rNZvDtr2oxJKW81f&w=586&h=512]](http://9to5google.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2012/03/epson_moverio_feature5.png){kind=link}