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Amazon takes on Square and PayPal Here with $10 smartphone cardreader & lower fees

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6YXllIqD_E]

Small businesses looking to take occasional card payments without paying monthly fees now have a third option as Amazon has launched Local Register to compete with Square and PayPal Here – as we predicted last month over on 9to5Mac. The $10 card-reader is currently only compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and S5, along with the Kindle Fire HD and HDX tablets, but more devices are expected to be added.

Amazon is undercutting both competitor services with a flat fee of 2.5 percent per transaction (vs 2.7 percent for PayPal Here and 2.75 percent for Square). Not enough? Amazon is sweetening the deal with a special introductory rate of 1.75 percent until the end of 2015, and will also credit the $10 cost of the cardreader in full against transaction fees … 
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CyanogenMod support now available for 2012 Kindle Fire HD

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2012-Kindle-Fire

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD is a prime example of solid hardware being weighed down by bulky software, but there appears to be a resolution in the works. The CyanogenMod community has just released a new set of nightly builds for the 2012 Kindle Fire HD (7 and 8.9-inch models). Currently pushing experimental status, improved stable builds are expected to land soon.


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Amazon’s ‘record-setting’ holiday season shows Kindle Fire, Chromecast and Chromebooks dominate

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Screenshot 2013-12-26 09.04.16

Amazon has never been a company to provide specific sales numbers, but their just-issued press release shows us that Android, Kindle and Chromebooks dominated their holiday shopping season. Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprising at all is the Chromecast, which is the best seller in the Computers and Accessories category outselling the company’s own Kindle Fire lineup as well as Apple TV and the Roku 3 Streaming Media player.


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Amazon introduces Fire OS 3.1 software update with nary a mention of “Android”

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kindlefireos

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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Upcoming Kindle interface shown in new Fire leaks

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Kindle-fire-gen-3

From the latest @evleak we can see the rumored new Kindle Fire third generation above. It would appear that Amazon is unfortunately keeping their big bezels and also their heavy proprietary overlay. From the image you can see updated UI improvements that will likely also hit the current lineup. We’re sadly not expecting to see a Google Play Store App like the recently announced Nook OS updates with hundreds of thousands of apps including Google’s Maps, Plus, YouTube, Gmail and more.

bgr-amazon-kindle-fire-2-5

BGR caught the purported angular backside of this generation of Kindle earlier this week and together we can usually conclude that leak frequency increase means launch soon. As for specs, BGR’s source says:

Amazon’s new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD will feature a high-resolution 1,920 x 1,200-pixel display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset clocked at more than 2GHz, 2GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, optional cellular data, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.

The updated 8.9-inch model is said to feature nearly identical specs beneath its 2,560 x 1,600-pixel high-definition display, and it also includes an 8-megapixel rear camera.

We’re told both models are lighter and more comfortable to use than the current-generation tablets they will replace.

If you are in Amazon’s ecosystem, this could be exciting news. However we’d take the new smaller-bezel Nexus 7 with an Amazon app sight unseen.


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Amazon compares Kindle Fire HD to iPad’s Retina display in new TV ad (Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XtJBQHLdcM4

Amazon has not been shy about comparing its Kindle Fire devices to iPads. When it released its earnings report in October, Amazon compared the two devices spec by spec and noted the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD has 193 percent more pixels than the iPad mini. Amazon’s latest advertisement for its Kindle Fire boldly put the 8.9-inch HD model up against a full-sized Retina iPad. While noting both offer “stunning HD” and “you may not be able to tell the difference,” Amazon ended the ad by highlighting the $299 price point of the Kindle Fire as being significantly under the latest $499 iPad with Retina display. With Amazon knocking an additional $30 to $50 off the Kindle Fire HD this week, you can grab one for $250 less than an iPad 4.

While the price might be compelling, most reviews (including our own) agreed the Kindle Fire’s software is keeping it from being a true competitor to the iPad and pure Android tablets.

Our newest commercial shows iPad with Retina Display and Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ side-by-side. Both have large, stunning HD screens. In fact, you may not be able to tell the difference… but your wallet definitely can. Meet the new, larger Kindle Fire.

Student (or play one)? Here, have $50 off a Kindle HD 8.9-inch, now starting at $249

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Screen Shot 2013-01-01 at 1.01.33 PM.

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.
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Adobe launches Photoshop Touch app for Amazon Kindle Fire devices

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Adobe just announced on its Photoshop blog that it is making the Photoshop Touch app available to Kindle Fire devices starting today for $9.99 in the Amazon Appstore. Adobe previously had version of the app available for other Android devices on Google Play, as well as an iOS version of the scaled down Photoshop app for Apple’s devices. The new app for Kindle Fire will be available on the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, and the 7-inch Kindle Fire, and Kindle Fire HD models. The app is only compatible with devices running Android 4.0 and up, so it’s not available to first-gen Kindle Fire users.

We have worked closely with Amazon to enable Adobe Photoshop Touch on this device, and are proud to announce that it is available for purchase in the Amazon Appstore immediately for US$9.99… In addition, we are announcing support for the updated 7-inch Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD devices. This means that Photoshop Touch is optimized for both 8.9-inch and 7-inch screens, giving users a great experience on all recent Kindle Fire devices.

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Amazon releases Maps API for new Kindle Fires with interactive maps and custom overlays

Amazon took some time today to discuss the new Amazon Maps API it released alongside the Kindle Fire HD earlier this month. According to a post on the Amazon Mobile App Distribution blog, the new API will make it easy for developers “to integrate mapping functionality into apps that run on the all-new Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.” The Maps API is now in beta and available through the Amazon Mobile App Distribution Portal.

If you are curious about exactly what the new API provides, Amazon provided a description of the core features:

  • Interactive Maps. You can embed a Map View in your app for customers to pan, zoom and fling around the world. You have the option to display a user’s current location, switch between standard maps and satellite view, and more.
  • Custom Overlays. You can display the locations of businesses, landmarks and other points of interest with your own customized markers and pins.

iFixit tears down Kindle Fire HD, finds completely new internals

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The folks at iFixit are performing its usual teardown ritual today. This time it has a full breakdown of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HD announced earlier this month. One of the teardown highlights: the device includes a 3.7 V, 4400 mAh, 16.43 Wh Li-ion battery that has about the same juice as the previous-generation Kindle Fires, which means the 11 hours of expected battery life is up for debate. Other findings: The Kindle Fire HD sports an upgraded Texas Instruments OMAP 4460 dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM from Elpida, a LCD from LG Display, and 16GB of flash memory from Samsung. Overall, the device scores a decent 7 out of 10 repairability score, which ties with the Nexus 7 and beats the third-generation iPad.

-Samsung KLMAG2GE4A eMMC 16 GB Flash Memory and Flash Memory Controller
-Elpida B8164B3PF-1D-F 8 Gb (1 GB) DDR2 RAM
-Texas Instruments TWL6032 Fully Integrated Power Management IC
-Broadcom BCM2076 GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and FM Receiver/Transmitter
-Wolfson WM8962E Ultra-Low Power Stereo CODEC
-B50 5222 12507A9A10

iFixit’s notes on the teardown are below:

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