If you recently threw down some cash on a sleek new Ultra HD (or 4K) TV and you’re still waiting for content to show off to your friends (or justify the expense to yourself), here’s some mixed news for you. Amazon is finally getting into the 4K-streaming game, but the offerings aren’t really anything to celebrate right now. [More]
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Nielsen To Finally Peel Back Curtain On What’s Actually Popular On Netflix, Amazon
By 11.19.14
Sure, there’s a “Popular On Netflix” category on the streaming service, but are those actually the most-watched Netflix videos? For years, only Netflix has known how many of its users were watching which videos — and the company has not been eager to share that information. But the folks at Nielsen reportedly are going to start collecting ratings data for Netflix and Amazon videos, pulling back that curtain of secrecy. [More]
Amazon Prime Won’t Charge Extra For Streaming Ultra HD Video
By 11.12.14
With prices dropping — and some sets available for around $1,000 — Ultra HD or 4K TV is gradually grabbing a foothold in consumers’ homes. Yet there is still little native content available for these sets. That may change soon with Amazon confirming it will begin offering 4K video to Amazon Prime customers before the year is out, and it won’t charge extra. [More]
Amazon Extending Some Prime Benefits To Partner Sites
By 11.6.14
The way an Amazon Prime membership works right now, all of the perks of online shopping, like free two-day shipping, are benefits enjoyed only while purchasing goods on Amazon itself. But now Amazon is dipping its toes in the pool of friendship, as it’s joining up with partner sites to extend some of those benefits to shoppers buying stuff on other sites as well. [More]
Amazon Adds Unlimited Cloud Photo Storage For Prime Members
By 11.4.14
In a bid to dangle a little something extra to attract customers and keep the ones it has signed up, Amazon is now offering unlimited photo storage in its cloud for members of its Prime subscription service. That includes any and all digital images, at no extra cost. [More]
Amazon Wants College Students To Join Prime, Offers Cash And Scholarships
By 8.28.14
Students who are heading to college can find scholarships from a wide variety of sources, but did you ever expect to see one from Amazon? The Amazon Student scholarship uses all of the usual criteria to select its winners: GPA, extracurricular activities, and test scores. It’s also only open to members of Amazon Student, the version of Amazon Prime meant to hook college students. [More]
Here’s What It Would Take For The U.S. To Get Standalone HBO Go Service
By 8.4.14
Since 2012, HBO has been offering a standalone streaming service to customers in parts of Europe, and it’s now reportedly planning on expanding that type of over-the-top service to other European and Asian markets. Yet the cable network still maintains that it has no plans to try it out stateside. We believe it could happen, but it would first require a handful of changes. [More]
Amazon Finally Unveils Details Of 3-D Fire Phone
By 6.18.14
After weeks, months, millennia of speculation that Amazon would get into the phone business, the e-tail giant has finally unveiled the smartphone it had been promising (via “leaked” stories and quotes from “people close to the situation”) since the dawn of man. So what is it and is it worth spending your hard-earned (or even your stolen) money on? [More]
New Amazon Phone Will Reportedly Be An AT&T Exclusive
By 6.17.14
Seven years ago, AT&T scored millions of new customers by being the only U.S. wireless provider to offer the Apple iPhone. That exclusive has long since faded into memory and the iPhone is no longer the market dominator it once was. But it looks like AT&T might be hoping that lightning strikes twice, as a new report claims that the Death Star will be the sole carrier for Amazon’s rumored smartphone and/or sex toy. [More]
Another Amazon Prime Order, Another Delivery Fake-Out From Ontrac
By 5.7.14
“OnTrac has made Amazon Prime a very expensive joke in Los Angeles,” reader Matthew wrote to Consumerist. How much of a joke? “This has happened at least six times in as many months to my wife and me. Tried contacting OnTrac and couldn’t get through to a human being.” That’s not a very funny joke. Matthew and his wife are far from alone in their dissatisfaction with OnTrac, though. [More]
Amazon’s Phone To Reportedly Offer Mysterious “Prime Data”
By 4.25.14
Because there isn’t a business Amazon doesn’t want to involve itself in, and because it loves throwing the term Prime around, a new report claims the online retailer’s upcoming smartphone will offer “Prime Data,” though what exactly that means is a source of speculation. [More]
Who Will And Won’t Be Interested In Amazon Prime Pantry
By 4.25.14
Yesterday, Amazon finally unveiled its Prime Pantry service, which allows customers to consolidate as many grocery items as they can into one large box for home delivery. But given Prime Pantry’s selection and long delivery times, is this something that people can actually use? The answer is… maybe. [More]
Amazon Prime Members Can Now Shop For Groceries With Addition Of Pantry Service
By 4.24.14
A month after announcing its first-ever price hike to its Amazon Prime subscription service, the online retailer is finally launching Prime Pantry, a new bulk grocery shopping addition to Prime that Amazon hopes will justify that additional cost for some customers. [More]
Amazon Prime Scores HBO Programming (But Not Game Of Thrones)
By 4.23.14
For years, HBO has resisted making its library of original programming — shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, True Blood, Deadwood, etc. — available to online subscription services, choosing instead to limit that archive to either its own HBO Go service or to people willing to pay to rent or buy them individually. But today, Amazon announced that its Amazon Prime streaming video offerings will finally soon include unlimited streaming access to a variety of HBO programming (though not the one that’s the most sought-after right now). [More]
Amazon Clears Up Dates For New Prime Pricing
By 3.13.14
As we reported this morning, the annual subscription rate for Amazon Prime is going up from $79 a year to $99 a year. However, there was some confusion over exactly when that change was going to take place. [More]
Amazon Jacks Up Rate On Prime Memberships To $99/Year
By 3.13.14
Amazon said in January that it was considering increasing the annual subscription rate on its Amazon Prime program — which includes free two-day shipping on many purchases and access to the site’s library of streaming videos — by twenty to forty dollars. This morning, the e-tailer began notifying customers that it is indeed jacking up that rate from $79/year to $99/year. [More]
Is Amazon Prime Price Hike In UK A Sign Of Things To Come?
By 2.21.14
Last month, Amazon revealed that after nearly a decade of charging $79/year for its Amazon Prime service, it was mulling over the possibility of adding anywhere from $20 to $40 to that amount. Now comes news out of Europe that the online giant is increasing Prime rates for customers in the U.K. and Germany. [More]
Newegg “Premier” Offers Expedited Shipping For $50/Year
By 2.6.14
While Newegg has long been a go-to online retailer for a large number of electronics shoppers, for some consumers the site was lacking the expedited shipping and other perks offered by the Amazon Prime service. This week, Newegg finally dipped its toes into the premium subscription service pool with Newegg Premier. [More]
