Are there books sitting on your bookshelf that you purchased a while back but haven’t gotten around to reading because it’s so much more convenient to fire up your Kindle, iPad or other device and read an e-book? Then Amazon is set to launch a new program you might be interested in. [More]
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DOJ Proposal: Apple Must Let Amazon, Barnes & Noble Sell E-Books Through iOS Apps
By 8.2.13
Though there are Kindle and Nook apps for iPhone and iPad, restrictions put in place by Apple prevent users from actually making e-book purchases via those apps without those companies having to pay a hefty commission to Apple. You can’t even see the prices Amazon and Barnes & Noble charge for e-books, thus making it difficult to comparison shop. But as part of the proposed remedies following Apple’s loss in the recent e-book price-fixing case, the Justice Dept. says consumers should have the option of buying e-books on iOS devices from Apple’s competition. [More]
Amazon Wriggles Its Way Around Apple’s Restrictions With Update To Kindle iOS App
By 7.31.13
It’s kind of like that song lyric, “Do a little dance, make a little love/get down tonight.” Except in this case the little dance is Amazon’s tricky runaround of Apple’s app restrictions, the love-making is a free sample of an e-book and getting down tonight is well, reading, I suppose. Amazon has pulled off a neat trick with its latest update to the Kindle iOS app in order to skirt Apple’s rules about in-app purchases.
I Won’t Get Trapped In Kindle Replacement Purgatory Again
By 7.23.13
When you own a gadget with a design flaw that’s covered under a warranty, warranty replacements don’t give you the comfort or peace of mind that they should. They’re just a sign that you remain trapped in Gadget Replacement Purgatory, doomed to experience the same failures over and over. [More]
My Late Mother’s Broken Kindle Leaves Me Brokenhearted, Amazon Goes Above & Beyond
By 5.21.13
Consumerist reader K. had one very important reminder of her late mother — her mom’s beloved Kindle. She says her mom treated it like a sensitive piece of electronic equipment, and really loved it. Every night when K. went to bed, she would read a book on the device and says it always made her smile and think of her mother. But when that Kindle broke, it seemed those sentimental moments would be over for good. [More]
Security Questions Aren’t Very Secure When Your Whole Family Knows The Answers
By 5.17.13
If you’re a forgetful person or have too many accounts to keep track of, the ability to reset an account password by typing the answers to a few questions about yourself can be a lifesaver. But there’s a dark side, too: it leaves you vulnerable to social engineering. Or having your Amazon password reset by your 94-year-old dad. [More]
Report: Amazon Working On 3-D Smartphone
By 5.9.13
Amazon has done pretty well with its Kindle line of e-readers and tablets, but it looks like the company is determined to expand beyond the market of “things to read and watch stuff on.” A new report says the e-tailer is working on a pair of devices different from any hardware it has released before. [More]
Amazon To Buy Goodreads, And Owns Part Or All Of Its Competitors, Too
By 3.29.13
Social book review site Goodreads is growing quickly, with 16 million members, partly because of its reputation as a source for independent user reviews of books. It’s main competition, Shelfari and LibraryThing are both partly or completely owned by Amazon. Yesterday, Goodreads announced that they were joining their competitors at the seller of cat litter and fine literature alike. [More]
Hurry Up And Get These Best Buy Year-End Deals If You Want To Buy Stuff At The Full Retail Price!
By 1.4.13
If you’re tired of looking for bargains and want to spend the full retail price on electronics, we have found a great sale for you! [More]
Someone Charged $560 Worth Of Kindle Books To My Amazon Account; No One Seems To Care
By 11.5.12
Say what you will about print vs. digital and retail vs. online, but if you were to go into your local bookstore and show them proof that someone had somehow illegally purchased $560 worth of books there, you’d probably get a better response than the one Consumerist reader Joe received from Amazon. [More]
Amazon Erases Customer’s Kindle, Wishes Her Luck In Finding Somewhere Else To Shop
By 10.22.12
Compared to ebooks, physical books might have the disadvantage of being heavier and subject to wear and tear. But you know what’s nice about a printed book? Amazon can’t come to your house, take it off your shelf and tell you to go buy it somewhere else. [More]
Amazon To Kindle Customers: If & When E-Book Settlement Is Approved, You Might Get A Refund
By 10.15.12
It sometimes feels like the price-fixing settlement between e-book publishers and the government has been stretching on for forever. But it now seems Amazon is prepping Kindle customers for a potential, partial refund if they bought e-books between April 2010 and May 2012. That is if the court approves the settlements in various states. [More]
Does Amazon Actually Sell Its Kindles At Cost?
By 10.12.12
Since people first began dissecting Amazon’s Kindle e-readers, it’s been believed that the online giant isn’t making much of a profit of the devices. Now the company’s CEO has publicly stated that there is no profit margin on the Kindle. [More]
Barnes & Noble Ushers Its Thinner Nooks Into The Ring To Duke It Out With Other Tablets
By 9.26.12
If you don’t compete, you die. That’s what’s pushing retailers to give it their all to nudge Amazon and Apple from their spots atop the e-commerce and e-reader world, and basically anything else you can put an “e-” in front of. Today Barnes & Noble unveiled its newest Nook Tablets, both with HD to produce better video viewing. [More]
Amazon To Allow Ad Opt-Out On New Kindle Fires… For $15 Fee
By 9.10.12
Just like the least-expensive versions of the current Kindle e-readers, Amazon’s recently announced updates to the Kindle Fire tablet line will have “special offer” ads as screen savers, as a way to subsidize the devices’ lower retail prices. But while the earlier e-readers were sold specifically as “Kindle with Special Offers” at the discounted price, allowing customers to purchase the slightly more expensive version if they chose, the only way to get around the new Kindle Fire special offers is to buy the device and then pay a fee. [More]
How Can Amazon Not Understand The Actual Purpose Of A Gift Receipt?
By 8.6.12
Justin really likes Amazon. He does. He’s a big fan and frequent customer. When his employer gave out Kindle Fires (Kindles Fire?) as a gift to employees, though, his boss told Justin that it would be okay to return his for store credit, since he already owned one. Cool. Armed with a gift receipt, Justin set out to do that. He was met with impenetrable corporate logic: he couldn’t use the gift receipt to return just one kindle. Since his boss had bought them all in one purchase, he had to return all of them. [More]
Amazon's 1-Day Kindle Shipping Takes At Least A Week
By 8.3.12
Reese had this strange idea in her head. She thought that because she paid Amazon $20 for one-day shipping on her Kindle, it would take one day for the Kindle to be delivered to her. Maybe two, if she placed the order really late that day. Not so fast! Amazon’s site helpfully told her that it would take anywhere from six to eleven days for her order to show up, because the Kindle was evidently on backorder. Wait, that’s not what she paid extra for! [More]
I Want To Reunite Lost Kindle And Its Owner, But Amazon Won’t Help
By 7.6.12
Matt is trying to do a nice thing. The previous occupant of his seat on a plane left a Kindle behind in the seatback pocket. He took it with him, planning to reunite the device with its owner. But that person has a very common name, and Amazon has no interest in being a go-between to help reunite lost Kindles with their owners. [More]
