I’m not usually amused at the customer service horror stories that arrive in our in box, but this one is just so over the top that I can’t help but laugh incredulously. The lesson here, which Kate sadly learned for all of us, is if Sony ever asks you out of nowhere to send in your Reader for an update, run away. [More]
kindle
![Sony's Ebook Store Prices Too High? Try Shortcovers](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/111109-003-moneymacro.jpg?w=160&h=120&crop=1)
Sony's Ebook Store Prices Too High? Try Shortcovers
Michael bought a Sony Pocket Reader last month, but with the exception of $10 bestsellers, he’s finding that other books he wants are priced higher than he’s willing to pay. For example, Tad Friend’s memoir Cheerful Money is $10 on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble, but $17.49 from Sony. Michael wants to know if we have any advice on how to get Sony to lower their prices.
![Kindle Fees Trigger Fraud Alert On Visa Card](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/102709-004-visa.jpg?w=160&h=102&crop=1)
Kindle Fees Trigger Fraud Alert On Visa Card
Considering the growing amount of credit card fraud, it’s not surprising that banks are becoming more and more vigilant about identifying suspicious transactions. It’s too bad they haven’t been as successful at filtering out false positives or promptly notifying customers, as James Fallows at The Atlantic recently discovered when he got his account frozen for sending files to his Kindle.
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Kindle coming to a PC near you next month. Amazon’s Kindle software will be available as a free download for PC users starting next month. Versions for Macs and BlackBerrys will be available next year. All will have DRM, though users will be spared the pain of having to download their locked-down lit via AT&T’s 3G network, which has replaced Sprint’s more reliable data network in recent hardware Kindles.
![Epic: Kindle 2 Fails Man's Drop Test, Forces Amazon To Pay Him $400](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/notsomuch.jpg?w=158&h=136&crop=1)
Epic: Kindle 2 Fails Man's Drop Test, Forces Amazon To Pay Him $400
Paul bought a Kindle 2 from Amazon. He dropped it one day, and it sort of broke but not entirely, and Amazon wanted $200 to replace it. Instead, he got them to send him a $400 check, while still keeping the device. How? [More]
![Man Twists Amazon's Arm, Gets It To Accept Money It Gave Away](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/amazon_02.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Man Twists Amazon's Arm, Gets It To Accept Money It Gave Away
Joshua had a problem with Amazon. He and his wife bought Kindles, broke one and went for a return/exchange, in which the couple ended up with a new Kindle and $300 of Amazon’s money in its account.
![Amazon Is Just Giving Money Away Now](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/amazon_011.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Amazon Is Just Giving Money Away Now
It’s not often that we get an email from a reader complaining about a company that gives him money and won’t take it back, but with Amazon, anything is possible.
![Amazon Clarifies When It Will Remove Kindle Books](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/100209-002-empty-shelf.jpg?w=158&h=158&crop=1)
Amazon Clarifies When It Will Remove Kindle Books
As part of a settlement with the customer who sued Amazon over the 1984 fiasco this past summer, Amazon has clarified under what circumstances it can delete your books. Notably, Amazon is not saying that it will never again delete books, which keeps the Kindle in the “do not buy” list for consumers who want unequivocal ownership of the items they purchase. In fact, despite the muted praise Amazon is receiving for doing this, the best we can say about the clarification is that it’s about time, but that it still doesn’t address the fundamental ownership issues raised by the Kindle licensing system.
![Amazon Offers $30 Credits To Orwell Kindle Swindle Victims](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/090409-001-kindle.jpg?w=158&h=158&crop=1)
Amazon Offers $30 Credits To Orwell Kindle Swindle Victims
A post on Amazon’s Kindle support forum yesterday says the company is sending out emails with offers of $30 to customers who had their George Orwell purchases erased from their devices earlier this summer.
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Later this month, Sony will start selling a $199 ebook reader through Walmart and other retailers ($100 less than the Kindle). They’re also dropping the price of new releases to $9.99, which is what Amazon sells ebook licenses for. [Consumer Reports]
![Bezos Apologizes For Kindle's Orwellian Moment](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/072409-002-sorry.png?w=158&h=158&crop=1)
Bezos Apologizes For Kindle's Orwellian Moment
Nearly a week after Amazon remotely deleted 1984 and Animal Farm from customers’ Kindles because they weren’t licensed, head Kindle-cheerleader Jeff Bezos posted this statement on the Kindle Community discussion board on Amazon.com.
![How To Load Up Your Kindle With Non-Amazon Ebooks](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/072009-001-nosferatu-amazon.png?w=158&h=158&crop=1)
How To Load Up Your Kindle With Non-Amazon Ebooks
So you’ve got a Kindle, and you have books on it, and you want to keep those books—no matter what Amazon or a publisher decides you deserve in the future. Your legal options are limited, but you do have some.
![Amazon Deletes Your Books, Has Always Been At War With Eastasia](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/499w.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Amazon Deletes Your Books, Has Always Been At War With Eastasia
Sure, electronic books are portable and have all sorts of advantages. But Borders has not, to date, broken into my house and stolen back my copy of The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide.