Amazon Q1 Profit Spikes

Holiday shopping doubles retailer's quarterly income

(NEWSER) - Amazon's net income more than doubled in the fourth quarter, in part because of the retailer's sales gimmicks for the holidays, reports the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Amazon released a cheerier than expected forecast for this year's first quarter. The good news could help soothe Wall Street's nervousness over decreasing consumer spending. More»

Sales of digital products pay off tablet investment

(NEWSER) - Selling Kindle Fires turns out to have been a very profitable way for Amazon to lose money. The no-frills tablet computer—which sells for slightly less than it costs to make —has now captured more than half of the Android tablet market, with rival tablets from Samsung and Motorola a long way behind, BusinessWeek reports. The Fire sales have given a huge boost to Amazon's sales of digital products, helping it post first-quarter profits yesterday that were above analysts' highest expectations. More»

Amazon's offering will be significantly cheaper than most tablets

(NEWSER) - Amazon is introducing its new Kindle Fire tablet in New York, but Bloomberg got some details—and Mashable got a picture—early. For one thing, the $199 price tag is lower than rumored. It will feature a 7-inch display and WiFi capability, but no 3G, camera, or microphone. A free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, the company’s premium membership service, will be offered along with the device. More»

Facebook founder tops Steve Jobs, Rupert Murdoch

(NEWSER) - Frighteningly enough, Mark Zuckerberg tops Vanity Fair 's list of this year's most influential people of the Information Age. The top 5 of its 100:

1. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook: His company is valued at around $25 billion, has more than 500 million members, runs 176 billion banner ads a month, and is looking at $2 billion in revenue this year.
2. Steve Jobs, Apple: He's already saved the music business, now he's looking to do the same for the publishing industry with the iPad. And sales of his market-dominating iPhone will likely top $20 billion this year.

Even with iPad competition, sales of devices rise

(NEWSER) - Amazon is selling more books as Kindle downloads than as hardcovers, CNET reports . In the past month, the website sold 180 Kindle books for each 100 hardbacks. CEO Jeff Bezos calls the shift "astonishing, when you consider that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years and Kindle books for 33 months." More»