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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Amazon.com

Amazon.com stories: 89 news summaries

1 - 20 of 89 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>

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RACE TO THE BOTTOM

Retailers Sell Flicks Online at Less Than Cost

Big-box giants drop price of 10 hottest
DVD titles to $10

Nov 6, 09 10:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Wal-Mart has spurred an online DVD price war by dropping prices on 10 must-have movies to just $10, which analysts agree is below wholesale cost. “We remain committed to offering our customers the lowest prices online at Walmart.com, and will continue to adjust our pricing accordingly,” a... More »

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online retailers • price war • Target • holiday shopping • Wal-Mart • movies • Amazon.com • DVDs

 Boyle Breaks Pre-Order Record 

Debut album for Britain's Got Talent star is selling fast

Oct 22, 09 8:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Susan Boyle's popularity shows no signs of dying down: The Britain's Got Talent runner-up is releasing her first album Nov. 23, and it has already broken Amazon's record for most pre-orders, the New York Daily News reports. "Although it's normal to see early enthusiasm for artists who... More »

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entertainment • music • celebrity • album release • Amazon.com • album sales • Susan Boyle • Britain's Got Talent • women's issues • new album

Palin Memoir a Gift to Booksellers

Going Rogue likely to continue trend of hits from right-wing figures

Oct 15, 09 2:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s memoir is expected sell so well that it will singlehandedly boost the fortunes of the ailing book business. The book is already topping preorder lists, and publisher Harper plans an extensive slate of promotional appearances to make full use the former Alaska governor's drawing power. "They... More »

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Alaska • Republican • conservative • publishing • memoir • author • Michelle Malkin • HarperCollins • Borders • Glenn Beck • book • Sarah Palin • Amazon.com • publishing industry • Going Rogue

 Susan Boyle's 
 Album Already 
 a Best-Seller 

November release tops presale chart

Sep 4, 09 9:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Beat it, Beatles, here comes Susan Boyle. Hours after the Scottish singer's upcoming album was announced, it hit No. 1 on the Amazon.com presale charts—putting her ahead of Whitney Houston and the Fab Four. I Dreamed A Dream comes out in late November, the Scottish Daily Record reports.... More »

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entertainment • music industry • Scotland • Beatles • record sales • Amazon.com • CD sales • Whitney Houston • Susan Boyle

 Unreleased Kennedy Memoir 
 Climbing Bestseller Lists 

True Compass will be released Sept. 14

Aug 29, 09 4:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ted Kennedy’s unreleased memoir, True Compass, is already creeping up the bestseller lists. Originally scheduled for 2010, it's been moved up to mid-September by publisher Hachette, which plans to ship 1.5 million copies to booksellers. Pre-orders have put True Compass at No. 9 on Amazon and... More »

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Congress • Senate • Ted Kennedy • memoir • Amazon.com • best seller • Barnes & Noble • Edward Kennedy

Americans Read Over President's Shoulder

Obama's vacation book list drives leaps in Amazon sales rankings

Aug 27, 09 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama’s poll numbers are faltering, but his summer reading choices are getting rave reviews, Politico reports. A survey of the Amazon.com standings of the five books the White House announced he would take with him on his Martha’s Vineyard vacation show a drastic improvement in sales.... More »

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literature • publishing • reading • vacation • Thomas Friedman • book • Amazon.com • John Adams • President Obama • Martha's Vineyard • David McCullough • George Pelecanos • Richard Price • Kent Haruf

Sony Challenges Kindle With
$199 E-Reader

Company angles for bigger share of fast-growing market

Aug 5, 09 2:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sony plans to fire up competition in the E-reader market with a pair of affordable releases next month, Bloomberg reports. The Sony Reader Pocket Edition, with a 5-inch screen, will be priced at $199. A touch-screen version will sell for $299. Amazon dropped the price of its Kindles to $299... More »

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Sony • consumer electronics • Kindle • Amazon.com • ebooks • e-readers • Sony Reader

(Newser) - Customers who had their paid-for copies of 1984 and Animal Farm yanked from their Kindles over a copyright issue are taking Amazon to court, InformationWeek reports. The company has apologized for its action and vowed not to repeat it, but the plaintiffs, who include a high school student whose homework... More »

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copyright • lawsuit • George Orwell • Kindle • Amazon.com • ebooks • e-readers

Amazon Goes Orwellian
on Kindle

Company deletes customers' downloads of 1984, Animal Farm

Jul 18, 09 6:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Amazon turned into Big Brother this week after mistakenly selling pirated copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm to Kindle users, Ars Technica reports. The company, without warning, remotely deleted the books from customers' devices after discovering the publisher didn't have the rights to sell them. Customers who lost... More »

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copyright • George Orwell • Kindle • Amazon.com • ebooks • e-readers

 Weird Stuff for Sale on Amazon 

Buy the world's largest book, or a life-size grim reaper statue

Jul 15, 09 7:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Amazon.com long ago expanded beyond books and now offers appliances, musical instruments, and as Random Good Stuff points out, some decidedly odd items:
  • The world’s largest book. At 5 by 7 feet, the photographic book Bhutan includes lifesize portraits of its subjects. It's a steal at $30,
... More »

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UFO • UFO sightings • uranium • drive-through • Amazon.com • Amazon • bondage • Grim Reaper

(Newser) - Amazon has lopped $60 off the price of its Kindle 2 ebook reader in a move that looks like an effort to gain iPod-like dominance in an increasingly crowded market, Melissa Perenson writes in PC World. The Kindle is way ahead of the competition, but Sony's ereaders are gaining traction,... More »

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consumer electronics • Kindle • Amazon.com • ebooks • e-readers

 Amazon: 'Ham-Fisted Error' 
 Caused Gay Glitch 

Company promises to restore gay, lesbian titles to ranking system

Apr 14, 09 2:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Amazon.com says “an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error” caused thousands of gay and lesbian-related titles to be removed from sales rankings and some searches, the New York Times reports. The company—the target of online outrage after the changes came to light—says the "glitch" has now... More »

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lesbians • book • Amazon.com • Amazon • gays

 Amazon Drops Gay Titles 
 From Sales Rankings 

Company blames glitch for shunting innocuous gay titles to adult list

Apr 13, 09 6:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Amazon is facing a backlash for yanking hundreds of gay and lesbian titles from its sales ranking system, CNET reports. The bookseller has a policy of excluding material deemed "adult" from the sales and bestseller lists, but critics say its exclusion of titles like The Well of Loneliness—a... More »

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lesbians • book • Amazon.com • best seller • gays

 Kindle Devotees Rip 
 Rising E-Book Prices 

Digital books should cost $10 or less, they say

Apr 7, 09 6:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - A small but vocal group of Kindle owners has banded together to protest upward-creeping e-book prices, Wired reports. Around 250 disgruntled Kindle devotees have tagged more than 7,200 titles on Amazon priced higher than $10—the most they argue an e-book should cost. "On material items, prices can... More »

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protests • consumer prices • boycott • Kindle • Amazon.com • e-readers

iPhones Turn Into Kindles, With Free App

Amazon hopes to corner iPhone's
eBook market

Mar 4, 09 7:46 AM CST
(Newser) - Amazon’s widely praised digital book reader is getting a second home on the iPhone, reports the Washington Post. Amazon is launching a free Kindle app today that has most of the Kindle functions. Though it won't have the Kindle’s ink-and-paper-like screen, the iPhone version will allow users to... More »

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iPhone • Apple • Kindle • iPhone applications • Amazon.com • ebooks

(Newser) - Amazon has bowed to pressure from the Authors Guild and will allow authors and publishers to disable the controversial text-to-speech feature on its Kindle e-reader, the Los Angeles Times reports. Authors contend that the function essentially turns the e-book into an audio book, a contract violation. “They created... More »

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Kindle • copyright infringement • audio books • Amazon.com • ebooks • Authors Guild • e-readers

PRODUCT REVIEW

 Kindle 2 Worth It 
 for 'Serious Book Readers' 


Feb 26, 09 2:16 PM CST
(Newser) - Amazon’s new Kindle e-reader offers vast improvement over the previous model, writes Walter Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal, and “is finally a pleasure to use.” Faster page-flipping, sleeker design, tons more memory, and a digital audio feature are just some of the advances. But hardware is... More »

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Walt Mossberg • battery • data storage • Kindle • Amazon.com • ebooks • e-readers • improvement • digital content

(Newser) - Amazon is widely rumored to be releasing a new version of its Kindle e-reader next week, and the e-book industry appears to be growing, Fortune reports. Sony is pushing its own device, Google has opened up access to millions of books online and for download to mobile devices like the... More »

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technology • iPhone • Google Book Search • Kindle • Amazon.com • mobile devices • ebooks • e-readers • Sony Reader

MARKETS

 Dow Off 149, 
 Down 8.8% for Month 

GDP report ends month of layoffs, losses

Jan 30, 09 3:18 PM CST
(Newser) - Stocks extended losses today off the news of a 3.8% decline in US GDP for the fourth quarter, ending a turbulent month, MarketWatch reports. The report capped a week of widespread layoffs and poor earnings at major US firms. Amazon.com was a rare exception, up 18% on strong... More »

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layoffs • Dow Jones • earnings reports • Nasdaq • GDP • S&P 500 • Amazon.com • Amazon

(Newser) - Tech bloggers reading their tea leaves say e-book fans can expect the new version of the Kindle on Feb. 9. Though maker Amazon has made no announcement, the company has scheduled a major press conference that day with chief Jeff Bezos. And, notes Brad Stone of the New York Times,... More »

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reading • Jeff Bezos • Kindle • tech industry • Amazon.com

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