Friday, May 9, 2014

Amazon and Kindle News Roundup - HBO deal for Prime; Fire TV Voice Search expands (includ'g new Prime Browse) ; Amazon acquires Comixology; Replace faulty power button on iPhone 5 for free; HDX tablets still on sale


News some may have missed

Amazon snagged HBO exclusive in late April
Geekwire's Todd Bishop reported that HBO gave Amazon an exclusive deal on its popular earlier shows like, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, True Blood and others.

  These will be available as part of an Amazon Prime subscription (US), and Prime subscribers won’t need to be HBO subscribers to watch the shows.
(The Amazon UK Prime program has different content from the U.S. one.

  This is the first time that HBO has licensed content to an online-only subscription streaming service.

  Also, Amazon has verified that they're working with HBO-Go app developers on the app for its Amazon Fire TV set-top box.   Bishop adds that this app, which can be used by HBO subscribers to access the premium cable channel’s library of content, isn't expected to be ready until "the end of the year" though.

  However, the current crop of Kindle Fire HD tablets (HD 2nd Gen and HDX) do have the HBO-Go app available, and the tablets can be used to easily "mirror" the shows to your HDTV hooked up to a Fire TV box.

Bishop adds that "there will be a three-year delay for current and recent seasons and shows."


VOICE SEARCH on Amazon's Fire TV is being expanded to some non-Amazon-content
Dave Limp, VP, Amazon Devices, said, in a press release in April, "...we’re working hard to expand existing features and build new ones.
We’re thrilled to have Hulu Plus, Crackle, and SHOWTIME integrating their full selection of movies and TV shows into Fire TV’s unified voice search.”

Note that there's no mention of Netflix though, which has a clumsy search (as it does on my other HDTV Internet box (by LG).  Limp also mentions that:

  "In addition to the over one hundred games available on Fire TV, you will be able to play touch-enabled games with the upcoming Fire TV app for your phone or tablet.

Other new features announced in the press release, the first one an important one for me, include:
'   * New Prime browse will make it even easier to discover movies and TV shows that are included in Prime Instant Video.

   * Amazon FreeTime and Amazon MP3 integration coming as part of a free, over-the-air software update. '

Amazon acquires COMIXOLOGY
Guardian Liberty Voice's Stacy Lamy writes, in Apple and Google Take Blow From Comixology that
  "Right on the heels of being purchased by Amazon, Comixology has made a bold move. With their newest update ... both Apple and Google will no longer be receiving a cut from purchases made on Comixology. The decision is largely unprecedented.

Since in-app purchases have been completely removed, those with Apple devices will have to go to the Comixology website to make purchases.  This was always an option, but now the iOS app will just serve as a comics reader."

Since Comixology is now able to retain 30 percent of their sales, Lamy points out that this should bring greater profits for the Comixology comic creators and publishers, as well as the app developers.


Do you have an iPhone 5 with a faulty power button? Get it REPLACED FOR FREE.
  "Apple confirmed that some iPhone 5 smartphones have defective sleep/wake/power buttons and they've announced a free component replacement program in the U.S. and Canada.

Apple says the button mechanism "on a small percentage of iPhone 5 models may stop working or work intermittently." Their support document explains how to determine if your unit is affected and how to get the replacement.


The Kindle Fire HDX and HD-Generation-2 tablets are still on sale, and I'm guessing that'll be so, up to Mother's Day.



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