Amazon slashes Dash Express by $100 for the day

The once $600 Dash Express has hit a very nice price point today, and most likely today only. Amazon's Gold Box deal of the dayhas these formidable networked navigators for a mere $200. The units dipped to the $300 mark in June, but this once in a blue moon, $100 off makes this a unheard of deal, definitely worth looking into. And hey, that’s pretty darn good for a 4.3-inch GPS device of any sort, even if those maps are still ugly.
Read more!

Textbuyit Makes Bargain Hunting Obsolete

So there you are in the local Ma and Pa bookstore contemplating that literary purchase when think to yourself, ‘screw the local economy I want the cheapest price.’

Enter Amazon, the quintessential online bookseller and oh so much more. The mobile payment department, over there, launched on Tuesday Textbuyit. Phone texting is Amazon's newest way to help you give into your every whim, at discount prices of course.

Just text the title or other identifying features to 262966 or Amazon, seconds later you’re presented with options from different sellers at various prices; reply by texting 1, 2, or m (for more options).

When you’ve found the right item, at the right price, from the right place you simply text your email and zip code (only initially). One of Amazon’s computers then calls you to complete the purchase over the phone. No human interaction required (unless you answer the mailman when he rings the bell).

Betting that this will take purchases away from bookstores isn’t one I’d make, but as far as large electronics or heavy things, I could easily see city dwellers hitting this service up after probing the brick and mortar offerings.

Inevitably, Textbuyit will have some impact on brick and mortars, but getting shoppers to buy from a computer when the product is right in front of them would be quite the accomplishment.

Read more!

Kindles in Stock?

Amazon promises to start stocking enough Kindles to quickly quench our thirst for the e-paper reader. The letter of apology, on Amazon’s front page yesterday, from Jeff Bezos was a quick note on their plans to, in the next few weeks, have enough kindles in stock to honor an ‘order-today ship-today’ declaration.

This all comes in the wake of order processing delays of up to a month and a half. Slow order processing apparently hasn’t curbed demand for the unique e-book, however; since their launch at the Union Square W hotel in November, there have constantly been more orders for Kindles, than Kindles coming though the doors at Amazon.

Under estimating demand can be more detrimental than overstocking, as Nintendo found out this Christmas, losing millions on their Wii shortage.

For me Amazon, with this letter, is also making sure that they get enough orders through advertising it on their homepage; so that if the easy availability of the Kindle affects the demand for it, they won’t be overstocked. After all, a product’s exclusivity can breed a higher demand, and if it becomes too commonplace the shininess fades a bit. Plus, you can’t get as much for them on eBay if everyone has one.

Read more!

Amazon MP3 Dumps DRM

[Image courtesy of Amazon]

posted by Andrew Harris

Competing directly with the iTunes' market share, everyone chasing those guys, Amazon today announced the public beta release of "Amazon MP3". Offering up 2 million downloadable songs, half are being priced lower than itunes at $0.89 each, the rest at $0.99, full albums will be offered at between $5.99-$9.99. Amazon's most competitive feature of the new offering, besides higher bitrates, is the lack of copyright restrictions. So you can play Amazon MP3 music purchases on any machine, player, or device that can read MP3. ("Oh and apple takes a hard right hook to the jaw")...some indie labels will be breaking the ties that bind and going DRM free for the first time with Amazon.

Back to blog!

Read more!