Amazon Kindle Unlimited: £6 a month “Netflix for books” ebook subscription service launches July 18, 2014 Amazon has officially launched its new book subscription service Kindle Unlimited after details of the new offering leaked earlier in the week. Dubbed the “Netflix for books”, Amazon Unlimited will offer customers unlimited access to selected books and audiobooks, including best sellers such as Harry Potter and the Hunger Games, for a monthly fee of [...]
Author Allan Ahlberg turns down award because it is sponsored by Amazon July 11, 2014 Revered children's author Allan Ahlberg has turned down an award for lifetime achievement because it is sponsored by Amazon, saying “the idea that my 'lifetime achievement' should have the Amazon tag attached to it is unacceptable". The award was offered to him by the Booktrust at its Best Book Awards earlier this month, and [...]
Amazon hit with lawsuit from US regulator over unauthorised app downloads by kids July 10, 2014 The Federal Trade Commission is suing Amazon for allowing kids to make in-app purchases without parental consent resulting in millions of dollars of charges being incurred by parents. The lawsuit is seeking to make Amazon refund the money and prevent the retailer from allowing any purchases without a password on its Kindle Fire devices. Many [...]
Amazon and Luxembourg hit by EU “sweetheart deal” tax crackdown. July 3, 2014 Amazon is the latest company to have been hit by an EU tax crackdown that has already caught out Apple, Starbucks and Fiat’s financial arm. According to a report in the FT, the EU's competition commission has sent a request to Luxembourg, where the company's headquarters are based, for information about whether decisions on [...]
Lessons from the career of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos July 2, 2014 The remarkable success of Amazon’s founder shows the value of always asking “why”. Amazon recently turned 20, and Jeff Bezos, its founder and chief executive, can stake a fair claim as one of the most influential entrepreneurs of his generation. His company has reshaped the way books, clothes, electronics and thousands of other [...]
Amazon brings battle with book publishers to the UK June 27, 2014 Amazon has been accused of bullying UK publishers in the latest upset between the book industry and the ecommerce giant. An investigation by the Bookseller, the industry trade magazine, found Amazon was putting UK publishers under "heavy pressure" when it came to agreeing new contract terms. Publishing houses are worried about certain terms proposed in [...]
Amazon’s lockers arrive in London Tube station car parks June 25, 2014 Amazon has introduced new lockers at Finchley Central and Newbury Park tube station car parks in a partnership between the online retail giant and Transport for London that will let customers collect their purchases at the lockers – like they can do in some Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s car parks. Amazon has lockers in over [...]
Amazon drone delivery plans remain on course despite reports of US ban June 25, 2014 Amazon will continue with plans to make deliveries by drone a reality, despite widespread reports that US regulators have banned the unmanned aerial vehicles. The e-commerce giant responded to CNET saying that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) guidelines, published yesterday, did not address the use of drones for commercial purposes and were not relevant to [...]
Amazon joining with Doddle to start railway station collections June 23, 2014 AMAZON customers will soon be able to pick up parcels from railway stations as part of a new deal between the online retail giant and Doddle, the click-and-collect joint venture between Network Rail and Travelex millionaire Lloyd Dorfman. Doddle is currently running a pilot operation at Milton Keynes station, with plans to expand the service [...]
Amazon’s Fire smartphone looks set to light up mobile market June 18, 2014 Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos last night put Apple, Samsung and legions of online retailers on red alert with the launch of its new Fire smartphone, with the promise that the online giant would once again revolutionise shopping. Bezos, in a rare media appearance, demonstrated Firefly, a service that lets the $199 (£117) phone identify [...]