August 2012 – Nayana Sri Blog

August 31, 2012

Amazon Talks Up Android Appstore Growth Ahead Of New Kindle Fire Announcement

And Amazon’s pre-announcement PR onslaught continues. While the recent Kindle Fire leak may have ruined Amazon’s big surprise, the online retail giant is still working to position itself as a hotspot for Android developers, and has just released some new stats about the growth of its Android Appstore to back up its claims.

Amazon’s official release simply mentions that the number of developers creating apps for its Appstore has grown “quickly,” but according to a related email, the number of developers has “more than doubled.” The company pegs that growth on its implementation of impulse-friendly one-touch app purchases, as well as the debut of new services like GameCircle that sought to bring Amazon’s mobile app ecosystem closer to those of its rivals.

Apparently, one of the biggest feathers in Amazon’s developer friendly cap is its in-app purchasing system, which it claims generates more than twice the revenue of the average paid app transaction. The service officially launched back in April (after a considerable beta period), and seemed like a considerable step forward in terms of developer monetization — if Amazon wanted to compete with the likes of Apple or Google’s own considerable app ecosystems, in-app purchases were a must have. As Kim-Mai pointed out at the time, Amazon retains the ability to dramatically discount the selling price of individual apps, but the company’s in-app purchasing scheme see developers earnings a straight 70% of the app’s list price.

The company was also quick to note in that email that the catalog of Kindle Fire-friendly apps has tripled since the tablet’s launch last November. Considering that the unveiling of a new Kindle Fire next week is basically a lock, I’m actually rather surprised Amazon didn’t do more to play up this stat. After all, the Kindle Fire is facing a much rougher competitive landscape than it did when it first launched with Google’s Nexus 7 picking up steam and the supposed iPad mini on the way. Still, there’s one important thing to take note of here — as was the case with some of Amazon’s other recent releases, Amazon hasn’t offered up specific numbers to back up these claims.

TechCrunch » android

August 31, 2012

The Weather Channel iPad App Tops 10 Million Downloads

We’ve followed The Weather Channel through its transition into the digital era.

It started with a beautiful iPad app, and then the company revamped its iPhone app and website to match the new look and feel. And boy were there features! Social elements, notifications when it will rain, and personalized weather were all in the forecast.

And today, the iPad app that started it all has surpassed 10 million downloads. Much of this is due to Hurricane Isaac, which swept the Gulf Coast this week.

The company reports that the strongest four-day period the app has ever seen started August 26, and TWC saw the most downloads ever (both iPhone and iPad) on August 26.

The Weather Channel has been making a big push of late, hoping to be the world’s go-to destination for weather information, whether they’re visiting on the web, TV, phone, or tablet. The Weather Channel app remains the second most downloaded app on the iPad, according to Apple, and is second only to Apple’s own iBooks.

Click to view slideshow.

TechCrunch » Gadgets

August 31, 2012

AT&T Opens A Swanky 10,000 Sq. Ft. Flagship Store In Chi-Town

Today, AT&T opened up its 10,000 square foot flagship retail store on Michigan Ave. in Chicago. It’s a bit of a beast, with an 18-foot Connect Wall that displays news and product info to everyone in the store and in the street.

But despite all the cool technology (and trust me, there’s plenty), AT&T is really looking to have more of connection with its consumers. When you walk into any carrier store, the phone usually comes first. Samsung, Apple, and Motorola come to mind — not AT&T. But the blue carrier is looking to remedy that.

The store has a Microsoft Surface table so that consumers can familiarize themselves with various apps. There’s also a Street Smart section, complete with a Nissan Leaf, which makes customers aware of AT&T’s safe driving products, along with an in-store retail demo area of AT&T’s home automation services and products.

But the tech isn’t just for the consumers. Employees will use biometric technology to open cabinet locks for cash drawers and IT systems using their fingerprints.

Check out the video below for a better look:

Click to view slideshow.

TechCrunch » Gadgets

August 31, 2012

Amazon Wants Everyone To Know The Kindle Fire Is Sold Out

New Kindles are coming! New Kindles are coming! And Amazon is trying its hardest to build up hype.

The Kindle Fire was the retailer’s hottest product since its launch. The replacement is set be announced next week, but Amazon just took to the wires to announce the original Kindle Fire is sold out. OMGNOWAY!

It’s nearly guaranteed that Amazon will launch new Kindle models next week at its LA-based press conference. New ereader Kindles are expected alongside new Fire models. It should be a good showing by Amazon, but there is a lot of noise in this space now. A boat load of tablets launched at IFA the last few days and Apple is expected to release a Kindle Fire competitor in the coming weeks as well.

Amazon is clearly desperate for attention. And so, just like the, days before the announcement of the next model, Amazon is suddenly out of stock of its best selling item — and quickly issued a press release bragging as such.

SEATTLE—August 30, 2012—(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Less than one year ago, Amazon introduced Kindle Fire —combining 15 years of innovation into a single, fully-integrated, end-to-end service for customers. Kindle Fire quickly became the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon.com, earning over 10,000 5-star customer reviews, and is the #1 best-selling product across the millions of items available on Amazon since its introduction 48 weeks ago. Today, Amazon announced that Kindle Fire is sold out, and that in just nine months, Kindle Fire has captured 22% of tablet sales in the U.S.

“We’re grateful to the millions of customers who have made Kindle Fire the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “This has been a big year for digital products on Amazon—all of the top 10 sellers on Amazon.com since Kindle Fire launched just less than a year ago are digital products. Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead—we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem.”

Kindle Fire offers customers a vast selection of digital content—over 22 million movies, TV shows, apps, games, books, magazines and more—in one seamless, end-to-end experience, making it easy for customers to browse, discover and purchase. Since Kindle Fire launched last September, all of the top 10 products on Amazon—across all products—are digital products.

TechCrunch » Gadgets

August 31, 2012

Could This Be Amazon’s New Kindle Fire?

After this morning’s news that the Kindle Fire is now sold out, The Verge received a leaked photo of what is purported to be the next Kindle Fire. Two models are supposed to be released, a 7-inch variant that will replace the existing device and a new 10-inch device that would put it in competition with Apple and the iPad. The Verge’s report lines up nicely with previous rumors that circulated before Amazon told its employees to stop talking to tech blogs.

The first generation Kindle Fire bore a striking resemblance to the BlackBerry Playbook since it was based on the same reference design, but if this image is actually legitimate, Amazon has clearly gone in a different direction.

This newly leaked image reveals the existence of a front-facing camera, as well as a rather cluttered-looking navigation bar running vertically along the display’s right edge. Still, Even though the keyboard and the touches of orange are reminiscent of Amazon’s user interface, it remains to be seen whether it is the actual device. Amazon will hold a press conference on September 6 where new e-reader Kindles alongside new Fire models are expected.

According to Amazon, the Kindle Fire captured 22 percent of the market share in the U.S. and its new version could be one of a series of highly-anticipated tablet models expected to be unveiled in September. Rumors of an iPad Mini introduction in the coming weeks are persistent and Apple would therefore commercialize another competitor for the 7-inch Kindle Fire model.

TechCrunch » android