The Kindle Fire is a shockingly good product for a shockingly good price. For $200, you get a screen with a higher resolution than the iPad, with a dual-core processor and an Android OS. In other words, it’s a Nook, only $50 cheaper, and it will likely be a hacker’s delight. But for all the buzz, it’s not going to be able to tackle the iPad in any meaningful way. Here’s two reasons why.
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Pretty much if you want to put out an application in this day and age, especially for anything mobile, you have to put out an iOS version. Apple pretty much controls the smartphone and the tablet computer market. Defying them is practically fiscal suicide. You’ve got to have deep pockets to defy the biggest company in the world.

You know, like being the biggest web store in the world. Or the biggest retailer.

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As you might be aware, yesterday Amazon launched the Cloud Player, a service that stores your music and lets you play it from anywhere you have a decent connection and a computer. No more copying MP3s, no more carrying around a music player, instead you’ll have your music anywhere you go, at least until the server crashes. Or until Sony shuts it down, as they just told Amazon they’re pretty sure the Cloud Player needs a streaming license.

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I gotta be honest, when I first heard about Amazon’s Prime service, I let out one of the biggest, loudest meeehhhhhssss of all time. Actually “meh” would indicate indifference, so I guess my sentiment was more like a “WTTTTFFF???”  A $79-a-year two-day shipping subscription? Count me out. Way out.

But now Amazon has added something more tempting to the pot: free video streaming (or, more accurately, $79-per-year video streaming). Prime customers will now get access to 5,000 movies and TV shows. So instead of paying for an incentive to buy more junk from Amazon, you actually get something tangible…er….streamible in return.

The service is currently available to paid and free-trial Prime subscribers in the U.S. [via Engadget]

Amazon has sold more e-books than paperback books for short periods in the past, but today it reports that e-books outsold paperbacks during an extended period this holiday season. Amazon didn’t expect the milestone to happen until spring, but thanks to increased e-book shopping over the holidays, it got there early.

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If you think about nearly any small, consumer item that you’d ever want to buy, chances are that you could (or will) buy it through Amazon. Or at least check Amazon for prices. Apps have long been one of the few items that people buy on a regular basis for which they didn’t need to bother checking Amazon. Soon, however, that will all change.

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You know what’s so boring that it makes me want to gnaw my own testicles? The line-for-line breakdown of Apple’s new App development guidelines. Brutal. So instead of torturing myself (and possibly you readers), I’ll leave that news to bigger blogs today and focus on something that’s instantly engaging: Amazon Kindle availability.

Okay, it’s really not more engaging at all, but it’s much shorter and simpler than Apple’s announcement and it lends way to a nice concise post. 

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Amazon debuted a new pair of Kindles today, and instead of taking shot directly at the iPad, it chose to focus on improving its market-leading design–at least for now.

The new Kindle moves into one-handed territory, shrinking down by nearly a quarter while maintaining the same six-inch reading area. Amazon dropped the weight down to just 8.7 ounces. The new Kindles keep the same e-ink display that true readers tend to prefer over LCDs, and Amazon claims that the new generation offers 50 percent better contrast than Kindles of old.

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E-reader prices have recently been going down faster than Paris Hilton after a couple of adult beverages, and for a limited time, you can enjoy the biggest price break yet. Woot has the Amazon Kindle for a bargain-basement price of $150. If you’ll recall, Amazon recently dropped the official price of the Kindle down to $189, so without trying too hard you’ll save about 40 bucks. $35 once you get past Woot’s standard $5 shipping costs.

Woot’s price puts the Kindle at the same price as Barnes & Noble’s cheap, Wi-Fi-only model. In other words, you’ll get the Kindle’s 3G coverage for the same price.

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