Amazon - page 31

Another year, another title. Fortune announced their list of the world’s most admired companies this morning, and Apple swept away the competition for the fifth year in a row. Each year Fortune surveys the business community to find out which company has the best reputation in the eyes of their peers. Apple has ranked at the top of Fortune’s annual list for the last five years which ties them with General Electric for the number of most appearances in the top spot.

The iPad 3 is about to drop any day day now, and to make room on their shelves for Apple’s next great tablet Best Buy is slashing prices on the iPad 2. Customers can now buy the iPad 2 with Wi-Fi – 16GB for $449.99, with free shipping anywhere in the USA. Rumors have been running rampant the last few weeks regarding the impending release of the iPad 3, so it looks like Best Buy is trying to get rid of their old units as quickly as possible. But with the iPad 3 so close on the horizon, will $50 off be enough to lure in customers?

Just days after confirming its plans for its data center in North Carolina, Apple has confirmed that it is gearing up to build another one in Prineville, Oregon, neighboring rivals like Amazon, Google, and Facebook. The Cupertino company purchased the 160-acre lot for $5.6 million from Crook County.

Proview Technology, which is currently suing Apple for its use of the “iPad” trademark in China, revealed yesterday that it is seeking a ban on all iPad shipments into and out of China. If successful, the move could delay Apple’s iPad 3 launch with the device unable to leave the Chinese factories in which it is assembled.

However, according to Chinese customs, Proview has no chance of blocking iPad shipments because customers just love it too much.

While Apple’s trademark dispute with Proview Technology rages on, the iPad continues to feel the strain in China. Following its ban in one Chinese city, the device has now been pulled from Amazon China and the retailer has frozen all orders.

Still struggling to think of things to do this Valentine’s Day? Maybe you haven’t even got a date yet. But don’t worry, our app guide is here to help. We’ve compiled a list of great iOS apps that will make you the perfect valentine on February 14. They’ll help you find a date, book a table for dinner, buy movie tickets, and even send flowers. All you’ll need is your iPhone.

New numbers show Android-based tablets are gaining on the reigning champ, Apple’s iPad. Although Android owns 39 percent of the tablet market, some question whether there’s a ringer: Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The device is the first non-Apple tablet to lay a hand on the iPad, but uses a highly-customized version of Google’s mobile operating system. How much of Android’s gains are due to its barely-recognizable distant cousin, twice removed?

Despite being labeled the first real competitor to the iPad, it seems Amazon’s 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet still has a long way to go before it can lure tablet users away from Apple’s device. Although it seemed to be incredibly popular when it launched last year, largely thanks to that attractive $199 price tag, Apple CEO Tim Cook says the Kindle Fire, and other “limited function tablets,” had no impact on iPad sales whatsoever.

Today Amazon launched an iPad-optimized Kindle Store web app. Visiting amazon.com/iPadKindleStore on the iPad will now take you to Amazon’s new web portal for buying ebooks from Apple’s tablet.

Once you’ve logged into your Amazon account, you’ll be able to browse and purchase ebooks in Mobile Safari on the iPad. Your purchases will then be pushed by Amazon to your Kindle device or Kindle iOS app.

There’s nothing like a family fight and one may be brewing between Android creator Google and the Kindle Fire, one of the few Android-based tablets able to lay a finger on the iPad’s overwhelming success. Although unconfirmed, a report suggests the Internet giant is planning to unveil its own tablet in early 2012 that could undercut Amazon’s price advantage. It brings tears of joy to the eyes of Apple fans.

In the highly-competitive holiday sales period, Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire tablet ‘at most’ cost Apple 1 million to 2 million iPad sales, one Wall Street observer said today. Despite the dent in sales, the tech giant is expected to turn in record iPad sales figures for this quarter.

How can Apple ward off iPad challengers such as Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire tablet? One way, according to experts, is to offer the popular iPad 2 device at a much lower price – perhaps $299. Such a move could “seriously” impact the Kindle Fire and others attempting to gain market share by providing a low-cost alternative to the iPad. Others are dropping prices for another reason — nobody wants their tablets.

Just how popular were Kindles as Christmas gifts? Amazon said today it sold at least 4 million of the devices in December, or 1 million each week. Sounds great until we check Apple numbers and find the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant demolished the Internet retailer’s sales hype in about one day.

Last night, Conan and Team Coco decided to roast (literally) the Kindle Fire for its various customer complaints. We’re not going to comment on the merits of such claims but we can certainly bask in the humor and wit of Team Coco. Watch the video after the break. Enjoy!

If you buy books through Amazon and use their Kindle app, a nice update was just pushed to the App Store bringing the option to subscribe on your iPad to any of the magazines offered on the Kindle Fire

New tablets from booksellers Amazon and Barnes & Noble are chipping away at the iPad’s commanding lead of the market. The Kindle Fire is expected to be the strongest challenger, dropping Apple’s market share below 60 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, analysts write today.

That’s right — rumors surrounding an “iPad mini” have been resurrected by DigiTimes, which claims Apple is really going to give Amazon’s Kindle Fire something to worry about next year with an 7.85-inch model of it’s hugely successful tablet.

Amazon, known for its shyness about sales figures, made a bit of a splash today, announcing it had sold 1 million Kindles per week for the past three weeks. Sure, that isn’t much to go on, but it prompted some to wonder whether the No. 2 tablet maker is about to overtake the iPad.

Did you miss out on seeing PBS’s fantastic documentary on the life of Steve Jobs when it aired in early November? Well, you’re in lucky: Steve Jobs – One Last Thing is now available on DVD. It’s also free to stream for Amazon Prime members.

Founded in 2010, Digitude Innovations is a company based in Virginia that has decided against selling products or services, but chooses instead to sue other companies for patent infringement. Yes, it’s a patent troll. And according to one report, it’s doing all of Apple’s dirty work.

With access to over half a million apps in the App Store, getting things done on our iPhones has never been easier. So instead of running around like a headless chicken this Christmas Eve in a desperate bid to buy gifts for all your friends and family, why not sit back, stick your feet up, and do you Christmas shopping on your iPhone?

We’ve compiled a list of the App Store’s best apps for Christmas shopping that will help you plan, save, shop and send cards directly right from the palm of your hand.

Remember those sneaky Smurfs? The in-app iPad purchases from the free game Smurf’s Village – and dozens of games like it – had parents seeing red as their toddlers accidentally ran up credit card bills.

The Kindle Fire also has a similar problem. Kids who play about with the 7-inch tablet are just a few swipes away from Amazon’s famous 1-Click Ordering, a feature that cannot be disabled on the device. (If you haven’t disabled in-app purchases on your iPad, here’s how.)

Reuters reports that Jason Rosenfeld’s 3-year-old daughter basically bought her own Christmas presents after seeing Dad’s shopping history on the tablet.

Amazon is using its Price Check app for the iPhone to lure shoppers away from physical retail stores by offering tasty discounts that can only be used online on Saturday, December 10. The company issued a press release today in which it announces its plan to “incentivize” shoppers to buy online, “ensuring they are really getting a deal.”

Having rocketed to the top of the book charts in October following the death of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson’s authorized Steve Jobs biography has quickly become Amazon’s best-selling book of 2011.