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Amazon Prime cost raised to $99 per year starting April 17
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News,
Amazon has announced that the cost of Amazon Prime will be increasing to $99 per year this morning (up from $79 per year,) the first time the service has seen a price increase since it launched nine years ago. The company cites increased fuel and transportation costs, alongside increased usage by Prime members, as the reason for the price bump.
Despite the price increase, Amazon Prime is still a fantastic service, introduced back in 2005, that provided unlimited free two-day shipping for millions of items, alongside Prime Instant Video, and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. When broken down, the monthly cost goes from about $6.58 up to $8.25 per month, making the cost 26 cents more than the price of a monthly Netflix streaming membership.
The price increase goes into effect on April 17th, so if you aren't yet a Prime member, you can lock in the lower rate now.
If you're an Amazon Prime member, does the price increase turn you off from keeping your subscription?
Gallery: Amazon Prime cost raised to $99 per year starting April 17
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WWE Network programming lineup revealed
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Internet,
WWe has unveiled its initial programming lineup for the WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 hybrid streaming network with content vault, highlighted by WrestleMania 30 on Sunday, April 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET live from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. WWE is looking to make some big moves, also including for the first time ever, the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony entirety, live on Saturday, April 5 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The WWE Network will officially launch on Monday, Feb. 24 at 9:00 a.m. ET, and fans will instantly have access to live programming and the most comprehensive WWE video-on-demand library upon signing up at WWE.com for $9.99 per month with six-month commitment. Content will be viewable through the WWE App on connected devices, including Roku, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Apple TV, and Xbox 360. Portable devices can also get in the action, as the Network will also be available on iOS devices, including Apple iPad and iPhone, Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices, and Android devices, as well as on desktops and laptops through WWE.com.
We've got the full content lineup for you after the break.
Click to continue reading WWE Network programming lineup revealed
Gallery: WWE Network programming lineup revealed
TigerDirect is the latest retailer to announce that it will accept Bitcoin as a payment method. The company specializes in selling computer hardware, accessories, gadgets, and similar kit. The company will use BitPay as its Bitcoin payment processor, making it the largest BitPay client. If you've got some Bitcoin that you'd like to spend on some tech, you can do it now at TigerDirect--online only though, as the retail locations aren't down with virtual currency just yet. Hey--maybe you can buy yourself some Bitcoin mining hardware with your Bitcoin. Spend money to make money, right?
Gallery: TigerDirect now accepts Bitcoin
How crazy is it that Pizza Hut sold over $1 million in pizza through the Xbox 360?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Software, Video Games,
Amazingly, Pizza Hut has announced that it's sold $1 million worth of pizzas through its Xbox 360 app in just the first four months of the app's availability. The app allows Xbox 360 users to place orders for some cheesy goodness right from their game consoles, ensuring that they wouldn't have to pick up the phone and talk to another human being to conduct the transaction.
"It's been a source of unbelievable growth for us," Pizza Hut PR head Doug Terfehr told Polygon. "Just the explosion of people who wanted to download it, experiment with it, play with it with Kinect. As soon as we did one, everyone was contacting us to do the next [one]."
Earlier this month, Pizza hut celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first online pizza order, which took place in 1994 on Pizza Hut PizzaNet. Believe it or not, the large pepperoni, muchroom, extra-cheese pizza was the first item ever ordered online--not just for pizza, but anything. Pretty crazy.
Gallery: How crazy is it that Pizza Hut sold over $1 million in pizza through the Xbox 360?
Google to acquire Nest for $3.2 billion
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Smart Home,
Google just announced that it will acquire Nest, the company that sells the popular and impressive connected Smart Thermostat and Protect smoke alarm devices, for $3.2 billion. With the deal, Nest founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers will join Google, bringing the two men who pretty much brought the iPod to life into Google's clutches.
"They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now–thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe," said Google CEO Larry Page in a statement. "We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!"
Google says that Nest will continue to operate independently, and Nest says that the customer data will be kept separate from the rest of Google data mining. We've seen similar promises from other companies Google has purchased in the past, and many of them were broken. We'll see how this one pans out. The acquisition is now pending regulatory review, and will likely take a few months to close.
Gallery: Google to acquire Nest for $3.2 billion
iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c coming to China Mobile on January 17, 2014
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News,
In what has to be seen as one of the biggest tech stories of the year, it's finally been announced that Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available on China Mobile, the largest cell phone carrier in the world, beginning on January 17, 2014. Both devices will support the China Mobile TD-LTE and TD-SCDMA cellular networks. Interested customers can pre-register for a device beginning December 25th.
“China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world’s largest network,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in the release.
It'll definitely be interesting to see what this does for iPhone worldwide marketshare, as China Mobile has 760 million customers.
Gallery: iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c coming to China Mobile on January 17, 2014
Xbox One launches November 22 for $499, last chance for day-one pre-orders!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Video Games,
The final piece of the Xbox One launch puzzle was solved yesterday when Microsoft confirmed that the console will launch on November 22nd. For those who don't have amazing an amazing memory, this is the same day that the Xbox 360 launched eight years ago. As previously announced, the Xbox One will cost $499, and will include the console, a controller, wired mono headset, and the new Kinect sensor.
If you haven't yet locked in your Xbox One console and you want to make sure you have one on November 22, you can pre-order on Amazon or The Microsoft Store now--just make sure you hurry!
Gallery: Xbox One launches November 22 for $499, last chance for day-one pre-orders!
Samsung Galaxy Gear: A 1.63-inch AMOLED smartwatch launching with 70 apps for $299
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Wearables, Corporate News,
Samsung is the first major company to release a smartwatch, revealing the Galaxy Gear during today's Unpacked event. The rumor mill was quite a ways off from what was presented today. The Gear sports a 1.63-inch 320 x 320 Super AMOLED display, with a 1.9-megapixel BSI auto-focus camera on the outside wrist strap (used to capture low-resolution images and 10-second video clips at 720p,) and a speaker on the inner wrist strap.
Galaxy Gear is also a platform unto itself, and it will have 70 apps on deck for launch, including familiar names like RunKeeper, Path, Evernote, TripIt, MyFitnessPal, eBay, and many others. That sounds great, but the device will ship with limited smartphone and tablet compatibility, working with only the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 at launch, although Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy S III integration will be coming in October. With a compatible device, the Galaxy Gear will be your companion, allowing you access to Find My Device, S Voice, pedometer, call answering, and more.
Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Gear: A 1.63-inch AMOLED smartwatch launching with 70 apps for $299
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 drops September 25 with 5.7-inch display, faux-leather shell
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Google,
At today's Unpacked event, Samsung announced its new S Pen-powered Galaxy Note 3, a bigger version of the large smartphone, with much improved internals. Aiming to end the talk of people complaining about the cheap plastic feel of Samsung devices, the company has given the Note 3 a faux-leather backing. You get a 5.7-inch 1080p display (up from 5.5 on the Note 2,) and the device will support the new LTE Category 4 as well as the new Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch. You get a 13 megapixel camera on back, with a 2 megapixel version up front, and the rear camera can record in up to 4K resolution at 30fps, a first for a smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will start shipping on September 25th rocking Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, available in black, white, and pink.
Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 drops September 25 with 5.7-inch display, faux-leather shell
Amazon Kindle MatchBook gives paper book buyers cheap and free Kindle copies
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Hot Deals,
Amazon has announced an awesome new program called Kindle MatchBook that it's set to launch in October, bringing free and cheap eBooks to buyers of paper books. Basically, if you purchase a paper book from Amazon, you can buy the digital Kindle version for $.99, $1.99, $2.99, or download it for free, depending on the book. Most interesting? It's completely retroactive, going all the way back to 1995 when Amazon launched. Any participating purchase you've ever made on Amazon is eligible, as long as it is a part of the MatchBook selection, which will launch at about 10,000 titles next month. Amazon says that there will be some big-name authors taking part:
Kindle MatchBook will launch with books from Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, Blake Crouch, James Rollins, Jodi Picoult, Neil Gaiman, Marcus Sakey, Wally Lamb, Jo Nesbo, Neal Stephenson, and J.A. Jance, among others. In addition, Amazon Publishing will include all its titles in Kindle MatchBook.
Definitely a cool service, and one that makes Amazon an even more attractive purchasing destination when compared to Barnes & Noble and the Nook store, and Apple's iBookstore (which doesn't even sell paper books.)
Read More 
| Kindle MatchBook
Gallery: Amazon Kindle MatchBook gives paper book buyers cheap and free Kindle copies
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