Amazon Coins can now be used for Appstore purchases
Kindle Fire owners receive $5 worth of Amazon Coins for free as an incentive
Amazon is debuting its new virtual currency, Amazon Coins, today as an alternative means for buying content from the Amazon Appstore on Android and Kindle Fire devices. The coins, which Amazon gave the details on back in February, can be used to purchase apps, games and in-app purchases -- but not subscriptions -- the same as you would with just dollars previously. Each Amazon Coin is worth 1 cent, so for example a $1 app can now also be purchased with 100 Amazon Coins if users prefer. Although developers receive the same cut for purchases made with Amazon Coins, Amazon seems to think this may be a good model to help fuel more purchases in the Appstore going forward.
The driving reason to use Amazon Coins over directly purchasing with dollars is that Amazon is offering a discount on bulk purchases of 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000. For example 500 Amazon Coins can be purchased for $4.80 rather than their purchasing power of $5. If you purchase 10,000 coins, you save 10-percent and pay just $90. Coins can of course only be used at Amazon, so it's banking on using the discount to lock people into having currency that can only be spent on certain purchases.
Kindle Fire users (provided you're in the U.S.) should see their 500 free coins deposited in their account today, but if they're not showing up a reboot of the device should fix that. If you're interested in checking out Amazon Coins as a way to save a few bucks on your Appstore purchases, see the source links below.
Source: Amazon; FAQ; Buy Amazon Coins
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Xbox SmartGlass now available on Amazon appstore for your Kindle Fire
Microsoft brings their "second screen" application to Amazon's storefront for Kindle Fire devices
About six months ago Microsoft released their Xbox SmartGlass app for Android to generally good reviews. If you haven't been paying attention, the app acts as a sort of controller for your Xbox, allowing you to surf the net from the console, act as a media controller remote and even change your Xbox 3D avatar. But until today, users wanting to use the app on their Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD devices had to resort to hackery to use Google Play or outright sideload a copy.
No longer, as it's now officially available from Amazon. We're not sure just how many folks want to use a tablet as a remote versus use a smartphone, or how many of the folks who do will be using a Kindle Fire, but if you're one of them, click this link to grab it, or check out the appstore from your Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD.
Via: Engadget
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Kindle Fire HD 8.9 gets AT&T’s 4G LTE starting April 5
Amazon's tablet runs $349 outright, or $249 if you sign a new contract
If you've been holding out for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-incher to get some built in LTE love, this is your week. AT&T has announced it'll carry the Android-based tablet -- remember that it's using Amazon services instead of Google -- starting April 5 for $399. If you sign up for a new LTE line for two years, AT&T will knock off $150, making ithe tablet just $249. Or you can add it to an existing Mobile Share plan for $10 a month.
Source: AT&T
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Kindle Fire HD 8.9 gets AT&T’s 4G LTE starting April 5
Amazon's tablet runs $349 outright, or $249 if you sign a new contract
If you've been holding out for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-incher to get some built in LTE love, this is your week. AT&T has announced it'll carry the Android-based tablet -- remember that it's using Amazon services instead of Google -- starting April 5 for $399. If you sign up for a new LTE line for two years, AT&T will knock off $150, making ithe tablet just $249. Or you can add it to an existing Mobile Share plan for $10 a month.
Source: AT&T
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Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch now for sale in Europe and Japan, lower price in tow
Amazon is announcing both wider-scale availability of its largest Kindle Fire -- the HD 8.9-inch -- along with a price cut of both Wifi and 4G versions. Starting today the new, larger tablet will come to Europe -- UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain -- as well as Japan. That's quite a big increase in availability, as Amazon has typically struggled to push out its Kindle products to other countries which has likely been due to a lack of content deals to sell media on the devices. Along with the increased availability, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch is receiving a price cut to $269 for the Wifi model and $399 if you want a 4G data connection.
That's a drop of $30 on the Wifi model and whole $100 on the 4G model. As for the data pricing on the 4G model, the plans are staying the same at $50 per year for 250MB of data per month through AT&T. In typical Amazon fashion the new, cheaper Kindle Fires are immediately available for purchase.
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Carphone Warehouse offering reductions on Amazon Kindle Fire range
A quick heads up to anyone in the UK that might have toyed with picking up an Amazon Kindle Fire -- there's some savings to be had from the Carphone Warehouse. Previously, the RRP on the Kindle Fire has been £129 with the Kindle Fire HD beginning at £159 for the 16GB version.
At Carphone Warehouse the price on the entry-level Kindle Fire has been slashed to just £89, and the 16GB Kindle Fire HD has been reduced down to £139. Despite not offering a traditional Android tablet experience, the Kindle Fire is still a great casual tablet and media consumption device. And, at these prices, there's even more to be said for giving them a look.
Source: Carphone Warehouse
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Amazon Coins coming in May to fuel Kindle Fire purchases
Amazon today announced it'll use its own "Amazon Coins" as a virtual currency for purchasing apps and in-app purchases on the Kindle Fire. The currency system will debut in May, and Amazon says it'll give customers "tens of millions of dollars' worth of free Amazon Coins" to jump-start the economy. (Insert stimulus package jokes/groans here.)
One Amazon Coin is worth 1 cent. They'll only be available to U.S. customers at launch, and they can't be used for subscriptions.
The usual rules apply, Amazon says, in that developers will still get 70 percent of the revenue when users make a purchase with Amazon Coins. There's a small catch, however -- developers need to have their apps submitted and approved in the Amazon Appstore by April 25 to be ready for Amazon Coins at launch.
Sources: Amazon Coins; FAQ
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