Amazon is bringing its Amazon Mobile Ads API to apps on iOS, allowing app developers to place ads from the Amazon Mobile Ad Network in apps across platforms. Previously only available on Android and Fire OS devices, the ad platform now can help better monetize iOS apps and gain access to highly relevant ads Amazon and its subsidiaries. If this works as well as Amazon’s “recommendation list”, it could potentially work wonders on iOS.
Tag: amazon
Amazon Tests “Kindle Unlimited”, The Netflix For Books
Amazon is reportedly set to launch a new all-you-can-read e-book and audiobook subscription service named “Kindle Unlimited”, which will provide Kindle users with access to a potential library of over 600,000 titles for $9.99 per month. Such subscription-based business model has turned out quite successful for Spotify and Netflix, so it’s understandable that Amazon would be tempted to join the club now.
But would what has worked with music, TV shows and movies also work with digital books? After all, everyone would get Netflix for some binge-watching sessions, but binge-reading just sounds like cramming for a college exam. In addition, the major five publishers seem to be pushing back against this new service, with a representative form HarperCollins already announcing that it is “not participating at this time”, as it could potentially cut into their already meager profit margin. Despite these obvious obstacles it might face, it is worth noting that Amazon has a history of turning initially lackluster services, such as its Instant Video, into good ones, so perhaps they will find a way to make this work somehow.
Update: It’s been officially launched, with a decent but limited access to Amazon’s e-book library.
Pioneer of Google Glass Moving To Amazon
Babak Parviz, the man who helmed the Google X project that eventually led to Google Glass, has moved to work at Amazon. The optics expert announced the news on his Google+ page, saying that he is “super excited” but doesn’t disclose any details about what he’ll be doing next. One would assume that with Google Glass largely moved past the research stage, this move certainly signals Amazon’s interest in expanding the company’s effort around optical tech. Or at least, improving the “object-recognition Firefly feature on their new Fire Phone. Given the hot market trend of moving towards wearable techs, it looks like Mr. Parviz will keep busy for the foreseeable future.
Who is Leading In OTT Video Market?
Amazon, Netflix and Hulu are undoubtedly the top three players in today’s over-the-top video streaming market, but which one of them is taking the lead? According to a recent study conducted by Piper Jaffray & Co., Netflix is certainly winning in the general content-licensing front, which continues to outpace Amazon’s subscription-video service. But when it comes to TV shows, Hulu Plus remains ahead of Netflix, delivering “nearly three times as many recent top-rated shows as Netflix”. But Amazon still have the secret weapon of exclusive quality content, especially with its recent deals with HBO and CBS. Xbox recently lifted its limitation of access to both Hulu and Netflix, signaling a deeper integration and wider infiltration of the SVod services. All in all, they are all flawed winners in this fast-growing market. And together the internet-based content provider will continue to take over the content market from the traditional providers, even after the recent supreme court ruling on Aereo.
HBO Comes To Amazon
As Amazon announced earlier this year, several HBO shows are now available through Amazon Prime Instant Video. Starting today, if you have an Amazon Prime account, you’ll have access to shows like “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under,” “The Wire,” and more. For newer shows, only early seasons are available as HBO looks to maintain its HBO Go exclusivity. Though users won’t have access to the later episodes, it gives Amazon a significant leg up over streaming video competitors Netflix.
Fire TV’s Voice Search Expands
One of the major complaints about Amazon’s Fire was not that its voice search feature was ineffective – rather, many wished it worked across all the services and platforms available on the device. Amazon is working to meet these demands, and today announced that the voice search feature will be expanded to include Hulu Puls, Crackle, and Showtime Anytime. At present, the voice search only supports Fire TV’s content and VEVO’s music videos. Amazon says that the services should probably arrive sometime this summer, and should help make the voice search more of a practical – and indeed desirable – feature for all Fire TV owners.
Amazon’s Magic Wand Keeps Your Kitchen Stocked
Amazon, fresh off the release of its new Over-The-Top box, has announced new technology to loop consumers into its Amazon Fresh food marketplace. For those in the Fresh market, Amazon is offering the Amazon Dash, a WiFi and voice-enabled barcode scanner that allows users to automatically add items to their amazon shopping list. For instance: if an Amazon Dash owner is running out of apples, they would only have to say “Apples” into the device and they would be automatically added onto their Amazon shopping list. The Dash recognizes other household items – not just foodstuffs – and could very readily become the go-to device for shoppers looped into this program. The notion of technology breaking down boundaries in the consumer retail space is one that’s immensely exciting for advertisers – it’s not hard to imagine a situation where Amazon can surface “native” related products on its website that a user might want or need.
Amazon Announces Set-Top Box
The long-awaited Amazon set-top box was announced today. Called the Fire TV, it is immediately available to purchase for $99, and comes packed with many different features. From a basic stand point, it’s a streaming set top box. With apps like Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo, MLB.tv and NBA, the device will have many of the ways to stream content that users have wanted for some time. As expected, Amazon’s products have taken center stage, as Amazon Instant Video was pushed hard over all the other apps. To take advantage of the online streaming, though, Amazon has also included something called X-Ray, which is part second-screen device and part control system, much like Xbox’s Smartglass. Where it differs, though, is in the fact that X-Ray pulls in content from the Internet – for instance, if you’re watching a movie it will show data from IMDB. As well, Amazon’s ASAP feature predicts which episodes you’ll want to watch based on your history, and automatically adds them to a queue. There’s also a voice search integrated into the remote, looking to compete directly with things like Apple’s Siri.
But it’s more than just a TV streaming device. There are also games: Amazon announced a suite of games that it has developed in house, with an additional controller available for $39.99. The games, however, are designed to be cheap, priced at $1.85 per game. Competition for the living room is fierce, and is only heating up. Whether Amazon gets people to purchase its device at a lower price – for the gaming, the streaming, or both – will be a key indication that it lower prices in the field could undercut the wider living room device industry at large. Either way you slice it, though, Amazon’s foray into the living room means that companies like Roku and Plex need to look over their shoulders.
Amazon To Announce Video Box Next Week
Amazon’s push into the set-top box realm has been delayed and push back for months – but we’re finally set to hear about which set of rumors are correct. We’ve heard almost everything, from a Chromecast competitor to a full-fledged set-top box, to a Netflix-like upgrade to Prime, and the image sent around to those invited to the event features a couch and popcorn – a pretty clear indication that they will be announcing TV-related news. Those in the know suggest that we’ll likely see a slightly more conservative set-top box, which would firmly position Amazon in the ongoing battle to control the living room that’s being waged by companies like Roku, Apple, and others. Whichever form it takes, it will be important for advertisers to take note of the continued trend towards cord-cutting, and to create new ways of reaching less and less cable-dependent audiences.
Amazon’s Set Top Box Will Be A Dongle
The rumormill has been churning for months now about Amazon’s set top box, and today TechCrunch is reporting that it might not be a box after all, but a Chromecast-style stick that plugs into the TV. As well, the stick will have support for streaming full PC game titles, and would, in this way, be able to compete not only with boxes like Apple TV, but consoles like Playstation and Xbox. It also makes sense from Amazon’s perspective, as Amazon’s store also sells PC and Mac gaming titles. It seems as though the remote gaming service will be akin to that of OnLive, the local streaming service offered by Nvidia. It would be a big, bold play by Amazon to attempt to offer a genuine, living room-dominating device that can truly do it all. We’ll have to see if it’s as good in real life as it is in rumors.
