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New Media News Every Morning

Amazon customers can now watch ad-free movies and TV shows

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Amazon announced that customers can now instantly watch ad-free movies and television shows on Macs or PCs with Amazon Video On Demand, its digital video service offering thousands of movies and television shows.

Previously, customers could only download titles and watch them on a PC (using the Amazon Unbox application) or on their TiVo box. Now customers can either watch instantly within their web browser or download using the Unbox application and watch anytime. Additionally, customers can now rent or purchase Amazon Video On Demand movies and TV shows directly through Sony’s BRAVIA Internet Video Link device on compatible BRAVIA television sets (currently in beta). Sony’s BRAVIA Internet Video Link device seamlessly streams Internet video content directly to compatible Sony HDTVs through a broadband connection.

Also starting today, Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link users can rent or purchase and instantly watch movies and commercial-free TV shows directly on their compatible BRAVIA TV. With the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link, customers can explore and purchase or rent from the Amazon Video On Demand library with the push of a button.

Originally posted on September 3, 2008 @ 10:48 am

Amazon acquires Shelfari

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Amazon announced that it has acquired Shelfari, a book-sharing site. The announcement was further confirmed by Shelfari co-founder Josh Hug in a blog post.

“It’s an exciting day here at Shelfari. The rain has stopped, the birds are chirping and the biggest news of all – we are being acquired by Amazon.com,” Hug said.

Financial details of the acquisition were not released.

Originally posted on August 26, 2008 @ 11:55 am

Amazon.com acquires AbeBooks

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Amazon.com has reached an agreement to acquire AbeBooks, an online marketplace for books, with over 110 million primarily used, rare and out-of-print books listed for sale by thousands of independent booksellers from around the world.

AbeBooks will continue to function as a stand-alone operation based in Victoria, British Columbia. AbeBooks will maintain all of its websites, including its Canadian website with Canada-specific content, such as reviews of Canadian-authored books and interviews of Canadian writers.

“As a leader in rare and hard-to-find books, AbeBooks brings added breadth and expanded selection to our customers worldwide,” said Russell Grandinetti, vice president of books for Amazon.com. “AbeBooks provides a wide range of services to both sellers and customers, and we look forward to working with them to further grow their business. We’re excited to present all of our customers with the widest selection of books available any place on Earth.”

Originally posted on August 1, 2008 @ 11:11 am

Borders returns to online retailing, ends tie with Amazon

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borders.pngBorders Group is bringing back its web site at borders.com, ending its 7-year online collaboration with Amazon.com, the AP reports.

The company said that its website is designed like your neighborhood bookstore.

Two months ago, Borders announced that it is interested in selling the business. Just last week, giant bookstore Barnes & Noble showed interest with a team that would study the feasibility of a deal with Borders.

Originally posted on May 27, 2008 @ 8:57 am

Amazon.com relaunches Latin music store with more content and selection

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Amazon.com announced the relaunch of its Latin Music Store, with Earth’s largest selection of Latin music titles. Focused on delivering Tu Música, Tu Sabor (Your Music, Your Flavor) to customers, the newly updated Amazon Latin Music Store carries nearly 140,000 unique titles and brings both English-language and Spanish-language content to Amazon customers. The store features nine categories including, Latin Pop, Latin Rock, Regional Mexican, Tropical, Urban, World, Latin Children’s, Latin Christian and Latin Jazz along with 23 subcategories.

Originally posted on April 4, 2008 @ 11:33 am