To attract more developers to its Android and Fire OS Appstore, Amazon — following similar moves by tech giants Apple and Google — is cutting costs for developers with its Amazon Appstore Small Business Accelerator Program. Whereas both Apple and Google halved their cut of a developer’s first $1 million to 15 percent from 30 percent, Amazon instead will lower the cut to 20 percent but also give developers 10 percent in “AWS promotional credits” to use its cloud services, bringing their Appstore revenue to “an equivalent of 90 percent.” Continue reading Amazon Targets App Developers with Lower Fee, AWS Credit

Although Amazon declined to comment, sources say that the company is readying a premium Echo-like speaker for release in Q1 2017. The form factor is a break with Amazon’s cylindrical devices controlled by digital assistant Alexa. Instead, the new speaker will feature a seven-inch touchscreen that will tilt upwards, so users can see it when they are standing and looking at the speaker on a countertop. Sources add that, “at least one prototype version of the device places the speakers below and behind the screen.” Continue reading Amazon Developing High-End Take on Popular Echo Speaker

Five years after Amazon first launched a tablet, it now has a new model, the Fire HD 8, that focuses on one compelling factor: price. The Fire HD 8 is an 8-inch touchscreen tablet with 50 percent more RAM, longer battery life and 16 gigabytes of storage, double Amazon’s previous model (and the same as Apple’s 8-inch iPad). Even as the Amazon tablet’s specs have improved, the price has dropped, from $149.99 to $89.99. That combination is allowing the company to beat the market trend of softening tablet sales. Continue reading Amazon Lures Tablet Buyers with Price and Alexa Integration

Following several hardware launches over the past year, including new Kindle Fire tablets and its Fire TV streaming box, Amazon is expected to unveil its first smartphone during a launch event in Seattle on Wednesday. To generate buzz, the company posted a YouTube video about a mysterious new product and announced that the number of apps in its Appstore nearly tripled over the past year. More than 240,000 apps are now available, and Amazon claims developers can make more money with its apps. Continue reading Amazon Releases App Figures in Preparation for Launch Event