Sony debuted a campaign this weekend to market 4K entertainment. The promotion — launched by Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Best Buy, in collaboration with National CineMedia — includes a 30-second spot for NCM’s FirstLook pre-show content. The spot features outtakes from “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (available tomorrow on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD) with an emphasis on viewing movies via Sony 4K Digital Cinema projectors in theaters and Sony 4K TVs at home. Continue reading Cross-Promotion Highlights the 4K Entertainment Experience

According to videos recently posted to YouTube, Best Buy will offer a smart home hub through a $9.99-per-month service called Peq, which is provided by the newly launched SmartHome Ventures. Ted Schremp, CEO of SmartHome Ventures, suggests that Peq makes setting up and operating home automation and security very simple. Best Buy will become the fourth major retailer to join the home automation space following Lowe’s Iris, Staples Connect and Home Depot’s deal with Wink-Quirky. Continue reading Best Buy Plans to Offer Smart Home Hub via New Peq Service

Amazon Local Register, the company’s new card reader, is a black rectangular device that plugs into a merchant’s smartphone or tablet. For $10, it works with an app that tracks business transactions for merchants. Amazon offers lower processing fees with the device if a merchant signs up before the end of October, while the standard deal will remain a 2.5 percent charge, which is less than other card reader offers. The lower charge means that Amazon is likely making little profit. Continue reading Mobile Payments: Amazon Debuts New Credit Card Reader

According to a recent Harris poll, 14 percent of respondents and 25 percent of millennials would accept an added fee for same-day delivery of online purchases. The mean price these consumers are willing to pay is $13.90. Customers want faster, but affordable delivery, so startups are taking on the traditional infrastructure approach of Amazon (involving warehouses, vehicle fleets and full-time employees) by rethinking operations and, in many cases, turning to crowdsourced workers. Continue reading Companies Look to Meet Demand for Faster, Cheaper Delivery

In May, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba filed for a public stock offering in the United States. However, this fast growing company still has a way to go before it will be able to compete with the American tech giants that currently control the multibillion-dollar cloud computing business. For now, Alibaba appears to be focusing on expanding in China, where it already has four data centers and handles up to $5.8 billion in commerce per day at its peak. Continue reading Alibaba Growing, But Not a Threat to Top Cloud Services Yet

In an attempt to compete with Amazon, Google is planning to add ratings to its product listing ads in order to make search results more effective. The ratings are to be based on aggregated rating and review data taken from several sources. Google believes merchants that gather these ratings will decide to share the data because it ultimately generates more business. The move should create more relevant search results as more data surrounds the product.

Continue reading Google will Compete with Amazon by Adding Product Ratings

RadioShack plans to stock DIY kits in its retail locations that provide consumers with the ability to create an array of connected devices. New York startup LittleBits has been selling sets that allow users to connect, for example, a sound detector to a LED light, for illuminating a small space every time a radio is turned on. LittleBits now offers its $99 Cloud Starter Bundle that connects gadgets to the Internet, while companies such as Bug Labs and Electric Imp are also offering ways to create connected devices. Continue reading Kits for Internet-Connected Devices to Hit RadioShack Shelves

Amazon launched its 3D Printing Store yesterday, which allows users to customize pre-made designs and order 3D printed products. Printing labs such as 3DLT, Mixee and Sculpteo have partnered with Amazon to include their popular designs. Amazon’s store presently features more than 200 designs for games, home decor, jewelry, tech accessories, toys and more that can be altered by color, size and thickness. Users can also add text, their name and other small touches. Continue reading Amazon 3D Printing Store Offers iPhone Cases, Bobble Heads

Unit sales of the best-selling tablet, Apple’s iPad, fell again for the second straight quarter, leaving some industry analysts wondering whether the tablet can survive in a world of bigger smartphones and smaller laptops. Microsoft and Samsung are also both losing money on their tablet devices, but cheaper Android tablets produced by smaller companies may be taking away some of the tech giants’ business. Still, many consumers do not see tablets as a must-have gadget. Continue reading The Future of Tablets May Be Uncertain: iPad Sales Fall Again

Starbucks will soon allow its customers to place orders using the company’s mobile app. The service will have a test run before the end of the year and will roll out nationwide shortly after. The idea is to make the order/purchase process more convenient while reducing wait times at locations. The feature should also make it easier for those who place large orders. The move may be a natural next step for some, since a growing number of customers already use the mobile app at checkout. Continue reading Starbucks Mobile App to Add Feature: Online Orders for Pickup

Apple and IBM announced a joint venture that the tech giants have been working on for several months. The exclusive partnership will focus on mobile and data analysis tech in the corporate world by developing more than 100 business software programs intended for use on iPhones and iPads. Applications will be tailored for banking, healthcare, insurance, retail, telecommunications and transportation. Apple CEO Tim Cook described the venture as “a landmark partnership.” Continue reading Apple and IBM Tackle Mobile Enterprise with Exclusive Venture

Last week, the FTC sued Amazon for allowing kids to make unauthorized in-app purchases from their parents’ smartphones. Like other tech giants, Amazon has settings to prevent kids’ accidental charges. When confirming the first in-app purchase, users can select a setting to require a password for future purchases from the Amazon App store. Apple has a similar policy, while Google offers an option to let users enter a password once to make purchases for the next 30 minutes. Continue reading The Purchasing Policies That Regulate Kids’ In-App Purchases

Amazon’s new Fire smartphone features sensors and front-facing cameras that provide a different perspective depending on how users hold, view or move the phone, leading to the expectation that it should increase demand for 3D applications. This 3D display tech is called dynamic perspective. Mobile software developers are hoping that Amazon’s advertising efforts and massive scale will promote 3D more successfully than other 3D phone makers have in the past. Continue reading Amazon Fire Could Help Boost Adoption of 3D Smartphones

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the online retailer of allowing children to make unauthorized purchases in its app store. The lawsuit comes after the company refused a proposed settlement that would have refunded customers and made changes to the app store. The FTC believes Amazon needs to require passwords for consumers to buy products, make purchase notices more prominent, and make refunds easier and simpler. Continue reading Amazon Faces FTC Lawsuit Over Children’s In-App Purchases

During its much-publicized dispute over a new e-book contract with the Hachette Book Group, Amazon has proposed letting the publisher’s authors keep 100 percent of their e-book sales revenue while the tense negotiations continue. The proposal is Amazon’s response to Hachette authors’ complaints that they have become collateral damage in the ongoing negotiations. Hachette immediately rejected the proposal, suggesting that accepting it would be “suicidal.” Continue reading Amazon and Hachette Continue Tense E-Book Negotiations