E-commerce

Amazon greenlights pilot for original children's series

Amazon is giving the green light to a test pilot for an original children's series, adding to its Prime video service library at a time when exclusive content is becoming more important.

The company's movie and series production arm, Amazon Studios, today said the new show, called "Sara Solves It" will be co-developed by WGBH and Out of the Blue Enterprises. It's created by Emmy Award winner Carol Greenwald, who has worked on "Curious George" and "Arthur," and Emmy nominee Angela Santomero of "Blue Clues" and other shows.

The … Read more

E-book porn flourishes on Amazon's Kindle

Amazon has a problem with pornography.

The company created technology to filter smut from its library of video and print offerings and it also pays humans to do the same thing. In spite of that, Kindle users can still download e-books with the same sort of raunchy images and titles normally seen in nudie mags sold at liquor store newsstands.

That's because these salacious e-books are self-published, spawned from sources with names like Camera Erotica Publications and ErotiPics. Some of the milder titles include "The Dirty Blonde 2," which comes with a self-prescribed adults-only warning, a weak … Read more

Google at work on Amazon Prime competitor

Amazon Prime, a service from the e-retail giant that offers free two-day shipping and discounted one-day shipping, might soon have a competitor.

Google is at work on a new platform called Google Shopping Express, which is designed to take on Amazon Prime, reports TechCrunch, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the search giant's plans. Signing up for Google Shopping Express would cost customers $10 to $15 less than an Amazon Prime membership, which sets customers back $79 per year.

Because Google doesn't offer a dedicated shopping site, its Shopping Express could work with retail partners and … Read more

Andrew Mason out as Groupon CEO

Update: 2:40 PM PT Andrew Mason is out as chief executive at Groupon.

The company announced the management change in a terse statement this afternoon. It said that Executive Chairman Eric Lefkofsky and Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis would participate in a newly created Office of the Chief Executive, effective immediately, serving in this role on an interim basis until the board finds a CEO replacement.

"On behalf of the entire Groupon Board, I want to thank Andrew for his leadership, his creativity, and his deep loyalty to Groupon. As a founder, Andrew helped invent the daily deals space, … Read more

Amazon nabs Food Network, Travel Channel for Instant Video

Now that it's wooed CBS for a whole slew of content, Amazon's moved on to Scripps and its popular Food Network and Travel Channel shows.

The online retail giant has struck a deal with Scripps Networks Interactive to stream past seasons of Scripps' most popular programming on Amazon's Prime Instant Video service.

This is the first time Scripps has partnered with a subscription service to stream its shows, according to a press release. Scripps' networks include HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel. The shows include "Rachael Ray's Week in a Day,&… Read more

Bitcoin virtual currency hits record high after exchange deal

Bitcoin has staged a dramatic comeback in the past two months, more than doubling its value against the dollar in that time and trading at record levels.

The virtual currency was trading above $32 a share today after languishing in the mid-teens in January. The record was reached on the same day that Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, reached an agreement with CoinLab to manage the exchange's operations in the U.S. and Canada.

Bitcoin sprang up in 2009 as a peer-to-peer currency that intentionally avoided the prying eyes of law enforcement officials. In order to … Read more

Type 'buy' as a Facebook comment, buy some music

Country singer Tim McGraw wants you to buy his album -- on Facebook. Tuesday, the recording artist became one of the first people to try out a new system for selling through status updates on the social network.

McGraw's team used e-commerce platform Chirpify to encourage Facebook fans to type "buy" in the comments section of a post to instantly purchase a special edition of the star's "Two Lanes Of Freedom" album.

The effort marks the start of Chirpify's foray over to Facebook. Chirpify was founded in 2011 and began by turning tweets … Read more

Amazon launches Cloud Player app for iPad, iPad Mini

Amazon today launched its Cloud Player app for the Apple iPad and iPad Mini, expanding the online retail giant's footprint for its music streaming program.

The app allows customers to stream or download music stored in Amazon's cloud, play music already stored on the device, and manage or create playlists.

A quick check by CNET shows iPad users also can purchase songs from Amazon through the Safari Web browser like they can on iPhones and iPod Touches. In the past, iOS users were able to access Amazon's apps but weren't able to purchase items from Amazon. … Read more

Amazon warns iOS users to not update Kindle app due to glitch

Amazon pissed off a few iOS-based Kindle users today.

The online retail giant this morning warned iOS users not to download the latest update to its Kindle app because of a glitch that wiped an existing customer's entire library from the device. However, Amazon had released another update by this afternoon that resolved the issue.

After downloading the initial update, existing Kindle users were logged out of their accounts, and everything they had downloaded was deleted from their devices. They also lost bookmarks and other settings, according to angry comments on iTunes. Users then had to log back in … Read more