amazon

The big question is should I get the Google Nexus 7 or the Amazon Kindle Fire? Both are low cost 7 inch tablet and both are big names in the industry geared towards content like reading books, magazines, watching movies and listening to music. Amazon easily has a head start being the first of its kind to the market and having a years worth of publicity and sales under its belt. Both having price point of around $199 which one should you choose?

Why look up a CD on Amazon when you can scan it from your phone and purchase in a matter of seconds?

Amazon subsidiary A9.com today announced that they've released Flow for Android. Blending barcode scanning with augmented reality, the app lets shoppers scan common items such as DVDs, CDs, video games, and toys and see product details, pricing, and more. While it's not the first or only barcode scanning app available for Android, it's much more fun than simply handing things off to a Google search.

When Amazon launched the Kindle Fire, they actually made a big breakthrough in the tablet market, they actually brought a tablet with so much potential and a small price tag. And we all know that when we are talking about a device with so much potential and a balanced price tag, how can Google stay behind? With the launch of Google Nexus 7 yesterday, Google told Amazon that they are not behind, but do you think Amazon is going to sit quietly?

One of the great things about Amazon's App Store is that its online interface allows users to "test drive" apps before deciding to download them. This functionality definitely comes in handy, especially when mulling over the decision whether to buy a paid app.

In an update to the App Store app today, Amazon – besides fixing a download bug and improving stability – introduced its Test Drive feature, meaning users can preview apps right from the palm of their hand before downloading.

Standing opposite HTC's One X, the Galaxy S III is one of this year's most hotly anticipated devices. If you're overly eager to get in on the pre-order action, Amazon has pre-orders available from several retailers. It's worth noting that the "Featured Merchants" among them include names like TechnoTradingHouse.com or BLUTEKUSA. Relatively unknowns, but they've all popped up in very close succession.

Samsung's next flagship smartphone finally launched last week and we spent many paragraphs proffering our opinions on it. Most of us cannot wait to get our grubby hands on it, but it looks like UK customers will be getting it pretty soon, as the Galaxy SIII has gone up for pre-order on Amazon UK.

Remember Acer's quad-core tablet that managed to beat out ASUS' Transformer Prime by a pretty wide price difference? It's available from Amazon for an easier-on-the-wallet $450 right now. If you're holding out for the silver version, you can still place a pre-order with Amazon here. In case you need a refresher, here are the specs:

Way back in the day, if you wanted to know if a piece of software was safe, reliable, or usable before you opened the package, you were out of luck. Once you rip that shrink wrap, you're stuck with it. The app markets of today are, by comparison, a breath of fresh air. A litany of user reviews let you know up front if a piece of software is crap or not before you download. Unfortunately, sometimes developers, like Noosoft Games, abuse this system by, as an example, using the Mechanical Turk system from Amazon to pay for 5-star reviews.

Three years ago, Amazon opened a new online store dedicated to changing the way users buy cell phones. That store has now evolved into a go-to place for anyone who wants to get a great deal on a phone, free two-day shipping, and the top-notch customer service that Amazon is known for. Today, that store loses its beta tag, and brings two new features to the service: best price guarantee and free premium apps for Android users.

The Amazon Appstore Android app was just updated to version 2.3, which finally raised the maximum application size that can be downloaded over a mobile connection from 20MB to 50MB - something we've been asking the company nonstop for over a year. I understand why they set the default to 20MB, but enforcing a max, especially on 4G (Sprint has unlimited 4G, for example) didn't make sense. After all, it's my data, I should be the one to decide how to use it. Can you say "finally" a few more times? I can.