bezos
Latest
After Math: Get outta my dreams, get into my rocket ship
Jeff Bezos has been trying to get biz-ay. And failing spectacularly at it. The Amazon CEO is accusing the National Enquirer of "extortion and blackmail" after pictures of his dink somehow ended up in the tabloid's hands. But he wasn't the only one this week wishing to hop on the fastest transport available and make a run for it.
Bezos family launches $2 billion philanthropy fund
Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who happens to be the richest person on the planet, has launched a philanthropic effort with an initial commitment of $2 billion. He and his wife MacKenzie will use the Day One Fund to build a "network of new, non-profit, tier-one preschools in low-income communities" and fund "existing non-profits that help homeless families."
Amazon's likely announcing its new phone on June 18th (update: yep, it's a phone)
What has six cameras, a large screen and tracks your head? Amazon's new phone, probably. The company's first handset has been long rumored and occasionally leaked, but now the company seems ready to make it official: Jeff Bezos is hosting a hitherto unannounced "launch event" later this month. The company's page for the event is little more than a invitation request form, but an attached teaser video meshes well with the purported phone's rumored head-tracking capabilities. "It moved with me!" exclaims an unnamed tester, staring at an object just out of frame. Sounds neat.
Recommended Reading: Jeff Bezos' Everything Store, Twitter's tumultuous history and more
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books dealing with the subject of technology that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Secrets of Bezos: How Amazon Became the Everything Store by Brad Stone, Bloomberg Businessweek Brad Stone's book on Amazon and founder Jeff Bezos is set to be published next week, but Bloomberg Businessweek has offered an extensive look at what's in store with this cover story/excerpt from the author, including one of his biggest revelations. Drawn from interviews with hundreds of those who know or have worked with Bezos, the piece offers the most in-depth look yet at Amazon and its evolution into what Stone describes as the "Everything Store," as well as what Bezos himself is like to work for.
Jeff Bezos buys 'The Washington Post' for $250 million in cash
Some big (and surprising) news in the media industry today: The Washington Post has just confirmed that it and its affiliated publications have been acquired by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for $250 million in cash. The paper notes that Amazon itself "will have no role in the purchase," and that Bezos "will buy the news organization and become its sole owner when the sale is completed, probably within 60 days." It also goes on to explain that the existing Washington Post Company, which owns a number of other businesses (including Slate), "will change to a new, still-undecided name and continue as a publicly traded company without The Post thereafter." In an interview with the paper, the Post Co.'s chief executive, Donald Graham, says that "The Post could have survived under the company's ownership and been profitable for the foreseeable future. But we wanted to do more than survive," adding, "I'm not saying this guarantees success but it gives us a much greater chance of success." In a letter to Post employees, Bezos, who was apparently one of several suitors considered by the company, says that he "won't be leading The Washington Post day-to-day," but that "there will of course be change at The Post over the coming years," and that "we will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment."
Jeff Bezos to open Center for Innovation this fall, aims to inspire young would-be entrepreneurs
What's an e-commerce tycoon to do after funding everything from nuclear fusion startups to commercial spaceflight ventures? Why, help develop a museum exhibit to inspire young folks and teach them about innovation, of course. After more than two years of development and $10 million from Jeff Bezos' own pockets, the Museum of History and Industry will open the doors to the Bezos Center for Innovation on October 12th. Not only does the center aim to help visitors learn about "the importance of innovation" through interactive exhibits, but it will toot Seattle's horn for being "the birthplace of so many trailblazing companies." If you can't make it to The Emerald City, we're sure Bezos has a few learning alternatives in mind.
Jeff Bezos highlights finds from F-1 engine underwater 'sculpture garden'
You'd think running a company like Amazon would keep a guy busy. But like many of his fellow billionaires, Jeff Bezos still has big dreams. Space dreams. As of late, the exec's been spending time onboard the Seabed Worker (much of which has apparently involved working on his computer from the cabin), alongside a crew tasked with recovering F-1 engines from the Apollo program, which are now a part of an "incredible sculpture garden...that tells the story of a fiery and violent end." Seems Bezos has been exercising his poesy muscles in the cabin, as well. The team has apparently recovered enough F1-parts to construct two engines, which will go on display to help "inspire something amazing." More striking images from the expedition can be seen in the source link below.
Amazon wins patent for airbag system designed to protect portable devices
As avid patent-watchers may recall, an application for a rather unusual contraption from Amazon surfaced last summer -- one that detailed an airbag system designed to protect portable devices from falls, with none other than Jeff Bezos himself listed as one of the two inventors. Now, it's no longer just an application, as the USPTO officially has granted the patent to Amazon today. Of course, that still means it's likely a long ways from finding its way into an actual Amazon product (if it ever does), but don't be too surprised if your future Kindle Fire 4K XL 5G one day saves itself from an imminent demise.
Bezos: Amazon breaks even on Kindle devices, not trying to make money on hardware
Amazon makes a pretty good case for its Kindle Fire HD and Paperwhite with prices as low as $199 and $119 respectively, but it turns out there's more at work than just special offers to keep them affordable. In an interview with the BBC, the company's head honcho Jeff Bezos revealed that they can keep the price tags reasonable since they don't turn a profit on the devices. "Basically, we sell the hardware at our cost, so it is break even on the hardware," Bezos said. "We're not trying to make money on the hardware." Instead, Amazon banks on making a buck when owners of the slates and e-readers purchase books, movies, games and other content through their digital storefront. This doesn't exactly come as a surprise, but we're glad that Jeff's confirmed our suspicions.
Editorial: Bring on the ads, Amazon
Huge week for Amazon, last week. But all that Kindly goodness was nearly upstaged by lock-screen ad nonsense. When I searched on the keyword "amazon" in my RSS tech folder, Friday and Saturday of last week looked like two big parade floats: "OMG, there are ads on the new Kindle tablet!" and "Praise the heavens, you can disable the ads!" Tempest in a teapot, those ads. And Amazon took the wrong approach to removing them.
Watch now: Amazon's Kindle press conference ready to be relived
Sometimes it's hard to keep abreast of the dizzying product announcements that flutter out at press events. Sometimes you just wish you'd actually been there. In that event, Amazon's now offering up video of its entire Kindle conference from today. So, you can relive the excitement and confusion surrounding the Kindle Fire HDs and Kindle Paperwhite from the screen of your choice. Head to the source below for a download now or skip past the break for the full Bezos-packed play-by-play.
Amazon's Bezos finds Apollo 11 rocket engines in ocean, contemplates shipping options
Ya' know, there's nothing like a little rocket engine hunting to save oneself from the doldrums of generating billions of dollars in revenue in the private sector. At least that appears to be the case for Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who spearheaded an ocean expedition to find the F-1 engines used in the Apollo 11 mission. Forget newer stuff like the GENIE, Vega and Slytherin's SuperDraco -- the classic F-1 is still the rocket engine that ignites Bezos' proverbial liquid fuel. Having found his prize resting 14,000 feet below the surface via deep sea sonar, Bezos' team is now trying to recover at least one of the engines. Bezos says NASA still retains ownership of the F-1s but he's hoping the agency will allow one of them to be displayed at the Museum of Flight in Amazon's home turf of Seattle if both are successfully retrieved. No word on whether the rocket engines will be delivered via Super Saver Shipping.
Big publishers to provide fuel for Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet?
So, word on the street is that Amazon's got an Android-based tablet in the works that looks like a PlayBook and will probably be called the Kindle Fire. But, until now, we didn't know what kind of content would be available on this new Kindle with a color screen. According to All Things D, Bezos' baby has been blessed by Hearst, Conde Nast and Meredith publishers in time for the slate's unveiling later this week -- giving users access to magazines ranging from GQ and Cosmopolitan to Car and Driver and Wired. Evidently, Amazon's taking around a 30 percent cut (not unlike the competition in Cupertino) of slate-based subscriptions, with small variations depending upon the magazine. With these latest leaked tidbits, we're beginning to wonder what details are left for Amazon to reveal on Wednesday -- a little mystery adds to the anticipation, after all.
Amazon CEO's flying water tank crashes, leaves dent in his space travel dream
In a moment of profound candidness, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has revealed that the mid-air failure of his unmanned spaceship 11 days ago was "not the outcome any of us wanted." The searing truth of his statement is certainly borne out by the fact that NASA has poured millions of dollars of funding into Bezos's space company, Blue Origin, in the hope that it will one day ferry people to the ISS and replace the scuttled shuttle program. Indeed, Blue Origin's latest craft looked every inch a shuttle-beater until it suddenly went berserk at 45,000 feet, forcing the Asimovian onboard computer to cut power and nose dive into the ground in an effort to avoid civilian casualties. Not an ideal result, to be sure, but Jeff is hardly likely to give up on his starry ambitions -- everybody knows he has a thing for thrusters.
Jeff Bezos drops phone, has eureka moment, patents mini airbags
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos must have time on his hands and butter on his fingers. Why else would he have personally signed this patent application for a horrendously complicated "damage avoidance system?" It involves using a smartphone's inbuilt motion sensors to detect a free-fall calamity, then sending an emergency signal to a separate protective sleeve, which finally "deploys an airbag prior to contact." Heck, if we're going down that road Jeff, why not just stick some mini thrusters on it and make it hover?
Bezos says 'stay tuned' on potential Amazon tablet
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos didn't confirm a Samsung-built tablet today, but he's not saying no -- in fact, the tell-it-like-it-is founder of the massive e-tailer suggested quite the opposite in an interview with Consumer Reports. "Stay tuned" was the answer, and then Bezos told the publication that if such a device were on the way, it would be complementary to Amazon's existing Kindle, as Bezos doesn't want to disturb the market for that "dedicated reading device." If we were to read between the lines -- which is often a bad idea -- we'd say that could pave the way for an Amazon tablet to launch without a sunlight-readable screen, but it could just be that a tablet would be pricier, while the Kindle could remain relatively cheap. Speaking of E Ink, the CEO said that a color version "is not ready for prime time." As of January, we'd agree.
Nuclear fusion startup gets Jeff Bezos backing, won't be dropping any bombs
Here's a phrase we never though we'd utter: Bezos is the bomb! Okay, so maybe a nuke reference isn't exactly appropriate here, considering Jeff Bezos is actually backing a company that's looking to create cheap energy through nuclear fusion, but we couldn't resist. General Fusion, a nuclear fusion startup, released a statement today saying that it has completed a $19.5 million round of funding that included backing by the Amazon founder's Bezos Expeditions. According the company's website, General Fusion's approach to generating "safe and plentiful" energy employs a concept created about 30 years ago called "magnetic target fusion," and expects commercialization of its process could come before the end of the decade. Full PR after the break.
Kindle's digital book sales overtake hardcover, device purchases triple after price drop
While Amazon is being as coy as usual when it comes to an actual number (still keeping to the vague "millions" figure), the company has revealed that sales of its Kindle hardware has tripled since the price took a plunge from $259 to $189. While it's hard to gauge just how many champagne corks are being popped over that statistic, news that downloaded kindle books has overtaken its hardcover brethren is certainly cause for major celebration. According to a press release, 143 Kindle books have been sold for every 100 hardcovers in the past three months, and that ratio is a more impressive 9:2 if you only look at this past month. Before you start asking about the obvious caveats, the data both include sales of hardcovers where no Kindle equivalent exists and exclude free Kindle downloads -- meaning if those weren't considered, the ratio would be even greater. Guess the agency pricing model didn't deter too many customers. Since you're in such a good mood, Amazon, how about a slimmer model to satiate the remaining holdouts?
'Millions of people' now own Kindles, says Amazon in its most non-vague sales statement yet
Amazon has been notoriously and aggravatingly mum on releasing concrete sales figures for its Kindle series. Last tidbit we heard was that it was the most gifted item in the retail company's history. Or maybe there was some indication by AT&T's note today that 1 million non-phones have been activated, which at this point includes newer Kindles, Nooks, and Sony Readers. At any rate, CEO Jeff Bezos let out the tiniest smidgen of Kindle's sales today in its fiscal report, saying that "millions of people now own Kindles." If we're lucky, next earnings call we'll get to play a "higher or lower" guessing game. Maybe.
Amazon offers to give back your Kindle's copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four
Poor Amazon -- ever since the company remotely deleted illegally sold copies of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four -- they've faced an uphill PR battle. First, the company issued an apology, and tried to explain what went down. That didn't really stop people from being rightfully upset about the incident, and its implications -- and at least one student has sued Amazon, claiming they were unable to do their school work once the e-book had been deleted. Now, they've contacted affected customers again, letting them know that they now have the option to either have their copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four -- complete with notes -- re-delivered, or, alternatively, Amazon will cut them a check for $30. Fair warning, though -- if you made any anti-Bezos notes in the margins, they've definitely been [redacted]. We kid! Full text of the letter after the break.[Thanks, Paul]
