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Blue Origin dishes more details on its Bezos-backed spacecraft
Blue Origin typically keeps pretty tight-lipped about its projects. The private space-travel firm claims it prefers to talk about what is has done, rather than what it hopes to do. As such, We recently heard about its "Space Vehicle" (that's its actual name,) having completed wind-tunnel testing, and now the firm (partly funded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos) has revealed a little more. The craft in question is a seven-seater, and it took 180 rigorous tests to get to the final design. Blue Origin has been working with NASA under the agency's CCDev program, which awarded the firm $22 million to develop the project. Under the same initiative, Blue Origin is about to start testing on its BE-3 engine thrust chamber, which will help give the BE-3 rocket motor its 100,000 pounds of thrust. Once complete, this engine will be used in the company's multi-launch vehicle, and is currently on the test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. We'll spare you the puns about it not being "rocket science."
Commercial space shuttle prototypes fly through wind tunnel testing
A pair of companies developing their own commercial space shuttles are presumably trying to flatten their hair after some rigorous wind tunnel testing. First up, Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos (the guy behind Amazon), a company that's remained pretty quiet on its efforts to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station. Its Space Vehicle setup will plump for a biconic shape (seen above), with a flattened side and a split flap. According to Blue Origin's president, Rob Meyerson, the shape allows greater volume than traditional designs, but forgo the "weight penalty" of winged craft. Compared to earlier capsules, the Space Vehicle's shape, with its fuselage flap to generate lift, should also give it better control on re-entry to earth.Juggling for wind tunnel time, Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser has also been blasted with smoke to test its own air resistance credentials. Its module would launch from the top of the rocket, and glide (as much as anything that costs this much can) back to earth like NASA's own space shuttles. The Dream Chaser is planning its first flight for this fall. You can check out its more traditional take on the future of space travel after the break -- and decide which of the two you'll want sending your children to the mines.[Picture credit: Blue Origin, SNC]
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.
How would you change Amazon's Kindle Fire?
The Kindle Fire is less a tablet and more a $200 window into Amazon's storefront. The 7-inch slate that shares its DNA with the BlackBerry PlayBook lacks any physical features bar a micro-USB port, headphone jack and speaker. Internally, that 1GHz CPU is paired up with 512MB of RAM and 8GB storage, with no option for increased size, Bluetooth, 5GHz WiFi or 3G. Performance was fine inside the company's carousel sandbox, but step outside and things became outrageously herky-jerky, especially in the Silk browser, which didn't live up to its name. We found that there was plenty we'd like to change to make it more of a useful tablet, but did we miss the point? You probably had one bought for you in the Holidays and it's had three or four months solid use since then, so what do you think? Is it a good companion on your daily commute, did it justify winning our E-Reader of the year prize and if Jeff Bezos was reading all of your comments in anticipation for version two, what would you demand he changes?
Amazon marks 'best holiday' for Kindle devices, fills stockings full of cash
It was yet another solid year for Amazon's Kindle family of products. The mega online retailer sent out its yearly post-Christmas card, bragging about moving "well over one million Kindle devices per week" for December, making it the best holiday yet for the e-reader / tablet line, according to the company. Three Kindles held the top spots on the site's list of best sellers, led by the Fire, the Touch and the plain old fourth generation Kindle. No exact numbers from Amazon, as per usual, but it looks to have been a pretty green Christmas for Bezos and co. Jingle all the way to the celebratory press release after the jump.
Amazon reportedly considered a RIM purchase, 'commercial partnership' still on the table
According to those all-knowing "people with knowledge," Research in Motion could've been cut down to a single CEO company -- that is, if Amazon would've pushed through with its purported takeover wishes. Based on a new Reuters report, the same company shipping out your grandmother's holiday gifts was hot-to-trot on the idea of buying RIM, but those desires seemingly cooled after the BlackBerry maker decided that it'd rather "fix its problems on its own." Wildly enough, the report states that an investment bank was hired earlier this summer "to review a potential merger with RIM," but no formal offer was ever extended. Of course, it's not atypical to hear of Amazon buying unusual assets -- it's snapped up everything from a touchscreen startup to a UK-based movie streaming and rental service -- and sources have affirmed that "other kinds of commercial partnerships" could still be in the cards. In fact, the two are rumored to be actively discussing ways to "expand their commercial ties, which currently include a service launched last year to make Amazon's music catalog available to some BlackBerry users." BBM for the Kindle ecosystem? Zanier things have come to pass.
Bezos' New Shepard takes off and escorts itself back to the landing pad (video)
Since being awarded $22 million from NASA to develop a commercial space vehicle, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has been relatively quiet. There's been a couple of test flights, one of which didn't end so well for the water tank-shaped ship, but we haven't actually gotten to see the New Shepard (a nod to Alan Shepard) in action. Well friends, take a gander after the break to see the reusable, suborbital launch vehicle climb a short distance into the air then gracefully settle back down with the aid its landing thrusters. This particular craft is meant to launch a separate passenger capsule on short suborbital flights, but Blue Origin is also working on an orbital vehicle. But, please, don't waste any more time -- go watch the take off and landing below.
Amazon Prime adds new reading option with Kindle Owners Lending Library
Amazon's home page has a new message for Prime members from CEO Jeff Bezos, indicating that their membership plan has a new bonus: free books. The Kindle Owners Lending Library service offers up to one book per month from a selection of thousands of titles, including "over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers" with no due dates. That's in addition to the free two-day shipping and access to TV shows and movies offered through Prime Instant Video as a part of the $79/year package. Of course, it also serves to the platform lock-in tighter between a suddenly very compelling subscription entertainment service, and its hardware (you will need a Kindle device, from what we're reading the apps won't work), including the upcoming Kindle Fire. Fans of the E inked word can check out the press release after the break for a few more details. [Thanks, Straton & Abbas]
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.
NASA awards $270 million to SpaceX and other commercial spaceflight ventures
NASA has given its seal of approval (and a lot of money) to SpaceX and three other private companies, as part of its Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2) initiative -- a program designed to spur the development of U.S. commercial spaceflight. The agency awarded a total of $270 million to the four lucky winners, with Boeing receiving $92.3 million to help develop its CST-100 capsule design, and the Sierra Nevada Corporation garnering $80 million, which will go toward its shuttle-like Dream Chaser craft. The smallest prize ($22 million) went to Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which is reportedly looking to create a cone-shaped craft capable of carrying crew members into the abyss. And then, of course, there's SpaceX, the proud recipient of a cool $75 million in NASA funds. The California-based company has already successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, and is currently working on the Falcon Heavy -- a 22-story craft heralded as the "world's most powerful rocket." NASA's extra dough should give a little boost to SpaceX's projects, but the funds are contingent upon improvements in Dragon's crew-carrying capacities, to be carried out over the next year. If all goes well, we may see one of these companies launch an intergalactic 'taxi' service by the middle of the decade. Saddle up!
Amazon Prime Instant Video hands-on
Amazon has just turned on its Prime Instant Video service, letting paid Prime subscribers (sorry, students) in the US (sorry, foreigners) stream any of 5,000 movies and TV shows directly to their machines free of charge -- well, free beyond the $79 Primers already pay. Jeff Bezos has confirmed that there will be no extra charge going forward for this service and that Prime itself will not be getting more expensive to pay for all these bits and bytes. Right now the selection is limited, particularly if you already have a Netflix subscription, but we just had to try it out. Click on through for our impressions on a variety of devices.
It's the thought that counts, but just in case, Amazon patents gift conversion system
The holiday season is drawing close, and gifting soon to begin, which almost certainly means another pair of woolen socks (oh, joy) from dear Aunt Mildred. What could you possibly do to escape your sheep-shorn fate? The top brass at Amazon have a plan -- they've patented a system by which your gifts will magically be converted into things you actually want. It's like Gmail filters for products, really, in that you set up a series of rules, and if the gift you're sent falls under one of them, you're sent an item from your Amazon Wish List (or a gift certificate) instead. Apparently they've even thought up conversion rules for media formats, which should come in mighty handy for those relatives who can't tell PS3 from Xbox. Why can't Aunt Mildred just look at your wish list to begin with? Hey, she's your aunt. Why don't you be a dear, give her a good old-fashioned telephone call and ask?
Report: Amazon building prototype hardware other than Kindle
The New York Times' Bits blog is reporting that "people with direct knowledge" of Amazon's plans say that Lab 126 -- the division of the company which designed the Kindle -- is currently looking into other hardware, i.e. devices that are not the Kindle. One unnamed source reports that such devices would be a "means to an end," meant to enable easy purchasing of Amazon's content, which currently includes music, movies, and digital books. The source said that CEO Jeff Bezos' intent for Lab 126 was initially to build multiple devices -- including apparent discussions to enter the mobile phone market -- but that the Kindle eventually became the main hardware focus. The report also notes that Amazon's hardware division currently has about 80 job openings, which would lend credence to the idea that more devices could be on the way.
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?
E-Ink Shocker! Amazon CEO says color Kindle is 'still a long way out'
Well, if it isn't a surprise to end all surprises. Amazon's head honcho Jeff Bezos recently grabbed a mic at the outfit's annual shareholder meeting in Seattle, and when speaking about the "millions" of Kindle e-readers that he's sold, he pointed out the obvious when questioned about the possibility of a color version. In addressing concerns that LCD-based tablets may seem more attractive due to their ability to showcase color images and video, he noted that developing color electronic ink remains a challenge, and while he's seen things "in the laboratory," the prototypes are simply "not ready for prime-time production." He also stated that these lust-worthy, mythical displays were "a long way out," but that the Kindle would remain focused as a dedicated e-reader moving forward. Hear that, Mirasol? That's the ear-piecing sound of a market opportunity waiting to be exploited.
'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.
