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Amazon spins out Prime Video and launches it globally
For years, Amazon has used its video streaming service as a carrot to get customers to sign up to its annual Prime subscription. It meant that viewers who didn't live in one of Amazon's supported countries couldn't watch the retail giant's original TV shows and movies without having to resort to alternative means. With Jeremy Clarkson and co. now on the service following the big-budget debut of The Grand Tour, Amazon has decided to fully engage Netflix and spin out its streaming service, today launching Prime Video in "200 countries and territories" around the world with a low introductory price of $3/€3 per month.
Amazon lets Prime members add HBO and Cinemax to their plans
Amazon already offered Prime subscribers the ability to add streaming services to their account and today it tacked on two more big names. If you're willing to pay a few extra dollars a month, you can now add HBO and Cinemax to that annual membership. Through Amazon Channels, HBO will set you back $15 a month while Cinemax requires an extra $10 monthly fee. Of course, the advantage here is that you're getting on-demand access to content from the two networks without the need for a cable plan.
WSJ: Amazon ponders live sports on Prime
Amazon already offers a robust library of movies and television for streaming, but the online retailer could be looking to tackle one of the last remaining strongholds of pay television. The Wall Street Journal reports the company has held talks over the last few months with the NBA, MLB, NFL and MLS. Amazon has reportedly also met with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which has it's own network with a hand from ESPN, in addition to Campus Insiders and 120 Sports for college athletics coverage.
Amazon Prime Now delivers Morrisons products in an hour
To help expand its grocery delivery service quickly, Amazon teamed up with Morrisons, the UK's fourth biggest supermarket chain. It's allowed the online retail giant to add lots of fresh and frozen products to Amazon Pantry and Amazon Fresh, as well as open hundreds of in-store lockers in select Morrisons locations. Today, though, the two companies are expanding that agreement with the announcement that Prime customers can now choose from thousands of additional products to be delivered in under an hour.
Amazon Prime discounted to £59 for 'The Grand Tour' launch
Good news: The Grand Tour, Amazon's answer to Top Gear, is now only three days away from release. The bad news is that you'll need a Prime subscription to watch it. Amazon knows this, so it's sweetening the deal by slashing £20 off the price of its annual subscription for anyone who has yet to sign up.
Amazon UK now offering one-hour deliveries from local London shops
In a bid to boost its Prime Now offering in London, Amazon has teamed up with a pharmacist and a wine dealer to deliver more than 7,000 additional products in under an hour. The company announced today that customers in selected London postcodes can grab "luxury health, wellbeing and beauty products" from John Bell & Croyden -- pharmacists to Her Majesty The Queen -- and fine wines and spirits from Spirited Wines.
Amazon might launch a Prime housekeeping service
After years selling the products you need to keep your home tidy, Amazon may soon actually help you clean it. Two job postings, first spotted by The Seattle Times, show that the company is looking for "Home Assistants," who work with customers to tidy people's homes, do laundry, put groceries away and "assure that customers return to an errand-free home."
Amazon's bookstores charge more if you're not a Prime member
If it wasn't clear already, Amazon really wants you to sign up for Prime. As GeekWire reports, the company has adopted a unique pricing model inside its physical bookstores: one sticker price for Prime members, another for regular customers. Subscribers get the same amount shown on Amazon's website, while everyone else has to pay the normal (usually higher) list price. The unusual system has been in place since August, according to one store clerk, but this is the first we've heard of it. The message from Jeff Bezos is simple: sign up for Prime if you want the true Amazon experience.
Amazon Prime arrives in China to further challenge Alibaba
With over 63 million people already paying for Prime, Amazon is now expanding its subscription service to one of the largest marketplaces in the world: China. The retailer has announced that mainland users can now enjoy free, unlimited shipping on millions of domestic items, as well as others from the special "overseas orders" category. As part of a promotion that lasts until February, Amazon is offering the membership for $188 yuan (around $30) for the first year. Once this rate ends, Prime will cost 388 yuan (about $60) every 12 months.
Amazon Prime now includes a 'Family Vault' for sharing photos
Slowly but surely, Amazon has built out its Prime subscription to offer access to more online services. Faster deliveries and streaming video often dominate the headlines, but over the past couple of years, the company has also offered unlimited photo storage. In its bid to lure users away from and close the gap on Google's free image hosting, the retailer today announced the launch of Family Vault, a new feature that lets anyone with a Prime subscription invite up to five friends and family members to join their account and upload as many photos as they like.
Amazon's latest Prime perk is free books and magazines
While members of the Amazon Prime club get all kinds of benefits with their subscription, bookworms don't receive a great deal of special treatment. Sure, they can borrow one e-book for free each month and access new novels early, but the all-you-can-read Kindle Unlimited service requires a separate, $10 per month subscription of its own. That isn't changing today, but Amazon has just announced something of a light version of Unlimited called Prime Reading, which is now available to Prime subscribers in the US.
Amazon chronicles Hugh Hefner's life in upcoming original series
Like Hulu and Netflix, Amazon continues to add to its library of original content. Today, the online retailer announced a 13-episode show that will chronicle the life of Hugh Hefner. American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story will span the media mogul's six-decade career at the helm of Playboy magazine. The show will take on a documentary-style approach, starting with the founding of the iconic publication in 1953. Using 17,000 hours of never-before-seen footage from the magazine's archives and content over 2,600 of Hefner's personal scrapbooks, there's sure to be a wealth of info for the series to pull from.
Amazon Video for Android adds support for SD cards
Amazon just pushed a small, but important update to its Android video app: starting today, users can choose where downloaded files are stored. It sounds insignificant, but for heavy users, this is a really big deal -- until now, Amazon Video would only store content on a device's internal storage, severely limiting how much content one could keep on the device. Not anymore. Now, if you have an SD card, you have room for more movies. The feature is rolling out to customers in the US, UK, Germany, Austria and Japan. It's about time.
Amazon's Prime Day sale is causing headaches for customers (updated)
If you're an Amazon Prime subscriber who's having issues making a purchase the retailer's big sale, you're not alone. The company tweeted this morning that some customers were having issues checking out. Replies to that post indicate that some customers are having trouble adding products to their cart as well. Amazon said it was "working to resolve this issue quickly," but the headaches are affecting eager customers during one of the site's biggest sales of the year. Today the company is holding its annual Prime Day sale, discounting thousands of items for folks who have a Prime subscription. We've reached out to Amazon for more information on the matter and we'll update this post when we hear back.
Amazon Prime Day 2016: UK deals you need to know about
It's July 12th. For many, it's just another Tuesday, but for Amazon, it's another chance to sell millions of customers gadgets, homeware and lots of other stuff they don't need. Yes, it's "Prime Day," a marketing gimmick where Amazon discounts thousands of products for Prime subscribers. To keep on top of things, you'd normally have to track shopping websites or keep an eye on social media, but we want to help. We've listed a number of all-day deals that we think are worth keeping an eye on, but act quick, other deals on the site will only be available for a couple of hours at the most.
Amazon adds PBS Kids shows to its children's lineup
Amazon is always looking to pad its streaming library, and that includes new shows for younger viewers. The company announced today that it's now the "exclusive subscription streaming home" for a number of PBS Kids series. Shows like Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, Odd Squad, Dinosaur Train and more are available to Prime members at no extra charge.
Amazon reportedly working on a standalone music streaming service
CNBC is reporting that Amazon plans to launch a free-standing streaming music service, according to sources within the company. The as-of-yet unnamed service will reportedly launch in the late summer or fall, after the company finalizes its licensing agreements, and should cost $10 a month.
Amazon's 'All or Nothing' NFL series debuts July 1st
The league first announced NFL Films' All or Nothing back in March, and now the series is set to debut on Amazon's Prime Video July 1st. The 8-episode show will follow one NFL team throughout the season, chronicling the 2015 Arizona Cardinals in this first installment. All or Nothing begins with the season-ending injury to quarterback Carson Palmer in 2014 and follows the team through the NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers this past year.
Amazon will sell its own food brands to Prime members
Amazon is no stranger to selling self-branded goods, whether they're tablets, USB cables or baby wipes. However, it's reportedly close to venturing into uncharted territory: food. Wall Street Journal sources understand that the internet shopping pioneer is weeks away from a "broad push" into selling its own brands of perishables. The Happy Belly label would offer everything from cooking oil to tea, while the Wickedly Prime badge would focus on snacks. There's also talk of a wider move into around-the-home products like the Presto line (things like laundry detergent) and Mama Bear (baby-oriented goods, including food).
Sprint's Better Choice XXL plan includes a year of Amazon Prime
An Amazon Prime membership will cost you $99 a year, but Sprint is tacking on the two-day shipping subscription for free. Starting today, the carrier is giving new and existing customers who choose its Better Choice XXL plan 12-month access to Prime. The XXL option is $100 a month on its own, giving users 40GB of data and unlimited talk and text. Sprint was already offering customers Prime access for $11 a month, but now it's offering folks who burn through data the chance to nab it at no additional cost.
