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Amazon advised US government on a portal that could make it billions
A key Amazon executive and former Obama administration official privately advised the US government on a procurement portal that could be worth billions to the company, the Guardian reports. Director of Government Anne Rung corresponded with an official at the General Services Administration (GSA) about how the government could create a purchasing portal, even before the legislation -- called the "Amazon Amendment" -- was created.
Pentagon plans to buy smarter to keep its tech edge
The Pentagon thinks the US is losing its technological dominance over adversaries and is changing the way it develops and buys new weapons. It just rolled out a program called "Better Buying Power 3.0" designed to better tap into the latest technology and significantly bolster cybersecurity. Defense under secretary Frank Kendall said that the program is motivated by "a steady erosion of our technological superiority" caused in part by a shrinking modernization budget that's often raided to pay for day-to-day operations.
Add items to your #AmazonCart directly from Twitter
As if you need more temptation to spend, Amazon has now made it possible to put items aside for purchase using Twitter. To start with, you need to connect your Twitter and Amazon accounts from your social settings page (you can also opt out). After that, it's almost too easy. When an Amazon product link like the infamous banana slicer above is tweeted from any source, you just need to reply with #AmazonCart (#AmazonBasket in the UK) to place it in your cart. At that point, you'll receive a confirmation email and tweet from Amazon. It's not quite an impulse buy, as you'll need to enter your Amazon account to complete the purchase. So far, we've confirmed that the service is now live in the US and UK, but there's no word yet of other regions. Meanwhile, check the video below for more info.
Nintendo opening eShop purchasing on PC and mobile devices
Nintendo will add the ability to purchase eShop games on PCs and smartphones, according to Nintendo's Business Development Manager Dan Adelman. While Adelman tells Joystiq he's not "personally directly involved" with the project, he confirmed that players will be able to "log onto the site and set [purchases] up for download so that once they get home, it'll be available for them and they can have that at their fingertips whenever they need it." Adelman's confirmation follows a NicoNico report with translation provided by Siliconera that notes the system will be open to PC and smartphone users later this year.
Amazon patents online haggling system that keeps buyers, sellers on the up and up
Haggling is so popular that it's virtually mandatory in some parts of the world, and yet it's rarely an option in the online space outside of informal auctions. If Amazon ever puts its newly granted patent into practice, however, we could soon be trying for a better price without the mock drama of a face-to-face encounter. The retailer's proposed haggling system lets buyers and sellers make offers and counteroffers until they reach a happy medium, but with the kind of honesty check we only wish we could have in person. Both buyers and sellers get ratings that would account for their flexibility, typical closing prices and how likely they are to drop a deal before it's done -- a combination that hopefully excludes the cheapskates and those who'd simply keep our wheels spinning. Even if Amazon pulls the trigger on negotiated sales, though, it's a fairly safe bet that there won't be any leeway on that Kindle Fire HD.
Google Play Music and Movies purchasing reaches Google TV, patches a media strategy hole
It's been one of the more conspicuous omissions in the media hub space: despite Google Play being the cornerstone of Google's content strategy, you couldn't truly use the company's music or movie services through Google TV without depending on content you'd already paid for elsewhere. As of a new upgrade, the ecosystem has come full circle. Viewers with Google TV boxes can at last buy or rent directly from Google Play Movies and Google Play Music, and the content will be indexed in the TV & Movies section alongside third-party video services and traditional TV. The upgrade also helps Google's TV front end play catch-up with its mobile counterpart by adding automatic app updates and subscriptions. While device owners may have to wait a few weeks as the upgrade rolls out, the addition signals a big step forward for a platform that has normally leaned heavily on others for help.
Apple lands patent for NFC-ready shopping app, could make impulse spending an iPhone tap away
Apple has been filing more than its fair share of NFC-related patents, but it was just granted what could be one of its more important wins at the USPTO. The design for an "on-the-go shopping list" app would help buyers find and pull the trigger on deals through every tool an iPhone has at its disposal, whether it's taking a snapshot of goods with the camera, punching in the UPC code by hand or tapping an item for an NFC-based "touch scan." We'll admit that we're a bit disappointed at how NFC is used, however. As with an earlier filing, the very short range wireless is kept largely to price comparisons and adding products to a list for a purchase from a store clerk later on, rather than closing the deal outright as we've seen with Google Wallet. The original 2008 filing date will also have seen a lot of water flowing under the bridge; there's no guarantee that any enthusiasm for NFC from the iPhone 3G era will have transferred to the present day. Accordingly, we would be careful about drawing any connections between iOS 6's Passbook and Apple's ideas from four years ago -- even if Apple has regularly been a never-say-never sort of company.
Telefonica partners with Facebook, Google, Microsoft and RIM for global carrier billing
Making a half dozen attempts to guess your login info or typing each digit of a credit card account certainly can get in the way of following through on impulse purchases, which is exactly how you'd categorize FarmVille cash or a featured flick that you know you may not have time to watch within the month. The solution is carrier billing, eliminating those precious seconds between impulse and reconsideration, and Telefonica has just signed on to offer the service to Facebook, Google, Microsoft and RIM account holders. The partnerships will enable O2 users in Germany or Movistar subscribers in Spain to charge purchases to their mobile phone accounts, for example -- in total, 14 Telefonica subsidiaries should be up and running with carrier billing by the end of the year, though some services, such as Google Play and Facebook, have already begun to roll out. Click through to the PR after the break for the full breakdown.
You're the Pundit: Buy now or wait?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is purchase timing. WWDC has come and gone, and no one doubts that this is an excellent time to stock up on refreshed MacBooks, but what about iPhones? It may be as long as 3-4 months before a new iPhone appears. Is this the worst time in the world to pick up an iPhone, or is it a great opportunity to jump onto the bandwagon with new prepaid plans like the one offered by Virgin Mobile? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis.%Poll-76178%
NPD says kids are buying more digital media than ever
If you're the parent of a child between the age of two and 14, you probably already know this; kids are spending more money on digital media than ever before. This unsurprising conclusion comes from market-research company NPD Group, which says that 21 cents out of every dollar kids spend on entertaining themselves goes to content that is in a "digital format." NPD's conclusions come from a survey of more than 3,400 parents who are often asked by their kids to buy a song or game, since most kids in that age group don't have credit cards -- or at least this blogger hopes they don't have credit cards! Gift cards do make it possible for parents to give the kids some control over their own purchasing habits. So what are the kids buying? You guessed it, one-third of them reported that music is the first type of digital content they purchase, followed closely by computer games and mobile games. NPD notes that the 21-cent figure is up from two years ago. In 2009, only about 14 cents out of every entertainment dollar spent by kids went to digital media. If this trend continues, Apple and Amazon will have a very bright future indeed.
Changes incoming for the markets of Final Fantasy XIV
Even if you're a fan of Final Fantasy XIV, you're probably not enamored of the way that selling items among players is currently handled. It's not that the market wards aren't useful, they're just a really slow way of finding items in a game where nearly every single item is crafted by players rather than found or purchased. So it's good news for the game that the development team is aware of the issue, and adjustments are incoming within the relatively near future. The first slated update will sort the market districts by items sold, thereby allowing players to zero in on exactly what they're looking for rather than the current ambling search. There are also plans for further refinement and specialization to the wards, along with plans to better facilitate hiring and employing multiple retainers at once. Whether or not the system will ever be replaced or supplemented with the often-requested auction house has not been stated, although there are no hints that such a system is incoming for Final Fantasy XIV. Even so, the promised updates should make finding items a good sight easier.
Gold Capped: Finding and keeping farmers
Every week, Gold Capped (from Basil "Euripides" Berntsen) aims to educate players about how to make money on the auction house. For the inside line on crafting for disenchanting, transmutation, cross-faction arbitrage and more, check in every Wednesday. Also, feel free to email Basil any comments, questions or hate mail! Sometimes, the cheapest way to acquire the quantity of farmed mats you need is to buy them direct from a farmer. Buying them on the auction house is probably more convenient; however, your farmer has to pay the AH cut, and you have to beat your competitors to it. Having a farmer send everything they farm cash on delivery every day is a much more efficient way and has some serious benefits for both sides of the deal. How can you find farmers and convince them to send you goods instead of listing them on the AH? This is not a one-way deal. You need to make it better for a farmer to ship directly to you than it would be for them to go and post their items for sale. To do that, let's look at the annoying parts of selling farmed goods.
WoW latex Elf ears on Amazon
It's that time of year again -- I just saw a seasonal costume store opening up near my apartment here in Chicago, and that means that we're almost to October, when all kinds of official and unofficial Halloween costumes from all of the year's biggest brands appear. Last year we had some Orc masks and old-school armor and gear (and we may see some of that stuff again this year), but so far the only new thing we've seen is these latex ears, in Night Elf and Blood Elf style, over on Amazon. For just $12, you too can have inordinately large pointy ears, signifying that you're a magical creature from Azeroth.Cheesy? Maybe so, but then again, that's pretty much what dressing up on Halloween is all about these days. If you happen to see any other Warcraft-related costumes during the season (either officially licensed by Blizzard or knocked-off by some shady costume designer), make sure to take a picture and send us a tip. And of course if you enjoy seeing real people dress up as fictional Warcraft characters, you'll love our pictures from BlizzCon. Enjoy.%Gallery-70668%
ChangeWave survey shows a bump for business Mac purchase plans
Keeping an eye out to the we-think-we-hope imminent economic recovery in the US, survey purveyor ChangeWave is seeing a bit of an bump in anticipated overall corporate PC purchases; in particular, the Mac-buying numbers are up. This month, 9% of responders say they expect their companies to buy Mac laptops in the next quarter, and 7% expect Mac desktop purchases -- a 1-point and 2-point uptick from the previous month's survey.ChangeWave's methodology emphasizes the expectations of buyers, so it can drift away from the actual reality of purchasing budgets, but it does help measure the attitudes of corporate users. Separate and apart from business purchases, there's another Apple product that's resonating with personal buyers; the other ChangeWave survey published this week shows enormous consumer demand for the iPhone 3GS, with 44% of the respondents who plan to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days expecting to buy themselves an iPhone.[via Ars Technica]
Analysts say HDTV sales could decline in current economy, snow could fall in Montana
Hey, the analysts have to find something to talk about, right? As the Blue Chips rise and fall like the tides, so have bobbed the reports regarding how this economy will affect HDTV sales. Just a week ago, one survey found that 73% of non-HDTV owners were still forging ahead with plans to pick up an HDTV within the next 12 months, and given the record low prices we're apt to see on Black Friday, we don't half blame 'em. Merely 24 hours later, out popped another report backing the claim. Now, however, Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., is suggesting that the current credit crunch could already be eating away at TV sales. Or, you know, maybe all these intelligent souls out there understand that massive sales are just over a month away. How's that for analysis?[Image courtesy of StarTribune]
Poll: Are you intentionally delaying an HDTV purchase?
We already heard that prices were still a huge determining factor in flat-panel purchasing decisions (surprise, surprise, right?), but with new reports asserting that a sweet two-fer of price drops could be on the way, we're curious as to what you're doing. Are you intentionally duct taping your index finger away from the left-click button? Are you buying anyway? Or might you replace that mildly aged set (or add another in the bed- / guestroom) if the prices are low enough? Let us know your game plan in the poll below.[Image courtesy of ABC] %Poll-18477%
Poll: Have you purchased a Blu-ray player post-fallout?
Yeah, you heard us. We're bored with looking at all these "other surveys," it's time to have our own. We've seen that sales of Blu-ray players have been relatively disappointing thus far in 2008, even after the format war was over. We've heard that heightened prices, occasional shortages and Profile confusion were the causes. But we're interested to see if you -- the most diehard of them all -- have paid attention to any of that. Are movie / HD lovers still buying now that there's one true winner? And if so, are you snapping up the safe bet (read: PlayStation 3), waiting for a Profile 2.0 deck or grabbing up another standalone unit in order to not miss a minute of that 1080p glory? Let us have it below. %Poll-13668%
