In what is considered a move that could be followed by other top book publishers, the Penguin Group  has announced that it has asked Amazon to remove all of its e-books from the Amazon Kindle library lending service. The publisher said that security fears are the main reason it is stopping the lending of its books.

According to OverDrive, the company that works with Amazon in managing digital content to different institutions like libraries, schools and retailers, the Penguin Group said that it has asked to “suspend availability of new Penguin e-book titles from our library catalog and disable ‘Get for Kindle’  functionality for all Penguin e-books.” More →

Amazon is intent on making itself a significant player not just in the online retail industry (which it is actually dominating) but also on the consumer electronics front. It has proven that it knows the pulse of the public with the successful launch and significant sales of its Kindle eBook readers. It has continued its foray into consumer electronics with the highly regarded Kindle Fire tablet, one of the most affordable tablet in the market right now. But if reports are to be believed, Amazon is going deeper into its strategy by releasing a mobile phone next year.

According to rumors that have come out of Citigroup’s research department, Amazon is likely already preparing for the production of an Amazon Smartphone. One of the sources of the rumor are the component suppliers from Asia. More →

The tablet war between Amazon and Barnes & Noble commenced earlier than expected with the both companies breaking their own street dates for their respective products.

Amazon announced that it will be shipping its hotly anticipated Kindle Fire tablet a few days before the original release date. Barnes & Noble, smelling that this could potentially derail their own plans have also announced that it will be releasing their Nook Tablet a couple of days before the original release date of November 18. More →

Amazon is the oldest and largest online retailer in the US. It initially started life in the mid 90′s selling books but now sells a variety of products from DVD’s to toys and even furniture. Below is a graphical representation of their growth and success over the last 15 years.

Enjoy this great Infographic from our friends at Infographiclabs

Unless you lived in a house lacking a television as well as an internet connection, you are probably aware of the Wikileaks war that has been raging recently.

Yesterday a hacker group called Anonymous was able to successfully launch DDoS attacks against Mastercard, Visa and Paypal, temporarily forcing all of those sites offline.

The Hacktivists (as some call them) then set their sites upon Amazon for refusing to host Wikileaks earlier in the organization’s time of need.

However, unlike their previous attempts, Amazon seemed to hold their own as indicated by an message sent by someone claiming to represent the group.

With the Amazon attack, they are simply toooo big for us right now. Maybe at a later time we can try again with them.

We are using LOIC’s to attack. We have a hive of nearly 5000 users right now. You can read about LOICs here – http://encyclopediadramatica.com/LOIC (via Mashable)

Whether or not you agree with the Hacktivists DDoS attacks, the fact that Amazon was able to easily withstand the attacks is impressive (technologically wise) and will probably help bolster their image among the masses as a superior hosting platform.

With DDoS attacks sadly becoming the norm for supporters and haters of Wikileaks, this whole drama could end up benefiting Amazon financially as the company might be able to use these attacks to convince companies to host with them instead of the competition.

Amazon is really trying hard to make its Kindle eBook reader to become a multi-function device – much like the Apple iPad. But I guess, due to the limited technical capabilities of the Kindle, making it at part with the iPad in terms of multi-features would be a hard feat to accomplish. Well, at least Amazon is trying and its latest effort will be rolled out with the new firmware  version 2.5 upgrade for Kindle – Facebook and Twitter integration.

Well, it’s not really a full Twitter and Facebook integration since this would be pretty hard to accomplish. What the new feature will let you do is to let you share book passages with friends on Facebook and Twitter directly from your Kindle. Unfortunately, that’s just how far Amazon can probably stretch the Kindle’s social capability.

But, don’t let this lack of powerful social features disappoint you. There are other new features that the Kindle firmware version 2.5 that are worth waiting for. These include:

• Collections: Organize your books and documents into one or more collections.
• PDF Pan and Zoom: Zoom into PDFs and pan around to easily view small print and detailed tables or graphics.
• Password Protection: Password protect your Kindle when you’re not using it.
• More Fonts & Improved Clarity: Enjoy two new larger font sizes and sharper fonts for an even more comfortable reading experience.
• Popular Highlights: See what the Kindle community thinks are the most interesting passages in the books you’re reading.

Kindle’s firmware upgrade will be rolled out automatically via OTA to all Kindle users in the coming days.

Again, it’s all about Apple and the iPad. Probably realizing that they need to push both their e-readers near to consumers some more, especially now that the iPad was proven to be a good competitor in the e-reader nice, Amazon and Nook are reportedly pushing their devices to brick and mortar stores.

And so the Kindle which is currently available only through Amazon.com will soon be making its way to Target.com. Engadget managed to score a shot of Target’s inventory handheld showing the Kindle device.  In addition, Target.com might start selling the e-book reader starting on April 25. Why it took Amazon this long to make its Kindle available on brick and mortar stores is not important anymore. What’s important is that casual buyers who chance upon it on Target’s store shelves might actually make an unplanned purchase of the Kindle.

As for Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader, another reliable source revealed that the Nook will be available on Best Buy brick-and-mortar stores. Curently, you can only score a Nook through Barnes & Noble online store or from Barnes & Noble outlets.  The proof was once again revelead by an inventory system, this time from Best Buy showing that B&N’s Nook will be available on Best Buy stores starting April 18.

What remains to be seen now is whether this will lead to an increase in both the sales figures of Nook and Kindle.  What we don’t know right now is how much these devices will be sold on stores. Will they be priced lower than their selling price online?

Over at the Daily Bits, I was just discussing about how the iPad can possibly kill the Amazon Kindle, partly because of  the iPad’s rich, colorful display as against the Kindle’s boring grey e-ink display. You want another proof? How about checking the iPad App Store and searching for Kindle for iPad?

Yes folks, Amazon’s Kindle for iPad app is now part of the growing list of early iPad apps releases just in time for the release of the iPad tomorrow. And boy does it look’s awesome? Indeed! Just take a look at the sample screenshots provided on the app’s page on the iPad App Store.

Kindle for iPad features a rich, colorful, and vibrant main app page. Displaying book covers in full color against the old-familiar blue Kindle theme.

Feature-wise, it’s pretty much the same Kindle mobile app for the iPhone, BlackBerry, Mac and PC.

Additional features made specifically for the iPad include:

• new beautiful interface, tailored to the size, look and feel of the iPad
• new home library view with pinch, zoom, and scrolling support
• new page turning animation
• adjustable screen brightness

Kindle for iPad also supports Amazon’s Whispersync that automatically syncs your last page read , bookmark, notes, and highlights across all of your devices.  The app also lets you purchase e-books from the Kindle Bookstore which you can also use these e-books on your other Kindle apps.

Obviously, Kindle for App does not recommend the iBookstore so it’s either you use Kindle for iPad or the iBooks from getting your e-book fix on your iPad.

Call it coincidence or a a deliberate attempt at possibly spoiling the intensifying excitement over the release of the iPad. But Amazon’s recent airing of two TV ads for Kindle is a sign that the company is not just going to let the iPad steal the Kindle’s existing dominance on the e-book market.

The two TV ads features are short snappy and trendy clips showing the theme “books in 60 seconds.” Meaning, that’s how fast you can get hold of a full edition of a published book in your Amazon Kindle, through its 3G wiresless connectivity or via the Internet. The Kindle TV Ads are pretty well done, colorful and able to send the message that the Kindle can bring “colors” to what you read.

Interestingly, Amazon has commissioned airing of the two commercials into prime time on major channels. Makes us think that Amazon has really spent a lot to push their campaign. And of course, it shows how serious they are in staying competitive against the iPad.

Here’s the other Amazon Kindle TV commercial.

When the issue on the e-books pricing of those who will be in the iPad’s iBookstore started spreading, many are saying that it will be to Amazon’s advantage.  The Kindle Store’s average price for an e-book is pegged at $9.99 and Amazon is even sacrificing some sales just to maintain this pricing even at a loss for them.

Analysts are saying that the iBookstore will not be able to compete against this pricing and that e-books to be sold will be priced higher than the e-books sold in the Kindle Store.

That may not be necessarily true at all.  The blog AppAdvice got hold of a preview that shows otherwise. It seems that most e-books that will be sold in the iBookstore  are also priced at $9.99. In fact, out of the 32 e-books that were on the New York Time’s Bestsellers, 27 titles have $9.99 price tag.

In fact 4 of  the top 5 bestsellers will be sold in the iBookstore for $9.99.

If the iBookstore will be able maintain this price ceilings for most of the books that will be made available once the iPad is launched, Amazon is definitely facing a stiff challenge to their well established and widely accepted e-book business.  Indeed Amazon has all the reason to be worried and should start working on various enhancements to the Kindle store as well possibly on the Kindle device as well.  But except for the lack of color display and other computing functionalities, I think Amazon may have already exhausted all possible features that it could probably include in the Kindle.

So, will you be buying the iPad and use it as an e-book reader and purchase your e-books from the iBookstore? Or will you use the Kindle App for Tablets which will also run in the iPad and purchase your e-books from the Amazon Kindle Store still?