Amazon Offers Promotional Prices on Tablets, Kindle Readers – 24/7 Wall St.

By Paul Ausick February 11, 2016 8:35 am EST

On Wednesday, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) replaced a $ 2 billion share buyback program the company instituted in 2010 and replaced it with a new $ 5 billion program. The old program still had $ 763 million left for share repurchases. One might be forgiven for questioning Amazon's sincerity about spending $ 5 billion on something it clearly doesn't like doing at all.

When Amazon reported earnings that were short of expectations in late January, analysts mostly reaffirmed their prior ratings but lowered their price targets. The current target is $ 738.13 (down about $ 10 since the earnings report), and Wednesday's closing price was $ 490.48, a bump of 1.7% for the day. That was the largest single-day gain since the company reported earnings. Shares have lost 27% since the beginning of the year and 6% since the earnings report.

To help boost revenues going forward, Amazon has put a limited-time offer on many of its own branded devices. The seven-inch Amazon Fire tablet with Wi-Fi and 8 gigabytes (GB) of memory is available until February 13 for $ 39.99, a savings of $ 10 (20%) off the regular price.

The Fire Kids Edition with a seven-inch display, Wi-Fi and 8 GB of memory is on sale for $ 79.99, a savings of $ 20 (20%) off the regular price. The offer expires February 13 and several accessories are also available at sale prices: a backpack is 50% off and a 32 GB memory card is offered at a 35% savings.

The new Fire HD10 with a its high-definition display, Wi Fi and 16 GB of memory is available until February 13 for $ 179.99, a savings of $ 50 (22%) from the list price of $ 229.99.

Amazon is also offering deals on its Kindle e-reader. Customers can save $ 20 on the six-inch Kindle, priced at $ 59.99 (25% savings) until February 13, and $ 20 on the six-inch Kindle Paperwhite, priced at $ 99.99 (a savings of 17%).

Tablet sales have slowed for all manufacturers, so it's no particular surprise that Amazon has offered these deals. The time may be limited now, but there's little to suggest that the market for tablets will return to growth mode, so tablet prices will either continue falling or sales will dry up even more.

By Paul Ausick

Amazon’s Kindle e-readers are getting a big software update soon – The Verge

Amazon has revealed a new firmware update that’ll hit its Kindle e-readers later this month, and it sounds like the software will make it even easier to — you guessed it — buy books from Amazon. There’s a revamped home screen with shortcuts for books on your wish list, downloaded samples, and reading lists from Goodreads, and the update will also provide quick toggles for features like airplane mode and cloud syncing.

You’ll also be able to share quotes from books directly to Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, and anyone who sees the share can read a preview of the book right in their browser without needing to sign in to Amazon. And while the list of recommended books remains at the bottom of the home screen, Amazon is implementing a new system to help hone those suggestions; you can enter your favorite genres and rate some specific books to give Amazon a better idea of what to surface.

The update will come to the 2013 and 2015 models of the Kindle Paperwhite, as well as the Kindle Voyage and the 2014 standard Kindle. Amazon says the update will roll out in the next few weeks, and you don’t need to do anything to receive it — the software will download and install automatically.

Selfies on stolen Kindle help crack theft case – KABC-TV

LAKE BALBOA, LOS ANGELES –

Selfies taken by a theft suspect helped crack the case of a Kindle that was stolen from a car in Lake Balboa.

The Kindle was taken last Tuesday from an unlocked car in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box restaurant in the 16800 block of Vanowen Street, said Los Angeles police. A smartphone was also taken from the car.

A few days following the theft, the owner noticed new photos were automatically uploaded to the Cloud. The photos depicted a man and a woman. The woman had an ash marking on her forehead, indicating to authorities that the photos were taken after the theft, which occurred on the day before Ash Wednesday.

LAPD detectives released the pictures with hopes of identifying the people in them.

After seeing the pictures on television, a family member encouraged the suspect, the male in the selfies, to surrender to police.

The suspect was identified as Michael Soto. The woman posing next to Soto in the pictures is his mother. Police said they’ve confirmed that his mother was not involved in the theft and had no knowledge that the Kindle was stolen.

“I think there was a bit of family pressure to get Michael to return the stolen items and fess up, if nothing else, to help clear his mom’s name,” said LAPD Capt. Paul Vernon. “Michael may have a bigger debt to pay to his mom than to society.”

The stolen Kindle and smartphone were returned to the owner, who is expected to file misdemeanor charges with the city attorney.

Soto walked into the LAPD’s West Valley Police Station Thursday night and surrendered to officers. He was released pending charges.

If you have any further information about this incident, you’re urged to contact Crimestoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.