Amazon Releases Kindle For Mac App
March 18, 2010
Amazon.com has released its free Kindle for Mac application that allows users to read books from the Kindle Store on their Mac computers.
Kindle for Mac is Amazon's latest application aimed at expanding Kindle content to a wider range of devices. Kindle books can now be read on the iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC and Mac. Amazon said it also plans a Kindle app for Apple's upcoming iPad tablet. Also look for Amazon to possibly release a Kindle app for Android somewhere down the road.
"Kindle for Mac is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX," said Jay Marine, director, Amazon Kindle.
"For those customers around the world who don't yet have a Kindle, Kindle for Mac is a great way to instantly access and read the most popular new releases as well as their old favorites."
Kindle for Mac features Amazon's Whispersync technology that automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and last page read across devices. Kindle for Mac allows users to read some on their Mac and some on a Kindle, while saving their place.
Amazon says several new features will be added to the Kindle for Map app in the near future, including full text search and the ability to create and edit notes and highlights.
Droid Beats iPhone In Sales Comparison
March 16, 2010
There's good and bad news for Google this morning with respect to Android and the mobile market. In terms of how many units were sold during their first 74 days of availability, it seems the Droid beat the iPhone to the million-unit mark, but the Nexus One is lagging far behind.
That's the state of things according to Flurry, which claims that applications using its analytics tools have been embedded in more than 80 percent of iPhones and Android devices. And anyone who's suspicious of the firm's stats should know that Goldman Sachs has used them as the basis for some forecasts, too.
So on to the comparison. You can see the results below. FYI: Flurry picked a 74-day period because that's how long Apple said it took for one million iPhones to sell.
Flurry noted that the Droid enjoyed several advantages here. First, the iPhone had already taught consumers about the benefits of smartphones. Verizon also boasted more subscribers than AT&T, and the Droid launched towards the start of the holiday shopping season.
Android can definitely compete with the iPhone, then. The Nexus One's lack of success just makes it hard to judge what sort of circumstances are needed to even the odds.
How Important is Your Domain Name to Your Brand?
March 10, 2010
How important is your domain name to you brand? Most online businesses would probably consider it to be quite important, and with good reason. Sometimes before searching, customers may simply opt to go to the "yourbrandhere.com" URL simply because it makes sense. Now, sometimes that URL is already taken, and for start-ups, that's something to consider in itself.
As Monte Cahn, Founder and President of Moniker mentioned in a recent interview with WebProNews, it's a good idea to make sure the domain name is available when coming up with a name for your brand, or at least make sure that you are able to acquire it. Products have their own brands, and this way of thinking can also be applied to them in many cases. Cahn notes that even the big companies make mistakes in this area. For example, you would expect Apple to own iPad.com, considering the huge announcement about the device the company made this year, but someone else has that domain.