Tablet PCs have come a long way since the days of single-issue purchasing and the frustrations of customers who found themselves paying in the hundreds of dollars to read their favorite digital editions of magazines at higher-than-newsstand prices. With the advent of better content, similar pricing, and more choices, many readers are now turning to their tablets for periodical content.
And Kindle Fire users are expected to be no different. When Amazon’s tablet finally ships later this month, over 400 magazines will be available to owners via the Kindle Fire Newsstand. Additionally, for those who subscribe prior to March 2012, seventeen different Conde` Nast magazines are free for the first three months.
“We’re excited to work with Amazon to give Kindle Fire owners access to our magazines digitally,” said John Loughlin, EVP/GM, Hearst Magazines. “Kindle Fire’s beautiful touch-screen creates a great experience for readers, who will be able to enjoy magazines like Cosmopolitan and Esquire in a full-color, glossy format.” Conde` Nast and Meredith publishing executives have also spoken out on the newest tablet’s capabilities for magazine and newspaper reading.
Kindle Fire Newsstand is just one of the many new features that consumers are clamoring for in their tablet use, as both iPad and Nook COLOR tablets have similar features. In addition to digital periodicals, the Kindle Fire will still offer Whispersync instant downloads of books, high-speed streaming of movies with Amazon Prime membership, and the Amazon Cloud for storage, as well as a proprietary web browser, Amazon Silk.
[showhide type=’pressrelease’]Kindle Fire Newsstand to Offer Over 400 Full-Color Magazines and Newspapers
Condé Nast will give all Kindle Fire owners an exclusive free three-month trial of 17 top magazines including Vanity Fair, GQ and Glamour
SEATTLE – November 11, 2011– Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that the Kindle Fire Newsstand will offer over 400 full-color magazines and newspapers. Kindle Fire customers who subscribe before March 1, 2012 will also receive an exclusive free three-month trial of 17 Condé Nast magazines, including Vanity Fair, GQ, WIRED and Glamour. Kindle Fire, which ships next week, is a new class of Kindle that brings the same ease-of-use and deep integration of content that helped Kindle re-invent reading to magazines, movies, TV shows, music, apps, games, books and more. Magazines and newspapers look beautiful on Kindle Fire’s 7” vibrant multi-touch color touch-screen that delivers 1024 X 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi and 16 million colors in high resolution. Kindle Fire Newsstand customers will be able to enjoy their favorite magazines in rich, glossy, full-color from publishers such as Condé Nast, Meredith, and Hearst. Interactive editions with built-in video and audio are also available for many magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens, Allure and Self. To learn more about the Kindle Fire Newsstand, visit www.amazon.com/kindlefirenewsstand.
“We think Kindle Fire customers will love the beautiful, intuitive reading experience we’ve built for their favorite magazines such as Us Weekly, The New Yorker, and Reader’s Digest,” said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content. “The response from publishers has been overwhelmingly positive and they are excited to make their magazines and newspapers available on Kindle Fire, and we’re adding new titles all the time.”
“We’re excited to work with Amazon to give Kindle Fire owners access to our magazines digitally,” said John Loughlin, EVP/GM, Hearst Magazines. “Kindle Fire’s beautiful touch-screen creates a great experience for readers, who will be able to enjoy magazines like Cosmopolitan and Esquire in a full-color, glossy format.”
“We are very pleased to be working with Amazon and getting our content to an even wider audience,” said Monica Ray, Executive Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Condé Nast. “Their Newsstand will provide the kind of access and ease-of-use consumers value and demand.”
“Meredith has worked with Amazon to create Kindle Fire optimized interactive apps, so readers can enjoy videos, how-to diagrams and more while reading magazines like Better Homes & Gardens and Parents,” said Liz Schimel, Chief Digital Officer, Meredith. “We think readers will love the experience of discovering our magazines in this new way on Kindle Fire’s beautiful full-color touch-screen.”
Kindle Fire offers more than 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, apps and games, as well as free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync for books and movies, a 14.6 ounce design that’s easy to hold with one hand, vibrant color touch screen, a powerful dual-core processor and Amazon Silk – Amazon’s new revolutionary web browser that accelerates the power of the mobile device by using the computing speed and power of the Amazon Web Services Cloud – all for only $199. Customers also enjoy a free month of Amazon Prime giving them access to Prime Instant Video with 13,000 movies and TV shows available for unlimited streaming and the new Kindle Owners’ Lending Library where Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free including more than 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers – as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.
Customers in the U.S. can pre-order Kindle Fire at www.amazon.com/kindlefire and it ships November 15. For high resolution images and video of the all-new Kindle Fire, visit www.amazon.com/kindleimages.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most compact Kindle ever and features the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch 3G is the top of the line e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch, with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle Fire is the Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon’s new revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core processor.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, and www.amazon.es. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180
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Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
