Redington has received stocks of some Amazon Kindle devices, which it will start distributing in India. Earlier there were reports of Amazon tying up with Redington for distributing its Kindle e-book readers and tablets, which we have now been able to reconfirm. The agreement was signed a couple of months ago, our source tells us. Redington also distributes Apple’s products in India including iPhones and iPads as well as BlackBerry smartphones. Amazon had earlier tied up with Tata’s retail chain Croma to launch its Kindles in India.

Multiple sources have confirmed to BGR India that the distributor has received stocks of a few models of its Kindle e-readers. Amazon also plans to launch its Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD Android tablets in India via its tie-up with Redington. The exact launch date or the pricing of Amazon’s Kindle line-up is not known at the moment but this will ensure wider availability of Kindles across retail stores in the coming weeks.

Amazon announced its plans to launch its Android app store in India among other countries a couple of weeks ago, which would ensure users will have an app store to buy apps for its Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD tablets, which run on a forked version of Android.

Yesterday we reported on Amazon bringing its Android Play store in as many as 200 countries including India, which has given momentum to the rumored Amazon’s Kindle phone’s arrival. Now Techcrunch is claiming that Amazon acquired a Siri like voice application platform.

Amazon is reported to have invested $26 million in acquiring Evi, a voice-recognition-based smart app created by True Knowledge  in collaboration with Nuance for its voice recognition technology.

According to the report, acquisition took place late last year. In January, Amazon had also acquired another voice recognition based company, Ivona Software, which hinted at its possible plans to compete against Siri.

Amazon has been reported to be working on its Kindle phone running on a forked version of Android for quite a while now and these acquisitions could help Amazon develop an app or service at par with Siri.

Evi is already available in Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

Amazon today announced its plans to expand its Android Appstore to nearly 200 countries, which includes India. According to the announcement, developers can now start submitting apps for global distribution when the store is made available globally later this year. “These apps will be made available in the coming months when the Amazon Appstore for Android launches internationally for consumers,” reads the statement issued by Amazon.

Amazon is expected to launch a smartphone this year, which like the Kindle Fire tablets will run on a forked version of Android. Amazon recently started selling the Kindle e-book reader in India and other international markets. The move to make its Android Appstore available internationally hints at Amazon’s plans to probably first launch the Kindle Fire in more markets followed by a wider roll-out of its rumored smartphone, once it is unveiled later this year.

Google too officially launched the Nexus tablet in India via the Play Store a few weeks ago and is expected to introduce carrier billing with a planned roll-out of an update to its Play Store. Users in India can now also buy books and movies from the Play Store, a move that preceded the Nexus 7 availability. Apple too launched its iTunes Store’s movies and music catalog in more than 50 countries including India last December, before launching the Apple TV in India.

Amazon, which started off as a bookseller, has now acquired Goodreads, a social reading service. The details of the deal haven’t been disclosed, but the company did mention that the deal will be closed in the coming months.

Goodreads, which was founded in 2007, is a social reading service where users are recommended books according to their likes and is also a social network platform for book lovers. Since its launch, Goodreads has amassed over 16 million users.

“Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world,” said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle content for Amazon. “In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike,” he added.

The social integration and the recommendation technology that comes with Goodreads will be a major advantage for Amazon’s e-store. Amazon will know exactly what books are doing well from readers themselves and will be able to offer deals or discounts on them to ramp up sales.

Amazon has hired Redington to distribute its Kindle branded hardware in India according to MediaNama. Previously, Amazon had tied up with Tata’s Croma retail line to sell its entry-level Kindle e-book readers. The deal could mean Amazon is now preparing to launch its higher-end Kindle Paperwhite e-book reader and possibly even the Kindle HD tablet.

It can be postulated that this could be a precursor to Amazon launching its content juggernaut in India.

The content angle can be a big play because, the Kindle Android tablets are totally reliant on Amazon services that includes its premium video streaming service, its cloud player and App store as the tablets use a forked version of Android and don’t have access to Google Play.

Additionally, we have already seen Apple spread its wings in this sphere after it launched iTunes downloads for local content in its store. Apple has also launched the Apple TV in India so that consumers can consume their video content on the big screen. Google too is not far behind and now offers its Play Books service in India that will compete with the Kindle e-book reader store. And finally, just to add some masala to this story, there are also murmurs that Netflix might be planning something for India, but till date there has not been anything concrete on that front.

Previously, Apple tied up with Redington to distribute its products and there are indications that iPhone sales have sored in the country. Clearly, the vultures are circling for controlling the Indian online content market.

Amazon is reported to be in talks with Texas Instruments to buy its OMAP chip business for smartphones and tablets. Texas Instruments had earlier announced its intention to wind down this business and instead focus on embedded platforms. Amazon also happens to be one of its biggest customers.
Amazon could be looking at taking more control over the chipset that runs its Kindle Fire tablet, which has been the most successful tablet based on Android. Its competitors in the hardware space, Apple and Samsung, already develop their own chipsets, which they heavily customize for enhanced optimization.

The acquisition, if it goes through, would signal Amazon’s seriousness in the hardware space. It has been rumored that Amazon is also working on its own smartphone and TI’s OMAP division could certainly come in handy.

Read

Amazon has released an upgrade to its Kindle Fire Android tablet called the Kindle Fire HD along with a much needed upgrade of its Kindle e-book reader, which it calls the Kindle Paperwhite. The older Kindle Fire too received a price cut and at the same time some improved hardware specs.

The Kindle Fire HD will be available in two screen sizes – 7-inch and 8.9-inch – and both feature IPS displays with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels and 1920×1200 pixels respectively. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will run on a TI OMAP 4470 processor while the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD runs on a TI OMAP 4460 processor. The dual-core processor is clocked at 1.2GHz for the 7-inch version and 1.5GHz for the 8.9-inch variant. Both the tablets also come with dual speakers and Dolby Digital Plus audio. Amazon is also touting dual Wi-Fi antennas with support for dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz that would offer over 40 percent faster speeds.

Amazon uses a forked version of Android 4.0 ICS and has added a number of tweaks to the UI. Multiple users can create individual login accounts to maintain privacy and parents can place controls on what features kids can use on the tablet and for how long. It has also tied up with IMDb for a X-Ray for movies feature that would let users pause a movie and know more about the actors in that particular frame. Of course, considering it is forked Android, it won’t have support for any Google Mobile Suite that includes Gmail client, Google Maps or the Google Play store. Amazon has its own e-mail client as well as its own app store.

Both the tablets will be available in 16GB and 32GB variants. The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD, which will start shipping on September 14, is priced at $199 for 16GB and $249 for 32GB. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will start shipping on November 20 and is priced at $299 and $369 for the 16GB and 32GB variants respectively. There is also a 4G LTE variant of the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, which would work only in the US and is available for $499 for 32GB variant with a $50 annual subscription plan for 250MB of 4G LTE data every month. The older Kindle Fire is now priced at $159 and has received minor hardware updates.

Amazon finally brought a lit display to its Kindle e-book reader, which means users will no longer have to buy a flashlight accessory for it. It features a patented front-lit display in which the light falls from above the display rather than from behind as it happens in traditional back-lit displays. Amazon reckons it will put less strain on the user’s eyes. The display has a pixel density of 221 pixels per inch, which results in crisp and sharp text making it ideal for an e-book reader. The previous generation Kindle had a pixel density of 167 pixels per inch.

The Kindle Paperwhite will start shipping on September 14 and will be available for $119 for Wi-Fi only version and $169 for 3G and Wi-Fi variant.

Amazon today announced a tie-up with retail chain Croma to distribute its Kindle ebook reader in India. The latest generation Kindle will be available at most Croma outlets for Rs 6,999. Prior to today’s announcement, consumers had to order the Kindle online from Amazon or buy it from abroad. However, Kindle variants like the Kindle Touch or the Kindle Fire won’t be available at Croma and will have to be bought via Amazon’s online shopping site.

Amazon has also launched the Kindle Store for India from where users will be able to buy titles from both Indian and international authors and pay in Indian Rupees. The Kindle India store has over 1 million titles. Amazon has also launched Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for India that will enable independent authors to make their books available for Kindle devices and apps, and set pricing in Indian Rupees.

After making the Kindle Fire, which turned out to be the most successful Android tablet last year, Amazon is all set to manufacture and sell its own Android smartphone, Bloomberg reports. The online retail giant is reportedly working with Foxconn to manufacture the smartphone and is likely to go with its own customized version of Android like it did with the Kindle Fire, which was closely tied to Amazon’s own app store and online media store. The success of the $199 Kindle Fire and the lackluster sales of other Android tablets forced Google to launch the Nexus 7 tablet with Asus last week.

According to the report, Amazon is also looking at acquiring or licensing relevant patents that would protect its smartphone from lawsuits that currently almost every major player like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, Motorola and others are engaged in courtrooms across the world.

This is not the first time we are hearing about Amazon’s plans for its own Android smartphone. Last November, a Citigroup analyst had written in an analyst note about Amazon’s smartphone ambitions and also called out Foxconn as a probable partner.

Read

Skyhook Wireless CEO, Ted Morgan, claims that a major new phone will be launched later this year that will be based on Android but not controlled by Google. “I’m spending a lot of time with companies forking Android. Nobody wants to just be a manufacturer for Google. You see that with what Amazon has done, where they made it their own, and you also see a whole host of manufacturers taking Android down their own path,” Morgan told MIT’s Technology Review.

Google gives device vendors the option to use Android and use it however they want to. However, breaking free from Google means these devices cannot use Google’s Mobile Suite of services like Gmail, Google Maps and Google Play (Android Market). Amazon, which already had an alternative content and app ecosystem of its own proved Android devices without Google’s backing can be a success. The Kindle Fire, by most estimates, is the best selling Android tablet of all time.

Having said that, neither Samsung nor HTC have a compelling content and app ecosystem yet to break free from Google. Both have tried their luck with accumulating content and services, with minimal success. In all probability, it could be either Facebook or Amazon that Morgan is talking about since both companies are expected to launch their own smartphones later this year.

Read

Amazon has received approval from India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for Rs 15 crore to set up a wholly owned subsidiary to engage in “the business of online market place operator and retailer inter-alia courier services,” according to a document released by the Board. This does not mean that Amazon has received a nod for 100 percent FDI in multi-brand retail. Instead, it will only help Amazon to set up its operations and this particular investment is likely to go towards its “courier” (read distribution) services. Note that the FIPB document mentions this approval under “post” and not retail.

Hat tip to Pranjal

Read

As expected, Amazon today launched its India operations with Junglee.com. The platform, which Amazon says is still in beta, offers more than 1.2 crore products from over 14,000 brands and hundreds of retailers. Amazon lists Homeshop18, UniverCell, Hidesign, Gitanjali, The Bombay Store, Fabindia, Bata India Limited, Dabur Uveda, Microsoft India Store, Reebok, and Amazon.com, as some of the biggest ones. Users cannot directly buy anything from Junglee.com as the government is yet to allow FDI in multi-brand retail. Amazon is branding it as a purchase decision making site than a pure transactional site. Read on…

Get detailed information about products through our product pages and read what other customers are saying about a given product. You will see reviews written by Junglee visitors as well as millions of real-time customer reviews from Amazon.com. Evaluate buying options from multiple sellers and find the seller who best meets your needs based on price, shipping speed, shipping and return policies, and location. For sellers with physical stores, use the store locator to find the most convenient store location. Once you make a purchase decision, you can visit the seller website or the physical store location to complete your purchase.

With Junglee, Amazon has an ambition “of organizing selection and buying options to make it simple for customers to find anything using Junglee.” The site’s about us page mentions product categories include more than 90 lakh books, and 30 lakh products from more than 14,000 Indian and global brands. Junglee features more than 25 categories including mobile phones, cameras, toys & games, baby products, books, music, movies & TV, clothing, jewellery, kitchen & home products. You can discover a wide range of products from bestsellers to unique products such as a 27.12 carat diamond or a Porsche Carrera Gt – 3666 1:18 miniature model.

Amazon had acquired Junglee Corp in 1998, then a Sunnyvale-based company that provided database technology to help shoppers find products on the Internet.

Some more observations: Existing Amazon users can login using their Amazon credentials. Users can then review products and even ‘Like’ products as well as sellers. (Facebook might like to take a closer look at Junglee’s like button.)

Retailers can upload their product catalogs for free on Junglee.com using Amazon’s Product Ads program. At the moment, the service is free and advertisers can direct traffic to their sites if they have online presence or to their customer care number/store location without making any payment to Amazon.

Amazon is likely to launch in India as Junglee.com, Medianama reports. Rather than having a retail store like it does in most countries it operates, Amazon will be a transactional site for other retailers as it waits for the government to green light FDI in multi-brand retail. We had earlier reported Amazon could launch in India by January end, something Medianama’s sources have also admitted that they expected the launch last week and are now hoping it to happen in coming days.

Read

Amazon is likely to launch its Indian online retail store this month, sources familiar with the situation told BGR India. The launch could happen as early as this week, one of the sources indicated. Amazon is also talking to tier-two electronics brands to be featured on its store and is unlikely to feature top brands at the time of the launch. It seems that the Kindle Fire will be launched in India sometime after the online store launch but Amazon has already tied up with HCL Infosystems for distributing its Android tablet, we have been informed. We will keep our ears to the ground for more developments. Stay tuned.

Amazon’s Kindle line was expected to be a popular option for holiday shoppers and the retailer confirmed as much on Thursday. Straying from its normally tight-lipped stance with regard to sharing sales volumes, Amazon announced that its Kindle Fire tablet and Kindle eReaders have sold more than 1 million combined units for three consecutive weeks. ”Kindle Fire is the most successful product we’ve ever launched – it’s the bestselling product across all of Amazon for 11 straight weeks, we’ve already sold millions of units, and we’re building millions more to meet the high demand,” VP of Amazon’s Kindle business Dave Limp said in a statement. “In fact, demand is accelerating – Kindle Fire sales increased week over week for each of the past three weeks. People are buying Kindle Fire because it’s a simple, fully-integrated service that makes it easy to do the things they love – watch movies, read books and magazines, listen to music, download apps, play games, and surf the web.” Limp added that the Kindle family of eBook readers are close behind Kindle Fire on the Amazon.com bestseller list. The company’s full press release follows below.

Customers Purchasing Kindles at Rate of More Than 1 Million Per Week for Third Straight Week

Kindle Fire continues to lead the way as the #1 bestselling, most gifted, and most wished for product across all of Amazon.com since its introduction 11 weeks ago

Kindle Fire sales increase week over week for each of the past three holiday shopping weeks

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 15, 2011– (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon.com today announced that Kindle devices remain the hottest products this holiday season – for the third week in a row, customers are purchasing well over 1 million Kindle devices per week, and Kindle Fire remains the #1 bestselling, most gifted, and most wished for product across the millions of items available on Amazon.com since its introduction 11 weeks ago. To learn more about the all-new Kindle family – the $79 Kindle, $99 Kindle Touch, $149 Kindle Touch 3G and the $199 Kindle Fire – visitwww.amazon.com/kindle.

“Kindle Fire is the most successful product we’ve ever launched – it’s the bestselling product across all of Amazon for 11 straight weeks, we’ve already sold millions of units, and we’re building millions more to meet the high demand. In fact, demand is accelerating – Kindle Fire sales increased week over week for each of the past three weeks. People are buying Kindle Fire because it’s a simple, fully-integrated service that makes it easy to do the things they love – watch movies, read books and magazines, listen to music, download apps, play games, and surf the web,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “Our family of Kindle e-ink readers are close behind Kindle Fire on the Amazon.com bestseller list. Customers continue to report preferring their Kindle e-reader for long-form reading, and in fact we’ve seen many customers buy two Kindles – both a Kindle Fire and a Kindle or Kindle Touch – this holiday season.”

Kindle Fire offers more than 19 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, apps and games – such as Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and Angry Birds – as well as free storage of Amazon digital content in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync for books and movies, a 14.6 ounce design that’s easy to hold with one hand, a 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.

The $79 latest generation Kindle is for readers around the world who want the lightest, most compact Kindle at an incredible price. Kindle is now small and light enough – at less than 6 ounces – to fit easily in your pocket and carry with you everywhere, yet it still features the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight.

Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G feature 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 and Kindle Touch 3G are also lighter, smaller, offer audio capabilities, such as text-to-speech and deep integration for audiobooks, extra-long battery life and hold thousands of books. Kindle Touch 3G offers the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle’s free 3G connection means you never have to hunt for or pay for a Wi-Fi hotspot – you simply download and read books anytime, anywhere in over 100 countries around the world. Amazon pays for the 3G connection so there’s no monthly fee or annual contract. Both Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G include X-ray – a new feature invented by Amazon that lets customers explore the “bones of the book.”

With an Amazon Prime membership, all of the new Kindles offer access to the new Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and Prime Instant Video. With theKindle Owners Lending Library, Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free – including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers – as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. No other e-reader or e-bookstore offers such a service. With Prime Instant Video, Kindle Fire owners can access nearly 13,000 movies and TV shows available to stream at no additional cost.

Customers can order the new Kindle family today: the $79 Kindle at www.amazon.com/kindle, Kindle Touch for $99 atwww.amazon.com/kindletouch, Kindle Touch 3G for $149 at www.amazon.com/kindletouch3G and Kindle Fire for $199 atwww.amazon.com/kindlefire.

This post originally appeared on BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech.com