Amazon is selling Kindles at Black Friday prices

If you didn't manage to snag a Kindle on Black Friday, you have another chance to buy one at a steep discount. Amazon is currently offering $45 off the newest Kindle Paperwhite ($85) and $30 off the latest Kindle ($60). These are historic lows, and w...

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Amazon Announces Spectacular Cyber Monday Deals

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The biggest retailer in the world couldn’t have missed the chance to make people happy this Cyber Monday, so it put most of its own devices on sale. Even though Amazon makes a lot more money from the services that come with its products, rather than from the devices themselves, such discounts are not to be neglected.

Are you looking for a new e-reader because you’ve realized that books can be quite cumbersome while traveling? Or maybe you need a new tablet for streaming music and videos? Your living room telly could definitely benefit from a 4K-capable TV box, and the education of your kids could take a turn for the better with products that are specifically designed for them. Regardless of which of these you miss, Amazon has got you covered, with discounts that go up to 30%. Check out the following Amazon products, or head over straight to the Cyber Monday Deals page to see what the e-tailer has in store for us. As usual for such deals, they are only available for a very short period of time, and given the considerable discounts, there is always a risk of the products being sold out, so take advantage of Amazon’s fantastic products at a discounted price while you still can.

Amazon Echo

The e-tailer’s smart wireless speaker only needs to be powered and connected to your local Wi-Fi network to revolutionize audio entertainment in your living room. It responds to voice commands even if you are accross the room, and can stream all sorts for audio, from news, weather, and information to music, audiobooks, and traffic. If you’re wondering if Alexa (Amazon’s virtual personal assistant residing inside of Echo) can hear you even when music is playing loudly, the answer is yes.

Echo’s design enables it to fill an entire room with sound, as it features 360-degree omni-directional audio. In case you want to integrate it with some smart home devices, the options include Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, and Wink. Once you connect it to these, you gain complete control over them, and no longer have to look for the remote control of each one of them. This Cyber Monday, Amazon Echo is available for $149.

Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle, the most loved family of e-readers on Earth, judging by the market share they have, are a staple when it comes to Amazon deals. The basic Kindle, with its 6-inch glare-free toushcreen display and Wi-Fi connectivity, represents a great device for someone who’s just taking his first steps into the world of e-books. While these are very appealing to eco-conscious people, e-books typically prove a lot more convenient to carry around when traveling, not to mention that they always cost less than their paper counterparts. With 4GB of internal storage, people can carry thousands of ebooks with them, without having to experience the burdain of the real tomes.

On the other hand, Kindle Paperwhite brings a high resolution display (albeit with the same diagonal) with a pixel density of 300ppi, twice as much than on the basic model. On top of that, it features exclusive fonts, but the most impressive feature of this e-reader is definitely the built-in light that can be easily adjusted to accommodate your eyes in daytime and at night. While both models take about 4 hours to charge over USB, the battery lasts for weeks, so you can take the e-reader away for you without having to worry that it needs to be charged. Besides that, they sport microUSB ports, so carrying a power bank in your backpack could save you if Kindle’s battery runs out.

Fire HD6

If you’re into more than just eBooks, a reasonably priced tablet such as Amazon’s Fire HD6 could be exactly what you need. Unlike the Kindle e-readers, which have eInk displays, Fire HD6 features a similarly sized HD display with a 1280 by 800 resolution and a 252 ppi pixel density. The tablet runs a heavily-modified version of Android that integrates Amazon’s own apps and App Store perfectly.

Amazon’s Fire HD6 is powered by a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.5Ghz, and while the 8GB of internal storage may not sound like much, the e-tailer provides unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content and photos taken with this device. Fire HD6 may not be impressive in terms of gaming performance, but for streaming content off Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO, ESPN or Pandora, it’s more than enough.

Fire TV

Now capable of playing back 4K content, and featuring Alexa on top of it all, Amazon’s fire TV is quite a piece of work. Needless to say, this TV box can stream content in 1080p without any problems from such services as Netflix and Hulu, so it’s not mandatory to won a 4K TV to use it. For cord-cutters who live off streaming services, there are plenty of TV channels that broadcast online, including NBC News, NBA, Sling TV, ESPN, CNN, AMC, Cartoon Network and more.

Fire TV’s Voice Remote makes it easy now to check sports scores, the weather, as well as to play music whenever you feel like it, without having to browse through endless menus.

All of Fire TV’s playback and streaming capabilities are made possible by a dedicated graphics engine, great Wi-Fi support, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of ROM, and a slot for expandable storage that takes microSD cards of up to 128GB.

Kindle for Kids Bundle and fire HD6 Kids Edition

The little ones couldn’t have been left behind by Amazon. Thus, there is a heavily discounted Kindle for Kids Bundle available for them that includes the latest Kindle without offers, a kid-friendly cover, as well as a 2-year warranty covering accidents such as spills or drops provided by SquareTrade. The bundle typically helps parents save nearly $40, but for Cyber Monday, the e-tailer discounted it by an additional $30.

On top of that, the fire HD6 Kids Edition enables the young ones to take their first steps in the world of tablets. With a kid-friendly design (or rather a kid-proof case) and content that’s specifically tailored for them, the fire HD6 Kids Edition tablet is equally great for learning and for playing games. Besides that, parents can add their own profiles, so that they are in charge with what goes on with it.

Don’t forget to check the other Cyber Monday Deals, as Amazon went well out of its way to make sure that this holiday season is a special one for you and your friends. Any of these great performing Amazon products would make a great gift for your kids or other family members.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Black Friday discounts at Walyou Deals, or these cool geeky coffee mugs.

Give Your eBooks a Cozy Home with Inateck’s Kindle Paperwhite Felt Case

Inateck Kindle Paperwhite Felt Case 04

As great as Kindle’s eBook readers may be, they are very fragile, and even the slightest drop could deem them unusable. Inateck’s Kindle Paperwhite felt case provides them their much needed protection so that you can carry on with reading without having to worry.

Leipzig, Germany-based Inateck is a company that specializes in computer peripherals and accessories for Apple products, Android devices and Kindle e-readers. There’s a entire line of Kindle cases that includes book-like covers in various colors and the KPB-GR felt sleeve. Each of these has some advantages over the other, so it’s nice to see that Inateck has considered covering all the bases.

Measuring 20x14cm, this felt sleeve is marketed towards Kindle Paperwhite 1 & 2 owners, but it will fit the basic Kindle without any problems, as the size differences between these models are really negligible. The design is simple, yet attractive, with just white seaming and a narrow leather strap adding a touch of color to the otherwise gray mass. Another aspect that’s worth mentioning is the discreet Inateck logo that’s embossed on both sides of a piece of rubber attached to the sleeve’s bottom right side. I’m glad the manufacturer intends to attract attention with the product itself, and not with a logo that covers an entire side, as is the case with other companies.

So how does Inateck’s Kindle Paperwhite felt sleeve work in a real-life scenario? The case is snug, which means that the eBook reader won’t be able to slide out not even when you’re holding the sleeve upside down and the leather strap is not attached with the Velcro. To get the eBook reader out of the case you don’t need to insert your hand inside it. Just pull the leather strap gently (the company advises against pulling it too hard, as it might detach) and grab the reader by the bezel.

Inateck takes pride in having created a sustainable and renewable product from a plastic-free, metal-free, and thus environmentally friendly material. Personally, I think that the company has done a great job at creating a fashionable cover for the Kindle Paperwhite. That is not to say that the KPB-GR felt case doesn’t have its drawbacks, though.

The sleeve may offer better protection than its book cover counterparts, but it doesn’t provide quick access to the eBook reader the same way those do. Besides that, the book cover Kindle cases can turn the screen on or off, so you don’t have to press the power button each time you’re in the mood for reading. These problems are addressed in the other Inateck Kindle cases, so you cannot blame the company for not thinking about them. It’s just that different readers have different needs, and while some may find the KPB-GR sleeve more attractive, others will go for the book cover cases.

The Inateck KPB-GR Kindle Paperwhite felt case is available on Amazon US for $12.99, as well as on Amazon UK / Germany / France / Italy / Spain / Japan and Canada. Kindle Voyage has been out for a couple of months now, but the basic version and the Paperwhite won’t be discontinued any time soon, especially since Amazon upgrades them each year, so if you’re considering buying an eBook reader, you should also think of ways to protect it.

Not at last, I would like to thank Inateck for sending me a product sample for this hands-on review. Stay tuned, as more will follow!

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Kindle Voyage, Amazon’s most advanced eBook reader yet, or the Kindle solar charger that makes readers forget about wires.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Gets Goodreads Integration and Kindle FreeTime Parental Locks


Amazon has updated its new Kindle Paperwhite software today. Yesterday, Amazon released free software update for new Kindle Fire tablets. Today it has updated its e-reader software. This software...

Hands-on with Goodreads for Kindle Paperwhite

Hands-on with Goodreads for Kindle Paperwhite

Exactly a day after gracing the Fire line, Amazon-owned Goodreads has arrived on the Paperwhite -- if you're willing to take a little initiative and download yourself, that is. And in all honesty, this was the upgrade we've been waiting for since the acquisition was first announced. It's nice functionality to have on the Fire, certainly, and folks who own multiple Kindle devices will appreciate being able to use it across the tablets and readers, but the addition of social reading means a lot more on e-readers, where things tend to be a lot more locked down, due to hardware limitations. Overall, we were a bit underwhelmed by the implementation on the HDX. With a few exceptions, Goodreads feels more like an app than an integral part of the ecosystem. Given that the Paperwhite offers a less open platform, however, we had higher hopes for the e-reader.

And indeed, once installed, Goodreads is front and center -- well, slightly to the right of center, added to the homepage toolbar, sandwiched between search and settings. If you've already tied your Amazon account to the social network -- as we did with yesterday's Fire update -- you should be good to go. Tap the "g " icon, and you'll bring up the Goodreads app, which has been styled to match the rest of the Paperwhite UI. The app's front page shows you updates across your network, including ratings and who wants to read what. From there, you can like and comment on statuses and mark those titles and "Read" or "Want to Read." Up top, the My Shelves link lets you see your own collection. From that page, you can also click through to add books from your Amazon library, a nice way of back filling all the electronic and physical books that you've read over the years. It's the next best thing to inviting people over to your place to see your real life bookshelf.

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