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Amazon acquires text-to-speech software maker Ivona for use in Kindle products

Ivona Software offers a range of text-to-speech software for PCs and mobile devices. The company currently offers 44 different voices in 17 languages, and they pretty much all sound better than the default voice that reads you driving directions or answers your questions on your smartphone. Amazon has been using Ivona voices to power text-to-speech […]

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Install Android 4.2 on the original Amazon Kindle Fire

Amazon may not be selling first-generation Kindle Fire tablets anymore (or offering significant software updates for them), but that doesn’t mean you can’t teach an old tablet new tricks. Developer Hashcode has released a custom ROM for the Kindle Fire that lets you run Google Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on Amazon’s first tablet. In other […]

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD update adds Swype keyboard, camera app

Amazon’s latest software update for the Kindle Fire HD add support for the company’s new “Kindle Free Time Unlimited” subscription service for kid-friendly books, movies, and apps. But it turns out that’s not the only new feature the update brings. Amazon is also adding the Swype keyboard to the latest Kindle Fire tablets, and offering […]

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Kindle Free Time Unlimited offers subscription-based books, apps, media for kids

Amazon is launching a new subscription service that offers up a range of kid-friendly content including apps, games, books, and movies and TV shows for Kindle Fire tablet users. Kindle Free Time Unlimited features content designed for kids between 3 and 8 years old, and it costs $2.99 per month for Amazon Prime members of […]

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Amazon sold a lot of Kindles this weekend, still won’t say just how many

Amazon had a good weekend. The company says Cyber Monday 2012 was the best day ever for Kindle sales around the world, fueled by the company’s offer of a Kindle Fire 2. In fact, Amazon says it sold twice as many Kindles this weekend as it did between Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year. […]

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Safestrap lets you load custom recovery on Kindle Fire HD (and eventually custom ROMS too)

Amazon’s latest Kindle Fire tablets including the Kindle Fire 2 and Kindle Fire HD 7 and 8.9 inch tablets have locked bootloaders. That probably doesn’t matter much if you plan to just run the operating system that came with your tablet. But it causes a bit of a headache for folks that want to load […]

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Amazon wants to be big in Japan, launches Kindle line

Amazon has been working to expand its Kindle business around the globe, and the latest stop is Japan. The company has announced that the Kindle Store is now open in Japan and the Kindle Fire, Kindle HD, and Kindle Paperwhite are all up for pre-order. Amazon’s 7 inch Android tablets will ship in Japan starting […]

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Amazon releases software updates for Kindle Fire HD, new Kindle Fire

Customers who pre-ordered Amazon’s 2nd generation Kindle Fire or the 7 inch kindle Fire HD are just starting to receive their tablets. But Amazon has already pushed out the first software updates for these tablets. Amazon doesn’t spell out the features included in the software updates, but they’re design to “optimize … performance and functionality.” […]

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Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablets run Android 4.0 (if it matters)

If you look through the product pages for Amazon’s new Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD tablets, you won’t see many mentions of Android. The company lets you know that you can run Android apps and games, and that’s about it. But just like the original Kindle Fire, Amazon’s new tablets run a customized version […]