E-Commerce Times
E-Commerce Times: the E-Business and Technology Super Site

• Kindle Fire Makes Amazon Appstore Cozy for Devs
  Some developers are making more money by showcasing their wares in Amazon's Appstore instead of Google's Android Market, according to research from Distimo. The mobile analytics firm looked at the 110 apps available in both online stores that generated at least $200 per day in revenue during the last week of January. Of those, 42 earned more money sitting in the Amazon Appstore than they did in the larger Android Market. The Appstore also accounted for 28 percent of the total revenue from the top 110 sellers.
• RIM Launches PlayBook OS 2.0, Critics Hit Snooze Button
  Research In Motion has released its first update for the PlayBook's operating system. The debut of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 adds -- finally -- some essential features to the tablet, such as a native email client, calendar and contact functionality. RIM wanted to ensure that it would not just provide email via the tablet -- but secure email, said David Heit, director of product management, enterprise, at RIM. "This is not just about an email client -- it is about achieving a secure and well-managed connectivity," he said.
• Apple Goes Sunny Side Up
  Apple is hard at work building the "largest end-user-owned onsite solar array" in the U.S., according to a brief environmental report it released this week. The company announced that at its Maiden, N.C., data center, the central nervous system for services like iCloud and Siri, will be a LEED-certified data center running completely on renewable energy. The solar project will provide provide 42 million kWh of solar power to the center each year.
• Think Bigger
  I spent the best part of last week cruising up and down Silicon Valley, checking in with customers and would-be clients. The consensus from this non-scientific survey is that business is better than OK, and most people are expecting this year to be the best in a while. Of course, there is a cloud -- literal and figuratively -- to go with that silver lining. After all, we're bouncing off a long fall to what's still a soft bottom. Business is good enough out there that many companies can't find enough qualified people.
• Can the Nook Find Its Niche?
  Barnes & Noble released a new Nook Tablet Tuesday, shaving US$50 off the price and reducing the storage by half. The new price, $199, matches Amazon's Kindle Fire. The new Nook emulates the Fire on a number of fronts -- price and 8 GB storage. The new Nook comes with a 1 GHz dual-core processor and a slot for a microSD card that will hold up to 32 GB. B&N also dropped the price of its Nook Color e-reader $30 to $169. Amazon heated up the tablet market last fall when it introduce the Kindle Fire at a price that many consider a loss-leader.
• The Over/Under on Cloud Security
  For some, any move to the cloud -- at least the public cloud -- means a higher risk for security. For others, relying more on a public cloud provider means better security. There's more of a concentrated and comprehensive focus on security best practices that are perhaps better implemented and monitored centrally in the major public clouds. And so which is it? Is cloud a positive or negative when it comes to cybersecurity? And what of hybrid models that combine public and private cloud activities -- how is security impacted in those cases?
• Federal Virtualization Business: Let the Vendor Clawing and Scratching Begin
  The Obama administration's program to modernize federal information technology operations is now in its second year, and the momentum for reform is continuing at a high level. "We are seizing on the power of 21st century technology to consolidate data centers and moving to lightweight, shareable technologies, such as cloud computing, while also directing agencies to consolidate commodity IT services, and shift to shared services," Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel said last week.
• Yelp Steps Out on IPO High Wire With Cautious Pricing
  Yelp, the online local review service, expects to sell 7.15 million shares in its IPO, at US$12 to $14 each. The total potential take is $100 million. The company will list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "YELP." Yelp's price target values the company at roughly $778 million, about nine times last year's sales. That compares to Google's IPO at five times sales and Yahoo's IPO at four times sales. Yelp listed both Google and Yahoo as competitors in its IPO filing. Yelp claims about 66 million unique visitors per month and has about 25 million local reviews.
• Banks in the Crosshairs: 8 Ways Cybercriminals Outfox Strong Security Controls
  These days, cybercriminals are successfully circumventing advanced security controls with the precision of a sniper. In the crosshairs are banks, financial institutions, governments and enterprises. In a recent Gartner survey, 76 U.S. banks indicated that malware-based attacks were a growing problem and that fraudsters were able to defeat defenses such as advanced profiling systems, risk-based authentication and even most strong authentication methods. Unlike the old shotgun approach, attackers now carefully study their prey using cyberreconnaissance techniques.
• After Explosive Debut, Amazon Will Have to Keep Stoking to Keep Fire Hot
  Amazon's Kindle Fire was second in tablet market share only to Apple's iPad in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a report from IHS iSuppli. Amazon didn't release official sales figures when it reported its quarterly earnings for the end of 2011 recently, but the iSuppli report states the company shipped 3.9 million Kindle Fires during the last three months of 2011. That gave the Android device a 14.3 percent market share of the worldwide tablet market. The Kindle Fire came in ahead of devices from Samsung and Barnes & Noble.
• Turbulent Waters Ahead for Amazon?
  A Morgan Stanley analyst has cut his rating on Amazon to equal weight from overweight. The reason? Mounting near-term challenges that mean 2012 will be a year of transition for the stock. Generally, the company is a long-term supporter of Amazon, Scott Devitt wrote, and it remains a long-term supporter. However, there are near-term trends the company must address, and soon, he said. Chief among them is Apple's wild success in changing the digital distribution of music, books and other content.
• iPad Rumble in China: Apple Slaps Amazon, Grapples With Proview
  Amazon's Chinese website is no longer offering Apple iPads for sale. This follows a request from Apple to drop the product because Amazon isn't authorized to sell the device in that country, according to a recent report. Meanwhile, officials in various Chinese cities are confiscating iPads from retailers, apparently in connection with a legal dispute between Cupertino and Taiwanese firm Proview, which asserts it has rights to the iPad name in China. However, that issue is not related to the stoppage of Amazon's iPad sales in China, according to Yankee Group's Carl Howe.