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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: H James Morris who wrote (92346)	1/27/2000 1:44:00 PM
From: gladman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

H-Bomb, big trouble for box makers when you can buy a hybrid PC that provides Internet access and Email for $199 + monthly. Who really buys a PC nowadays for Excel and Word? Once the bugs are worked out the 2nd-3rd generation models will rock. >>January 27, 2000 Simple New Gadget Lets You Go Online By WALTER S. MOSSBERG For years, I've been a staunch supporter of the new type of digital device called an "information appliance" or "Internet appliance." That's a specialized, simplified computer that does only a few things -- such as traversing the Internet or exchanging e-mail -- but does them very well, with far fewer hassles than a personal computer inflicts. This year many such devices will finally be rolling out. But just because it's a good concept doesn't mean that each entry will be worth buying. Some, perhaps many, will be failures. I intend to judge them case by case, and so should consumers. First up this year is a promising device from Netpliance, a start-up company in Austin, Texas. It's the first full-function, full-color desktop Internet appliance to hit the market. It goes by the ungainly name of i-Opener and costs $199, plus $21.95 a month for the Internet hookup. If you're interested, however, you should move fast, because the price rises to $299 starting Sunday. The i-Opener is currently sold only at the Netpliance Web site, www.netpliance.com, or by phone at 1-800-iopener. In a few weeks, the company says, it will be on sale at Circuit City stores. The i-Opener is small enough and good-looking enough to go in a kitchen, bedroom or family room. It consists of a crisp, vivid, 10-inch flat-panel color screen mounted on a plastic base via stainless-steel rods. In front sits a small keyboard, decked out with special keys for e-mail, news, weather, shopping and the like. There's even a pizza key, which brings up the Web page for a pizza-delivery company. The keyboard also contains a pointing device that's meant to replace a mouse, but it works quite badly so I recommend you order the optional mouse for $20. You can hook up a printer, but only one Canon model is compatible. I like the i-Opener. Despite a few drawbacks, it's a good option for both novice Internet users who disdain a PC and veteran PC owners who want a cheap, second Internet-access device that can be used in rooms where a PC would be too large or would look out of place. Unlike a PC, the i-Opener starts right up when you turn it on and shuts right down when you turn it off. There's no operating system to learn, no files or folders -- and no crashes, in my tests. It automatically dials into the Internet six times a day to fetch e-mail and update its news and other content. It will also dial in whenever you call up a Web page or want to check e-mail manually. If you have e-mail waiting, a light goes on. Netpliance's I-Opener The user interface is very clean and understandable, and the small screen is sharp enough to pack in at least as much of a Web page as a typical PC. Using the i-Opener, I checked my stocks, ordered a book at Amazon.com and used many popular sites, including Yahoo!, The Interactive Journal, CNET, Slate and CNN. I was able to receive photos sent by e-mail, but not able to send photos out. The I-Opener offers three types of Web content. First, it has major channels, such as news, sports, shopping and finance, that are arrayed in a circle of icons on the home page. These are proprietary Web services, produced by Netpliance, and they are updated all day so you can read relatively recent versions offline. The second level is called the Web Guide, and it's a large collection of recommended Web sites, arranged by category. The third level is the wide-open Web. The i-Opener lets you go to any Web site you choose, even if it's not in the Web Guide. And you can create a list of your favorite sites for future reference.<<

To: H James Morris who wrote (92346)	1/27/2000 1:46:00 PM
From: Bill Harmond	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Yes, dear HJ, I sold my Millennium. Why such obsession?

To: H James Morris who wrote (92346)	1/27/2000 2:38:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Amazon.com Introduces New Logo; New Design Communicates Customer Satisfaction and A-to-Z Selection SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2000--Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN) today introduced a new company logo designed to better communicate what customers have come to expect at Amazon.com -- a great shopping experience and Earth's Biggest Selection. Only four-and-a-half years after it opened its virtual doors, Amazon.com has become the most widely recognized e-commerce brand in the United States, as rated by online shoppers in a nationwide survey by Opinion Research Corporation. Some 117.8 million adults, or 60 percent of the adult population in the U.S., recognize the Amazon.com brand, according to the survey. In addition, Amazon.com was ranked the 57th most valuable brand worldwide, ahead of Hilton, Guinness, and Marriott, in a June study of global brands by Interbrand Newell and Sorrell. To reflect Amazon.com's brand and its relationship with its more than 16 million customers better, the familiar logo was changed to communicate the company's mission of being the most customer-centric company in the world, most notably by depicting the ultimate expression of customer satisfaction: a smile. Instead of a downward curve underlining amazon.com, a smile now begins under the a and ends with a dimple under the z, emphasizing that Amazon.com offers anything, from A to Z, that customers may be looking to buy online. With the capability of animation, a welcoming and friendlier logo will now greet existing and new customers at Amazon.com. "In a very short period of time, Amazon.com has become one of the world's most recognized brands," said Jaleh Bisharat, vice president, marketing, Amazon.com. "We updated our logo to match the vitality of the brand and to reflect our most important core value -- customer satisfaction. We believe the new logo exudes happiness, is fresh and unique, and has the potential, over time, to join the world's great consumer marks." In just over 18 months, Amazon.com has grown from selling primarily books to selling CDs, toys, electronics, videos, DVDs, home improvement products, software, and video games. The company has also launched e-cards, Auctions, and zShops. The A-to-Z emphasis in the new logo communicates this expanded selection. About Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon.com (Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries) is the Internet's No. 1 music, No. 1 DVD and video, and No. 1 book retailer. Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection, along with online auctions and free electronic greeting cards. Amazon.com lists more than 18 million unique items in categories including books, CDs, toys, electronics, videos, DVDs, home improvement products, software, and video games. Through Amazon.com zShops, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.com's more than 16 million customers, and with Amazon.com Payments, any seller can accept credit card transactions, avoiding the hassles of offline payments. Amazon.com seeks to be the world's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they may want to buy online. Amazon.com's All Product Search scours the Web to help customers find merchandise that is not available at Amazon.com, Amazon.com Auctions, or Amazon.com zShops, making Amazon.com the shopping destination to find anything. Amazon.com operates two international Web sites: www.amazon.co.uk in the United Kingdom and www.amazon.de in Germany. Amazon.com also operates PlanetAll (www.planetall.com), a Web-based address book, calendar, and reminder service. It also operates the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and authoritative source of information on more than 150,000 movies and entertainment programs and 500,000 cast and crew members dating from the birth of film in 1892 to the present. Amazon.com also operates Amazon.com LiveBid Auctions (http://livebid.amazon.com), the leading provider of live-event auctions on the Internet. Amazon.com has invested in leading Internet retailers that are improving the lives of customers by making shopping easier and more convenient: drugstore.com, an online retail and information source for health, beauty, wellness, personal care and pharmacy, at www.drugstore.com; Pets.com, the online leader for pet products, expert information, and services, at www.pets.com; HomeGrocer.com, the first fully integrated Internet grocery-shopping and home-delivery service -- with operations in Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Southern California -- at www.homegrocer.com; Gear.com, which offers brand-name sporting goods at prices from 20 to 90 percent off retail, at www.gear.com; and Ashford.com (Nasdaq:ASFD), the leading Internet retailer of luxury and premium products and the Web's No. 1 retailer of watches and jewelry, at www.ashford.com. Amazon.com also has a minority interest in Della.com, which brings together leading retailers with gift registry, expert advice, and personalized gift suggestions to help everyone give better gifts, at www.della.com; and NextCard, Inc., considered the industry's leading issuer of consumer credit on the Internet, at www.nextcard.com. This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, Amazon.com's limited operating history, anticipated losses, unpredictability of future revenues, potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, seasonality, consumer trends, competition, risk of distribution center expansion, risks related to fourth quarter performance, risks of system interruption, management of potential growth, risks related to auction and zShops services, risks related to fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and risks of new business areas, international expansion, business combinations, and strategic alliances. 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 1999, June 30, 1999, and September 30, 1999. Editor's Note: Please contact Shelley Diamond at 206/266-7180 or shelleyd@amazon.com for digital copies of the new logo. CONTACT: Amazon.com Sharon Greenspan, 206/266-7180