Amazon.com Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings skyrocketed 71 percent, as shoppers spent more than ever during a holiday season that improved by the previous year for retailers on and off the Web.

Despite the sluggish economy, Amazon did well all through the year, drawing shoppers with its Kindle e-reader and deals on an immense selection of goods ranging from alarm clocks to stuffed zebras.

Amazon reported Thursday that that behavior carried through the holiday season, which is typically the busiest date of the year for retailers. And Amazon doesn’t expect growth to slow: The company predicted first-quarter revenue that exceeds analyst expectations.

Amazon said it earned $384 million, or 85 cents per share, in the October-December period. That compares with $225 million, or 52 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter, which included a holiday season that Amazon had described thereupon as its “best ever,” only to be surpassed by the 2009 holidays.

Revenue rose 42 percent to $9.52 billion. That includes a $200 million contribution from online shoe and apparel store Zappos, which Amazon bought late last year.

The results blasted past estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who expected earnings of 72 cents per share on $9.04 billion in revenue.

Amazon forecast revenue of $6.45 billion to $7 billion in the current quarter, an increase of 32 percent to 43 percent; analysts had been looking for $6.36 billion, on average.

Revenue from books, CDs, DVDs and other media climbed 29 percent to $4.68 billion. Electronics and other “general merchandise” revenue rose nearly 60 percent to $4.61 billion. Revenue increased 37 percent in North America and nearly 49 percent elsewhere.

Speaking to analysts during a conference signal, Chief Operating Officer Tom Szkutak said there are still plenty of product categories and geographic markets that Amazon could enter.

Dan Geiman, an analyst with McAdams Wright Ragen, said the quarter was “extremely…

Original post by dhiram

Motorola’s Backflip has yet to springboard itself by to AT&T, but those who shout China home can hop on the bandwagon right away. Said phone — which sports a full touchscreen and a physical QWERTY thanks to the horizontal clamshell design — is now available from Moto’s Chinese portal for 4,298 Chinese yuan (in unlocked form), which translates to right around $630. While the rest of the world awaits the phone’s launch later that quarter, you can hit up Mobile.163.com for a downright beautiful gallery of in the wild shots. Go on, it’s safe. We think.

[Thanks, Me]

Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China originally arised on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Armatix has apparently been working on its so-called “smartgun” concept for quite a while, but it’s now finally shown up at the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT, naturally) with its first actual product: a .22-caliber pistol that relies on a wristwatch as a safety. As you can probably figure out, the gun will only unlock itself when its in close proximity to the watch, which sends a “wireless arming signal” that, of course, plus activates some green LEDs for good measure. Previous incarnations of the company’s concept additionally relied on a fingerprint ID as an additional safety, but that seems to have been left off that production model, which will run €7,000 (or $9,700) when it starts shipping next month.

Armatix pistol / wristwatch combo tells day… to stay put originally presented on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

certain, the iPad happened that week, but we additionally caught sight of several hot green gadgets and clean tech innovations that week that stand to shape the future of green consumer technology.

First off, design star Philippe Starck brought haute design to clean tech with two novel designs for home wind turbines. Starck’s high-profile products have made him a household name, so we’re interested to see whether his latest creations kick off a trend towards “designer” wind capability.

We were plus impressed by researchers at Princeton University who recently found a way to integrate piezoelectric chips into flexible, durable rubber-based circuits. We’ve seen piezo ability sources before, but applications for the new chips are certain to put bounce in your step: energy generating shoes, movement-powered microsurgical devices, and self-charging pacemakers are right around the corner.

Interest in green transportation is building as Florida rides high on the government’s recently announced grants for high speed rail — the sunshine state is set to blaze a trail with $1.25 billion in funding. And for those with a soda habit, Takara Tomy’s cola-powered RC car is one sweet ride. The biobattery-powered car can convert any sugary liquid to energy, so pour in some Jolt and you’re good to go.

Finally, love it or hate it — the launch of Apple’s iPad has dominated the newswires all week. While we appreciate the device’s e-book reading, toxin-free, recyclable construction and impressive battery life, but we have to ask: is it really green?

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: turbines, rubber circuits, and cola-powered cars originally presented on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Inhabitat

…and he took it to the 52nd Annual Grammys. Nice product placement, Apple.

Stephen Colbert has an iPad… originally presented on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Stephen_Colbert_takes_out_an_iPad_at_the_Grammys’; …and he took it to the 52nd Annual Grammys. Nice product placement, Apple. Video of the whole thing after the break. Say, what kind of pocket did that come out of?

Continue reading Stephen Colbert has an iPad… (video)

Stephen Colbert has an iPad… (video) originally arised on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Curious folks around the world enjoy a bit of hackintosh every now and thereupon (although once is suitable for many), but no geek has successfully ventured as far as Toni Nikkanen of Finland, who became the first person to run OS X on a phone — the Nokia N900. As you can see in the video after the break, Toni’s hack relies on PearPC — a PowerPC emulator — to install good ol’ OS X 10.3 (Panther), but the mammoth sluggishness means it’s far from usable. Still, whether you can spare 90 minutes for each boot-up plus plenty more for the snail-paced cursor, soon after head to the source to learn from Herra Nikkanen.

[Thanks, Matija]

Continue reading Mac OS X 10.3 installed on Nokia N900 via PearPC, barely usable for impatient geeks

Mac OS X 10.3 installed on Nokia N900 via PearPC, barely usable for impatient geeks originally arised on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Richard Lai