orders

Amazon apparently has reason to believe that its unreleased Android tablet is a hot seller.

The Internet retail giant recently increased its Kindle Fire orders to 5 million units for delivery before the end of 2011, sources from upstream component suppliers have told Taiwan-based DigiTimes. Amazon has increased its Fire order volume once before, from 3.5 million units to 4 million.

That may seem like pretty heady confidence for a device customers haven't even gotten their hands on, but Amazon is estimated to have recorded nearly 100,000 unit sales on the first day it was available for … Read more

Facebook is bringing back the chronological setting for News Feed.

Users can now once again see the "most recent" stories first atop their News Feeds, Facebook noted in a blog post this afternoon.

As of late September, the chronological option was removed as Facebook moved to fully automate the News Feed with stories the company's algorithms deemed "most important." Facebook said the tweaks were designed to "help you see more of what you care about, and less of what you don't."

Clearly, Facebook's loyal user base wasn't thrilled by Facebook'… Read more

Reports that Apple is in the midst of scaling back parts orders for the iPhone 4S are overblown, according to two separate analyst firms.

In notes sent out to investors this morning, Piper Jaffray and UBS raise serious questions about a report that demand for Apple's latest iPhone was thinning out. Among their reasons for doubt: iPhone shortages in Apple's retail stores and continuing wait time on new orders through Apple's online store.

"We believe the Commercial Times report is without merit and believe iPhone 4S demand is not an issue," wrote Maynard Um, a … Read more

Gameloft, a Paris-based video game company that's a leading mobile-game developer, acknowledged today that a security breach had prompted it to pull the plug on one of its Web sites.

Reports began surfacing on the company's Web forums earlier this week, suggesting that the GameloftLive.com Web site had been experiencing problems and that some accounts had been compromised. One poster suggested: "I told all of my friends to stay offline and they are doing so. I hope Gameloft gets this fixed."

In a statement to CNET this morning, a Gameloft representative said:

"Gameloft live … Read more

Mission Control was touted by Apple prior to Lion's release as a feature that would increase OS X user productivity by providing quick access to various windows and apps. Instead, many users have found the feature lacking, specifically lacking the ability to rearrange desktop spaces and full-screen apps in their order of preference.… Read more

If you haven't already noticed, CNET.com got a big makeover last night, and the new layout makes it much easier to browse the latest reviews, news, and videos from CNET.com and CNETTV.com.… Read more

At 7 a.m., I woke up and preordered an iPhone 4S. I got the 32GB version, but I'll admit I was tempted to get the 64GB one.

Apple has introduced a new price to the iPhone that hasn't been around for a long while: $399. In fact, there hasn't been an iPhone that expensive since the original 8GB iPhone after its price drop in 2007-2008.

The 64GB iPhone 4S sits atop the iPhone food chain like a threat to any consumer's sanity: is 32GB enough? Should you pay $100 for more storage? In that clever Apple math, you might reason, if you already considered paying $100 for a measly 16GB of extra storage, $100 on the next step up nets you 32GB. Double the extra storage for the same money.

Of course, locked-in flash memory has been the source of clever margins on Apple products for years. In fact, despite dropping prices for flash storage, iPhones haven't changed their storage capacities over the past couple of years. It's a debate iPad owners have had as well, except with the iPhone 4S, there's the important added consideration/concern of its improved camera: 8 megapixels for still photos, and bumped-up 1080p video recording. And, for the first time in the iPhone's history, there are three price/storage tiers (four, if you count the 8GB iPhone 4).… Read more

One minute past midnight tonight Pacific time, Apple's next iPhone becomes available for preordering in seven countries, including the U.S., and the big question is whether Apple and its carrier partners face a meltdown similar to what happened with last year's model.

You might remember that shortly after the iPhone 4 went on sale, both Apple and AT&T's online sites ran into problems almost immediately. A deluge of eager buyers hit the two sites in the early morning, grinding the ordering process to a halt. The following day Apple released a statement saying that … Read more

Although iPhone 4S preorders are just around the corner, Sprint is letting customers who don't want Apple's latest and greatest smartphone choose its predecessor.

Customers who surf to Sprint's Web site now can preorder the iPhone 4. The handset, which is available with 8GB of storage and the customer's choice of black or white, is on sale on Sprint's site for $99.99. According to the company's description, the preorder will be offered "while supplies last," and will do its best to get the smartphone to customers on October 14 or 15.… Read more