Tag: videos

Get a $1 Music Credit from Amazon!

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Mystery Science Theatre - Santa Claus

A funny thing happened when I bought Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Santa Claus. Amazon gave me a dollar! “Purchase or Rent a Movie or TV Show from Amazon Instant Video, Get a $1 Digital Music Credit,” reads the special web page at Amazon.com. And the second I’d bought my video, Amazon sent me an e-mail confirming that I’d qualified. “Your recent order [of Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Santa Claus ] entitles you to a promotional credit which we have added to your account… As a customer who has purchased or rented a qualifying product from Amazon Instant Video, you have earned a $1 credit valid towards Amazon Digital Music albums or single songs.”

 

The funny thing was, the video only cost me $3.00 to rent — and some videos are even cheaper. (You can buy videos for as little as 99 cents.) Amazon wants to publicize their “Instant Video” store — and giving away free music is guaranteed to bring some attention. They’re going to keep doing this until the end of 2015, so the next time you purchase a video, you’ll probably also receive the same Amazon e-mail.

Of course, they may end this offer, according to the fine print in the give-away’s “Terms and Conditions.” (“Amazon reserves the right to modify or cancel the offer at any time…”) But for now, the $1 credit is automatically applied to your very next music purchase. And if you’re not sure whether you’ve qualified, there’s a special button labeled “Check Your Balance” where you can see when Amazon’s credit is available.

I like how the credit just instantly appears in your Amazon account just as soon as you complete a qualifying video purchase. (Amazon’s e-mail literally arrived within seconds of my video purchase. That’s how much they want you to try their music store…) “Thanks again for shopping with us,” Amazon added cheerfully at the end of the e-mail.

And by the end of the day, I was enjoying both a new song and a new video.


To claim your $1 just click here to visit Amazon’s web page,.

Amazon Tricks Customers with New Kindle Paperwhite Surprise

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Amazon video of Kindle Paperwhite sneak preview

Amazon hasn’t shipped out their new Kindle Paperwhite devices yet — but they did play a fun trick on some of their customers. Amazon invited them in for interviews about their current Kindles, in a new video they posted to YouTube. “Then we distracted them…” Amazon’s video explains, “and swapped their Kindles for all-new devices!”

“You guys are sneaky that way,” laughed one of the interview subjects… But it’s really fun to watch their first reaction to the Kindle Paperwhite.

“That’s incredible.”

“The screen. Higher resolution. Clearer. Not that the old one was bad, by any means.”

“But it’s really so much sharper. It’s pretty obvious. “

You can find the whole two-and-a-half minute video on the Kindle web page at YouTube (at youtube.com/Kindle ) And it’s fun to think that these are some of the first people to see the built-in “glow” of Amazon’s newest Kindle. The video cuts from one amazed Kindle owner to the next, but their words merge into one unified reaction.

“I love the light.”

“Oh, god. That is amazing. I never even knew I needed it. But I love it.”

“That is going to revolutionize everything.”

“I mean, it looks fantastic…”

I wondered whether I’d like the shiny effect of the Kindle Paperwhite, or whether I’d find the extra brightness to be distracting. But one of Amazon’s “sneak previewers” seemed to find the new technology both subtle and pleasing. “It doesn’t jump out at you,” says an aircraft fueler named Thornin. “It doesn’t cause any eye strain. It doesn’t even leave the screen…”

“I can’t stop smiling.”

“It’s a big step up…”

“This is exactly what Star Trek promised me would happen.”

It’s a very effective ad –featuring seven different customers. There’s a homemaker, two retirees, a career coach, plus a software developer and a production designer. (Besides the aircraft fueler). While gentle music plays in the background, the ad shows all these intrigued people giving Amazon’s newest device their intense scrutiny. And then they’re shown with a calm, intense delight — along with big smiles and excited laughter. And the ad closes with one last word for people who’ve already ordered their Kindle Paperwhites.

“It’ll be fun. I’m excited.”


And remember: You can pre-order the new touchscreen devices — with their new built-in lights — at tinyurl.com/KindlePaperWhite !

Funny Reactions to Amazon’s Newest Kindle Commercial

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Girl and Boy from new Kindle bookstore commercial

It’s one of the fun things about being a Kindle owner: recognizing yourself in Amazon’s Kindle commercials! Last week Amazon released a funny sequel to their commercial about the young woman who doesn’t have a Kindle (while her male friend does). In this commercial, she’s seen rushing off to a bookstore…

“Hey, where you going?”

“I want to get a book that came out today.”

“Me too!”

“Come to the bookstore with me.”

“I’m good. Got it! It takes less than 60 seconds to download a new book on my Kindle…”

“60 sconds? Wow. That’s the book I was going to get!”
           [She stares with delight]

“Weren’t you going to the bookstore?”

“Shh….”

And this commercial struck a familiar cord with a couple in Scotland – at least according to the comment that the husband left on Facebook. “We used to have a Kindle,” he posted in the comments below the video. “Then my wife started using it. Now SHE has a Kindle!” I had to smile, because I experienced the same thing with my own girlfriend. I finally had to buy her a Kindle of her own.

The couple in the video also drew a positive reaction on YouTube, at YouTube.com/Kindle, where one user posted that “These two have great chemistry.” Their verdict on Amazon’s new Kindle commercial? “Even cuter than the last one.”

I first found out about the video from the Kindle’s page on Facebook (at Facebook.com/Kindle). And the page also offered a handy tip if you want the notes in your Kindle e-books to include notes from your friends on Facebook! “When you link your Facebook account to kindle.amazon.com you can see the Public Notes of your Facebook friends in your Kindle books,” Amazon explains, adding that you can also “automatically share your reading activity on your [Facebook] Wall.”

Of course, you’ll never see those notes until you get your Kindle back from that woman who borrows it on her way to the bookstore!