e-commerce - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Will Bitcoin become a legitimate currency for large companies?

  Bitcoin is on the rise, but not in the way you might think.

• Twitter takes another shot a social shopping

  Twitter is taking cues from Amazon, Pinterest and others in its latest foray into social shopping. The company announced a new set of pages that are designed to streamline the purchase process on Twitter. Pages for products and places can include images, video, product descriptions and prices, and -- most importantly for Twitter -- the option to buy products or visit advertiser websites for more information. The new shopping features are available now on Twitter's website and in its Android and iOS apps.

• Are retailers (and consumers) ready for EMV?

  A few weeks ago, I got two fat envelopes in the mail. Each one held a new credit card inside along with instructions on how to use that card. Then, when I stopped at my local grocery store, at Nordstrom, even the corner liquor store, each had a new reader with a slot at the bottom into which I could slide those new cards.

• A closer look at the new technologies in Amazon's Fire smartphone

  Using the new technologies in its Fire smartphone, Amazon may eventually merge Google's new imaging technology with the Fire's Firefly and Dynamic Perception innovations to empower consumer buying further than before, an IDC analyst predicted.

• Amazon's Fire phone is 'Prime' example of customer first

  With its new Fire Phone, Amazon is primarily interested in connecting to its 250 million Amazon and Prime customers with a phone that makes it quick and easy to shop over the Web.

• Amazon's expected smartphone already faces skeptics

  If Amazon announces a smartphone on Wednesday, as is widely expected, it will face an avalanche of skeptics.

• Malvertising rise pushes ad industry to action

  With hidden malware on the rise, the online advertising industry may finally have to get its governance act together.

• Apple's rich enough to buy Beats with movie-date money

  Much has been made about the scale of Apple's $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics and Beats Music, but the reality is that the money represents a pittance to Cupertino, literally pocket change in the light of its bank balance.

• Google aims for purity with Android Silver

  If you haven't heard of Android Silver -- assuming it's real -- yet, it's because it's not been officially announced by Google.

• Bitcoin malware count soars as cryptocurrency value climbs

  As bitcoin values jumped in the last months of 2013, malware designed to steal the virtual currency exploded, security researchers from Dell SecureWorks said this week.

• iTunes is almost as big a biz as OEM Windows

  Apple's iTunes, software and services group generated almost as much revenue in 2013 as the Microsoft division responsible for licensing Windows to computer and smartphone makers, according to comparisons of the companies' financial statements.

• Twitter's slipping user growth spooks investors

  Twitter Wednesday reported that fourth quarter sales more than doubled over the past year, but the company nevertheless spooked investors by acknowledging a slowdown in new user growth and in user engagement.

• Ad blockers: A solution or a problem?

  Ad blockers can make websites cleaner and faster for users, but they can also take a nasty bite out of advertising revenue. How popular are they, and what can site publishers do about them?

• Could Bitcoin's frothy venture funding dry up?

  Bitcoin: What is it, really? A digital currency? An investment? An Xbox game? For many people it's not clear, but that hasn't stopped venture capitalists from going gaga over it.

• Here's why Amazon drones may never land at your door

  Amazon's ambitious plan to use flying drones to deliver packages is far-fetched, but not just because of technology limitations or air traffic regulations. Amazon's fulfillment center network, as it stands now, is too limited to serve even a tiny fraction of the U.S. in the method described by CEO Jeff Bezos.