E-commerce

Ford cars now sync with Amazon Cloud Player on iOS

Amazon's Cloud Player for iOS is now available in Ford Sync AppLink-equipped cars, a few months after the Android version hit the market, the Internet giant said Wednesday.

Ford owners can wirelessly connect the Amazon MP3 app on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to the Sync connectivity system to access their entire music library using voice commands or dashboard controls.

Android users have been able to use the app in Ford cars since February.

Carmakers have pushed infotainment as one way to attract new buyers, and it allows app makers to reach consumers in more locations. Ford earlier … Read more

Senate passes Internet sales tax bill by 2-to-1 margin

The U.S. Senate on Monday approved a controversial bill by more than a 2-to-1 margin that would allow states to levy taxes on Internet purchases.

The Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to require online vendors to collect sales and use tax on certain out-of-state purchases, was approved in a bipartisan vote of 69 to 27. The bill, which already has the support of President Obama, will now move on to the House of Representatives.

If approved, the bill would overturn a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that found out-of-state retailers generally don't have to collect taxes unless … Read more

Deep breath: Senate set to vote on Internet sales tax

Many polls from the past few years have found that lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are just slightly less popular than catching the flu while on a beach vacation. Remarkably, the U.S. Senate could approve a bill this week that will likely make lawmakers even less popular with many online shoppers.

The Senate is expected to vote as early as Monday on the long-debated issue of an Internet sales tax. The bill being considered in Washington now would require online outlets with sales of at least $1 million to collect sales tax in all states, even those in which … Read more

Bitcoin exchange partnership dissolves with lawsuit

A Bitcoin exchange partnership designed to smooth the trading process and show the security of the virtual currency has apparently collapsed with a lawsuit.

After struggling to crack the U.S. market, Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, announced in February that it had reached an arrangement with CoinLab in which the Seattle-based startup would manage the Bitcoin exchange's operations in the U.S. and Canada. Along with the support of Silicon Valley Bank and $500,000 in VC funding, it was hoped that the arrangement would help increase customer confidence in the decentralized digital currency.

However, … Read more

Zappos overhauls shopping app for Android

Zappos knows that making it easy to buy things means more sales, so it's overhauled its Android app with a new design focused on browsing and a quick checkout.

The app, available today for Android and Kindle devices, lets shoppers save searches and share or "favorite" items while browsing and, of course, buy the items. The new checkout process comes with a way to store and manage multiple credit cards by tagging them with different colors, but customers can also use PayPal. It also comes with a package-tracking widget, which the Zappos mobile team says is unique … Read more

Uber cab-hailing app hits another legal roadblock in NY

Uber's New York taxi-hailing ambitions have reportedly stalled again with a judge's ruling Wednesday.

Less than a day after the private car summoning service was finally able to launch its e-hailing app following an eight-month delay, a group of livery car groups has won an injunction against the 12-month pilot program, which would allow potential passengers to hail a cab by putting their location information into a smartphone app. Uber launched its taxi-hailing pilot program on Tuesday night, just days after a State Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the livery car groups that sought to … Read more

Aiming for more retail deals, Square adds partnerships VP

For a mobile payments platform whose future success is tied to its ability to be accepted by as many retailers as possible, a company like Square has to have someone leading the charge toward such deals.

That's why Square -- the San Francisco startup founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey -- has just hired its first vice president of partnerships. It said today that it has tapped Alex Petrov, former PayPal vice president of retail marketing, for the job. Petrov also previously held the position of vice president of consumer brands at supermarket giant Safeway.

It will be Petrov'… Read more

Uber taxi-hailing service returns to NYC streets, without payments

After an eight-month absence punctuated by legal battles, Uber taxi's service is returning to the streets of New York City.

Uber launched its taxi-hailing pilot program on Tuesday night, just days after a State Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to put a stop to the program. Passengers will be able to hail a cab with a smartphone app, but the app won't accept payments, at least initially.

"The way New Yorkers hail yellow cabs fundamentally transforms today, and we're proud that it's Uber who gave the Big Apple this option," Uber … Read more

eBay, retail partner to open NY shop with touch-screen window

NEW YORK--eBay is working with Kate Spade on a pop-up shop in New York that will feature a digital touch-screen storefront window, the e-commerce and digital payments giant said Tuesday.

CEO John Donahoe, speaking at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York earlier today, said the store will launch this summer and will allow eBay to reach consumers away from its traditional Web site. Donahoe at the time did not name the retailer.

An eBay spokesperson later told CNET that Kate Spade Saturday will be the partner for the pop-up shop. The spokesperson didn't provide other details about the … Read more