Amazon Fire TV Stick, Kindle, Echo Now Available in India With 2-Hour Deliveries via Prime Now

Amazon Fire TV Stick, Kindle, and Echo devices can now be availed in select cities in India within two hours, through the Prime Now app. The app-only ultrafast delivery service is initially available in Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Hyderabad, and only for Prime members. To attract customers, Amazon has also announced a limited period introductory offer under which the Amazon devices are available with 15 percent discount. The latest development comes weeks after the e-commerce giant rebranded the original Amazon Now app as Prime Now in the country and introduced its two-hour fast delivery service exclusively for Prime members in select cities. Essentially, with the move, Amazon has brought the Fire TV Stick, Kindle, and Echo devices to the Prime Now store.

By leveraging the two-hour ultra-fast delivery service, Prime members can order the Fire TV Stick, All New Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite (Wi-Fi), Echo Dot, and Echo anytime between 6am to midnight. You can also avail the 15 percent discount. This brings down the price of the Fire TV Stick to Rs. 3,399 (MRP Rs. 3,999), All New Kindle to Rs. 5,099 (MRP Rs. 5,999), Kindle Paperwhite (Wi-Fi) to Rs. 9,349 (MRP Rs. 10,999), and Echo Dot to Rs. 3,699 (MRP Rs. 4,499), and Echo to Rs. 8,499 (MRP Rs. 9,999).

Jeff Bezos Briefly Surpasses Bill Gates as World's Richest

A surge in Amazon.com shares Thursday morning in advance of the online retailer's earnings report briefly propelled founder Jeff Bezos past Bill Gates as the world's richest person.

Shares of the online retailer traded at $1,055.37 at 2:17pm in New York, after climbing as high as $1,083.31, which gave Bezos a net worth of $92.3 billion (roughly Rs. 5,92,798 crores). Gates had a net worth of $90.8 billion (roughly Rs. 5,83,122 crores) as of the Wednesday close. In afternoon trading, Bezos remains ranked second on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, behind the Microsoft co-founder. Gates, 61, has held the top spot since May 2013.

Investors and analysts, in addition to watching Amazon's progress in taking market share in categories such as apparel and groceries, will be scrutinizing how many new subscriptions the retailer sold for its $99-a-year Amazon Prime service, which offers delivery discounts and video and music streaming. Prime shoppers spend more than customers who don't have a membership.

"Amazon Prime is why so much physical retail is going away," said Michael Pachter, a Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst who has a buy rating on the stock and a price target of $1,250. "Anyone who joins Prime shops in retail stores 10 percent less, and that number will keep accelerating as Amazon adds more inventory."