Amazon has released The Kindle, an electronic reading device that it hopes will leapfrog over previous attempts at e-readers and become the turning point in a transformation toward Book 2.0. That's shorthand for a revolution--already in progress--that will change the way readers read, writers write and publishers publish, according to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. "If you're going to do something like this, you have to be as good as the book in a lot of respects," says Bezos. The Kindle--named to evoke the crackling ignition of knowledge--has the dimensions of a paperback. With the use of …

Alticor, the owner of the multilevel-marketing company Amway, is pouring millions of dollars into a new Web site called Fanista that will be part Amazon (online retail), part MySpace (social network) and part Amway. The Web site, set to make its public debut this week, will initially sell DVDs and CDs. It plans to add video games, digital downloads and books. People can simply use Fanista as a place to shop. But the company hopes most consumers will join as members--signing up is free--and then recruit their friends for a 5% commission on sales. Somet analysts …

Officials at retail giant Nordstrom have agreed to stop selling sandals with hidden three-ounce flask, a funnel and a plastic key after receiving complaints from a community-based prevention and treatment organization in Oregon. Pete Schulberg, communications director of the Oregon Partnership, wrote a letter to Nordstrom's president of stores, Erik B. Nordstrom, describing the sandals "as a means for underage drinkers to hide alcohol." Shortly thereafter, Erik Nordstrom left a voicemail message for Schulberg referring to the Reef sandals in question as a "ridiculous product" and said they would be removed from store shelves. "Our goal is to …

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has informed Tyson Foods that it had mistakenly overlooked a feed additive--called ionophores-- when it approved a label that say its fresh chicken is "raised without antibiotics." Tyson claims that ionophores are not antibiotics, and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not consider them antibiotics "We stand by the truthfulness of our product labels and remain fully committed to our Raised Without Antibiotics chicken program," the company says in a statement. The world's largest meat processor says it has been in discussions with the USDA since at least September about the …

Sony began dispatching more than 500 employees across the U.S. into stores in September to talk to shoppers about larger-size TVs. They want to avoid the sort of mistakes made last year when a flood of 32-inch flat-panel liquid crystal display televisions hit the market brought prices crashing and down more than 30%. One of the points Sony is stressing is that its large TVs offer better quality than those from cheaper vendors. "As you get into the larger screen sizes, it becomes more noticeable the difference between us and them," says Randy Waynick, a senior executive …

Procter & Gamble is testing a system that sounds an awful lot like the old full-service agency model the marketer--and most agency holding companies--dismantled more than a decade ago: Designating one agency as a "single point of contact" on each brand. P&G says it's testing ways to change its agency model to improve collaboration and marketing plans while reducing the number of transactions for its brands and marketers. The tests aim to simplify a structure in which a single brand and its marketers may work with more than a dozen media, advertising, promotion and design shops in the …

One of the most powerful health officials in the country--New York's health commissioner, Thomas Frieden--wants to force chain restaurants like McDonald's and Wendy's to spell out exactly how fattening their food is on the menu board when consumers order. The idea is gaining support nationwide, but also faces fierce opposition from the restaurant industry itself. Frieden wants people to see that some combo meals, like one from Burger King, pack 2,200 calories--more calories than many adults need in a day. Some Starbucks drinks are more fattening than Big Macs. Brian Wansink, a nutrition and marketing professor at Cornell University …

NBC Universal and Procter & Gamble have opened a Web portal-- Petside.com--for pet owners that offers a full menu of information about dogs, cats and other creatures, from the serious (how to diagnose your pet's illnesses) to the silly (funny animal videos). There are also links to shopping sites, and visitors are encouraged to set up social networking profiles in order to meet other pet owners. P&G plans to market its Iams pet food and Febreze air freshener there, and NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric, is promoting some of its programs. But Petside will be open to …