The Amazon Appstore has hopped over the pond and launched in a handful of European countries. Amazon announced today that its alternative Android app portal is now available in five European markets.

Amazon may announce a new slate of Kindle ereaders and tablets on September 6. The online retailer and producer of Kindle products has sent MobileBurn an invitation to what could be a major launch event in Santa Monica next month.

Android device users have long been able to use the official Spotify app, but those that own an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet have not been able to join the Spotify party - until now, that is. Amazon is now offering the official Spotify app in the Amazon Appstore on the Kindle Fire tablet, giving Kindle Fire access to all of the goodies that Spotify offers, including its new ad-supported free radio service. Kindle Fire owners can grab the app for free from the Appstore now.

Amazon has debuted its Amazon Instant Video app for iPad. The app delivers on-demand streaming for thousands of movies and TV episodes that can be purchased or rented.

Amazon has updated Cloud Player to ease the process of adding songs to its music storage and streaming service. The new Cloud Player automatically imports all Amazon MP3 purchases, including songs purchased in the past.

Amazon plans to release a number of tablets this year to follow its Kindle Fire tablet, if you believe what the president of Staples' retail has to say. The executive has been quoted by Reuters as saying that Amazon will release "five or six" new tablets in the near future, including a new 10-inch model.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Amazon is planning to release a smartphone device that will join its existing Kindle Fire tablet. The supposed smartphone would be based on Android and would go head-to-head with Apple's iPhone and Google's own Android devices.

Amazon updated its Kindle app for Android devices today, and it added some new features that should make Android tablet owners happy. The updated version of Kindle for Android now offers margin and line spacing controls, as well as the ability to view two pages side-by-side when in landscape orientation. It's a bit hard to believe that the Kindle app for Android didn't offer side-by-side pages before this, but at least it finally does now. Amazon says that there are a few bug fixes in the updated version of the app, as well. Kindle for Android is free and available in the Google Play Store now.

The new 6.3.1 firmware update for the Amazon Kindle Fire adds a host of new, and useful parental controls to the Android powered tablet. Parents can now prevent their children from access specific types of content, such as the web or music, and can place a password restriction on the purchase of items from Amazon's Appstore or regular store application.

The Amazon Kindle Fire has received a new firmware update, version 6.3.1, that adds a host of new parental controls to the Android-powered tablet.