Amazon Hitlergartenberg Theverge: Amazon quietly updated its app icon, changing the appearance of the ripped packaging tape after some drew comparisons of it to Adolf Hitler’s mustache. The company that changed the icon tweeted “We updated our app icon and some customers love it, other can’t seem to look past our old design.”
The changes were so subtle that they are difficult to spot in a tweet. The ripcage has been given more depth and is now tilted at an angle, making it less likely to be seen as a mustache.
The new version of the app’s icon was first reported by TechCrunch.
There had been some debate over whether the original icon was titled to suggest that it was supposed to resemble Amazon’s logo or the packaging of a product like a phone. Others suggested that it looked like a rip in space-time itself.
Amazon took pains to address those questions on Twitter after the icon began gathering attention on social media. “We’re excited about this new icon, but we appreciate that some customers are fans of the old one,” the company wrote. “You can change the icon on your Amazon App on Android and in your web browser at amazon.com.”
The newest release of Amazon’s app doesn’t yet say anything about a new name, although that is sure to come soon. According to a report from David Pogue of The Wall Street Journal, Amazon has started testing an app called “Prime Now. “
The company is already testing the app in the North American cities of Seattle, Los Angeles and New York, Pogue said. It will likely be released to all markets soon.
Amazon has been working on an app that allows hip young types like Prime subscribers to order items in near-instantaneous delivery from stores such as Whole Foods and Starbucks, according to a report from Bloomberg News. The app is called Amazon Fresh. It’s slated for release this summer.
AmazonFresh will be available on several platforms, including Apple’s iOS operating system. It will also likely come to Android and Windows Phone smartphones as well as the Amazon web browser.
The company’s Prime service will also be available on those platforms, Bloomberg reported. It is not clear that the new app has anything to do with the upcoming Prime Now service.
Amazon Fresh will work like a typical grocery store and deliver ordered items to customers who can pick them up in 10 minutes or less. The app is tied to Amazon’s Prime free two-day shipping service, which costs $99 yearly.
AmazonFresh is reportedly testing the service in San Francisco, California, and Seattle. If tested to satisfaction in those cities, it will likely come to large cities throughout the United States. AmazonFresh was already available in Los Angeles and some other markets where Prime was available.
Amazon declined to comment on its plans for the new app or any information about whether it would come to other platforms than Android and iOS.
While the iOS version of Amazon’s app is already available, the Android version is still unavailable on that platform. The Android version has been available on other platforms such as Windows Phone and Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices.
AmazonFresh will be available as part of Prime, according to The Wall Street Journal. It will also be free for current customers and add-on items will cost about five dollars a month, The Journal said.
Amazon has made a number of other moves recently that have helped boost its stock price. The company has announced plans to buy the rights to make a feature film based on the best-selling book series “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien, and it announced that it plans to expand its Kindle e-reader platform with color touchscreen capability for better reading and will also add 3D touch technology in the fall, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
