amazon prime

After you've caught the latest Bond thriller on the big screen, the spy adventures don't have to end. Get crafty with your resources, and add a bit of the MI6 agent to your online life with this guide on watching, reading, and playing Bond well after the lights have come up on your Skyfall screening.

Downloadable Movies
While I'd love to tell you to just log in to one of your streaming media accounts to watch Bond at no additional cost, Netflix's only title is the 1967 spoof Casino Royale, which boasts an impressively low 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Though Hulu's library doesn't include any other 007 titles either, you can still get your spy fix online.

• iTunes — Apple's iTunes store has dozens of Bond titles ready for paid download. Require a little action that one movie at a time? ITunes conveniently bundled films together by actor; after all, everyone has their favorite Bond. Get a dose of Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, or Roger Moore.
• Amazon Instant Video — For $2, rent nearly every James Bond movie made on any device with Amazon Instant Video streaming capabilities, including Xbox, PS3, iPad, and Kindle Fire.
• Google Play — Download a handful of vintage Bond films like Moonraker and Dr. No on an Android device for $3 each.

Books
With the big-screen excitement of Bond, it can be easy to forget it all started with the book series by Ian Fleming. His experience as a naval intelligence officer during World War II provided much of the fodder for his stories, which started in 1952 with Casino Royale. Find the books online:

• Kindle — Download the entire Bond collection to your Kindle or Kindle app. Each title is $7 and includes cool graphic covers.

Read on for where to deliver Bond to your phone.

Find a comfortable seat and a choice pair of headphones because with Amazon's announcement of their iPad-based Instant Video app, you'll be spending a lot more time getting cozy with your tablet and catching up on missed films and TV seasons. Amazon Prime members will have free access to over 20,000 media titles, and anyone can shop from the more than 120,000 videos available in Instant Video. Plus, since you're the multi-gadget tech-savvy type, wherever you leave off in a video automatically synchs across any other devices where Instant Video is accessed.

Amazon Instant Video isn't the only option for iPad entertainment, though; here, we break down our top picks for on-the-go viewing:

• Hulu Plus ($8 per month) — Said goodbye to cable? Upgrade to Hulu Plus for basic cable mainstays like The Colbert Report.
• Netflix ($8 per month) — The one that brought streaming video to our living room, Netflix's search by genre function lets you build up your personalized queue of movies and TV.
• HBO Go — Sign in through your cable provider and watch the drama of HBO TV anywhere. Sign up for a show's Series Pass and new episodes will automatically update to your app.
• ABC Player — Watch the network's sitcoms and guilty pleasure soaps (ahem, Revenge) all for free.
• Crackle — Operated by Sony, Crackle's library includes some of our favorites for free: Starship Troopers, The Fifth Element, and Groundhog Day to name a few of the hundreds.

Which streaming video iPad app do you use most?

Last week, I decided to pay $79 for shipping on cotton pads — and this may be one of the smarter financial moves I've made recently. Sounds crazy, but let me explain. Amazon.com has a program called Amazon Prime, and the annual $79 fee covers free two-day shipping on millions of items. Naturally, it covers the beauty department (which has more than 400,000 items!) along with books, snacks, electronics, and the like. Find out why it makes financial sense.

We first heard about the possibility of Amazon Prime movie streaming last month, and this morning, Amazon officially announced the ability for Amazon Prime members to stream over 5,000 movie and TV titles to their computers, Internet-connected TVs, as well as Blu-ray players and set-top systems.

The service comes at no additional cost, which makes the $79 a year Amazon Prime membership well worth it — not only do you get free two-day shipping on Prime-eligible items through the online store, but now you can theoretically cut out the $96 a year it costs for a Netflix subscription from your budget.

How do Prime members stream movies and TV shows? Find out, and get the details on which devices are compatible, as well as a sweet deal you can take advantage of now, after the jump.

Rumors of an Amazon video subscription service have been circulating for some time, and its recent purchase of a UK-based streaming service has laid framework for the Internet giant to compete with Netflix. Now one user screenshot suggests that Amazon may be planning an unlimited video streaming service for Prime members.

According to the screenshot, the service includes "unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows." And if the rumor is true, it could mean a huge money saver for Prime subscribers — the yearly $79 Amazon Prime membership is already cheaper than a year of unlimited Netflix streaming (around $96 for one year). For those already taking advantage of Amazon Prime's services, such functionality could equal big savings.

There's no word from Amazon on when (or if) subscribers will be seeing this service, or if the company plans to charge more for an instant streaming service in the near future.

If you shop a lot online (yes, that's me), you know there's a trade-off for the convenience of shopping from the comfort of your computer: the wait for the goods. If you want something closer to instant gratification but haven't signed up for Amazon Prime, now there's another option for paying for speedier delivery: the members-only site ShopRunner.

Much like Amazon's fast-shipping service, paying an annual membership fee ($79 after a free 30-day trial) promises you two-day shipping at several popular online stores. You shop as you normally would on each site, but once you log in with your ShopRunner username, you get the shipping upgrade and can track all your orders from the ShopRunner site. You can also do a search using the site's Marketplace page for a product.

Sounds good so far? Find out which sites are included in the membership after the break.

Being the proud owner of a .edu email address just got another perk: Amazon is offering college students a free year of Amazon Prime as part of its new Amazon Student service. Amazon Prime, which usually costs members $79 per year, gives members free two-day shipping on purchases, including textbooks. For an additional $4 per item, members can upgrade to next-day shipping. Additionally, Amazon Student offers members targeted deals and savings perfect for budgeting college students. All you need to sign up? A .edu email address! The service is completely free.

If you're not a student, Amazon Prime does offer a one-month trial period. And if you're an Amazon addict, the savings will pay for themselves after a few months' worth of purchases.