Amazon has raised the price of some Amazon Prime memberships in
Europe to as much as $131, according to GigaOm.  Amazon Prime is
for Amazon's core customers: In the U.S., customers pay a flat
fee of $79 for "free" two-day shipping all year, plus a bunch of
streaming video options.  The European price hike would thus
represent a 64% increase in the cost of a Prime membership in
the U.K., which was previously about $81.  The change in prices
comes because the company has bundled together two previously
separate services in the U.K. and Germany, "Lovefilm" and Prime,
GigaOm says: "As a result of the rollup, the prices of a Prime
membership in the U.K. and Germany will increase to £79 ($131)
and €49 ($67) per year, respectively."  The move suggests Amazon
could eventually increase Prime prices in the U.S., too. Amazon
CFO Tom Szkutak floated the price hike as a trial balloon on the
company's last earnings call. He suggested the price could rise
up to $40 — to nearer $119. Fuel and shipping costs were his
stated c