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2
Apr

Sprint sends out invites for April 29th event, may talk about HD Voice


Well, here’s a noodle-scratcher to start your day with. Sprint has just sent out invites to an event on April 29, and it’s being characteristically coy about what’s going down. The carrier’s chosen imagery and tagline leave little to the imagination though: this rodeo is all about audio, and our guess is that CEO Dan Hesse probably has some more to say about Sprint’s HD Voice rollout. Sprint’s been slowly rolling out the service (which it claims will provide “crystal clear” call quality to owners of compatible devices) in Kansas City, with Philadelphia and Baltimore to follow in the coming weeks. Hesse’s ultimate goal is to get the whole nation flying under that HD Voice banner by July, and it probably won’t be long before he steps on-stage to let us know how that’s working out for him.

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2
Apr

Catch our Amazon video event liveblog right here!


Today’s the day when Amazon unveils…something to do with video (or so we’re told). Let’s not beat around the bush here: this is almost certainly Amazon’s long-rumored video streaming device, and may very well also be the game streaming device we’ve been hearing about (we’re guessing it’s one device that does both). Oh, and probably that Bluetooth game controller too, right? There’s gotta be some reason Amazon bought the studio that made the new Killer Instinct!

Regardless, the particulars are missing. What kind of streaming options will there be? How about onboard processing? A set-top box or a dongle (a la Chromecast)? How does this incorporate the coming army of Jeff Bezos-controlled domestic drones? Should we bring our bugout bags to the event?

April 2, 2014 11:00:00 AM EDT

Hey folks! We’re seated in Amazon’s liveblog in extremely comfy, living room-style seating. The event’s outfitted with movie theater couture. WHAT COULD IT BE?

I’m joined today by a denim-clad Terrence O’Brien on text and a sleepy Edgar Alvarez on photos. We’ll also be breaking out the important news as it breaks.

Beyond the decorations, we’ve spotted the head of Telltale Games in the crowd. Looks like there’ll be some form of gaming announcement here!

We’re told that Amazon head Jeff Bezos won’t be on-hand, which is surprising given the seriousness of this event.

On the stage there’s a faux living room setup, and in the home theater there are two green trays covered in black felt. We’re betting that’s where today’s big announcement is hiding.

The usual gaggle of tech press are here, but a surprising number of mainstream media are also here. CNN’s Brian Stelter is sitting in the back looking dapper, and a well-dressed New York Times reporter is sitting to our left.

A nearby TV is running clips from movie after movie. Katniss Everdeen is shooting arrows and Lennie Kravitz is nodding, knowingly.

Oh, and there’s a bowl of candy next to us. Because movie theaters. You’ll excuse us if we don’t partake, as it’s 11AM.

Ellie Goulding’s “Burn” is blaring over the speakers, we are drinking coffee and looking at people who are looking at their phones. We’d love to give you a more exciting update, but that’s all we’ve got for now. This thing should kick off any minute now!

(It’s supposed to start at 11AM EDT, so, uh, literally any minute now.)

Okay fine, we’re eating candy. FINE AMAZON. You’ve won.

The lights are dimming, the show is about to begin. Let’s go!

A brief trailer for Amazon’s Instant Video is playing, showcasing BBC neo-classics and a variety of other media.

Did you know they’ve got “Great Kids Content” as well as shows for the rest of us? Now you do!

Peter Larsen from Amazon is up first, and he’s starting with Amazon Digital Video.

Between 2006 and 2010, the service only grew incrementally. In 2011, however, he says it blew up.

“It’s because we started investing in that great content you just saw.” 350 percent growth, he says!

Peter’s talking about the competition now. Hulu and Netflix are both growing, he says. “It’s clear that customers love this content.

The PS4, Xbox One, Roku 3, Chromecast, and Apple TV are all cited as devices customers love, and where they’re streaming. Sounds like he’s setting up for a reveal of Amazon’s box.

Pretty sure that’s a game controller I can see peeking through the side of a tray on stage. Get excited folks!

First things first, he’s got a demo of Roku’s search function. He…doesn’t love it.

He’s citing customer reviews of text input on streaming devices. One compares it to entering high scores on an old Nintendo. We don’t disagree!

“The second thing we hear from customers all the time is performance. Laggy performance.”

He’s saying that nothing takes you (and your loved ones) out of the experience more than load times. We don’t quite agree there, but lag does suck.

Bizarrely, it sounds like he’s talking about internet connectivity issues and not horsepower issues.

“The third thing we hear from customers is this idea of a closed ecosystem.”

It makes Pete super mad that he can’t watch Amazon Prime Instant Video on his Apple TV. He’s also citing customer complaints about Samsung’s similarly closed ecosystem.

And now he’s calling out Microsoft, pointing out that Xbox Live Gold costs $60/year to even use services like Netflix (which costs another subscription fee on top of that).

So, to review: search, performance, and closed ecosystems are all issues Amazon wants to solve.

How to solve that? “Invent and Simplify,” he says.

He’s citing solutions Amazon’s made in the past, from Kindle’s battery life to spearheading the ability to use electronics on airplanes.

“When we looked at the living room, we took that same approach. How do we make the complexity disappear?”

Pete’s got a device in his hand — “introducing Amazon Fire TV”

It’s a small black box. “Listen, this thing’s tiny, it’s incredibly powerful, and it’s unbelievably simple.”

A screen behind Pete shows off the OS operating on Fire TV. It looks a lot like Spotify! “One other thing: good news, you’re all taking one home today!”

Hey alright!

First things first, Pete’s talking performance. He says Amazon noticed three bottlenecks. “Fire TV has a quad-core processor. It’s best in class for a product of this type.”

“It also has a dedicated GPU, the kind usually found in smartphones.”

“The second performance bottleneck we solved was RAM. Fire TV has 2GB of RAM. That’s 2 to 4 times more than these other products on the market right now.”

Pete says that the extra RAM makes it operate smooth and quickly. It boots up quickly and seamlessly, he claims.

The device also has dual-band WiFi, so that applications and content download quickly and consistently.

Fire TV has “3x” more power than the competition, Pete says.

It’s shorter than a dime! Who are these people measuring things with coins?

There’s a pretty little remote control for the device as well, and we see a microphone button on there. And hey, a microphone hole! It looks like Fire TV is voice-controlled as well as remote-controlled.

It’s about the height of a piece of popped corn, according to the slide on stage.

Search, Home, Movies, TV, Watchlist, Video Library, Games, Apps, Photos, Settings are all in the main screen.

Pete’s drilling into each now. When you push in to any category, a horizontal list of tiles enables playing the content, adding to watchlist, or pushing to other devices (“More Ways to Watch”).

Pete’s showing a demo of “ASAP” — a function of Fire TV that stars content playing immediately. When we say immediately, we mean IMMEDIATELY. Like, the second he pushed the button. It made Terrence say, “Jesus!”

Fire TV is based on Android and HTML, so it’s apparently super easy to port apps over. A huge selection of the app world’s greatest hits were shown as coming to the device.

“We’re starting off with Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video of course, and we’re rolling in other partners over time.”

Pete also says that Amazon Studios will bolster Fire TV’s content lineup. And now he’s showing us a trailer. Oh god, it’s Alpha House!

The video cites 10 original shows coming to Amazon Video this spring, featuring everyone from Jeffrey Tambor to John Goodman.

All 10 shows are coming “exclusively” to Amazon Prime Instant Video. Pete’s also citing Chris Carter’s “The After” and “Mozart in the Jungle,” as well as Tambor’s “Transparent.”

It looks like HBO Go, SHO Anytime, Pandora, RedBullTV and a whole mess of others are headed to Fire TV. No idea of when, sadly.

Voice search is up next. Pete’s searching for John Malkovich using the remote control’s mic. Malkovich’s films are listed! Burn After Reading!

“This is voice search that actually works,” Pete says. BOLD WORDS, Pete. We’ll let you know how reliable it is just as soon as we get our hands on it.

Searching for “20 Feet From Stardom” also smartly brings up other Oscar nominated documentaries.

Now Pete’s searching by genre. He says, “Princess movies” and encounters a voice error. One more attempt and it goes through. There are princess movies on screen! “So that’s voice search that actually works,” Pete says.

Pete’s now taking a picture of the audience, and he’s using Amazon’s Cloud Drive to push it to his Fire TV.

Scrolling down to the photo in his Photos section, there we are, looking harried.

We’re now being shown a mosaic of photos that Pete’s taken running as a screen saver when he’s left the Fire TV idle for a bit.

Pete’s detailing “X-ray” — a second-screen solution on Fire TV that provides rich content for whatever you’re watching.

It works somewhat like SmartGlass on Xbox 360/Xbox One, picking up what he’s watching and providing info contextually based on not just the show in general, but the scene itself. The info is pulled from IMDB, he says.

And now we’re talking features that are coming next month. First up, music.

“We’ve got music apps: Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn.”

When Pete plays Pharrell’s “Happy,” lyrics pop up on the screen as well. Free karaoke!

Next up is “FreeTime.” The service is already available on tablets — it’s a kids version of the Fire TV’s OS. Think of it as a safe environment for your children, powered by parents/caretakers.

FreeTime not only walls off kids from the dangerous stuff, but it also allows for more general searching. One such search? Dinosaurs. You’ll forgive us, but we’d like to search for dinosaurs too. Thank you very much.

The OS is adorably kiddie, as you’ll see in the pictures above.

“FreeTime Unlimited” is another option, which enables content from Sesame Street, PBS Kids and Nickelodeon. In so many words, it’s a cultivated selection of content that enables kids to explore without bottlenecks of asking parents for permission to buy.

Pete says Fire TV also has a bonus: gaming.

He’s citing the price of game consoles being too high.

(Which, to us, means that Fire TV is less than $300 at very least. No official word on price yet.)

Mike Frazzini from Amazon Games is up next.

He’s citing the variety of game developers signed up. Big names like Ubisoft and Take-Two are noted. He says that, by next month, thousands of games will be available to play.

Mike’s saying that you can play games a variety of ways. You can use the remote control, you can use a custom app that Amazon’s releasing next month, or you could use the Fire Game Controller.

“This controller is comfortable, it’s familiar.”

(Yes, this is the game controller that leaked last month.)

The controller costs $40 and comes with some Amazon Coins to get you started.

The first game being shown is…Minecraft!

That was not what we were expecting!

This is a Fire TV-specific version of Minecraft — it’s not clear how it stacks up against the mobile, PC, and console versions of Minecraft.

Next up, a Monsters Inc.-themed always-runner. “This game is fun and accessible and can be played by customers of all ages.”

Gameloft’s Asphalt 8 is being shown next. For a mobile game, it looks very impressive. Like, PSP impressive. Maybe a little better than that.

Now we’re talking price for games. Mike says the average game costs just under $2 at $1.85.

Just like video content, Amazon’s also making games for Fire TV. The first being shown is Sev Zero. Is this from Double Helix? We’re not so sure just yet.

Sev Zero is a third-person shooter in the vein of Gears of War, but ya know, a lot less visually impressive. The fidelity is somewhere between mobile phone and portable game console.

Mike says none of these games would be possible without the horsepower inside of Fire TV.

“At Amazon Game Studios, Sev Zero’s our first step at building games from the ground up.”

Mike’s giving a sneak peak at Amazon’s internal game developments now.

None of the games being shown are products we’ve seen before, so it looks like this whole reel is internal development. If that’s the case, Amazon has a TON of games in the works. More than a dozen. We’ll be sure to ask for more info as soon as the presentation’s over.

The only tease beyond the reel is “Coming Soon.”

Mike’s turning the presentation back to Peter. He’s very excited about a dinosaur with a rocket on its back. And now we’re getting some testimonials from customers that used the device last week.

These people who were sat down in a comfy room by Amazon and asked for their opinions on a device were totally interested in it. Go figure.

One of those testimonials confirms multitasking. Apparently you’re able to keep Pandora/music playing while using other apps. Good!

It looks like we’re getting to the bottom line at this point. What’s the price, Pete?!

He says Amazon did all it could to create a compelling product at the lowest possible price. First, he wants to review what we’ve learned today. Tell us the price, Pete!

Yes, Fire TV has lots of “content.” Yes, it has voice search. Yes, it’s relatively powerful. Yes, there are some neat special functions. WHAT IS THE PRICE, PETE?!

Amazon’s Fire TV costs $99 and it’s available today. Hey, that’s not too shabby!

We’re being shown the first advertisement for Fire TV now, featuring CRAZY Gary Busey.

Hey, let’s talk about that price and release date instead. It’s only a hundred bucks! And it’s available today!

The event’s wrapping right now, and we’ll have a whole mess more information for you just as soon as we’ve got one in our hands. That should be literally any second now.

Thanks very much for joining us here, folks! If you’ve got follow up questions, feel free to get at your livebloggers (@realbengilbert, @terrenceobrien, @abcedgar) or hit up Engadget @Engadget. Hugs and kisses!

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2
Apr

Amazon launches Fire TV, an Android-powered streaming and gaming set-top box for $99


We’ve been waiting for it for quite sometime, but now Amazon is finally ready to make its play for the living room. Fire TV is not a barebones device like the Chromecast, it’s a powerful Android-driven platform with ties to the broader Amazon ecosystem. Inside the slim black plastic box is a quad-core CPU with a full 2GB of RAM — that makes it more akin to a high-end smartphone than your typical streaming device. And its incredibly slim, shorter than a dime,with barely enough clearance for the small selection of ports around back, which includes the standard HDMI as well as optical audio and Ethernet.

The interface is incredibly image heavy. Browsing through the Amazon video store is basically just scrolling through an endless barrage of movie posters presented in a moving 3D bar. And, at least during the demo, the hardware churned through the slick UI with nary a hiccup in sight. But far more impressive was how quick videos were to load. Pressing play on almost any video instantaneously launched the movie or show. And we mean instantaneously. There was no pause, lag or loading screen — it’s impressive to say the least.

Developing…

And, true to the company’s word, this is not a closed ecosystem. It’s powered by Android and HTML, which should make porting apps extremely simple. The device will launch with access to Hulu and Prime (obviously) but other partners will be added over time, Including Netflix, Plex, and NBA Gametime, if the demo screens are to be believed. It can pull in content from other Amazon services as well. If you’ve got photos on your Amazon Cloud Drive, you can beam them to your TV and look at them either as a scrolling screensaver mosaic or as a slideshow.

You can obviously control the Fire TV with the buttons on your remote, but you can also use voice control. Inside the remote is a microphone which captures your searches, sends them to the Amazon cloud, deciphers them and tells the Fire TV what to pull up. And it does all of this incredibly quickly, at least as fast as Google Now. Amazon is also bringing X-Ray to the platform. If you’ve got an Amazon tablet you can pull up additional info about characters, actors, and the soundtrack while you’re watching your favorite movies or TV shows. While you’ve been able to do that for sometime, it’s now a truly second screen experience. X-Ray for music is also accessible on FireTV, so you can see the lyrics to whatever track you’re listening too. Basically if it’s a feature of the Fire OS, it’s coming to the TV box. Even FreeTime, the kid-friendly version of the software that lets parents control what their children can watch, when and for how long.

It wasn’t super surprising, but Amazon also announced that it is bringing gaming to its new set-top. 2K, Double Fine and Ubisoft (among others) will be bringing their wares to platform. The biggest name though, is definitely Minecraft. While you’ll be able play games with the remote or a custom Amazon app for your phone or tablet, which is coming next month, the big news is that Amazon will be selling an accessory game controller — and yes it’s the same one we saw previously in leaks. It’s not unlike an Xbox controller, but with the standard set of Android buttons on its face and media controls along one edge. And to prove it’s serious about gaming, Amazon has scored a number of exclusive titles for Fire TV, like Sev Zero, which is built by Amazon Game Studios.

Sure, other set-tops have tried the gaming thing — most notably Roku — but it’s immediately clear that Amazon is taking the space much more seriously. Roku has only a handful of titles, and most are casual titles. Part of the difference here is pure hardware. Others simply haven’t crammed in the horsepower that Amazon has.

Fire TV is available today for $99.

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2
Apr

Microsoft’s opening-day Build keynote is happening now, get your liveblog here!


Microsoft's opening-day Build keynote is happening now, get your liveblog here!

It’s technically called “Build Windows.” But this year, the biggest news coming out of Microsoft’s annual developer conference might not have much to do with Windows at all. Sure, we’re expecting a software update, for which we’ve already seen copious leaks. But what about Windows Phone? Is version 8.1 on the way? Maybe we’ll even hear about Cortana, Microsoft’s answer to Siri. And hey, what of Nokia? Is this acquisition gonna ever close or what? Lastly, can we see some new hardware? Might we catch a glimpse of some new phones ahead of tonight’s Nokia shindig? Your guess is as good as ours, which means you’ll want to follow our liveblog as we give you the blow-by-blow.

April 2, 2014 11:30:00 AM EDT

Hi folks and good morning from sunny San Francisco!

I’ll be your liveblogger today, joined by senior mobile editor Brad Molen on photos (we are expecting some Windows Phone news, after all).

We’ll get going in a few minutes. It looks like some folks are still getting seated. As for us? Just chilling. We’re seated front and center. Pulsing dance music in the background. Purple lights. The usual for an 8:30am keynote.

In the meantime, what do you guys think we’re going to hear about today? Tweet me your thoughts at @danawollman

Obviously, it’s “Build Windows” so we can assume that rumored update is on the way. But what else could Microsoft have to talk about for two-plus hours?

Some Cortana, perhaps? A little sneak peek of whatever’s coming at tonight’s Nokia event?

That dance soundtrack? We’re now hearing that “Too Close” song. You know, the one you heard in that Internet Explorer. Over and over and over…

It’s basically “The Microsoft Song” at this point.

And here we go!

Microsoft’s Terry Myseron, EVP of the Operating Systems Group, is on stage.

“What’s the right way to kick off this conference?”

“I considered coming out chanting ‘developers, developers, developers!’”

Dude knows how to warm up a crowd of programmers.

“So who’s here with us today? This is an incredibly impressive and diverse group.”

And by diversity, of course, we mean diversity of applications. Web services. All the stuff the devs in this room have built.

“Let’s kick off Build 2014.”

Yes, let’s.

We’re seeing a video now. “The fastest-growing smartphone OS.”

Get ready for some Windows Phone news, y’all! (Toldja!)

Video’s over, lights are on, and Joe Belfiore, CVP of the Operating Systems Group, takes the stage to big, big applause.

Windows Phone 8.1 and the Windows 8.1 Update both coming today.

First up: Windows Phone 8.1.

“We set out to create an experience inspired by people. One that gets you closer to the people and things that matter most in your life.”

“We believe Windows Phone is the world’s most personal smartphone.”

New Windows Phone partners announced today: Prestigio and Micromax.

Not exactly huge names but if you look at the slide, major players like HTC, Samsung, LG, Lenovo and Huawei were already on board.

Belfiore is double-fisting, if you will: holding a phone in each hand, one by Prestigio and one by Micromax.

Shame we can’t get a closer look from where we are in this big auditorium. Maybe later today or this week?

But hey, who needs hardware when you have brand-new software? Let’s get to it.

Belfiore is starting out with ways Microsoft has made Windows Phone “more personal.”

It’s the new Action Center for notifications.

Yep, you may have seen this before in leaks and yes, it looks a little like… Android.

Just swipe your finger down from the top of the screen and you’ll see notifications for email, Facebook, et cetera, along with quick settings for airplane mode, Bluetooth and others.

It’s accessible wherever you are in the UI, as you’d expect.

Now we’re talking about personalizing the lock screen.

A new set of APIs for the lock screen allow for more interactive experiences.

Though Microsoft doesn’t appear to be releasing these APIs to devs just yet.

Here’s an example: a demo called “Diagonal.” Shows your time, etc. with — yep — a kind of diagonal animation.

It looks pretty cool, I must say.

Make sure you’re checking out the photos Brad is posting here in the liveblog — a picture says a thousand words, don’tcha know.

Now let’s talk about Live Tiles.

There’s now a high-density options where you can go three tiles across.

Also, you can choose a background for the Start Screen.

Belfiore is showing what it’s like to select a photo and crop it before making it the background.

The effect is cool: it’s the same photo spread across a grid of tiles.

And we’re really not used to seeing Windows Phone like this. Think all the tiles have to be bright solid colors? Think again.

Now it’s time for another video.

So far we’re seeing glimpses of flowers, robots, feet, scenery, a Rubik’s cube.

“Now I’m learning about you.”

Ooh, this looks like Cortana.

“Hi. I’m Cortana.”

She’s got kind of a husky voice. Not Scarlett Johansson husky, but deeper than Siri’s voice.

“Some things I resemble: a donut, a hula hoop, a halo…”

Jokes aside, you should know this, first and foremost: Cortana is powered by Bing.

That’s where she gets her smarts.

Cortana lives in a Live Tile. That’s one way to get to her.

But she also fully replaces the search function in Windows Phone.

So if you touch the search button, there she is.

“She looks a little excited to see me here on stage.” Belfiore says.

(Oh?)

Here’s what she can do: make calls, send texts, take notes, give reminders, make appointments. Set an alarm. Do searches. Everything you’d expect, right?

Cortana can work with third-party apps too.

In fact, Microsoft’s been working with select app makers to build in Cortana.

Noticed Facebook in there, Hulu Plus…

Cortana also has a notebook.

“A transparent way of putting the user in control of their relationship with Cortana.”

So, you can log your interests there. You wanna know about traffic, you care about the NCAA tournament, traffic updates.

The more Cortana asks about you, the more she learns. So, she gets smarter over time.

Cortana can also make suggestions as to which contacts should be part of your Inner Circle.

Also, Cortana will work with your quiet hours, but can still let people from your Inner Cirlce get through to you any time of day. Your girlfriend, for instance? She should be able to reach you any time of day. (Yes, I believe that.)

So where do these suggestions show up? From the bottom of the screen.

That long list of Cortana updates is similar to Google Now. You know, just with a Windows Phone aesthetic.

Cortana asks lots of questions as a way of getting to know you? Should she track that flight she found in your email? Yes or no? That’s how you teach her.

Now we’re getting a demo of voice commands. “Wake me up at 7am tomorrow.” “Your alarm is set for 7am.”

The point being, you can speak to her using normal-person language.

Another example: “What’s on my calendar for Saturday?”

Man, Joe Belfiore’s supposed to read all the “Game of Thrones” books in one day. Ambitious, man.

Cortana just added an appointment an added “sound good?” at the end. Human-ish.

Also, she let Joe know that he was supposed to do something else at the same time, so yes, she’s very aware of double-bookings.

Now, a demo of maps and recommendations: “Show me the best Mexican restaurants in Palo Alto.” Cortana comes back with four-star restaurants.

And she has Yelp to thank for some of that data.

“Which ones take reservations?” “Here are the ones with four stars that take reservations?”

Like other voice assistants (Dragon Assistant, etc.) she remembers the last question so that everything makes sense in context.

Just got one bug, though: Joe said “call the second one” and Cortana seemed a bit confused.

Joe’s staying calm, reminding us it’s beta software. (We know.)

More demos! “How did the Seattle Mariners do yesterday?”

Took Cortana two tries, but she got it: Mariners beat the Angels.

Just so ya know.

Those bugs aside, Cortana seems to work well — and it seems to work as you’d expect.

Time for web searches. “How many calories in a banana?”

(The answers’s 105.) The bigger deal is that you can then add that to your diet tracker. Helpful if you use the Bing Health & Fitness app.

“What’s the weather in Las Vegas?”

“How about in Celsius?” “Here’s that temperature in Celsius.”

“How about in Kelvin?” Big laughs here.

But Cortana converted it to Celsius… twice.

So maybe Cortana isn’t quite as nerdy as her makers.

“What’s the story of the next Halo game?” “I’m quite certain you don’t have proper security clearance for that information.”

Confirmed: Cortana has some sassy easter eggs.

Looking forward to finding more of those later.

Now we’re getting a demo of reminders. “Remind me when I get home to cook dinner for my wife.”

“Ordinarily she would recognize when I get home.”

“Next time I speak to my sister, remind me to ask her about her new puppy.”

“Since this is a phone, I might talk to my sister on the phone or have a chat string or have an email chain.” Basically, next time you use the phone to talk to her, you’ll get a reminder to ask her about the puppy.

(As if you need a reminder to ask about puppies.)

Now we’re seeing a demo of how you can use Cortana to initiate a Skype call. Not surprising, right? Given that Microsoft owns Skype…?

Basically, it works just the way you’d expect.

What you might not expect: Hulu Plus integration (though we hinted at it before).

So, you can verbally tell Cortana to add a show to your queue, and boom, she does it. Useful.

We also hinted at Facebook integration earlier. “Facebook, what’s up with Terry Myerson?” Jumps to Terry’s profile page.

Question for the crowd: did Terry Myserson really write “LMFAO” on his Facebook page, or is that just a dummy account?

Another easter egg: “Do you like Jimmy Fallon?” “Thank you Jimmy Fallon…” She liked that recent TV plug she did.

OK, folks. Time to change gears. Belfiore is about to talk about businesses now. Ready. Set. Go.

Nick Hedderman, Senior Product Manager for Windows, is on stage.

“Windows Phone has always been the right choice for business. We’re respecting existing IT investments.”

Fake scenario: trying to recruit Joe for a new position at Microsoft. Top-secret stuff. He’s using a new Lumia. His device is enrolled into the new position. (Just go with it, OK?)

Windows Phone 8.1 supports enterprise VPN.

Seems like a fairly big thing IT managers would want, non?

Additionally, WIndows Phone 8.1 now supports s/mime encryption.

When you send a message from your phone, you can decide if you want to encrypt a message, which you might do for a confidential message, but not, say, a message to your spouse.

Back to Joe’s hypothetical new confidential role at Microsoft: if he gets a confidential attachment in an email, the option to save it is grayed out. He cannot save a local copy.

IT can go into “Workplace” and delete a relationship. Do that, all the corporate apps are suddenly removed from the device. Not just apps, but documents, the VPN. All gone, very quickly.

You can do this remotely too, but we saw a local demo because it made more sense, visually speaking, to go into the settings on the big screen.

Switching gears again. Time to look at the Windows Store on Windows Phone 8.1.

First of all, when you open the store, it now lands on a new page full of featured apps.

Pan left and you’ll see personalized suggestions, similar to the experience on Windows 8.1.

Other ways of sorting: categories and lists like top paid, top free, new + rising.

As with Windows 8.1, the idea is to showcase more apps, and get users downloading more of them.

Switching gears a lot right now — hold onto your horses. Now seeing a calendar demo.

Users asked for additional calendar views. What we’re seeing now is a week view.

Can of course go back to daily views.

Battery Saver, Data Sense and Storage Sense improved. New here: Wi-Fi Sense.

Wi-Fi Sense is meant to help users take advantage of good Wi-Fi networks. Meaning, MIcrosoft has some data on which networks are free, reliable.

Windows Phone will automatically accept the terms of use, making it easier to breeze through portal screens.

That includes automatically supplying an email address, by the way.

What about when friends come to your house and want to get on your WiFi?

There’s a way to securely share your WiFi passwords with Outlook.com contacts, Facebook friends, Skype contacts.

So they can sign in without getting access to all the resources on your network; just your internet connection. And you don’t have to verbally tell them your password.

(Presumably, this is for folks who don’t already have a guest network set up on their router.)

We’re seeing an incoming call now, by the way. And yes, there’s a reminder for Joe to ask his sister about the puppy. The notification is above the call options (speaker, mute, hold, et cetera).

But the reason we’re seeing this is to see a demo of how to move from phone calls to Skype. In other words, still on the connectivity thing.

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2
Apr

Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN and more services launch on Amazon Fire TV


After announcing its new Fire TV set-top box today, Amazon naturally revealed a content lineup to go along with the $99 streaming device. That includes the new Amazon Video series we’ve been hearing about and TV shows it’s signed up as Prime streaming exclusives. Amazon also announced several apps headed to the Fire TV: HBO Go (but apparently not at launch), Showtime Anytime, Flixster, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN and many, many more. The Amazon listing has a deeper list on what’s available, we’ll have more information after we go hands-on.

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Source: Fire TV, Fire TV Apps

2
Apr

Here’s Amazon’s gamepad: standard controller layout, media functionality for $40


We all expected this, right? Yes, Amazon has a game controller, and it works with the company’s newly announced Fire TV. Sure, you could use the set-top box’s remote or an upcoming custom app to play games, but there’s a dedicated controller too that’s ready to wrangle Minecraft Pocket Edition, NBA 2K14 and titles from other big name developers Ubisoft and Take-Two. “The controller is comfortable, it’s familiar,” noted Amazon Games’ Mick Frazzini. As you might expect, this means that there’s a button, dual-thumbstick and d-pad layout similar to the Xbox’s option. With Amazon’s offering, there are skip and play/pause media controls along the bottom edge with navigation controls placed front and center. There’s even a GameCircle button that offers easy access to scores and achievements. And yes, dual triggers and a pair of shoulder buttons rest along the top edge.

Amazon’s Fire wireless game controller runs on two AA batteries and touts 55 hours of juice before needing a rest — thanks to “Intelligent power management with auto-sleep.” The accessory will set you back an additional $40, but it’ll come with 1,000 Amazon Coins and Sev Zero (an Amazon Game Studios third-person shooter) to get the action started. What’s more, the outfit says that the average price of games on its platform is around $1.85 with over 1,000 free options to boot. That’s good, because from the looks of things, Amazon’s own game devs are hard at work on a truckload of titles that are “coming soon.” If you’re itching to place your order, jump over to the source link to do just that.

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Source: Amazon

2
Apr

Windows Phone 8.1 and Cortana officially revealed at Build 2014


As predicted, Microsoft is using its Build developer conference to launch Windows Phone 8.1, the latest and (we hope) greatest version of its mobile OS. The company’s fed us a bunch of information about the update already, and a vast number of leaks have covered nearly all remaining features. Still, it’s about time for us to get the skinny on everything the new upgrade entails, so let’s break down exactly what you can expect from Windows Phone going forward.

Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore took the stage and talked up (among other things), new hardware partners like Prestigio and Micromax that should help the company penetrate those valuable developing markets. As multiple leaks have pointed out ahead of time, 8.1 indeed comes with a notification center (called the Action Center) that users can invoke by swiping down from the top of the screen — from there you can view and dismiss your email and social notifications as well as toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections. Pretty standard fare, if you ask us. What’s a little less standard are WP8.1′s customizable lock screens: developers can tweak them in some pretty stunning ways, though Microsoft hasn’t yet said when they’ll actually get access. Throw in the ability to set your own images as the background for your Live Tiles and you’ve got yourself a level of personality that’s been sorely lacking from Windows Phone to date.

And yes, Cortana is here too. She completely replaces the standard Bing search interface in Windows Phone… which makes sense considering she’s powered by Bing anyway. But what can she actually do? Cortana can handle the usual tasks that you’d expect of a modern digital assistant: she can make calls and send messages, as well as jot down reminders. Third-party developers can tap into Cortana as well so users can call out to them by name (think “Skype, call Michael”). Want to make her even smarter? Users can also define their interests (think sports, traffic updates) in a “notebook” so she knows what to keep tabs on in the future. On-stage demos have a history of turning sketchy quickly, but Belfiore’s repeated voice interactions with Cortana sounded surprisingly natural. No stilted computer-speak here — Microsoft may have finally crafted a digital assistant worth talking to. That said, she’s still firmly in beta for now.

Considering Windows’ prevalence in the workplace, it’s no surprise that Windows Phone 8.1 has some new IT-friendly features too. There’s support for enterprise VPNs, along with signed and encrypted messaging to keep those corporate secrets under wraps.

Developing…

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2
Apr

Microsoft unveils Cortana, its answer to Siri and Google Now


At Microsoft’s Build 2014 developer’s conference, it has just announced Cortana, a new voice search tool for Windows Phone 8.1 powered by Bing. It fully replaces the search function in Windows Phone, and you’ll be able to access it (her?) through a special Live Tile. On top of finding thing, it can make calls, send texts, take notes, give reminders and set alarms. Microsoft said it’ll work with third part apps as well, and has been working with select developers to integrate it. So far, it’s showed Hulu Plus and Facebook operating in the app, though there’s no official word about that yet.

Microsoft also said that Cortana will get smarter over time, learning based on your search requests or other actions. It’ll even function as a pseudo-secretary, making sure you’re not disturbed during quiet times but still letting people from your inner circle get through. To do that, it’ll ask questions such as whether it should track a flight it found in your email, for instance — a decidedly Google Now-type touch. Once trained, it’ll function using using casual language questions, and respond with a casual “sounds good?” when it confirms. Another trick is Hulu Plus integration that’ll let you tell Cortana to queue up a show, for instance. You can perform similar tricks with Facebook, by asking “what’s up” with somebody, and being led straight to there profile page. It seemed to work well during the demo despite a couple of hiccups, but Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore reminded us that Cortana is still in beta at the moment.

Developing…

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2
Apr

TiVo co-founders’ new Qplay web video service is now available for everyone


A little over a month ago, TiVo founders Mike Ramsay and Jim Barton announced Qplay, a service that lets users curate personalized video streams, or “Qs,” from a variety of different sources. At the time, the only way you could use the iPad app and the service was to purchase the Early Adopter bundle, which gives you both the app and the TV adapter for $49. Today that restriction has been lifted and the app is now open and free to everyone, adapter not required. Along with the general availability of the app, Qplay has also introduced new video content from media curators like Vanity Fair and Reddit plus new video sources like College Humor, Funny or Die and the New York Times.

If you’d rather have the service create a Q for you, the company has curated a few more new ones as well, such as Late Night Funny, Movie Trailers and Photography. Further, the latest Qplay update will let you share those videos via Facebook, Twitter and email, just in case your friends aren’t hip to the whole Qplay thing just yet. Of course, if you want to watch those Qs on an actual television, you still have to cough up that $49 for the aforementioned adapter. But if you’re happy with just your iPad, you can now at least try your hand at this new take on streaming video without spending a dime. If you’re still a little fuzzy on how the whole thing works, there’s a handy dandy tutorial video after the break.

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Source: App Store, Qplay

2
Apr

Amazon’s first Fire TV games include in-house titles and Minecraft


Sev Zero on Amazon Fire TV

Amazon’s new Fire TV media hub may be focused on video, but it’s going to have a significant game roster — including some examples from the company itself. Amazon Game Studios is building more than a dozen titles for the set-top box that include Sev Zero, a Gears of War-like sci-fi shooter. You’ll have some third-party games to choose from, of course, such a special port of Minecraft Pocket Edition, a Monsters Inc. endless runner and the arcade racer Asphalt 8. “Thousands” of games will be available within a month, and you’ll see software from major developers like Ubisoft and Take Two. While you shouldn’t count on Fire TV replacing your PS4 or Xbox One any time soon, it’s evident that you won’t be hurting for things to play.

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