Deal Alert: Amazon Prime will be available for $72 on January 24th
In celebration of the 72nd annual Golden Globe awards, Amazon Prime subscriptions will be available for only $72. The discounted price will only be available this Saturday, January 24th. Considering the price increase to $99 that took place almost a year ago, this may be a great time to save some money on your Prime subscription.
What does Amazon have to do with the Golden Globes? Transparent, the award-winning show produced by Amazon Studios, has just won two Golden Globes for Best Musical or Comedy Series and the star of the show, Jeffrey Tambor, won the award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series. Not only is Amazon Prime available at a discounted price, but Amazon is making Transparent available for free this Saturday. The show is usually only available for Amazon Prime subscribers, and now everyone can stream all ten episodes through the Amazon Instant Video app for the Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and smart TVs.
If you’re interested taking advantage of the Amazon Prime deal, follow the link below. Make sure you sign up tomorrow, though, otherwise the subscription price will still be $99.
Sign up for Amazon Prime for only $72 this Saturday, January 24th
Also in celebration of Transparent and the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, customers can sign up for Amazon Prime for just $72 this Saturday
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 22, 2015– (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today announced that in celebration of two recent Golden Globe wins, it will make all ten episodes of Amazon Original Series Transparent available for free for everyone this Saturday. Transparent, which is typically available exclusively to Amazon Prime members, recently took home the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy Series, while its star, Jeffrey Tambor, earned the coveted award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series. Anyone can watch Transparent at no cost on Saturday using the Amazon Instant Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online atAmazon.com/Transparent. Also on Saturday and in celebration of the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, Amazon Prime will be available for just $72—a more than 25 percent savings. New members can sign up for this limited-time Prime offer at Amazon.com/TransparentPrime.
“We’re incredibly proud of everyone involved in the making of Transparent—the team took a risk and it paid off,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “Big kudos and congrats to Jill, Jeffrey, and all the cast and crew.”
Written, directed and executive produced by Emmy-nominee and 2013 Sundance Best Director winner Jill Soloway, Transparent is a 10-episode, half-hour novelistic series that explores family, identity, sex, and love. The series stars Tambor as Maura, who has spent her life as Mort—the Pfefferman family patriarch. Also starring Judith Light(Dallas), Gaby Hoffmann (Girls), Amy Landecker (Louie) and Jay Duplass (Togetherness), Transparent is the no. 1 ranked series on Prime Instant Video since the show’s launch. Also proving popular among critics, the show clocked in a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes with a 98 percent critic rating, and a 91 Metascore on Metacritic. Due to the overwhelming success of the show, and the incredibly positive viewer response, Amazon has greenlit a second season of Transparent, to air later this year.
In 2013, Amazon introduced a unique process for selecting which shows it turns into Amazon Original Series. Amazon makes pilot episodes available for all customers to watch and provide feedback on, and then uses that feedback to help decide which shows to turn into full series. Through that process, customers helped to get Transparentgreenlit for a full series last year, as the pilot received both critical and customer acclaim. Customers can now weigh in once again on the next pilots they want turned into new Amazon Original Series—13 original comedy, drama, docu-series and kids pilots are currently available at Amazon.com/PIV.
This Saturday, all Amazon customers can enjoy Transparent on their TVs using the Amazon Instant Video app on Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, and smart TVs. They can also use the Amazon Instant Video app to watch on mobile devices, including Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android phones, as well as hundreds of other connected devices.
Amazon Prime members enjoy unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including hit show Transparent, in addition to unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 20 million items, one million songs and hundreds of playlists through Prime Music, free unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos, early access to select Lightning Deals and access to over 800,000 books to borrow through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
About Prime Instant Video
Amazon Prime members can enjoy tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video, Amazon’s video subscription service, via the Amazon Instant Video app on Fire TV, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, and certain smart TVs. They can also use the Amazon Instant Video app to watch on mobile devices, including Fire tablets, Fire phone, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, as well as hundreds of other connected devices—or customers can visit Amazon.com/PIV to watch online.
About Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios most recently debuted its dramatic comedy Mozart in the Jungle from Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Weitz, John Strauss and Alex Timbers as well as Jill Soloway’s multi-Golden Globe Award-winning dark comedy Transparent; its first live-action series for kids 6-11, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street; and a second season of the Garry Trudeau political comedy Alpha House. The studio has also launched three additional children’s series, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival Award-winning and Annie Award-nominated Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment; Creative Galaxy from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the creators of Blue’s Clues; and Annedroids, from Emmy-nominated Sinking Ship Entertainment.
Amazon Studios has also announced four additional, original series to debut in 2015, including Michael Connelly’s Bosch; Hand of God from Marc Forster and Ben Watkins;Red Oaks from Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green, Greg Jacobs and Joe Gangemi; and kids series Wishenpoof! from Angela Santomero and Out of the Blue Enterprises; as well as a second season of Transparent.
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online and Amazon Studios will read and review all submissions. Those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community.
Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon’s IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
About Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is an annual membership program for $99 a year that offers customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 20 million items across all categories, unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video, one million songs and hundreds of playlists with Prime Music, early access to select Lightning Deals and access to more than 800,000 books to borrow with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
About Amazon
Amazon opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS,Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
Sprint will now give T-Mobile customers up to $550 to switch
For months, T-Mobile‘s customer base has been on the rise, and Sprint is doing its best to keep its spot as the third largest phone carrier in the US. In a new promotion announced earlier today, Sprint will now give T-Mobile customers a minimum of $200 towards any new device when they switch to the carrier and trade in their working T-Mobile smartphone. Furthermore, Sprint is offering more ways to save for T-Mobile customers. “Eligible” T-Mobile users will receive up to $350 per line when they switch to Sprint via a prepaid or reward card. If you’re paying monthly on a phone at T-Mobile, you can use your prepaid card to pay off the remaining T-Mobile device fee. Both offers are available now, and will run until April 9th.
Sprint has provided a table to compare prices with T-Mobile, showing customers exactly how much they’d save per month. In the example, Sprint is comparing the lease price for the Galaxy S5 on unlimited data plans for each carrier. If you decide to lease the device for 24 months (which is what most customers do), you’ll see roughly a $27 per month difference in price between the two. Of course, this will vary depending on which device you choose, so this is just one example on how you can save a few bucks per month.
If you’re unhappy with your T-Mobile plan and can get Sprint coverage in your area, this may be a good option for you.
Android development tools could be heading to Chrome OS
Quite soon, Chrome OS users could have access to Android development tools. An issue posted on the Google Code site reveals that the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) and recovery/flashing tools are working with Chrome OS. The ADB tool allows for data to be sent between devices. Flashing makes it possible to do something like installing a custom ROM on a connected device. The tools would be accessible through the Chrome Shell.
We are not aware of a potential release date since nothing is official.
Source: Chromium
Via: OMG! Chrome!
Come comment on this article: Android development tools could be heading to Chrome OS
Apple ‘Excited’ About HomeKit Partners Despite Slow Rollout
It’s been more than six months since Apple first introduced HomeKit at its June 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference, but HomeKit-compatible products have yet to hit store shelves and may not do so until this spring, almost a year after Apple first detailed its home automation system.
HomeKit’s launch has gone slower than expected, and according to sources that spoke to Re/code, the two major reasons were a “slower-than-expected” launch of the HomeKit MFi program, which began in November, and the late launch of chip specifications, which weren’t sent out to chip makers until October. Apple’s high performance standards for hardware manufacturers and chip makers are also said to be a factor.
Elgato’s upcoming line of HomeKit-compatible products
January’s Consumer Electronics Show saw the debut of several HomeKit-compatible products, including the iDevices smart plug, Elgato’s range of connected home devices, and the Schlage Sense smart lock, all of which may begin hitting store shelves in a few months. Apple gave a statement to Re/code on the upcoming HomeKit products, expressing the company’s excitement.
“We are excited to have a growing number of partners committed to bringing HomeKit products to market, including several announced at CES,” said Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller. “HomeKit offers a set of common protocols making it easier for customers to control HomeKit-enabled accessories using Siri or iOS apps. HomeKit is built on a secure foundation with end-to-end encryption which provides customers a secure connection between their iPhone or iPad and HomeKit accessory. “
HomeKit was announced more than six months ago, but many details about the home automation platform remain murky on the consumer end. It is not quite clear if and how it will interface with existing products or if consumers will be expected to purchase all new connected home items to take advantage of HomeKit. Details about the HomeKit MFi specification that leaked out earlier this week, however, suggest few existing products will be able to be used with HomeKit. 
We’re podcasting live at 4 p.m. EST!
Friday already. And that means it’s time for the Greatest Android Podcast in the World! Coming up today we’ll have the latest on these supposed HTC One M9 leaks and what we think of all of Microsoft’s Windows 10 announcements (and what they mean for Android), the Three/O2 Euro Mega Merger™, and whatever else you guys manage to come up with. (Let us know in the comments here if there’s something you want us to cover.) Plus, we’ll answer your questions live on air!
So join us at this link at 4 p.m. EST — that’s 9 p.m. in London — as we get this thing done!
MakerBot Mobile for Android brings 3D printing to your phone
MakerBot has released its official app for Android on Google Play. MakerBot Mobile adds convenience to the 3D printing process. You’ll be able to access designs from your MakerBot Cloud library, or download designs from the MakerBot Thingiverse and print them wirelessly from the app.
Major Nelson takes us on a tour of the Xbox app for Windows 10
If you want to see the brand new Xbox app for Windows 10 but haven’t got it installed yet, fear not! Xbox’s Larry Hyrb, Major Nelson to you and I, has posted a video tour of the new app with Richard Irving from the engineering team. It’s the first time we’ve had the pleasure of a dedicated Xbox gaming app on Windows – not counting Smartglass, of course – and is something we’re really excited to put through its paces.
While there’s still a ton of work to be done, there’s a lot of good stuff in this early build. Here’s what we’ve got.
Following HTC’s lead, Huawei sets MWC event for March 1st
HTC isn’t the only Android manufacturer kicking off MWC with a March 1st press event, as Huawei has now sent out the invites for its own shin-dig, which the company promises will bring “surprises that will empower you to set your dreams free”. While it isn’t so clear what Huawei actually means by that, the rumor mill suggests will see a followup to the MediaPad X1 tablet, and there has also been whispers about the Huawei P8 — which could reportedly drop the Ascend branding from its name.
As for what both devices bring to the table? The MediaPad X2 will supposedly have a 1080p display, a Huawei Kirin processor and 3GB RAM. Not many other specifics are known. The details for the P8 are equally vague, with reports suggesting it will have a 5.2-inch slightly curved display and Kirin 930 processor.
It is true that Huawei isn’t nearly as much of a superstar as HTC, at least when it comes to brand recognition, particularly in the western markets. Still, Huawei remains one of the biggest players in the mobile world and we look forward to seeing what they introduce during MWC in March. Regardless of what happens, know that the AA team will be on the ground covering the event live and bringing you all the latest and greatest announcements.
U.K.’s Three and O2 to marry
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, which is run by Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, has announced that they will be purchasing the O2 mobile carrier from Telefonica for 10.25 billion pounds ($15.4 billion USD). Hutchison already owns the Three Mobile network in the U.K., so the merger of the two entities under one umbrella will create a new number one mobile operator in the country.
Hutchison’s announced purchase of O2 comes a few weeks after BT announced that it had entered into exclusive talks with EE, currently the largest mobile operator, to purchase the company as part of a strategy to create a company that provides fixed phone service, mobile phone service, and internet service.
Hutchison has started working on a strategy to revamp its mobile business in Europe where it already operates in six countries. Li has not been happy with the business though as returns have lagged behind other parts of Li’s portfolio of business ventures. This is not the first deal between Hutchison and Telefonica as Hutchison bought Telefonica’s Irish business last year. Hutchison is expected to work on revamping their Italian operations next.
For Telefonica, the company will use the proceeds to cut debt and focus more on reorganizing their business operations in Latin American countries. Telefonica believes there is more opportunity for growth in that part of the globe than in the more mature European economies, although Telefonica has made significant investments in the Spanish and German markets.
Although it remains to be seen how Britain’s telecommunications regulator Ofcom may view the deal, the markets have reacted positively with shares of both Telefonica and Hutchison rising on the news.
source: Reuters
Come comment on this article: U.K.’s Three and O2 to marry
Game Design Bundle: Name your own price and learn to craft beautiful games
Do you have what it takes to make the next Flappy Bird? If you’re on the brink of greatness with your game idea but need a nudge to get over the creative hump, this deal is tailored to fit your needs. The Name Your Own Price Game Design Bundle will help you learn the ropes, design stimulating games, and put you on a path to achieving your goals.
The Name Your Own Price concept is simple: You decide what you want to pay for an individual course and if you pay more than the average price, you’ll unlock the bundle and receive all 4 courses! These programs are put together by world class instructors and have been curated to help you accomplish your development dreams. We’re talking hundreds of lectures and countless hours of quality content. You’ll learn everything you need to craft your masterpiece from scripting and sound design to 3D drawing and gamification. The best part is that you’ll also be helping a good cause. You get to choose between three charities (Child’s Play Charity, World Wildlife Fund, and Creative Commons) that will receive 10% of your purchase price as a donation. There’s no reason not to grab this bundle, develop your game, and make a difference!
Check this deal out, and many others at deals.androidguys.com!
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