Amazon Cloud Drive Now Includes Unlimited Cloud Storage Plans
Amazon on Thursday announced two new unlimited cloud storage plans for Amazon Cloud Drive, enabling users to store an endless amount of photos, videos, movies, music, and files. Amazon users can choose either the Unlimited Photos Plan for $11.99 per year or the Unlimited Everything Plan for $59.99 per year, with a free three-month trial available for each plan for customers that want to try the service.
The lower-tier Unlimited Photos Plan allows for an unlimited number of photos to be stored on Amazon Cloud Drive, alongside up to 5GB of additional storage for videos, documents and other files. The more expensive Unlimited Everything Plan allows for unlimited storage of photos, videos, files, documents, movies and music with no restrictions. Amazon Prime members are already provided with an Unlimited Photos Plan at no additional cost.
“Most people have a lifetime of birthdays, vacations, holidays, and everyday moments stored across numerous devices. And, they don’t know how many gigabytes of storage they need to back all of them up,” said Josh Petersen, Director of Amazon Cloud Drive. “With the two new plans we are introducing today, customers don’t need to worry about storage space—they now have an affordable, secure solution to store unlimited amounts of photos, videos, movies, music, and files in one convenient place.”
The addition of unlimited cloud storage makes Amazon Cloud Drive a more competitive alternative to other cloud storage services such as iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox. Apple does not offer unlimited iCloud storage, providing customers with tiered storage options of 20GB, 200GB, 500GB or 1TB for between $0.99 and $19.99 per month. Google and Microsoft also have capped storage plans, while Dropbox offers unlimited storage to business customers only.
CNNgo comes to Apple TV with live and on-demand news
It looks like Apple TV’s enjoying a growth spurt — at least if you’re into factual content (sorry soap opera fans, your time will come). It looks like CNN is finally coming to Apple TV via CNNgo. The app dishes up both live and on-demand news, but the former requires a cable subscription (such as Dish, AT&T U-verse, Verizon FiOS, DirecTV, among others) as is the rumor for NBC, too. Apple TV’s not short of news services, with ABC, CBS, CNBC, WSJ and the disappointingly non-acronymed Bloomberg already available. Still, we’re never going to complain about more channels — it’s in everyone’s interest, after all.
[Thanks, Sterling]
Source: CNN
ZTE profits doubled in 2014, eyes third place in the US
The rise of China’s home-grown smartphone brands continues. ZTE has just announced a 94 percent increase in its net profit in 2014, led by strong smartphone sales and growth in China’s 4G carrier networks.
Profits reached 2.63 billion yuan ($423.4 million) in 2014, up from 1.36 billion in the previous year, while operating revenue rose 8.3 percent to 81.4 billion yuan. Strong demand for low-cost handsets have helped to drive ZTE’s bottom line, the company is riding the same wave that has seen Xiaomi, Huawei, Meizu and other low-cost Chinese manufacturers rise to prominence in Asia’s booming smartphone industry.
Like others, ZTE has its sights set on further overseas expansion this year. To do so, ZTE has increased its marketing expenses by 50 percent in 2015 and, unlike most of its rivals, is directly targeting the US market next. The company aims to make it into the top three smartphone vendors in the US by 2017. ZTE currently sits in fourth position in the North American market, behind Apple, LG and Samsung, and the company saw its smartphone shipments jump by 50 percent in the US last year, so the goal may not be as out of reach as some may think.
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In addition to smartphone growth, ZTE is also benefiting from the adoption of faster 4G data speeds throughout China. A separate arm of company supplies telecommunication equipment for networks and the division is expected to build a further half a million 4G base stations around China in 2015, according to Phillip Capital.
2015 is likely to be another bumper year for China’s smartphone manufacturers, with competition only likely to increase as companies look to expand into overseas markets.
T-Mobile Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge go on pre-order March 27th with 1-year of Netflix
The competition between carriers to get your business is a cut throat one. AT&T announced this morning that they will be putting both the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge up for Pre-Order on March 27th. Along with their announcement they are also tossing in $50 off a set of Samsung Gear Circle Bluetooth […]
The post T-Mobile Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge go on pre-order March 27th with 1-year of Netflix appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
HTC One M9 available at midnight via HTC
You read that right, the HTC One M9 will be available for sale at 12:01AM EST this Friday, March 27th through HTC’s website. Before you go getting your clicking finger ready there are some things you should know. While the M9 will be up for sale at midnight the price will be for an off-contract, […]
The post HTC One M9 available at midnight via HTC appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Amazon announces unlimited Cloud Drive for $60 per year
Amazon today rolled out two new storage plans for customers to host their photos or media files online in its secure cloud. Available immediately, Amazon will offer a free three-month trial to both options. What are the options, you ask? How about unlimited storage of your photos for $12 per year? Need to host more than just pictures? Why not upgrade to the unlimited everything deal which includes pictures, videos, files, documents, music, and more.
Amazon Cloud Drive Options:
- Unlimited Photos Plan (free 3-month trial, then $11.99 per year—equivalent of less than $1 per month): Store an infinite number of photos in Cloud Drive without worrying about taking up space on phones, cameras, or other devices. Customers can upload existing collections and store all future photos taken. This plan also includes 5 GB of additional storage for videos or other documents and files.
- Unlimited Everything Plan (free 3-month trial, then $59.99 per year—equivalent of less than $5 per month): Store an infinite number of new and existing photos, videos, files, documents, movies, and music in Cloud Drive.
Amazon Prime customers and Fire device owners who already receive unlimited photo backup can upgrade immediately. Amazon Cloud lets customers access files from just about anywhere, including smartphones, tablets, PC, and, of course, Kindle Fire devices.
The post Amazon announces unlimited Cloud Drive for $60 per year appeared first on AndroidGuys.
How to change your Snapchat username
Really need to change your Snapchat username but can’t figure out how?
Don’t feel bad. There isn’t a button on Snapchat that takes you to an editor where you can make the change, like there is on Twitter or other services. There is, however, a workaround that can help make the process slightly less painless. You’ll have to create an all new username, and you’ll want to do that before getting rid of your old username. If that sound complicated, don’t worry — I’ll walk you through the process!
How to change your Snapchat username
- Launch the Snapchat app.
- Tap on the Snapchat logo at the top of the screen to access your profile.
- Tap on the Settings icon in the top right.
- Tap on Log Out, it’s all the way at the bottom.
- Once you’re logged out, tap on Sign Up.
- Fill out the information requested and tap Sign Up, just make sure you use a different email address than the one you use with your current Snapchat account. Don’t worry, you can change this later.
- Tap on Add Friends.
- Tap on Add from Address Book.
- Click on Continue at the bottom of the screen, it takes a few seconds to appear.
- Tap OK in the popup window to allow Snapchat to access your contacts.
- When your address book loads, anyone who has a Snapchat username under their name instead of a phone number is using Snapchat, so add whoever you’d like.
- Now log back into your old Snapchat account and tap on the Snapchat icon again at the top of the screen.
- This time tap on My Friends.
- Tap on any user and their Snapchat username will appear underneath their display name. You’ll need to write these down. You can skip ones you know you’ve already added to the new account due to them being in your address book.
- Log back in to your new Snapchat account.
- Tap on the Snapchat icon at the top.
- Tap on Add friends.
- Tap on Add by Username.
- Manually add the rest of your friends back.
Alternately you could also blast a message on your social networks letting people know you have a new Snapchat handle. As they add you, they’ll appear in the Added Me section of your profile.
Once you think you’re completely done with your old account, you can delete it. Just remember that once you delete it, you won’t be able to access anything in it again. So make sure you view any new snaps you’ve received as tou won’t have access to them later.
Once that’s done, you can change your email address in Settings if you want to revert back to your previous email address.
It isn’t the most elegant solution but until Snapchat decides to let people change their handle, it’s currently the only option.
Apple Watch supplies in stores could be limited to reservations at launch
If you want an Apple Watch at launch, it looks like you might need to pre-order or make a reservation.
The Apple Watch will reportedly be in limited supply in Apple Stores on launch day. Most of the inventory will apparently be reserved for customers that either pre-ordered a watch, or made an appointment to try one on, according to 9to5Mac:
As one source at a flagship Apple Store said, “we’re told to treat launch day as if there will be no walk-in stock.” That doesn’t necessarily mean there will be absolutely zero Apple Watch units to buy at launch if you don’t have a reservation, just that the specific Apple Watch variant a person wants will be far harder to come by at launch than some previous iPhone models.
Supply constraints during the launch of the Apple Watch would not be surprising. During iPhone launches, the stock in Apple Stores often runs low, with online orders also slipping by a matter of weeks within hours of the device’s launch.
The Apple Watch goes on sale April 24, with pre-orders beginning April 10. For those of you still on the fence about buying the watch, or if you’re trying to decide which watch to get, be sure to check out the iMore Apple Watch buyers guide.
Source: 9to5Mac
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Tim Cook Named ‘World’s Greatest Leader,’ Reflects on Leading Post-Jobs Era at Apple
Following the release of Becoming Steve Jobs, an acclaimed biography of the late Apple co-founder, Fortune has named Tim Cook the “world’s greatest leader,” accompanied by an in-depth profile that reflects on the chief executive in the post-Jobs era. The interesting article provides a closer look at Cook’s transition from a soft-spoken operations manager to a high-profile leader at Apple, and reveals how Cook has managed the pressure that comes with his new role.
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Image Credit: Joe Pugliese)
Cook brings a different leadership style to Apple, placing more trust in others instead of being as impulsive and manipulative as Jobs often was. The results have been favorable, as Apple has grown to become the world’s most valuable company during the three-and-a-half years since Cook took over the helm. Nevertheless, he admits that he has needed to grow thicker skin to handle the intensity that comes with the territory.
“I have thick skin,” he says, “but it got thicker. What I learned after Steve passed away, what I had known only at a theoretical level, an academic level maybe, was that he was an incredible heat shield for us, his executive team. None of us probably appreciated that enough because it’s not something we were fixated on. We were fixated on our products and running the business. But he really took any kind of spears that were thrown. He took the praise as well. But to be honest, the intensity was more than I would ever have expected.”
Despite his successes, Cook has faced a number of senior management challenges since taking over as chief executive, including the disappointment that was Apple Maps, fallout with sapphire partner GT Advanced Technologies and the short-lived hiring of John Browett as Apple’s retail chief. Cook reflected on Browett, who never fit in with the company’s culture and was ousted after just six months on the job.
“That was a reminder to me of the critical importance of cultural fit, and that it takes some time to learn that,” he says. As CEO, “you’re engaged in so many things that each particular thing gets a little less attention. You need to be able to operate on shorter cycles, less data points, less knowledge, less facts. When you’re an engineer, you want to analyze things a lot. But if you believe that the most important data points are people, then you have to make conclusions in relatively short order. Because you want to push the people who are doing great. And you want to either develop the people who are not or, in a worst case, they need to be somewhere else.”
Following the departure of Browett, Cook recognized the need to be patient in his search for a retail chief that could truly fit in with Apple’s culture. Last May, the company found its candidate in former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, who discretely met with Cook in Cupertino, outside of Apple’s headquarters, to discuss the future of retail. Ahrendts did not expect to join Apple, but she ultimately reconsidered after she felt moved by Cook.
“The first time I sat down with him, I walked away thinking wow, that’s a man of peace,” she says. “I just absolutely loved his integrity, his values. Nothing anybody can write, say, or do is going to take him off of always doing the right thing. Not just for Apple, but for Apple’s people, for communities, for countries. The world needs more leaders like Tim.”
Cook became the first Fortune 500 CEO to publicly come out as gay last year, which he hopes will make other people realize that they do not need to hide who they are. He further expressed that he made the decision of coming out “quite some time ago,” adding that, while the United States has made some progress on the issue, he “didn’t feel like business was exactly leading the way in the executive suite.”
“To be honest, if I would not have come to the conclusion that it would likely help other people, I would have never done it,” he says. “There’s no joy in me putting my life in view.” Referencing the often-cited line that “to whom much is given, much is required,” Cook says, “I’ve certainly been given a lot.”
The full-length profile has been published in the April 2015 issue of Fortune.
LG Watch Urbane LTE will cost almost twice as much as the G Watch R
Having LTE connectivity means the Watch Urbane LTE can replace a smartphone, but that convenience comes at a steep price.
LG announced the availability of the Watch Urbane LTE for Korea; the device will hit the stores from tomorrow for a whopping 650,000 won. That’s almost $590, and, even if Korean prices are typically higher that what you get in the US, there’s a good chance the Watch Urbane LTE will remain relatively pricey if it ever makes it to other markets.
For comparison, you can buy a G Flex 2 from Expansys Korea for 818,000 won ($740), while a G Watch R smartwatch costs just 352,000 won ($318).
Announced just ahead of MWC earlier this month, the Watch Urbane LTE is very different from its Android Wear-totting cousins, the G Watch R and Watch Urbane. The device runs a WebOS-derived operating system and is designed to work independently from any smartphone. Check out our hands-on with the device from MWC:
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LG suggested that the Urbane LTE is just an experiment for now, and the eye-watering price seems to confirm this. Even if the price tag doesn’t put you off, you may have a hard time getting hold of it – it’s possible that LG will only release the Watch Urbane LTE in its home market.
What do you think about the Urbane LTE?
AIVAnet 