Amazon is giving away $50 worth of apps
Amazon is running another one of its rather tempting app offers this week, with over $50 worth of apps up for grabs completely free.
The free apps range from a selection of games, utility apps and a couple of security based bits of software. While some of the apps were already relatively inexpensive, you can find AVG AntiVirus for Android discounted from $11.99 to $0.00.
The Mirroring360 Airplay Receiver app, which can mirror your iPhone screen to your various Android devices, has also been discounted from $6.99 to free. A similar $6.99 discount is applied to the Exiles sci-fi game too.
These discount deals are Amazon’s regular way of temping Android users to make use of its own version of the app store, which you will need to download before you can install any of the apps in this offer.
The deal is running until the end of July 1st, so there is just under a week to pick up anything that takes your fancy. Here’s the link.
Amazon Fire Phone drops to £99 in the UK
Amazon may have a lot of success with everything it does but the one of its products that just failed to take off was its long awaited entry into the smartphone market. Dubbed the Fire Phone and introduced a year ago, it launched in the UK as an O2 exclusive for £280 and it’s now available for just £99.
There are many reasons the Fire Phone was discontinued just weeks after the launch and despite a price drop in the USA last November to $200, it’s taken nearly a year for the UK price to reduce. Clearly the price was a mistake and it’s likely that future versions of the Fire Phone will look to rectify Amazon’s $170 million mistake.
The reasons that the Fire Phone have already been detailed and we even predicted the device would fail within a few days of the launch. From Edgar predicting the limited software, confusing features, bloatware and high price” meant the Fire Phone would definitely fail to Simon saying there was genuinely no reason to recommend the Fire Phone, the writing was certainly on the wall for Amazon’s first smartphone.
Amazon in video:
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One of the biggest issues with the Fire Phone is the midrange specs list, which somewhat justifies its new reduced pricing. The 4.7-inch IPS display offers 720 x 1280 pixels resolution with a density of 312 pixels per inch and a screen to body ratio of just 65.8 percent. Other notable specs include a Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM, a 13MP camera with OIS and 1080p video, 2.1MP front facing snapper, Dolby Digital Plus audio and a 2400 mAh.
The Fire Phone does have some unique features; four phone cameras offer a 3D Dynamic Perspective user interface with system wide title, scroll, swivel and peek functions offering a truly unique smartphone experience. The Firefly technology makes it easy to identify and buy things you see in the real world while the most useful, Mayday, offers video call 1-to-1 support to help you with any problems you have with your new phone.
If you’re interested in taking the plunge and have a spare £99, Amazon have them with either 32GB or 64GB internal storage for the same price. Just remember though; these are still locked to O2 and being able to unlock it is not guaranteed so if you’re not on O2, this could prove to be an expensive paperweight.
Amazon Fire Phone in the UK
Fitbit launches its range of fitness-tracking devices in India
Fitbit has teamed up with Amazon to launch its entire range of fitness-tracking devices in India. Starting today, all of Fitbit’s products are available to pre-order from the online retailer and are expected to leave the warehouse on Friday, July 3.
A full list of the products, together with their respective prices, can be seen below:
- Fitbit Zip – Rs. 3,990 ($62.75)
- Fitbit One – Rs. 6,990 ($110)
- Fitbit Flex – Rs. 6,990 $110)
- Fitbit Charge – Rs. 9,990 ($157)
- Fitbit Charge HR – Rs. 12,990 ($204)
- Fitbit Surge – Rs. 19,990 ($314)
- Fitbit Aria – Rs. 9,990 ($157)
If you live in India and have been meaning to pick up one of the above devices, hit the source link below to visit Fitbit’s store over on Amazon.
Source: Amazon
Come comment on this article: Fitbit launches its range of fitness-tracking devices in India
Amazon Prime’s first wave of HDR videos is here
Determined to watch streaming video with the maximum color range possible? You now have your chance. As promised, Amazon Prime Instant Video is now offering high dynamic range (HDR) videos to American customers. Watch the first season of Mozart in the Jungle on the right TV (currently, that means one of Samsung’s SUHD models) and you should see more vivid colors as well as a greater level of detail in highlights and shadows. The move is as much about bragging rights as anything else — Amazon is beating Netflix to the punch, and HDR doesn’t automatically make everything better. It also won’t help much if you’re in the UK or have the ‘wrong’ TV. All the same, this is a big step forward for internet video quality.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Samsung, Amazon
Source: Amazon
Amazon makes it more expensive to get people to do stuff for you
Mechanical Turk, Amazon’s “human intelligence task” marketplace is about to get slightly more expensive. For the first time since 2005, the company is going to increase the cut it takes from each transaction, upping the figure from 10 to 20 percent. Amazon is justifying the change by saying that it’ll use the extra cash that it raises to improve the service to the benefit of both requesters and workers. It’s probably not going to go down too well with “Mechanical Turks” based in countries like India, who are effectively seeing their wages drop by 10 percent. As the Wall Street Journal reports, there’s also plenty of consternation from one of the site’s biggest customers: university researchers.
If you’re unfamiliar with the premise, Mechanical Turk is a marketplace for small jobs that can’t be done by a computer. For instance, you can get a person to describe the contents of a thousand images, verify the quality of a local map or write thousands of fraudulent reviews to boost the profile of your product — paying just a few cents for each one. This has come in useful when computers have difficulty batch-processing data as well as in academic studies where they need information from hundreds of people at a time. Unfortunately, these tasks are going to be hit even harder since tasks involving 10 or more people will be subject to an additional 20 percent commission. The changes will take effect on July 22nd, so if you’ve been putting off that transcription task, you’d probably better get started sooner rather than later.
Filed under: Amazon
Via: WSJ
Source: Mechanical Turk, Amazon Pricing
Amazon Echo now available for everyone, without an invite
Do you guys remember the Amazon Echo? It’s that awesome smart speaker announced by the popular retailer last November. It wowed most of the industry and proved to be one of the coolest digital assistants around, but there was one huge problem: no one could buy it!
Amazon was pretty much beta testing the Echo by releasing it only to customers who got a hold of an invite. Thankfully, this era is now left in the past and, as of today, any person can buy the Amazon Echo. No invites or cumbersome processes are required. Just head over to the Amazon Echo page and buy yours for $179.99. It will be in stock on July 14th, so you will have to wait a bit before it ships.
That $179 price point sure isn’t the cheapest, but you will find the Echo has a lot to offer and may be worth your hard-earned cash. This is more than your simple wireless speaker; which, by the way, some people pay the same amount or more for.
The Amazon Echo harnesses the power of the internet to become one of the coolest digital assistants found outside of actual smart devices. You can literally talk to the Echo and ask it questions about cooking, news, the weather, traffic, sports, shopping and more.
The Echo does more than plain information, though. You can command it to add something to your shopping list, purchase something from Amazon, make a reminder in your calendar, add something to your to-do list or even control your home automation smart products.
How does this all relate to Android? Well, there is a nifty mobile app you can use to get quick access to everything related to your Amazon Echo. All your reminders, calendar information and other features will be accessible from your smartphone or tablet.
Pretty neat, right? I am not sure I am willing to spend that much money on a speaker when I have Google Now available at all times, but I can see some people falling in love with this thing. It’s easy to operate, it’s smart and it can even tell you jokes! Who’s buying?
Amazon Echo now available to everyone
Earlier today, Armando Ferreira explained via his Google+ page that the Amazon Echo is now available to the masses. In fact, if you head over to Amazon’s front page at around the time of this post, you should see a letter from Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos confirming this.
The Amazon Echo is a computer controlled entirely by voice commands. It is able “to understand language requests, from many voices, from across a room, even when music is playing.” In order to accomplish this, the device has seven microphones, beam-forming technology, and noise cancellation, which come together to form far-field voice recognition.
Alexa, Amazon’s cloud-based voice service powering Echo, provides information, music, news, weather, and so forth. Since its invitation-only program in November, the company has added support for Pandora, Audible audiobooks, calendar access, live sports scores and schedules, traffic reports, Amazon.com re-ordering, and control of connected devices like WeMo and Philips Hue’s lights and switches.
Bezos adds that many of these were the result of feedback and suggestions from customers who were invited to test the device. With that in mind, Amazon could add more now that the Echo can be obtained by anyone.
The post Amazon Echo now available to everyone appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Amazon, eBay and others to stop selling Confederate flags
Many prominent online retailers have vowed to remove all items bearing the Confederate flag from their websites following a mass shooting last week at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. So far, eBay, Wal Mart, Sears and Kmart have announced plans to stop selling Confederate flag merchandise online and in their brick-and-mortar stores. CNBC reports that Amazon and Etsy will also remove Confederate flag items from their online marketplaces, though the companies have yet to officially announce any plans. In addition to these online retailers, prominent US flag maker Valley Forge Flag today promised to stop producing and selling Confederate flags, Reuters reports.
Online retail giant eBay released the following statement regarding its decision:
eBay is a global marketplace and community and we continually monitor the approximately 800 million items on our site, and evaluate our policies to ensure they are consistent with our core purpose. We have decided to prohibit Confederate flags, and many items containing this image, because we believe it has become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism. This decision is consistent with our long-standing policy that prohibits items that promote or glorify hatred, violence and racial intolerance.
Nine people were killed in last week’s shooting. The tragedy prompted a nationwide conversation about race and the continued use of the Confederate flag in many Southern states. On Monday, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the flag to be removed from the statehouse grounds, noting that it was viewed as a “deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past.”
[Image credit: eBay Inc.]
Amazon’s Echo now up for purchase, costs $179.99 and ships July 14th
Amazon has finally decided to open up sales of its unique Echo speaker to everyone, no more invite necessary. When the Echo originally launched a few months ago, it was essentially in a closed beta, so not everyone could get their hands on one. Amazon has apparently decided that it’s done testing the device and it’s ready for public use, so if you’re interested, you can now purchase one for $179.99.
The device will start shipping July 14th, which is less than a month off. Since its launch, Amazon has added support for several different apps to work with Echo, and that list keeps getting bigger and bigger. With more people being able to purchase the speaker, it’s pretty likely that we’ll see more big apps jump on board with Echo, too.
source: Business Wire
via: Android Central
Come comment on this article: Amazon’s Echo now up for purchase, costs $179.99 and ships July 14th
Amazon’s voice control speaker is now available for all
While not every gadget Amazon throws to the wall sticks (cough Fire Phone), the Echo voice-controlled wireless speaker was a surprising smash. Though it’s been on sale for quite awhile by invitation only, Amazon’s now put it up on pre-order for anyone who wants it. As a reminder, here’s how it works: you activate it by saying “Alexa” or whatever else you want to call it, then ask questions or give commands much like you would with Siri or Google Now. From there, the always-on device will hit Amazon’s cloud and give you the weather, sports scores, Spotify songs and more.
At first, it just did basic chores like web search and (duh) helping you order more stuff from Amazon. But Bezos & Co. later added apps, and you can now control WiFi devices like Philips Hue lights, or even get it to read you a book. Pre-orders are now open for the $180 device (in the US only), with shipping set to commence on July 14th.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wireless, Amazon
Source: Amazon
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