FAA will consider rules that allow drone couriers
American airspace regulators might be having a change of heart about rules that ban robotic couriers. Sources for the Wall Street Journal are hearing that the Federal Aviation Administration will announce studies for drone flights that go beyond the operator’s sight, paving the way for automated deliveries and other services where a nearby pilot just wouldn’t be practical. Officials aren’t commenting, and one WSJ tipster suggests that there likely won’t be any reform until after the initial rules are finalized in 2016. Don’t expect to see corporate drones zooming overhead anytime soon, then. Even so, this is a big step forward for Amazon’s Prime Air or Google’s Project Wing, both of which would stay grounded in the US if the FAA maintained its status quo.
Filed under: Robots, Transportation, Internet, Google, Amazon
Source: Wall Street Journal
Amazon Prime Instant Video now available to JetBlue passengers
Next time you fly with JetBlue, there will be another option for video streaming. The airline has partnered with Amazon to bring its Prime Instant Video catalog thousands of feet into the air. Passengers, subscribers to Prime or not, can access Amazon’s selection of television shows, documentaries, and movies. The difference is that Prime subscribers can stream eligible content at no cost at all while non-Prime subscribers must pay Amazon’s asking price as they would anywhere else. Also, passengers can stream music at no cost because Prime Music is covered as well.
Passengers do not have to pay the usual $9 per hour fee that JetBlue normally asks for when streaming video.
Hit the break for the full press release.
Prime Instant Video Takes Flight: Amazon and JetBlue to Bring an Unmatched Entertainment Experience to the Sky
Free Fly-Fi broadband internet will enable unlimited instant entertainment from Amazon
JetBlue is the first airline to build online streaming video into the inflight entertainment experience
Amazon Prime members will have instant access to tens of thousands of titles available on Prime Instant Video over free Fly-Fi at no additional cost to their membership
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 5, 2015– Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) today announced that they will bring unlimited, on-demand entertainment to airline travel later this year through JetBlue’s free high-speed Fly-Fi broadband internet, the industry’s fastest complimentary inflight internet service, to create an unmatched entertainment experience in the sky.
The collaboration will enable Fly-Fi for Amazon Prime members to instantly access tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including exclusive Amazon Original Series such as Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle and Bosch, at no additional cost to their membership. In addition, all JetBlue customers will be able to rent or purchase hundreds of thousands of titles in the Amazon Instant Video store, including new-release movies and day-after TV programming, over the free broadband internet.
“We want to provide the best digital video experience to our customers and we’re excited that, with JetBlue, we will raise the bar in airline entertainment,” said Michael Paull, Vice President of Digital Video at Amazon. “We’re thrilled that Fly-Fi technology will give Prime members and customers unlimited, on-demand access to the full catalog of titles from Amazon’s digital video library while they’re in the sky—without the need to rush to download one more episode or movie before taking off, we’re helping make airline travel more enjoyable.”
Fly-Fi uses satellite technology to give customers internet speeds that feel like what they have at home or work. Amazon and JetBlue worked together to ensure that the inflight entertainment system met the premium experience expected by customers when streaming movies and TV episodes from Amazon. Access to Amazon’s entertainment library will be built into the JetBlue Fly-Fi Hub, giving customers instant access to watch titles from Amazon on their laptops, Fire devices, iPhones, iPads and Android phones and tablets—no pre-flight download needed. JetBlue’s free Fly-Fi broadband internet will be available on all of JetBlue’s Airbus A321 and A320 aircraft this year, and on JetBlue’s Embraer E190 aircraft in 2016.
“Just like at home, customers will be able to access movies and TV shows from Amazon from 35,000 feet in the sky over our super-fast and free Fly-Fi,” said Jamie Perry, Vice President, Brand and Product Development, JetBlue. “Amazon’s customer focus aligns perfectly with the experience we have created for our customers, including the best inflight entertainment, free unlimited snacks and beverages, lots of personal space with the most legroom in coach, and wide, comfortable seating. By teaming up with a category-leader like Amazon, we created a unique model where we can offer complimentary broadband internet access.”
Prime members will be able to instantly stream binge-worthy Amazon Original Series, including the Golden Globe award-winning series Transparent, the hour-long police drama Bosch, and the Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola comedy, Mozart in the Jungle, in addition to original kids series such as the Emmy and Annie award-winning series Tumble Leaf and the Emmy-nominated live-action series Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street. They can also enjoy top network series available on Prime Instant Video such as The Americans, Downton Abbey, Justified, The Good Wife, Grimm, Mr. Selfridge, Orphan Black, Sons of Anarchy, Suits, Veronica Mars, and Vikings.
On top of unlimited instant access to movies and TV episodes, Amazon Prime members will be able to access and listen to more than one million songs available on Prime Music. All JetBlue customers will be able to purchase and download songs from the Amazon Music store, eBooks from the Kindle store, and apps and games from the Amazon Appstore and earn TrueBlue points when they shop specific categories on Amazon over the free Fly-Fi broadband internet while inflight or through JetBlue promotions.
JetBlue, which was founded on the idea of bringing humanity back to air travel, continues to innovate to offer the best onboard experience at a low cost, including a multi-screen entertainment experience with seatback entertainment, streaming content, and free Fly-Fi broadband internet.
About Amazon
Amazon.com 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.
About Prime Instant Video
Amazon Prime members have instant access to stream tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including award-winning Amazon Original Series, available on Prime Instant Video at no additional cost to their membership. In addition, new release movies like Gone Girl, Boyhood and Birdman as well as classics like the Star Wars saga along with in-season shows like The Walking Dead, Scandal and Better Call Saul are also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Instant Video for all customers to stream and enjoy.
Customers can watch shows and movies with the Amazon Instant Video app. The Amazon Instant Video app is available on hundreds of devices including connected TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox and PlayStation, as well as on mobile devices like Fire phone, Fire tablets, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Customers can also watch online at Amazon.com/PIV. Prime Instant Video is also the only U.S. online-only subscription streaming service that enables offline viewing—on a plane, on vacation, and anywhere else where you may not have Wi-Fi.
Amazon Prime members have exclusive access to popular TV series at no additional cost to their membership. Prime members can enjoy binge-worthy TV shows including Amazon Original Series airing now such as multi-Golden Globe-winning series Transparent, the hour-long drama Bosch, based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling books, the Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman comedy, Mozart in the Jungle, and the political comedy starring John Goodman, Alpha House, in addition to HBO favorites like The Sopranos, True Blood and Six Feet Under, and popular primetime series including 24, Covert Affairs, Downton Abbey, Extant, Falling Skies, Grimm, Hannibal, Justified, Orphan Black, Teen Wolf, The Americans, Under the Dome and Veronica Mars. Prime members also have access to an exclusive collection of kids shows now airing including Amazon Original Series’ Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street and the Annecy, Annie and multi-Emmy Award-winning Tumble Leaf from Bix Pix Entertainment, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Blue’s Clues and The Bubble Guppies.
In addition to tens of thousands of titles to instantly stream, the Amazon Prime membership (www.amazon.com/primevideo) includes one million songs and hundreds of playlists with Prime Music, unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items, early access to select Lightning Deals, unlimited photo storage, and access to more than 800,000 books all for $99 a year.
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 JetBlue Airways
JetBlue is New York’sHometown Airline™, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 32 million customers a year to 88 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 875 daily flights. Upcoming destinations include: Reno-Tahoe, Nev., on May 28; Grenada on June 11, 2015; and Albany, N.Y., on Dec. 10. For more information please visit JetBlue.com.
Come comment on this article: Amazon Prime Instant Video now available to JetBlue passengers
Amazon is bringing Prime videos and music to JetBlue’s fleet
Amazon has spent an exorbitant amount of cash to grow its Prime Instant Video service. Still, the company knows there’s more it can do to make the offering better for subscribers. As such, Amazon is teaming up with JetBlue to bring Prime’s on-demand video and music content to the skies, though only in the US. The new feature, which will be powered by JetBlue’s super speedy Fly-Fi internet, will be included as part of any existing Prime membership — it’s free in-flight entertainment, and that’s a gesture people are likely to appreciate. Unfortunately, it won’t be available until later this year, but at least that gives you some time to start building out your Watchlist.
As for whether or not Amazon plans to do something similar with other airlines, we reached out to find out, so we’ll let you know once the online retailer gets back to us.
[Image credit: jeffcutler/Flickr]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Transportation, Internet, HD, Amazon
Source: Amazon
Amazon deals: Kingston 64GB microSD card for 51% off, Omaker portable speaker for 61% off
Amazon has a couple of good deals on microSD memory and portable Bluetooth speakers today.
First up, Amazon is offering the Kingston Digital 64GB MicroSDXC card for $38.99, which is 51 percent off its list price. This isn’t the best deal we’ve seen on cards this size, but if you’re in a hurry, it’s better than no deal at all.
Get the Kingston Digital 64GB MicroSDXC for $38.99 on Amazon
Next, the UE MINI BOOM Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is down to $69.99, down from its list price of $99 and $10 cheaper than the previous best. Available in four colors, the UE MINI BOOM has an average score of 4.4 out of 5 stars, with users praising its loud sound, deep bass, and longer than average Bluetooth connection range.
Get the UE MINI BOOM Wireless Bluetooth Speaker for $69.99 on Amazon
Finally, if you’re looking for a more rugged Bluetooth speaker, Amazon is also discounting the Omaker M4, a splashproof and shockproof speaker featuring a compact, sturdy design and NFC connectivity. This is another well reviewed product, with an average score of 4.6 across 400 reviews. The price is 61 percent off the list price.
Get the Omaker M4 Portable Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker for $ $26.99 on Amazon
Let us know if you picked anything up!
Amazon’s voice-guided speaker juggles your IFTTT tasks
You can tell Amazon’s Echo speaker to directly control certain apps and services, but what if you want it to send information to other apps that you use more often? That’s where IFTTT’s new Alexa channel might save the day. Give the Echo a command and IFTTT will relay certain tasks to key apps. You can deliver your to-do list to Gmail when you ask the speaker about your itinerary, for example, or add your grocery items to Evernote without touching your phone. Frankly, this makes the Echo a lot more useful in daily life — you no longer have to change some of your app habits to make the most out of Amazon’s audio cylinder.
Filed under: Peripherals, Internet, Software, Mobile, Amazon
Source: IFTTT Blog
Amazon Instant Video’s iOS users can stream in HD and use mobile data
Amazon has given its Instant Videos app for iOS a huge boost, and just in time for the weekend. First up: you can now finally watch movies and shows in HD on your devices. No more putting up with standard definition if crisp, clear visuals are essential to your enjoyment. You’ll likely still find yourself switching to lower resolution every now and then, though, especially if you’re using cellular data. Yep, that’s the other big upgrade — you can watch your shows even in the absence of WiFi, so long as you have decent mobile connection. Thankfully, that feature comes with new settings that let you choose the quality of the stream, and hence the amount of data you’ll use. The update’s now live on iTunes if you want to take advantage of the new features… or to give the app another shot.
Filed under: Misc, Mobile, Amazon
Source: iTunes
[Deal] Nexus Player discounted on Amazon, includes $25 Google Play credit
Today, the price of the Nexus Player on Amazon’s site has fluctuated between $69 and $75. The constant, though, is the inclusion of a $25 Google Play credit. So the online retailer has discounted the Android TV device while also including a digital credit, meaning that you are sort of paying only $50 or so for the Nexus Player.
Has this deal caused you to take a look at the Nexus Player? Or is the Razer Forge TV or NVIDIA SHIELD TV more appealing? Let us know in the comments.
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Nexus Player discounted on Amazon, includes $25 Google Play credit
Deal: Pick up a Nexus Player for $70 through Amazon, $20 of Google Play credit included
If you’re looking for a convenient way to stream movies, TV shows and games to your television, Amazon may have a great deal for you. From now until Sunday, May 3rd, you can pick up a brand new Nexus Player for just under $70 from Amazon and receive $20 of Google Play credit with your purchase. So not only do you receive a $20 discount on the Nexus Player, but you also get $20 to spend on whatever you’d like in the Play Store, whether that be movies, shows or games.
Read more: Best Media Streamers
Buying the Nexus Player from Amazon for this price will only get you the system and the remote, not the controller. So if you’d like to pick up a Gamepad for your new system, the Google Store is selling them for $39.99 (~$5 cheaper than what they cost on Amazon).
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Considering that the Nexus Player has yet to see many discounts or promotions since its launch, this is one heck of a deal. If you’re interested, be sure to head to the deal link below before time runs out!
Jeff Bezos’ first proper test rocket has successfully launched
Elon Musk may be the most famous tech billionaire with an interest in spaceflight, but he’s certainly not the only one. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also has a company, Blue Origin, which is doing similar research into reusable craft to get us to-and-from the heavens. The normally secretive outfit has just revealed that its first test vehicle, New Shepard, made arguably its most important, partially successful test flight yesterday. In the experiment, the priapic craft took an (empty) crew capsule to a height of 307,000 feet before releasing it to float gently back to earth.
Unfortunately there was a fault in New Shepard 1’s hydraulic system, and so the company was “unable to recover” the propulsion module — a polite euphemism for crashing into the desert. Thankfully, no-one was injured, and the business is already working on building a second and third New Shepard to continue testing the vertical takeoff, vertical landing vehicle. If successful, then it’s likely that Bezos will look to offer governments a cheaper way of getting satellites, personnel and cargo into orbit, hopefully bringing us all a bit closer to the space taxi NASA’s always been jonesing for.
Filed under: Transportation, Amazon
Via: Reuters
Source: Blue Origin
Amazon UK doubles the minimum spend for free delivery to £20
In times past, when Amazon offered you Free Super Saver Delivery, it really meant free. That all changed in July 2013, when the company introduced a £10 minimum spend to have your order delivered on the house. Almost two years later, the online retailer has announced it’s raising that limit again, by doubling it to £20. One reason for the change could be to incentivise customers to put down £79 for Prime, which ships millions of items next day (and includes video streaming and other media services). The company may also be moving to to cover the cost of its wide range of delivery options, which now include same-day collection and shipment to your local Post Office. Regardless, the new threshold will come into effect from 6pm tonight (UK time), so if you have some low-cost items sitting in your basket, now might be the time to buy them.
AIVAnet 