Amazon may have accidentally confirmed a cheaper Echo Dot
Amazon currently has a trio of Alexa-controlled devices: Echo, Tap and Echo Dot, each of which serves a different purpose. The Echo Dot is the cheapest of the three and connects to your existing speakers to add Alexa voice control capabilities.
The Echo Dot has been sold out since it was launched in the US in July this year, but Amazon could be launching a newer, cheaper model if a recently deleted tweet is to be believed.
The tweet said: “Introducing the all-new Echo Dot. Add Alexa to any room – now for just $49.99”. That looks like pretty conclusive evidence to us and the fact Amazon quickly deleted the tweet after the unfortunate leak, only furthers speculation that a new Echo Dot is on the way.
There was a link included in the tweet as well, but that takes you to a sold out page for the Echo Dot and no mention of a new one being released.
The Echo Dot connects to your existing speakers via a 3.5mm output, it does have a small built-in speaker, but it will work better connected to something more powerful. You can ask it to play music from a range of services via Alexa, along with controlling smart home connected devices and it can even order you a pizza.
It sounds like the perfect gadget and if a cheaper one is one the way, it will only make it more desirable.
What to expect at Photokina 2016: The most anticipated cameras of 2016
It’s that time again: Photokina, the largest dedicated photo show in Europe, based in Cologne, Germany, is just around the corner. The press day, when all the major camera makers will have their press conferences, is on Monday 19 September, followed by six days of public show from Tuesday 20 through Sunday 25 September.
It’s been a tumultuous time in the world of camera production, however, with the Kumamoto earthquakes in Japan having a devastating affect not only on its communities, but production lines. Which, inevitably, means this will be a quieter show than many may expect, with Nikon, Fujifilm and Sony in particular believed to be affected.
But that’s not to say there won’t be some exciting announcements to come from the show. Some are speculative, some far-reaching, others more likely. So here are the rumoured cameras we expect to see from Photokina 2016.
Olympus at Photokina 2016
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II?
Rather than holding a daytime press conference like its competition, Olympus is set to show off what is believed to be the Mark II version of the top-end OM-D E-M1.
According to Four Thirds rumours, the latest interchangeable lens system camera is expected to offer 4K video capture, hand-held high-resolution mode and a dual SD card slot.
The company’s press conference will be at 19:00 CEST (18:00 BST; 13:00 EST; 10:00 PST) on Monday 19 September, when the full ins and outs will be revealed.
Panasonic at Photokina 2016
Lumix GH5 and G8X?
It seems Panasonic has held things close to its chest this year, with FourThirdsRumors speculating that there will be a pre-production Lumix GH5 (to upgrade the top-end GH4) and a G8X, the latter which will pull in GH4-level 4K video capture into a G7-style body.
That’s as much as they’re giving away, so we’ll just have to wait until the company’s press conference, which is at 12:30 CEST (11:30 BST; 06:30 EST; 03:30 PST) on Monday 19 September.
Fujifilm at Photokina 2016
Medium Format X-series camera?
After releasing the X-Pro2 earlier this year, then announcing the X-T2 in July, followed by the lower-end X-A3, Fujifilm has set out its stall to offer a compact system camera for all levels. And with seemingly nowhere else to venture, the rumour is that the Japanese company will unveil something entirely new on 19 September.
The company’s press conference is at 17:00 CEST (16:00 BST; 11:00 EST; 08:00 PST), the time when Fujirumors reports that the company is likely to unveil a medium format camera, along with three lenses. That means a whole new lens mount system to cover the larger-scale sensor size.
It’s not as if Fujifilm is new to large and medium format photography, given the company has made sheet and roll film for years, along with Fujinon lenses. The company still produces professional grade cine lenses too. But its older, manual-based systems weren’t based on the advanced autofocus systems of today, so the new mount needs to come with electronic connectors, hence us thinking it will mean a whole new lens range.
The rumoured camera is thought to cost $6,000, though. Which is a lot – but roughly the same as a top-end pro DSLR body.
Canon at Photokina 2016
Given the sheer volume of kit that Canon has announced this year, we believe the company is taking a different tack when it comes to the show itself. It has no specific press conference this year.
Instead of announcing its latest and greatest in among the noise of the show floor and its competitors, the slow trickle of releases throughout 2016 should sum up what’s on offer: the EOS 1D X Mark II, EOS 5D Mark IV and EOS D80 DSLRs, along with the G7 X II compact.
Nikon at Photokina 2016
New mirrorless system?
There’s been rumour of a larger-sensor Nikon mirrorless system for some time now, to outsmart the 1-series, with Nikonrumors reporting that the unveiling of that camera has been delayed – presumably due to production issues as a result of the earthquake in Kumamoto.
There is the chance, however, that this elusive new system may show face at Photokina. Otherwise Nikon’s show will be more about showing off its top-end full-frame D5 and APS-C D500 DSLRs, along with the recently announced entry-level D3400, and also-rumoured Keymission 360-degree and action cameras.
The company’s press conference will be at 15:00 CEST (14:00 BST; 09:00 EST; 06:00 PST) on Monday 19 September, when all will (or won’t?) be revealed.
Sony at Photokina 2016
There is not even a titter on the rumours front when it comes to Sony. The brand had a quiet Photokina in 2014, so perhaps 2016 will be an equal reflection of that. It’ll instead be all about showing off the Alpha A7 II in its various forms and paired with various lenses.
The company’s press conference will be at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST; 10:00 EST; 07:00 PST) on Monday 19 September. Perhaps they’ll drop an unexpected bombshell (but hopefully nothing as odd as the Hasselblad partnership, resulting in the oddest of collaborative cameras: Lunar).
Kodak at Photokina 2016
Kodak bailed on the traditional system and compact cameras markets, but its new approach is all about 360-degree capture and 4K.
We’ll be getting a closer look at the Kodak PixPro SP360 action camera, which was first announced in January this year, and meeting with company representatives to query what else is in the pipeline.
GoPro at Photokina 2016
To mirror Photokina, GoPro will be holding a separate event in the United States, which we presume will lead to the Hero 5 announcement, the rumoured action camera, said to be capable of 4K capture.
In addition we suspect the GoPro Karma drone and other pro-spec avenues that the company is pursuing to be a core focus, such as the GoPro Omni 360-degree rig.
Pentax at Photokina 2016
One of the slow movers, we expect Pentax will use Photokina to promote its first ever full-frame DLSR, the K-1. That camera, announced in February 2016, was a huge deal for the company then, so we don’t anticipate any more bombshells.
Samsung at Photokina 2016
We don’t expect to see anything from Samsung at Photokina 2016, after the brand pulled its NX camera line in most regions. It’s unconfirmed that the company has ceased production entirely after the NX line failed to make much impact in the market.
Engadget giveaway: Win a Samsung Gear 360 and video software courtesy of CyberLink!
Want to step into the 360-degree video editing arena at an affordable price? CyberLink just launched Director Suite 5, its $300 consumer-level editing bundle for fine-tuning your video captures in full 360-degree splendor. CyberLink’s True360 tech allows users to work on their content with tools like PowerDirector 15 for finessing titles and transitions, and ColorDirector 5 for a wide range of color enhancements that even track along with moving objects. This week, CyberLink has provided a Samsung Gear 360 camera and its newest video-editing bundle, Director Suite 5 (including four programs), to get one lucky reader started recording, editing and sharing experiences in the round. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this creative video package from CyberLink.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive one (1) Samsung Gear 360 camera and CyberLink’s Director Suite 5 (including PowerDirector 15 with 360-degree video editing, PhotoDirector 8, AudioDirector 7 and ColorDirector 5).
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Engadget and AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until Sept. 14th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Amazon Prime gives you Audible streams for free
Amazon Prime members get a pretty decent bunch of benefits for their $99 a year subscription, and the list of goodies just got a bit longer. The online retail giant now offers its subscribers free access to Audible Channels, a collection of talk show-type streams and audiobooks that would normally cost $5 a month.
Prime members can download the Audible app for iOS, Android and Windows 10 to access Channels, which will include ad-free programming and content from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Charlie Rose, Harvard Business Review and The Onion, among others. It’ll also include 20 curated playlists around comedy, meditation and news, as well as a rotating selection of more than 50 audiobooks.
In addition to free two-day shipping and now, free Audible content, a Prime subscription also gets you free access to Amazon’s video streaming service, a ton of ebooks, photo storage, early entry to certain deals and a somewhat limited selection of music. But the company could be boosting its library of songs, and that, together with the Audible offering, could really enhance the amount and quality of its content.
Source: BusinessWire
It takes two: A visual history of dual-camera mobile phones
With the recent launches of the iPhone 7 Plus and the LG V20, the dual-lens smartphone camera is once again a hot topic. Of course, many other companies will want to remind you that they were there first, except some have long since given up on the technology. So what happened? And why isn’t this yet a standard feature on all flagship smartphones? For those intrigued, it’s worth taking a trip seven years back in time.
JBL’s Everest Elite cans let you hear actual reality in VR
Normally when you’re tooling around in a virtual world, you want the experience to be as immersive as possible. But there’s a downside to being cut off from the outside world — what if the phone rings or the pizza guy starts knocking or a crazed ax murderer breaks in the back door? Well, if you happen to have a pair of JBL Everest Elite headphones and an HTC Vive, you’ll be able to take that call, receive that pizza or head Mr. Choppy off at the stairs. All without taking off your ear cans.
The system works by pairing the JBL’s Ambient Aware feature to the Vive’s Chaperone boundary markers. Basically, when you hit the edge of the Vive activity zone, right when those Chaperone wireframe boundary markers pop up, the JBLs will lower the in-game audio and turn on the headphone’s external mics so that you can hear what’s going on around you. Move away from the boundary and the in-game audio goes back up while the external mics are cut.
What’s especially cool is that this is a software-only upgrade so it’ll work with your existing gear when the feature goes live. That said, Harmon reps tell me that it’s still in beta and they don’t have a firm timetable for when it will be released but guestimate that it could be around the end of the year.
I had the opportunity to try out the feature on Monday at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference and was really impressed by it. It’s super helpful. Used along with the Chaperone wireframe visuals of people standing near me, I was able to carry on a naturally paced conversation with the Harmon rep while wearing both the Vive headset and the headphones. All I had to do was stick my head out of the virtual “room” and I was (nearly) back in regular reality. It’s a head-slappingly simple solution to VR’s issue of situational awareness.
The Eye-Sync system can diagnose concussions in one minute
Concussions are no joke — just ask Cam Newton — but a new diagnostic system developed in conjunction with Stanford University could revolutionize the way these head injuries are determined. The Eye-Sync, from the SyncThink company, uses a modified VR headset and custom software running on a consumer tablet to diagnose concussions in just one minute.
The system has patients look through the VR headset, which has been modified to track their eyes, and follow a small red dot as it rotates around a circular path. The less the patient is able to accurately follow the dot, the more likely they’re concussed. This reading can either be taken as a one-off and compared against the device’s database of 10,000 individuals or compared to the person’s existing baseline for greater accuracy.
I was afforded a brief demonstration of the Eye-Sync system at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco on Monday. The process is straightforward. You hold the headset up to your eyes, wait a few seconds for the system to calibrate, then you look at a spinning red dot. That data is immediately crunched on a connected tablet (in this case, a Microsoft Surface) and displayed onscreen as a heatmap of where you were looking. If you are within bounds, the heatmap looks like you’ve tried to draw a circle freehand. If you’re concussed, it will look like you’ve tried to draw a circle freehand on an Etch-A-Sketch.
Obviously, this isn’t going to completely replace existing protocols but it does offer an efficient and rapid way of helping doctors determine the extent of your injury. Stanford’s football program has already adopted this technology, hopefully the pro system will take notice and do the same.
‘The Sims 4’ heads to the city with its latest expansion
As much as The Sims 4 has done to expand its cultural boundaries over time, it has always been set in the suburbs — you know, that bastion of conformity and homogeneity. What about the city, where experiences tend to be more diverse? Enter City Living, a new paid add-on for the game that (surprise!) takes place in an urban landscape. You can live in or visit four distinct neighborhoods in San Myshuno, and broaden your horizons by attending street festivals or crooning at the local karaoke bar. At first glance, it’s a more varied experience — both culturally and in terms of gameplay.
And while we wouldn’t exactly call a Sims game gritty, it’s clear that City Living at least acknowledges the realities of downtown life. Your goal is to work your way up from a tiny starter apartment to a penthouse, and you have to deal with apartment nuisances like noisy neighbors and landlords (hopefully this doesn’t mean waiting months to get something fixed). There are three new careers, including politics, and activities now include urbanite favorites like basketball or mural painting.
As with many Sims expansions, City Living won’t come cheap: you can pre-order the Mac/Windows title for $40 ahead of its November 1st release date. However, this is a larger change than we’ve seen in some Sims booster packs. Simply put, it’s acknowledging a very common human experience that was conspicuously absent until now.
Source: The Sims
Apple releases iOS 10 and watchOS 3
You no longer have to be a guinea pig to give Apple’s latest software upgrades a try — as promised, the Cupertino crew has released the finished versions of iOS 10 and watchOS 3. As before, iOS’ biggest improvements are in communication — Messages gets apps, hand-drawn images, secret messages and stickers (among many other additions), while Siri now offers you control over third-party apps. You’ll also see major interface revamps in Maps (which now offers proactive suggestions) and Music, a Home app to manage smart household gadgets, lock screen widgets and wider use of 3D Touch on supporting hardware.
As for watchOS 3? It’s nothing less than a major rethink of the platform. Your favorite apps will not only load much faster (as they’re stored in memory), but the side button has changed from its original focus on contacts to bringing up favorite apps. You can also hand-draw replies, quickly access common settings and share activities to get some extra motivation. A Breathe app reminds you to relax, and iOS 10’s Home app gets a wrist-worn counterpart.
And Apple TV fans, you’re included too… although the upgrades aren’t as dramatic. The newly launched tvOS 10 update primarily introduces a dark mode for those late-night movies, a single sign-on to spare you from signing into umpteen services and Siri voice search for YouTube. You’ll need a fourth-generation Apple TV to see any of these differences.
Apple to Reopen Trio of Stores on iPhone 7 Launch Day
Apple has announced that it will be reopening three of its U.S. retail locations on September 16, the same day the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus become available for purchase in stores.
Apple Park Meadows in Lone Tree, Colorado, Apple Ridgedale in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and Apple The Fashion Mall at Keystone in Indianapolis, Indiana will each reopen on Friday at 8:00 a.m. local time. All three stores have relocated to larger units within their respective shopping malls, and it is likely that each location will be facilitating iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus purchases as normal.
Each store will feature Apple’s next-generation retail layout, including a combination of The Avenue, Genius Grove, The Forum, The Plaza, and The Boardroom, coupled with large glass doors, sequoia wood shelves, light boxes extending the length of the ceiling, and large digital screens for product marketing. Apple is in the process of renovating or relocating several of its U.S. stores to reflect the new design.
Apple Willow Bend in Plano, Texas before (left) and after (right)
The trio of grand reopenings will occur just six days after four other locations reopened: Bay Street in Emeryville, California, West Town Mall in Knoxville, Tennessee, Willow Bend in Plano, Texas, and Mayfair in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Apple Legacy Place in Dedham, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, and Apple Memorial City in Houston, Texas also reopened on September 2.
In related news, Apple Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia will be closed for renovations starting September 25.
Related Roundup: Apple Stores
Discuss this article in our forums
