Amazon has announced today that its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick media streaming devices will be receiving an over-the-air update that will enable a universal search that can find content on 75 different applications and channels. This means less time searching for a show and more time watching it.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member in the market for a low-cost unlocked Android phone, the company is offering $50 off the full retail price of two models. The budget BLU R1 HD, normally $99.99, is available for $49.99, while the 4th-gen version of the popular Moto G is down from $199.99 to $149.99.
Each phone is offered unlocked, with no commitment to a contract, giving Prime members the flexibility to switch between wireless carriers and service options to best fit their needs. The BLU R1 HD and Moto G feature Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Google Mobile Services, including Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Play …
Reuters reports that Amazon is preparing to take on Google, Apple, Spotify and the other music streaming services with a similar, full-fledged competitive subscription music service. That would be a step up from the limited catalog of music it currently offers to subscribers of its Prime shipping service that bundles perks for various Amazon services for a monthly or yearly fee.
If you search Amazon for streaming media players, you’ll find plenty of them. The one thing you won’t find is any Chromecast devices, and company CEO Jeff Bezos told the Re/code conference why not. Chromecast doesn’t currently offer access to Amazon’s own Prime Video platform, and Bezos says that isn’t because Google refuses to include it, but because it wants too much money for doing so.
[W]hen we sell those devices, we want our player — our Prime Video player — to be on the device, and we want it to be on the device with acceptable business terms. You can always get the player on the device. The question is, can you get it on there with acceptable business terms?
While he doesn’t say so outright, the meaning of the vague phrase is pretty clear …
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Nextbit has announced via a short blog post that it’s kicking off a limited time sale to celebrate its phone, the Robin, landing on Amazon. Between today and May 10th, you can order the Nextbit Robin for $299 SIM-free and unlocked in either Mint (green/white) or Midnight (navy). That’s $100 (25%) cheaper than it would normally cost to order from Nextbit direct. For $300, this phone is no slouch.
From 9to5Toys.com:
Amazon is once again offering a promotion for first time users of its Underground App Store that yields a $5 credit when select free apps are downloaded. The promotional credit can only be used to “purchase physical goods” at Amazon and expires 10 days after it is distributed. Full Terms and Conditions below. This is a great chance to load up your new $40 Fire Tablet with some top-rated games.
To redeem your $5 promotional credit, simply follow these directions:
Amazon first launched the Underground app store last August with over $10,000 worth of free titles for Android users. Learn more in our coverage here.
After the big splash made by smartphones and then, albeit with less of an impact, tablets, various forms of smartwatches have tried to sneak in into everyone’s digital life. As companies like Google and Apple try to extend their reach with increasingly bigger ecosystems that attempt to lock users in, the smartwatch race may prove to be an important area, despite the generally lukewarm reception consumers seem to have so far given.
Indeed, much like with chatbots, companies like Microsoft and Amazon may be interested in having a part of their services used right on your wrist, and while not directly coming from the Seattle company, it looks like Alexa may be your next wearable’s digital assistant. iMCO and Chronologics, the two companies behind the project, seem to be on track to deliver the “CoWatch” smartwatch, and have started an Indiegogo campaign that already raised over $10,000 in the first day of debut…
Following the launch of the Type-C equipped Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P and Pixel C devices, Google engineer Benson Leung set out to save us from all the dodgy non-compliant cables and adapters available on Amazon. Without the correct technical compliance, a Type-C adapter could charge a device too slowly, or at worst, ruin the product. Following Leung’s extensive testing, Amazon has now prohibited the sale of non-compliant accessories.
Before former Android head Andy Rubin left Google, he headed up Google’s robotics efforts. In 2013, Google acquired numerous companies and added 300 robotics engineers. The crown jewel was Boston Dynamics, already known for their animal- and human-like robots. However, Bloomberg is now reporting that Alphabet is selling Boston Dynamics.
According to CRN and other sources, iCloud will soon be partially powered by the Google Cloud Platform by way of a deal that could also be used as leverage to cut its cloud costs with Amazon and Microsoft. Such a move is a big win for Google’s burgeoning cloud enterprise business.
Google might just be admitting a notable defeat in its battle with Amazon, with the latter company today saying that Nest thermostats will soon work with Alexa-powered devices. According to a report from Re/code, people familiar with the matter have said that Alphabet’s Nest unit explored the idea of building an Echo-like device at some point, but eventually came to the conclusion that customers wouldn’t be able to trust such a device that was built by the search engine behemoth…
We heard a couple of months ago that Amazon was working on a smaller, more portable version of its Echo voice assistant speaker, and now it’s here. Actually, Amazon has announced today two new Alexa-enabled devices, the Echo Dot (which is the aforementioned smaller version of the larger Echo), and the Amazon Tap, which is essentially an Alexa-enabled portable speaker…
When Alcatel OneTouch (now just Alcatel) launched the 5.5-inch Idol 3 last year, I think it’s fair to say many of us tech reviewers were pleasantly surprised. For a device costing under $300 it had an array of high end features, including a crisp, colorful big screen, great stereo sound and fantastic battery life. Of course, it also helped that the software was clean and almost stock Android.
Huawei recently announced the Mate 8 for intenernational markets and brought its low-end Honor 5X to the United States, but the company apparently isn’t stopping there. Today, the Chinese company began selling another smartphone in the United States. As per its Amazon listing the US version of the Huawei GX8 is available for $350…
Update 2/1 8:29 AM: Best Buy is now offering an additional free $25 Best Buy gift card when you buy a Nexus 6P.
Update 1/29: Newegg is now also offering the Matte Gold variant of the 32GB Nexus 6P for $449 shipped with a free FREMO 11000mAh power bank (a $23 value).
Amazon is offering the Matte Gold variant of the 32GB Nexus 6P for $449 shipped, bringing the recently-announced color down $50 to the lowest price we could find. Amazon is also offering the 64GB model for $50 off at $499 shipped, and both models are also available at Best Buy for the same prices. Alternatively, Google is offering a $50 purchase credit toward a Huawei Watch when you buy any color Nexus 6P…
Amazon has a “fail fast” mindset that results in them creating many services and then quickly shuttering them if they don’t succeed. According to a report from The Information, Amazon is having another go at smartphones, though this time without hardware and instead through software partnerships with OEMs, not taking the failed Fire Phone approach.
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/686917589210148865 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/685497066211176448 align=’center’]
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/685497066211176448 align=’center’]
Yesterday, at CES 2016, Huawei clearly signaled its intent to build its presence in the US. It’ll do so through its own main brand and Honor, it’s more affordable sub-brand. With the Huawei Mate 8 and Honor 5X joining the Nexus 6P, the company now has a strong portfolio of devices available with premium features and build, at different price points…
While the Nexus 6P has been listed on Amazon for quite some time, it was only available through third-party sellers until today. The phone’s availability is currently rolling out now as sold by Amazon itself, and while the 32 GB and 128 GB models are not yet available (at the time of this writing, at least), the 64 GB model is currently listed at $499, which matches the current price on the Google Store.
The Nexus 6P’s availability has been broadening as of late, most recently becoming available at Best Buy as we told you would happen. The gold “Special Edition” model has also become available in India through FlipKart, and we expect that availability of that version will spread to the United States soon. In other related news, you would be foolish not to pick up the 32GB Nexus 6 at $250 via Amazon.
With the ramp up to Christmas well and truly underway, retailers will spend the next couple of weeks offering discounts on some great products. Even though Black Friday weekend has come and gone, there are still some noteworthy discounts out there. On Amazon, right now, you can pick up the 2nd generation Moto G for just $99, unlocked. That’s a discount of $80 on the original $179 price-point. Incidentally, that’s the same price it’s being sold for at Motorola and Best Buy currently.
As specs go, it’s a respectable smartphone, especially given the outlay. It has a 5-inch 720p display, 2070mAh battery, quad-core processor and runs an almost-stock version of Android. What’s more, Motorola has committed to bringing Android 6.0 Marshmallow to it at some point over the next few weeks.
At this price, I can’t imagine anyone will regret buying it. For the past few years, the Moto G has set the standard for other budget smartphones to follow. That’s why the most recent model, the 3rd gen Moto G, made it on to my list of 2015’s best budget smartphones.
Amazon, today, launched a brand new version of its 8-inch Android-based Kindle Fire tablet. The Kindle Fire 8 Reader’s Edition comes with some software and service benefits bookworms will love, and ships with an attractive leather case. It’s available to pre-order for $249 from Amazon now…
