It seems that Amazon is finally throwing in the towel with its Fire Phone. After the hype leading up to its launch, Fire Phone has been struggling to stay afloat. It’s best to think of the Fire Phone as a smaller version of a Kindle Fire tablet, but with a few extra gimmicks and features thrown in along with a free year of Amazon Prime.
The Fire Phone may have been a disappointment to the market, but Amazon isn’t giving up on its attempt to push it into the hands of consumers this holiday season. The Fire Phone can now be purchased unlocked and off-contract for only $199 (32GB Version)…
Amazon has today updated its Android app to support Lollipop, but with the update comes a very nice surprise. With the newest version of the app, you can use your Android Wear device to make search for products, make purchases, and save things to your Wish List.
The app will work for anyone who’s on Android 4.3 or later and also has an Android Wear device—all you have to do is say “Start Amazon.” To get the Android Wear counterpart, all you have to do is update the Amazon app. As mentioned, today’s update also packs Android 5.0 Lollipop support and the usual bug fixes.
Here’s the full changelog:
* Includes the Amazon app for Android Wear. Customers with Android 4.3 and above in the US with an Android Wear watch can use their voice to search, buy and save shopping ideas to their Wish List. Just say “Start Amazon” from your Wear watch.
Uber has already disrupted taxi service in metropolitan areas like San Francisco, New York and Chicago with its affordable and convenient ride-sharing service, and now the multibillion dollar startup could be planning to use its massive fleet of vehicles and drivers to take on delivery services like Amazon Prime, Google Express, FedEx and UPS. Expand Expanding Close
Amazon today announced a new hardware product called Echo. It’s essentially a speaker unit dedicated to being a voice-control system. It kind of sounds like Google Now but in a speaker for a single room instead of in your Android smartphone, tablet, or watch.
You can set alarms, control music, ask about the weather, search the web, ask questions, and access local news. It streams content via Bluetooth and WiFi, and connects to the Fire Phone (if you have one), iOS via the browser, Android, and desktop computers via the web. Instead of “Okay Google,” you say “Alexa” to start speaking the device. You’ll need a Fire OS/Android device to take full advantage.
The whole concept is very futuristic, and it’s unclear how beneficial this will be to people with voice-controlled phones. But, hey, this comes from the developers of a faux-3D phone, so this is not completely out of left field. The Echo is $99 for Amazon Prime users, $199 for everyone else, and (for some reason) you need an invitation to receive the honor to buy one of these things.
Samsung on Wednesday announced that the Gear Circle is now available in the United States at select T-Mobile stores nationwide, with an expanded rollout of the device at AT&T, Amazon and Samsung’s online store to take place later this month. Samsung’s Gear Circle will also be available in white exclusively from Best Buy locations in the future. Expand Expanding Close
According to Amazon, the Fire TV Stick has 4 times as much storage (8GB) and 2 times as much memory (1GB) of Chromecast. It’s also the only one of the big three streaming sticks that packs a Dual-core processor, which Amazon says “results in faster and more fluid navigation.”
Fire TV Stick includes a physical remote, which doubles as a gaming controller. Aditionally, for a $30 up-charge, you can outfit your Fire TV Stick with a voice remote to take advantage of Voice Search. A free remote app is also available now for Android and will be landing on iOS shortly.
Available streaming content includes: Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, NBA Game Time, Prime Music, Pandora, Spotify, and more for instant access to shows like Transparent, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, and The Wire—plus the largest selection of movies and TV episodes to rent or buy from Amazon Instant Video.
ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) allows for instant streaming by automatically buffering videos the Fire TV Stick predicts you’ll want to watch. Amazon also promises future support for WiFi networks with captive portals like hotels, airports, college dorms, and more.
Despite poor Fire Phone sales, AT&T is furthering its relationship with Amazon and is now offering the online retailer’s Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch tablet. You can purchase the slate from Ma Bell for $100 on a two-year service agreement or take it home with no money down for $10 per month (for 20 months) under AT&T’s Next program.
Last week, Amazon started accepting pre-orders for the Nexus 9 and now the giant online retailer is taking orders for the tablet’s official accessories. If you plan on picking up Google’s HTC-made slate, but would like to add some physical buttons to your setup, check out the Nexus 9’s Keyboard Folio. That is if you can get over its $130 asking price.
Samsung’s official launch of its new Galaxy Note 4 kicked off in Korea late last month, but now an unlocked variant of the device is available in the US through Amazon. The sales come ahead of the device officially shipping through carrier partners in the US later this month. Expand Expanding Close
HP this afternoon quietly took the warps off of its latest Android tablet. The HP 10 Plus is available today from both HP’s website and on Amazon for $279.99. The company has yet to issue an official press release for the tablet, but the listing on its website explains most of what potential buyers will need to know.
The 10.1-inch device features a 1920×1200 resolution and is packing an ARM Cortex A7 quad-core processor clocked at 1 GHz. The processor is coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, as well. HP touts (which it shouldn’t) that the device gets 6 hours of battery life out of its 7700 mAh supply. The HP 10 Plus is running Android 4.4.2.
While the specs of the HP 10 Plus are nothing to get too excited about, the tablet offers another option for potential Android tablet customers.
Just to clarify, nearly all of apps included in this promotion are compatible with Android mobile devices, not just Kindles. If you don’t have the Amazon App Store for Android, then follow these three steps to install it on your smartphone or tablet.
Google chairman Eric Schmidt and former product manager Jonathan Rosenberg are currently on tour promoting their new book How Google Works, and as the co-authors continue making their rounds, they’ve been engaging in some rather assertive interviews. This time around the duo stopped by Bloomberg’s Market Makers with hosts Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle. The group talked about the search giant’s biggest competitors like Apple, Yahoo, Amazon and others. Here are a few highlights from the 15 minute segment.
Despite the Fire Phone’s unfavorable reception from critics and consumers alike, Amazon isn’t scaling back its hardware efforts. The company’s Lab126 division that develops Amazon’s mobile products is reportedly increasing its staff in order to further pursue its interests in home automation and wearables. According to Reuters, Amazon is in the process of testing a WiFi device that can be added to a closet or cupboard, allowing consumers to order relevant products like detergent with the press of a button.
Following a big day of Apple news, Kindle has unleashed a massive refresh of its Kindle lines, including three refreshed Kindles and—interestingly—one completely new Kindle model. The lineup includes the company’s new flagship e-reader dubbed Kindle Voyage, a new entry-level Kindle that now packs a touch screen, an updated Kindle Fire HDX, and a new Kindle Fire HD, which is starting at just $99. Expand Expanding Close
Amazon seems to have finally accepted that access to Amazon Instant Video still isn’t going to make anyone want to buy a Fire Phone. As of today, Amazon Prime members in the U.S. can watch Instant Video on any Android device using the updated Amazon app.
Prime members in the US can stream unlimited Prime Instant Video from inside the Amazon app using the Prime Instant Video player, including HBO shows The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Six Feet Under, and The Wire …
Is the Amazon Fire Phone simmering out? Recent estimates reached by The Guardian pegged the device at having sold less than 35,000 units and today Amazon and AT&T are bringing down the price to 99¢ on a two year contract less than two months after launch. The device was previously priced at $199 for 32GB with a two year commitment, which many observed was a rather high price point for a not-so-remarkable handset mostly differentiated by its 3D effect and Amazon Prime services… Expand Expanding Close
Earlier this year, Amazon unveiled its plans for using drones to deliver products to customers, and now Google has revealed that it is working on something similar. According to two separate reports from The Atlantic and BBC, the secretive Google X team has been hard at work on Project Wing, a drone-based delivery system, for more than two years.
The idea of Google using drones to deliver goods is something that 9to5Google has reported on for some time now, including as far back as October of 2012, and again a few months later. Google said the following in a statement regarding Project Wing:
Project Wing is a Google[x] project that is developing a delivery system that uses self-flying vehicles. As part of our research, we built a vehicle and traveled to Queensland, Australia for some test flights. There, we successfully delivered a first aid kit, candy bars, dog treats, and water to a couple of Australian farmers.
We’re only just beginning to develop the technology to make a safe delivery system possible, but we think that there’s tremendous potential to transport goods more quickly, safely and efficiently.
CyanogenMod—which is probably the most well-known fork of Android—lets users customize their phone beyond what Google intends, and touts having as many as 12 million active installs across a variety of devices. But the company behind the famed alternative operating system is reportedly getting a lot of attention, notably from companies that would consider themselves some of Google’s biggest rivals.
According to numbers crunched by The Guardian‘s Charles Arthur and based on data from Chitika and comScore, it appears as if the Amazon Fire Phone isn’t exactly setting hardly anything on fire. In fact, if this report is to be believed, Amazon hasn’t sold more than 35,000 total Fire Phone units since the much-hyped unveiling of the device in June.
Almost a month ago, it seemed like Google’s reported $1 billion acquisition of the video game streaming website Twitch was a done deal. However, according to The Information, Amazon is in “late-stage” negotiations to purchase the company instead. The financial terms of this rumored deal have not been disclosed, so it’s unknown what would cause talks between Mountain View and Twitch to fall apart.
There was very little reason for any self-respecting gadgeteer not to pick up a Chromecast stick at the full price of £30, but there’s even less excuse now that three online retailers – Amazon, Tesco and Currys – have discounted it to just £18.
Amazon is offering it with free delivery too. There’s no indication that this is a permanent price-cut (it’s still sitting at £30 on the Google Play site), so if you’ve been considering one, now would be the time to buy – especially with three free months of Google Play Music All Access thrown in.
Chromecast recently celebrated its first birthday, Google reporting that it had been used to cast content 400 million times in its first year. The capabilities of the devices have grown steadily, with Google last month adding mirroring from almost any Android device.
Amazon’s Fire Phone didn’t get off to the best of starts, with most reviews panning it, but it just got a little better thanks to its first over-the-air update – mostly providing things it should have had in the first place.
Fire OS 3.5.1 provides a quick means of switching between apps, app folders, pinning of favorite apps to the home carousel, improved battery-life and more. To install it, swipe down from the top of the home screen to open Quick Actions, select Settings, then tap Device > Install system updates > Check Now to download. Once it’s downloaded, tap Install System Update and wait for the restart.
If the improvements are enough to make you consider a Fire Phone of your own, it’s available direct from Amazon from $649 outright or from $0 to $299 on contract.
You can read chapter-and-verse on all the improvements below. Expand Expanding Close
Small businesses looking to take occasional card payments without paying monthly fees now have a third option as Amazon has launched Local Register to compete with Square and PayPal Here – as we predicted last month over on 9to5Mac. The $10 card-reader is currently only compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and S5, along with the Kindle Fire HD and HDX tablets, but more devices are expected to be added.
Amazon is undercutting both competitor services with a flat fee of 2.5 percent per transaction (vs 2.7 percent for PayPal Here and 2.75 percent for Square). Not enough? Amazon is sweetening the deal with a special introductory rate of 1.75 percent until the end of 2015, and will also credit the $10 cost of the cardreader in full against transaction fees … Expand Expanding Close
Chromebooks are already making waves with educators and school districts and of course retailers are no exception. Amazon is currently running a back to school promotion that knocks $20 or more off the regular asking price of select Chromebooks. This brings some device’s like the Acer C720P Chromebook to an all time low. Other machines like the HP Chromebook 11, which features an Exynos 5 processor, 2GB of RAM and an 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 display are available for $200.
