It’s been more than 700 days since we’ve seen an Apple TV hardware update, but Apple’s not the only company hurrying out the finishing touches on TV set-top box.
Amazon is planning to launch its answer to the Apple TV this March, according to a report from Re/code. The Amazon TV box will take aim at the Apple TV and Roku, utilizing Amazon’s growing video catalog.
The Rumor: Samsung is hard at work trying to copy Apple's Sapphire glass display on the unannounced iPhone 6.
The Verdict: This is an early nominee for least surprising rumor of the year ETNews cites industry sources with inside knowledge on Samsung's meetings with manufactures, but we could've called it as soon we saw the Gold S5 with a fingerprint scanner. Or their Smart Case. Or their Chromebox. Or... you get the point.
Now that Apple is making products in the U.S.A., every state wants to be in on the action. Especially Arizona, who was so determined to get Cupertino to choose the pretty town of Mesa as the location of its upcoming sapphir glass factory that they offered significant benefits — including tax breaks — to get Apple to move in.
From quadrocopter deliveries to rumors of a 3D Kindle smartphone coming in 2014, Amazon has been on the cutting edge of tech for quite some time now. The company’s latest update for its iOS app, however, might be among the most fun new developments we’ve seen.
Along with the ubiquitous bug fixes seen in practically every iOS app update, version 3.2.1 of Amazon’s retail app includes a feature called “Flow” which lets users quickly and easily search for products using their iOS camera.
Wow, this is a surprise. StoryBuilder is a new browser-based web app from… Amazon. It’s a pretty great corkboard app for screenwriters to plan their screenplays, and because it’s browser based you can use it anywhere, on your Mac, iPad or iPhone.
She may have the fastest selling album in iTunes history, but not everyone is happy with Beyoncé’s success — and it’s not just limited to brick-and-mortar stores either.
Responding to Beyoncé’s iTunes exclusive, Amazon has joined Target in announcing that it will not stock physical copies of the Beyoncé album (although the album is available from Amazon’s online US MP3 store if a customer searches for it).
Amazon is gearing up to finally launch its first Kindle smartphone during the first half of 2014. That’s according to supply chain sources who claim the retail giant has recently struck a deal with Primax Electronics to secure its compact camera modules (CCMs) for the new device.
The BBC has updated its official BBC Sport app, introducing support for the iPad and Android-powered tablets. The new release also makes usability and stability improvements, and allows those on Android to listen to live radio — including Premier League commentaries.
There’s no shortage of cloud storage providers, but Amazon’s one of the best around. If you make use of the e-retailer’s Cloud Drive app, then, good news: it just got a little better, with the addition of video uploads and iPad support.
Amazon has today revealed that its family of Kindles brought record sales between Black Friday and Cyber Monday for the third year running. But as usual, the retail giant won’t tell us exactly how many devices it has sold.
Amazon Prime delivery is pretty fast. As long as you pony up $99 every year, you can have pretty much anything shipped to you overnight — even iPhones and iPads — for just $3.99.
But what’s after Prime? According to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on a 60 Minutes interview last night, it’s PrimeAir, a new service in which Amazon will deliver your goods to you via drones within half-an-hour.
Amazon has a new ad out for the Kindle Fire HDX that uses the new iPad Air as a scapegoat. It brags about how the HDX has more pixels (hardly any more), weighs less, and costs less.
Ho-hum. Microsoft, Nokia, and every other competitors make plenty of ads based on practically the same formula. What makes this new one from Amazon special is the iPad Air’s narrator. “This is the magical new iPad Air,” says the male voice with a slightly British accent—perhaps a subtle dig at Sir Jony Ive?
There are far more egregious examples of anti-Apple ads from other tech companies, and Amazon does make good points about the HDX weighing and costing less. Not sure why the narrator for the HDX has such a weird twang, but oh well. At least Amazon won’t have to pull this ad out of embarrassment.
You’ve probably heard that the new iPad mini with Retina display has a significantly smaller color gamut that the larger iPad Air, but how does it compete against rival tablets like the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HDX?
According to the experts at DisplayMate, not very well. In fact, the new iPad mini came a “distant third” in their tablet display shootout, thanks to Apple’s “inexcusable” decision to use old technology.
“Apple was once the leader in mobile displays, unfortunately it has fallen way behind,” DisplayMate says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrJ4LNZrIkM
I’m a genuine believer that even if you have an iPad, there’s room for an e-ink Kindle in your life if you love to read. No one is questioning the design or hardware superiority of the iPad, but the truth is, it’s the distinction between a general use device and a specialized device. An iPad may game, check email, play video, and more, but a Kindle is perfectly suited to the one task it’s meant for — reading books — in a way that the iPad never really can be.
It’s hard for me to really get too bent out of shape about Amazon’s newest ad for the Kindle Paperwhite (a fantastic e-reader), showing users trying to read books on the iPad and Kindle in bright outdoor light. The iPad is criticized for the constant glare bouncing off the screen, while the Kindle is praised for being easy-on-the-eyes.
That’s all true. The iPad kind of sucks at outdoor reading compared to the Kindle. But in the dark, it can do so much more.
Thinking about upgrading your old iPad to an iPad Air, or a new iPad mini with Retina display? Well, Target wants to help. The retailer is now offering customers at least $200 in store credit when they trade in any old iPad, including the original model.
Amazon announced this morning that it has updated its desktop Cloud Player to include support for Mac, after launching the desktop app earlier this year on PC only.
Cloud Player for Mac allow Mac users to manage their entire music library regardless of whether you’re online or offline. The app also lets you shop for music on on Amazon’s catalog of over 25 million songs.
It’s been well over a year since the Apple TV received a significant refresh, so we’ve long been wondering whether Apple was planning to unveil a new model at its iPad event this fall. Amazon listings in France and Germany seem to suggest that’s the case, with the $99 set-top box now out of stock until October 23 — a day after Apple’s event.
If you love the Amazon Video app on your iPhone or iPad all the more now that it can stream AirPlay video to your Apple TV, great news: a new update to the app has just made AirPlay even better.
Amazon’s Whispersync for voice was always an interesting curiosity: You can read a book on your Kindle, seamlessly switch to the Audiobook version, and then switch back again, all without losing your place. This works thanks to the fact that Amazon owns Audible, the biggest audiobook seller around.
The service just got a lot easier to use, thanks to a doubling of compatible titles, and a new Matchmaker service which automatically pairs up any books you already own, and lets you grab the audio version for a big discount.
Amazon is gearing up to launch a new set-top box that hopes to compete with the Apple TV and other video streaming devices this holiday, The Wall Street Journal reports. It’s understood the device is small and resembles a Roku, and it will run apps and provide content from a variety of sources, including Amazon’s own Prime service.
Apple will be “unable” to launch a new iPad mini with Retina display this month due to supply constraints, according to sources in its supply chain, who have been speaking to Reuters. It’s thought the new device will only be available in “limited quantities” this year — if at all — and there’s a possibility it won’t be ready in time for the lucrative holiday shopping season.
Amazon has today unveiled its new third-generation tablet called the Kindle Fire HDX. Like its predecessors, the device is available in 7-inch and 8.9-inch variants, and both feature speedy quad-core Snapdragon 800 processors, high-resolution displays, 2GB of RAM, and stereo speakers.
The larger model also offers an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, which is a first for the Kindle Fire lineup.
In addition to the new models, Amazon has refreshed the Kindle Fire HD to add improved displays, faster processors, and Amazon’s latest software. The retail giant has also reduced the price of the 7-inch device to $139, while the 8.9-inch model is now just $269.
Amazon has added AirPlay support to its popular video streaming app – Amazon Instant Video. Starting today, the new feature allows iOS users to push video from their iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to the Apple TV. Not quite as good as having an Amazon Instant Video channel on the Apple TV, but the move is sure to satisfy Amazon Prime users for the time being.
The update also includes more IMDB integration with cast info, ratings, trivia and quotes. Amazon also says the updated app is faster, more responsive and now supports concurrent downloads. There’s also a new “Customers who watched this also watched…” feature to help users discover more movies and spend more time and money on Amazon. The free update is available now in the App Store.
Source: iTunes
Thanks: Charles!
Are you a big user of the iOS Kindle app? If you intend on updating to iOS 7 first thing when it drops next week, you might want to update your Kindle app sooner rather than later. A new critical update has been released that Amazon says will prevent iOS 7 from messing your Kindle library up.
Following up on the Department of Justice’s revised proposed punishment from Apple’s e-book antitrust case, Apple’s lawyers filed a response this morning claiming the DOJ is trying to give Amazon an unfair advantage on e-books.
Defense attorney Orin Synder said that the DOJ’s 12-page proposal is just trying to find a remedy that will give Amazon a competitive advantage again. Synder had the following to say regarding the DOJ’s proposal that Apple allow App Store developers to sell e-books through their apps without Apple taking a cut:
Remember Gameloft’s $80 Duo Gamer Controller? It was launched in October 2012 and it brought physical controls to our favorite Gameloft games on iOS — but it had a number of major flaws. The biggest one was that it was only compatible with Gameloft games, and that made its $80 price tag all the more bemusing.
But it’s not such a bad purchase at $6.36, which is all you’ll pay for it on Amazon right now.