Articles about Amazon

There have long been accusations that digital assistants such as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri are constantly listening in on and recording conversations, and recent events in Portland, Oregon are simply going to serve as extra fuel for conspiracy theorists.

A couple were disturbed to find that Alexa not only recorded a private conversation they had in their house, but then sent it on to a colleague as a message. Danielle says she and her husband felt it was "a total privacy invasion", and it is unlikely that Amazon's explanation will do anything to encourage her to use her Echo every again.

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A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) shows that Amazon has started selling facial recognition software to at least two US law enforcement agencies.

A report published by the ACLU shows that the online retailer has been advertising its facial recognition system -- known as Amazon Rekognition, and described as "deep learning-based image and video analysis" -- to numerous states. Testimonials from the Orlando, Florida Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon suggest that the system is already in use.

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Amazon's Prime Exclusive Phone program is one of the best deals going. If you aren't familiar, this is where quality Android devices are sold at discounted prices to Amazon Prime members. The company used to subsidize the price by showing advertisements on the phone's lock screen, but it has since abandoned that. Instead, the phone is ad-free, but does come with some Amazon apps preinstalled.

Today, Amazon launches the latest Prime Exclusive Phone. The LG K30, as it is called, is your run-of-the-mill Android device, with ho-hum specifications and a generic design. What makes it truly enticing, however, is the price -- a mere $139.99. This is a massive $40 discount off the normal price of $179.99. Wow!

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The smart home is a huge industry right now -- more and more appliances are gaining internet connectivity all the time. For instance, you can control your lights, garage door, television, and sprinkler system with an app nowadays. Hell, there are even internet-connected refrigerators! What a world we live in, eh?

Schlage has been selling smart deadbolt door locks that you can operate via app. Since they also have a key pad, you can share codes with friends and family so they can enter when you aren't around -- don't worry, you can always change the pin. The concept of a child carrying a key around their neck is a thing of the past. Today, the company announces that its Sense Smart Deadbolt and Connect Touchscreen Deadbolt are getting Alexa voice unlock capability. Wait -- is that a good idea? Actually, yes.

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Rumors have circulated for a number of weeks, but now it's official: Walmart has just said it will spend $16 billion buying a controlling sharing in Flipkart, the Indian ecommerce site. The American retail giant fought off a last-minute bid from Amazon.

The deal values Flipkart at $20.8 billion, and will see Walmart taking an initial stake of 77 percent of the company. The remainder of Flipkart ownership is shared between Tencent, Tiger Global and Microsoft, as well as its co-founder Binny Bansal.

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Branching out into yet another field, Amazon has launched its own pet product brand, Wag.

This is not the first time the company has launched an own-label product -- it has already enjoyed success with household goods and baby products. Available to Amazon Prime subscribers, the Wag line starts off with dry dog food, but it will expand into further supplies soon.

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Earlier today, we revealed that Amazon is bumping up the price of a Prime subscription by 20 percent, but this is not the only news coming from the online giant. A newly discovered and little-advertised portal on the Amazon site finds the company offering smart home security installation services.

Ranging in price from $240 to $840, the Smart Home Services packages include the cost of both hardware and installation. In all, there are five packages to choose from, covering everything from simple smart lighting, to full-home security systems.

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At its earnings call yesterday, Amazon revealed that it is increasing the price of Amazon Prime by 20 percent for subscribers in the US.

The new price kicks in from May 11 for new subscribers, and from June 16 for those with existing subscriptions. The increase sees the cost of Prime jumping from $99 per year to $119, and Amazon has not yet given any indication that the hike will be implemented in other parts of the world. There's also a little trick that you can try that may enable you to avoid the price jump.

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While the likes of Google and Apple are making some headway in the home voice assistant market, Amazon remains king. Part of the reason for its success (beyond simply being the first to market) is the retail giant offers a range of Alexa compatible devices to suit every need and budget.

Today, it adds another device to its range, targeting a different, but inevitable demographic -- Echo Dot Kids Edition.

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Through Amazon Key, Prime subscribers can grant delivery drivers access to their home using a special keypad so packages can be delivered when they're out. Today Amazon announces an extension of the program, Amazon Key In-Car, which lets Prime users have deliveries placed in their cars.

To start with, the service is available in 37 US cities, and there are plans to roll it out further. Shoppers are given a four-hour delivery window during which time their goods can be delivered to their vehicle. To start with, there is support for compatible 2015 or newer Chevrolets, Buicks, GMCs and Cadillacs with an OnStar account, and 2015 or newer Volvos with a Volvo On Call account. Vehicle support is also due to extend.

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The voice assistant hardware market is exploding in popularity lately, with devices running software from Amazon, Google, and to a lesser extent, Apple. We can pretty much leave Cortana out of the conversation despite a very good hardware offering from Harman Kardon.

As Apple's HomePod fails due to a still-disappointing Siri, Google and Amazon's offerings remain the cream of the crop. Which of those two you prefer is a matter of personal preference, although I prefer Alexa having tried both. Today, Alexa is getting a unique new feature that sets it apart from Google even more. Called "Alexa Skill Blueprints," you can easily create custom Skills without any programming experience.

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Amazon is making it easier to browse for goods from international sellers and have them shipped to your home country. The company is bringing the "International Shopping" experience to the Amazon Shopping app, and this simplifies the process of accessing Amazon with local language support and to track down items that ship to your country.

The new experience is available to iOS and Android users, and there is support for Spanish, English, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese and German. To start with 25 currencies are supported, but more are due to be added later in the year.

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Subscribers to Amazon's Music Storage service have less than a month to access their music before it is lost forever.

The company has announced that as of April 29, there will be no new subscriptions accepted for the service, and any existing subscriptions will be allowed to expire. If you do not opt to save your MP3s before this happens, you will lose access to them completely.

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University students and anyone in higher education in the UK can now take advantage of Amazon's Prime Student. The monthly plan costs just £3.99 -- half the regular price of Prime -- and it includes unlimited one-day deliveries, access to Prime Video, Prime Music and much more.

Anyone eligible for the program can take advantage of a six-month free trial to see if it's something that works for them. In addition to numerous Amazon services, Prime Student also gives subscribers money off textbooks, stationery and university essentials.

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Amazon is a company that isn’t afraid to take risks, and try new things. Some of its ideas -- like the Echo -- paid off handsomely, while other gambles, like the Amazon Fire Phone, failed miserably.

Amazon is also happy to splash the cash to expand its reach, buying Whole Foods in 2017, and Ring this week. But where can Amazon go next? LendEDU ran a poll of 1,000 American consumers who had purchased something from Amazon in the last 30 days, and asked them whether they’d be interested in using an Amazon-created cryptocurrency for purchases, or banking with the retail giant. The results may surprise you.

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