Articles about Amazon

Amazon has just given people another reason to pay for their Prime subscriptions on an annual rather than a monthly basis. The company has increased the cost of a monthly subscription by $2 per month.

This is the first rise in Amazon Prime subscription pricing for a few years now, and the fact that the annual fee remains unchanged is a clear indication that Amazon is eager to lock customers into year-long packages.

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We're used to digital assistants controlling more and more aspects of our daily lives, but a UK police force is looking at how Amazon Echo could help in fighting crime.

Police in Lancashire, north west England, are looking at how Alexa could relay information about missing persons or updates on local crime to citizens. It could also be used in the reporting of minor offenses, freeing up police call centers to deal with more serious issues.

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In an attack on Amazon, President Trump has called upon the US Postal Service to charge the retail giant "much more" to ship packages to customers.

This is not the first time Trump has hit out at Amazon and Jeff Bezos, but his latest vocal volley was not well-received by his followers on Twitter.

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As well as being a handy way of storing items you've bought from the site, Amazon Music also allowed you to upload your own tracks and stream them from its cloud.

Now though the company is quietly pulling the plug on this aspect of its service. Previously you could store 250 tracks for free, or 250,000 if you paid an annual subscription. But the ability to upload new songs is now being withdrawn.

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Surfing the web on your television is hardly new. In fact, WebTV (later renamed MSNTV) launched over 20 years ago. If you don't remember that device, it was essentially a box that connected to a television and let people surf the web and access email. It was marketed towards those that were averse to buying or using a full-fledged computer, such as grandma and pop-pop. Over time, its popularity decreased, and ultimately, the service was shutdown by its eventual owner -- Microsoft.

Accessing a web browser on a TV-connected device remains an easy affair, but starting today, it may be even easier. You see, the Firefox web browser is now available for the low-cost Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. In other words, if you know someone who doesn't want a computer but could benefit from occasional web browsing, Amazon's media box may be a great option. I guess you could say that Firefox for Amazon Fire TV is sort of the new WebTV!

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Christmas is quickly approaching. If you haven't finished shopping for gifts, what the heck are you waiting for? The longer you wait, the more anxiety you will feel about potentially not having presents ready to give on the big day. Thanks to the internet, you really have no excuse -- other than a lack of money -- to be empty-handed when visiting with friends and family this holiday season.

Speaking of online shopping, Amazon is one of the most popular such retailers. Quite frankly, I have done about 90 percent of my Christmas shopping on that site. I mean, can you blame me? Amazon has competitive pricing, a huge selection, and great shipping options. In fact, today, the company announces that it is extending its free shipping offer until December 16. This means you can have gifts delivered by Christmas at no charge if you place your order no later than tomorrow -- no Prime needed!

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Apple TV users in more than 100 countries now have access to Amazon Prime Video. The arrival of the streaming service means that anyone with an Apple TV 4K or an older model can enjoy a plethora of movies and Prime Original series.

On top of this, in the US, the Apple TV app brings live sports to iPhone, iPad and Apple TV users. There are already a number of supported sports apps within the Apple TV app, including those from ESPN and the NBA, and more will be added.

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Google has announced plans to block its YouTube apps from Amazon's Echo Show and Fire TV as the situation between the two companies stepped up a notch. This is, of course, not the first time this has happened.

The bad feeling stems from Amazon's unwillingness to stock Google products such as Chromecast, Nest and Google Home, and refusing to make its Prime Video service available to uses of Google Cast. Amazon's use of a "hacked" version of the YouTube app on its hardware has also been a bone of contention.

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Feeling cold, hot or insecure? There are many solutions provided by the Internet of Things, from lights, cameras, locks, thermostats and much more. You need to choose carefully though as not all work as claimed, and some have rather glaring security problems. But, if you're up for the challenge, then you can set up a fairly cohesive and secure system in your home.

One of the top purveyors of some of these products is Nest, part of Google/Alphabet. If you have been looking for a smart thermostat or security camera then this may be a good time to pull the trigger.

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My last column was about the recent tipping point signifying that cloud computing is guaranteed to replace personal computing over the next three years. This column is about the slugfest to determine what company’s public cloud is most likely to prevail. I reckon it is Amazon’s and I’ll go further to claim that Amazon will shortly be the new Microsoft.

What I mean by The New Microsoft is that Amazon is starting to act a lot like the old Microsoft of the 1990s. You remember -- the Bad Microsoft.

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If you want to get a hardware voice assistant, you cannot go wrong with Echo. Amazon's hardware is great, but more importantly, its "Alexa" assistant is much more capable than any of its competitors. This can largely be attributed to developers -- there are countless "skills" and compatible devices that make the entire Alexa experience a joy.

Still haven't bought an Echo? Well, I have some great news. Waiting sometimes has its benefits, and today, those still on the fence about Echo should definitely pull the trigger. You see, Amazon will be selling a special PRODUCT(RED) version of its second-gen Echo.

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If you haven't used a Harmony product and you have a home theater system then you may be missing out. The Logitech devices can control all manner of things from receivers, TVs, Blu-ray players, and so on, to many Internet of Things products in your home, such as light bulbs like LIFX and thermostats such as Nest.

If you have an Amazon Echo, better known as Alexa, then you can already do a bit of that, turning your recliner into a throne from which you can oversee your kingdom.

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Did you read the classic JRR Tolkien books? Perhaps you saw the award-winning series of movies that did a phenomenal job of portraying The Lord of the Rings story. There are, of course, some things left out for brevity's sake -- it's hard to put that many words on the big screen.

For everyone who reminisces about the books and/or the films there will soon be a way to get transported back to that magical land of elves, dwarves, wizards, orcs and other creatures that reside in a certain part of our psyche.

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Not long after releasing the original Amazon Fire TV as a small set-top box, Amazon shrunk its player down into stick form. It's a small dongle that plugs directly into an HDMI port on your TV or monitor, or even an HDMI switch if you'd like to easily move between sources.

Now the retail giant is opening up the market for the Fire TV Stick to people around the globe, bringing entertainment to everyone.

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Amazon is gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas with a new discount scheme. The online retailer has introduced a new "Discount provided by Amazon" tag, discounting independent merchants' prices -- at its own cost -- by up to 9 percent.

This is the first time Amazon has taken control of third party pricing, and in shouldering the cost itself the company is helping to ensure competitive pricing across the board, keeping customers on the site.

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