Amazon and Microsoft lead IaaS market
Market analyst Gartner has released a new magic quadrant that visualizes how cloud companies are currently sitting in the market. According to the report, Amazon and Microsoft are the sole leaders of the market, with the rest far, far behind.
Amazon Web Services is leading the charge. Microsoft is (sort of) trailing, but it is still considered a leader in the IaaS market.
Amazon Prime Wardrobe beta: money-saving clothes shopping with free returns
Not content with splashing some cash on Whole Foods, Amazon is also spreading out into other new ventures. The latest is Prime Wardrobe, a new clothes shopping service for Prime subscribers that's currently in beta and offers the chance to "try before you buy."
The service ties in with Amazon Fashion, and it covers more than a million items of clothing. Users can select three or more items to have shipped out to them completely free of charge, and payment is only required for anything that's kept. Returns are free, and Amazon gives shoppers a full week to try out clothes.
The pros and cons of smart light bulbs
Home automation, "the internet of things" or IoT, has been a popular subject for the past couple of years. Unfortunately, that subject isn't always good -- some things have proven infinitely hackable, making it a bit on the worrisome side.
One of the first items to make the mainstream was light bulbs, and we've played around with a few and here is what we have found.
Unsecured Amazon server leaks details of 198 million American voters
Personal data and profiling information about millions of American voters has been exposed in what is believed to be the largest ever leak of its kind.
198 million records were found stored on an unsecured Amazon S3 server owned by Deep Root Analytics, a Republican data analytics firm. It is thought that the data, which dates back more than a decade, includes information about every registered American voter.
There goes the neighborhood, as snobby 'better-thans' wait for their Whole Foods drone deliveries
My first reaction to Amazon buying Whole Foods is "Huh?" Few brands could be any more different. The online retailer is all about giving customers the most for the least amount spent, while the grocer is the pricey purview of the alt-organic lifestyle elite. No moment is better metaphor for Whole Foods' clientele than the exchange I heard between a thirtysomething couple standing at the deli holding chicken luncheon meat. "Is it free range?" the women asked her husband. It had to be, or she wouldn't buy. They argued. I silently chuckled: luncheon meat—not a bird! It's all pressed meat, Honey. You do know that?
But from another perspective, and one transcending retail store presence, are other considerations, like brand affinity and buyer demographics. For the first, Amazon may be all about value, but in an increasingly middle-class and well-to-do demographic kind of way, particularly among city dwellers. Despite sharing similar cut-throat margin, expansive business philosophies with Walmart, Amazon doesn't carry the same stigma among the socially conscious "better-thans". For the second, who do you think plunks down 99 bucks a year for Prime membership or can't wait for two-day free delivery or is too busy to go to the store to buy groceries? Without hard numbers to back the supposition, I'd bet there is lots of existing and potential regular shopper overlap among these customers and those who walk Whole Foods' aisles.
Amazon to buy Whole Foods as its grocery store revolution continues
Amazon's increasingly overt and aggressive push into the grocery retail market has officially gone into full-blown, alarm-blaring fever-pitch mode today as its plans to acquire the brick-and-mortar chain Whole Foods was publicly announced.
Under the terms of the tentative deal, Amazon will pay $42 per share of Whole Foods stock for a total purchase price of $13.7 billion. At the end of trading yesterday, Whole Foods was going for around $33 per share, making Amazon's offer represent a reasonable 27 percent premium.
With Amazon Prime Reload you can earn 2 percent cashback on purchases
Amazon has launched a new cashback program to attract more people to take out Prime subscriptions. Prime Reload lets subscribers earn 2 percent cashback for making payments with a debit rather than a credit card.
It's not quite as simple as that, however; it's not just a case of filling up your basket and checking out. The Reload part of the name refers to the fact that you need to reload your Amazon Gift Card Balance using a debit card. And there lies the rub -- you need to remember to keep your balance topped up.
Amazon kills off unlimited cloud storage option for Amazon Drive
Anyone looking for unlimited cloud storage now has one less option available to them. Amazon is dropping the unlimited storage option for Amazon Drive, meaning that the largest package now available is 30TB.
The unlimited tier has been with us for two years, but it's no longer available for new subscribers, and anyone currently signed up will find their storage space drops when renewal time rolls around. It's not all bad news, however. Amazon Prime subscribers still have access to unlimited cloud storage for photos.
Amazon Prime available at a discount to US customers on welfare
Amazon is slashing the price of a Prime subscription for US customers in receipt of government assistance. Customers with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card are eligible to have their monthly subscription discounted from $10.99 to $5.99.
There are no restrictions on the cheaper Prime subscriptions, and it includes Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Reading, Prime Photos and free shipping just like its full-price counterpart, but Amazon points out that EBT cannot be used to pay for membership.
WWDC 2017: Amazon Prime is coming to Apple TV
It's WWDC 2017 and, for the first time, Tim Cook has revealed the precise number of announcements we can expect from the keynote: six. The first of them is the news that Amazon is coming to Apple TV.
Apple isn't saying exactly when this is happening, but Apple TV is finally going to benefit from Amazon Prime TV. The two companies have traditionally been rivals, but have now managed to become friendly enough to join force.
'Alexa, how do people interact with Alexa?'
A new study analyzing the way users interact with their "smart speakers" shows that the most used feature of devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home isn't to stream music or even to get the latest weather.
The most commonly used feature of smart speakers is asking "general questions," proving that getting answers to life's daily queries and curiosities from a cloud-based computer voice is becoming an increasingly standard practice in today's society.
Now is the time to tap Amazon for refunds for unauthorized in-app purchases made by your kids
It's just over a year since a federal judge ruled that Amazon was liable for the unauthorized in-app purchases made by children. Now the FTC has announced that Amazon is starting to offer refunds for these purchases.
There are said to be more than $70 million in charges from the period between November 2011 and May 2016, and customers now have until the end of May next year to get in touch with Amazon to get their money back.
Amazon's physical retail presence grows in Seattle, New York
As Amazon runs out of ways to expand its mountain-sized market share in the online retail space, its attempts to grow its presence in the real world are continuing to materialize, with new plans being firmed up on both coasts of the United States.
Today, it officially launched AmazonFresh Pickup, a physical location where customers can pick up groceries ordered online, in its corporate home town of Seattle. It also cut the ribbon on its new retail book store in New York City.
Amazon Video app for Microsoft Xbox One S gets 4K UHD support
Amazon Video is one of the best deals in entertainment, as it comes included with a Prime account. As many consumers sign up for the retailer's Prime membership scheme to get free two-day shipping, the streaming video service is often viewed as an added bonus. True, its selection isn't the best, but it is passable. Not to mention, Amazon's original programming is rather solid.
Another great deal is Microsoft's Xbox One S. Not only does it play games, but it includes a 4K Ultra-high-definition Blu-ray disc player. In fact, the console is often less expensive than many such standalone disc players, making it in an insane value. The Xbox One S doesn't just handle 4K from discs, however -- it can output the resolution from video apps too. Now, the Amazon Video Xbox app gets updated with 4K support, meaning an excellent service on wonderful hardware just got even better.
Amazon refreshes Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 tablets
Android tablets aren't very exciting anymore, as manufacturers have seemingly lost focus on them. There have been a few solid offerings here and there, but it is a very sad state of affairs. With that said, Amazon's Fire tablets -- which run a version of Android called "Fire OS" -- still provide rewarding experiences as consumption devices. This is especially true if you are a Prime member. These tablets are definitely a bright spot in the market.
Amazon's tablets have needed a refresh for a while now, and today it happens. The company announces two newly updated models -- the Fire 7 and the Fire HD 8. They both feature Alexa support, of course, and are designed for a quality experience with all types of media, such as movies, music, and books. The 7-inch has a 1024 x 600 resolution, while the 8-inch variant has 1280 x 800. Best of all, they are extremely affordable.
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