Amazon begins slow roll out of new Fire OS 4 update to its 3rd gen Kindle Fire tablets
Amazon just recently announced the launch of new Kindle Fire tablets and Kindle readers. The new tablets will come with version 4 of Fire OS, known as "Sangria" already installed, but it seems last years models will also be shown some love.
Those who turned on their devices today found a surprise -- a letter from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos overlaying the home screen. The announcement is fairly short, but lets customers know that their device will be updated in the coming weeks and also provides a "Learn more" link for the curious.
Add stuff to your Amazon Wish List with a Twitter hashtag
While financial pundits will declare that the economy is getting better, many of us are not experiencing this. Money is tight, and people cannot afford to waste their hard-earned funds. So how do some people get the products that they want, but cannot afford? An Amazon Wish List, of course!
Yes, consumers have the ability to compile a list of their desired items in hopes that friends, family or even strangers will buy it for them. It works surprisingly well, and makes it easy for people to buy you a Christmas or birthday gift. Hell, even the famous Eric 'The Actor' Lynch, who recently died (Rest in Peace), utilized Amazon's Wish List to get gifts from fans. Today, the retailer announces that you can easily add products that you see on Twitter by using a hashtag.
Amazon announces new Kindle Voyage, Fire tablets, Fire Keyboard and Fire OS 4 'Sangria'
Amazon is an innovative company that makes some great products and provides wonderful services. As a Prime member, I shop there very often to take advantage of the free two-day shipping. My family uses the Fire TV almost daily to watch movies and play games and I do all of my reading on the Kindle Paperwhite. Hell, the Fire line of tablets are very enjoyable too. The only arguable misstep is the Fire phone, which many reviewers panned, but I actually liked.
Today, Amazon surprises the tech world with a lot of new devices; three new Fire tablets (including one for kids), two new Kindle e-readers and a new version of its Android fork, Fire OS. Are you excited?
Amazon Kindle's new old bug could expose your account credentials
A security flaw in Amazon's Kindle software could allow hackers to access your Amazon account details.
Benjamin Daniel Musser, a security researcher, discovered the issue, which arises when downloading e-books from websites other than Amazon itself.
Spotify arrives on Amazon Fire TV, requires Premium subscription
Amazon continues to grow the ecosystem for its set-top box, the Fire TV. While its portfolio of offerings hasn't yet reached Roku level, the platform is much newer and still getting its legs under it. Today it expands a bit more with the addition of Spotify.
The music steaming service launched today on the Amazon box, though it does require users to have a Premium subscription, which will set you back a few dollars per month.
Amazon Prime Instant Video comes to Android -- but there's a catch
There are many video streaming services nowadays, such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Instant Video to name a few. Amazon is my favorite though, as it comes bundled with the awesome Prime membership which also offers music streaming, 2-day shipping and much more.
Sadly, Prime Instant Video has not been available on stock Android; you could only get it for the Kindle Fire tablets, Fire phone and Apple's iOS devices. Today however, Amazon announces that its streaming video service is now available for regular Android. Before you get too excited, please know there is a catch; it seems tablets are not yet supported -- weak!
Amazon slashes Fire phone price to 99 cents -- is Apple's iPhone 6 to blame?
In New York, a dollar does not go a long way. Hell, if you are dehydrated, you may be hard pressed to buy a bottle of water at that price. If a dollar is all you have in your pocket, you are going to have a negative experience almost everywhere you go.
Today, your dollar may go a bit further -- at the AT&T store at least. You see, Amazon has slashed the price of the 32GB Fire phone to a shocking 99 cents. Early adopters are going to be mad, as they laid out $199. While discounts in technology are to be expected, please keep in mind, Amazon's phone only launched on July 25! Of course, the iPhone 6 is rumored to be announced tomorrow -- has Apple struck fear in the heart of Amazon?
Amazon holding a one-day flash sale on SanDisk memory products
If you’ve been holding off buying a memory card, flash drive or SSD, now is your chance to snap up a SanDisk bargain.
Today, and today only, Amazon.com has slashed the price on a range of SanDisk products, and there are some serious bargains to be had. SanDisk makes great memory products (most of the SD cards I use -- with the notable exception of an Eyefi Mobi one -- are from SanDisk).
What makes Amazon's Fire TV special?
Earlier this year I obtained both a Roku 3 and an Amazon Fire TV. I use both devices and find both work very well for any home theater enthusiast and media geek. But what separates the two products, aside from a name?
With extensive playing around with each product, I've discovered what does it for me. While the Roku 3 remote is simpler, and contains a headphone jack (handy for when family is asleep, and you don't want to disturb anyone) it doesn't really have a killer feature.
Could buying Cyanogen give Microsoft some smartphone credibility?
I'm not going to retread old ground too much here, but there's no getting away from the fact that Microsoft has something of an image problem when it comes to smartphones. But this could be set to change. The word on the grapevine is that Microsoft -- possibly in conjunction with the likes of Yahoo and Amazon -- is interested in joining forces with, or even, buying Cyanogen Inc, purveyor of some of the finest Android ROMs known to humanity. It's a branch of Android favoured by handset owners who live and breathe tweaking, who want an OS custom made to fit them like a well-tailored suit.
Little is known about what form any future arrangement might take, or how far talks have got so far. But we do know that Cyanogen Inc has met with Satya Nadella -- as reported by The Information. It would be interesting to see where this could go. There are two possible avenues that immediately spring to mind. The first -- and probably the least likely -- is that Microsoft might consider creating custom Windows Phone ROMs. This seems somewhat improbable, but there's another option: Microsoft could be looking to muscle in on Google's Android territory. This is not as far-fetched as it might first sound.
Lizard Squad goes after Xbox Live, Twitch
As you're almost certainly aware if you're a PlayStation owner, this weekend saw an attack mounted on the PlayStation Network which took it down for a large chunk of time.
But PSN wasn't the only gaming service to get bombarded by DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks this weekend, and indeed, other attacks are continuing right now -- courtesy of the so-called Lizard Squad, a "hacktivist" group which is enjoying its time in the media limelight. (Though note that another hacker from Anonymous claimed responsibility for the PSN attack, so it's unclear exactly what went on in that case.)
Amazon buys Twitch for almost $1 billion -- Google left empty-handed
To call Amazon a book-seller at this point is simply not accurate. The company has blossomed into so much more; manufacturing smartphones, tablets, e-readers and pretty much selling everything under the sun. Hell, as a retailer, it is a one-stop-shop for anything, such as streaming media, groceries, and hygiene products to name a few.
Yes, Amazon is trying to be all things to all consumers and quite frankly, it is working. Today, the company's tentacles grab yet another endeavor as it acquires video-game-streaming company, Twitch, for close to a billion dollars.
Amazon gives go-ahead for pilots of 5 new kids shows
In the new online original content landscape, Amazon is not messing around, having announced several new comedy shows debuting this year. Now the streaming video service arm of the retailer is greenlighting new pilots of kids shows as well, though these aren't the first to hit Prime.
In all, five new pilots were announced, though this means little about which will survive, as Amazon allows the viewers to vote. The winners gain a full season production run. The losers simply go away after one episode.
Gmail app hacked with 92 percent success rate
Researchers from the University of California Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering have identified a weakness in Android which allows personal data to be obtained from apps.
Tested against seven popular apps the method was between 82 and 92 percent successful on six of them, only Amazon with a 48 percent success rate proved more difficult to crack. Most vulnerable were Gmail and H&R Block at 92 percent, followed by Newegg (86 percent), WebMD (85 percent), CHASE Bank (83 percent) and Hotels.com (83 percent).
Amazon App Store holds a Coin sale
Amazon's app store utilizes its own currency system, in the form of Coins. These can be used by customers to purchase apps, but like other monetary inventions, it does cost real money. However, Amazon is currently holding a sale.
The company is offering its Coins at a discount, saving customers 20 percent off the regular price. That's a nice saving for the apps you want to grab.
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