Articles about Amazon

The coronavirus pandemic has been bad news for many businesses, but some, like Amazon, have truly thrived. The retail giant recorded an incredible $100bn in sales in the last three months of 2020.

But while that’s amazing news for Amazon, it's not actually the biggest story of the day. Jeff Bezos, the billionaire who founded the company in 1994, is to step down as chief executive to focus on other interests which include Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, and The Washington Post.

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Amazon Prime Day is a bit of a misnomer, as it is two days long (October 13 and 14). But hey, who can argue with that? Having 48 hours of great deals is like celebrating Christmas in October! Hell, some people are predicting these Prime Day deals could be even better than Black Friday.

We here at BetaNews have been sharing top technology news with you for over 20 years, so obviously, we know good tech deals when we see them. So to help you navigate Amazon Prime Day 2020, we have compiled some of the best deals.

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It’s that time of the year again when Amazon takes the wrap off its latest generation of hardware devices. As is to be expected, first up at 2020’s virtual event is the fourth generation of its Echo smart speaker, and this one looks very different indeed.

Switching from the usual cylindrical design to a spherical one, the new Echo promises better all round -- pun intended -- sound. The light ring, that shows you it’s working, listening, or has notifications for you, still exists, but is now at the bottom.

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This upcoming Monday is Labor Day in the USA. It is a national holiday designed to celebrate the hard work of America's laborers. Many will have off from work on this day, but sadly, not everyone will.

Besides getting off from work, another big aspect of Labor Day is sales. Yes, many retailers offer discounts on products as a Labor Day promotion. This year, popular gaming company HyperX is offering some nice deals on several of its products.

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Podcasts have been steadily gaining in popularity over the last several years, but thanks to COVID-19, it feels like interest has exploded recently. After all, people are stuck indoors -- whether unemployed or working from home -- and listening to a podcast is a great way to pass the time. Don't forget, Spotify recently paid Joe Rogan $100 million to get his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, on its platform exclusively.

Pandora may not be the most popular platform for listening to podcasts, but some people do, in fact, use it for that purpose. If you are one of those people, I have great news -- you can now start and listen to your favorite podcasts on Pandora using Amazon Alexa.

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Star Wars sucks. There, I said it. Other than A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the films are all horrible nonsense. Many current fans of the franchise are older men simply clinging to nostalgia. It's sad that Disney takes advantage of them, cranking out terrible new films and TV shows while selling them plastic tchotchkes. For the love of God, people, please stop buying figurines and make-believe laser swords.

If for some reason you are still a fan of the Star Wars franchise, I have some good news. You know that TV show The Mandalorian on Disney+? Remember that Baby Yoda puppet thing that fanboys went gaga over? Well, you can soon have Baby Yoda ears for you 3rd gen Amazon Echo Dot. Yeah, it is an Echo Dot holder with friggin' Baby Yoda ears jutting out from the sides. It is just for decoration, and it adds no features to the device.

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First, for the record, the process I detail here should work on any Android device. With that said, my elderly, but still used, Google Nexus 9 tablet went into an endless reboot cycle a month or so ago that I couldn’t stop. I set it aside for a couple of weeks and began using the Fire 10 tablet I have. I’m fine on Fire 10 and honestly may stick with it, but seeing the Nexus sitting there useless bothered me so I decided to give it one more shot.

Yes, I know this tablet launched in 2014 when Lollipop was the current iteration of Android, but I still like it. So, here’s how I solved it.

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Want to know a secret? Nobody that buys an Amazon Fire tablet actually wants one. It's true. They see the higher price of an iPad or good Android tablet, and then instead convince themselves that a cheaper Fire tablet is just as good. This is particularly true for those giving a tablet as a gift. If someone presents you with an Amazon Fire tablet for Christmas or your birthday, it pretty much means they didn't think you were worth very much money. Although, it could also mean they just don't have a lot of money.

But hey, that doesn't mean a Fire tablet is totally bad. In fact, they are actually quite decent for content consumption (especially if you are invested in the Amazon ecosystem). With that said, without access to the Google Play Store, they can be rather frustrating. Today, Amazon unveils three new variants of its 8-inch tablet -- Fire HD 8, Fire HD 8 Plus, and Fire HD 8 Kids Edition.

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Big technology companies have been recently coming under increased scrutiny from federal regulators. Several tech companies are reportedly under investigation, but this column is only about Amazon, which seems to be in regulatory crosshairs in part because President Trump doesn’t like Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns one of Trump’s least-favorite newspapers, the Washington Post. Ironically, Trump’s goal of breaking-up Amazon would only make Jeff Bezos at least $35 billion richer.

It’s simple: Amazon is worth a lot more in pieces than it is as a single company.

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Video doorbells are some of the best examples of how the "connected home" can be truly beneficial. These doorbells can alert you to both visitors and intruders -- plus package deliveries and package thieves. Best of all, many models allow you to interact remotely, giving someone at your door the illusion you are home. Ultimately, they are ideal for both convenience and security.

Unfortunately, not all models are created equally. Amazon's "Ring" brand is undeniably the most popular video doorbell on the market, but sadly, it is also the most untrustworthy. You see, it has been found that not only does Ring have terrible security and privacy practices, but Amazon also has many deals with law enforcement. By purchasing a Ring, you are essentially helping turn your neighborhood into a police state.

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Another year over and a new one just begun. That’s where we are today, not only a new year, but a new decade. Welcome to the 20s. The last time we had those my grandparents were young kids, Flappers were in style and nobody saw the great depression coming.

To celebrate the passing of time I'm going to look back at my favorite tech of 2019. Not all is new, but some is. The others are just things I still use all the time. I shall begin with the three new items.

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Well, folks, Christmas 2019 is now in the rear view mirror. Hopefully you and your family had a wonderful holiday. Following Christmas, there is one big important tradition -- Amazon's bragging! Yes, every year, the online retailer loves to brag about its successful holiday shopping sales. They are always the best ever, of course, and this year, things are no different.

Yup, Amazon is claiming that it had record-breaking sales during the 2019 holiday shopping season. While the company doesn't share actual sales numbers, I actually don't doubt its claims. This year, when I went to brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday (and the days after), the stores were clearly experiencing a huge drop in foot traffic. In other words, Amazon has seemingly continued its trend of cannibalizing traditional retailers, but this year, it seemed much more dramatic. Hell, I ended up doing 90 percent of my own Christmas shopping on Amazon and I don't even have Prime!

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As fear mounts in the UK at the prospect of the NHS being sold in part or in whole to the US, the government has decided to give Amazon access to National Health Service data for free.

The arrangement means that Amazon will be able to access "healthcare information, including ... symptoms, causes, and definitions". The tech giant will be able to use the data in conjunction with Alexa to enable users to get medical help and advice via the digital assistant.

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In response to customers demanding portability in their digital assistants, Amazon has launched a battery-powered version of its Echo device.

Lengthily named the Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition, the device features a 4,800mAh rechargeable battery which Amazon says should be enough for 10 hours of non-stop music playback. But while the allure of using Alexa while freed from a wall socket may be strong, it could be a while until you can get your hands on a battery-powered Echo.

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When Microsoft was awarded the controversial $10 billion JEDI contract by the US Department of Defense, many people voiced surprise -- including rival bidder Amazon.

Now Jeff Bezos' company is heading to court, claiming that the process of choosing who to assign the contract to was biased. But these claims have been denied, with the Department of Defense saying there was no outside influence involved in the decision.

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