For some odd reason, Amazon has dropped support for its own game controller from the pendant design Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD and the Fire TV Cube. The lack of support was revealed quietly in a small warning added to the Fire TV Game Controller product page. The controller remains compatible with older Fire TV devices, however.
A survey run each year called the Prophet Brand Relevance Index (BRI) shows the role company brands play in people's lives. This year is the fourth in which the Brand Relevance Index was run in the United States, and the analysts at Prophet have some interesting results to share. While we'd expect brands like Google and Samsung to be running up closer to the top of the study's resulting "relevant brands" list, it's Apple that takes the cake this year.
Starting in November, Amazon will sell live Christmas trees measuring about 7ft tall with free shipping for Prime customers. The company plans to offer multiple tree varieties, including Douglas fir, Norfolk Island pine, and Fraser fir, giving customers in the United States a way to get a live tree without renting a truck or driving to a farm. The company will also offer a decorative wreath and plant.
If you use a smart speaker or a personal assistant like Alexa on your smartphone, there's a good chance you're using it to stream music and check the weather. Such a conclusion comes from a newly published study by Adobe Analytics, which found that among US users, the majority ask voice assistants to stream music or retrieve the forecast.
Amazon plans to open a cashier-free store in New York, according to a new report. Called Amazon Go, the futuristic shop is already open to the public in Washington, where three stores are available to Amazon customers in Seattle. Based on a newly surfaced job listing, another Amazon Go store will soon be arriving in the New York area, that joining ones expected to launch in Chicago and San Francisco.
Amazon's 2018 tablets are here, both with Fire, both with Alexa. There's an Amazon Fire HD 8 and an Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition ready to roll here in September of 2018, and they're both pretty similar to one another. Today we're going to take a peek at what the Fire HD 8 (for 2018) is all about - just the basics.
UE Boom and Megaboom owners received an unpleasant surprise after updating the maker's mobile app: the speakers no longer support Amazon Alexa. The models, which originally launched as "dumb" speakers before getting Alexa as part of a smart update, are once again reduced to simple Bluetooth functionality.
Amazon is now the second public US company to hit $1 trillion market cap in history. The first was Apple, who hit the same landmark just this August. This isn't likely a moment that'll change the way Amazon operates - just the way they're viewed in the history of our consumer-centric world. Alexa's in your living room and an iPhone is in your pocket.
Amazon has become the second publicly listed US company to reach a $1 trillion valuation, the milestone coming only weeks after Apple reached the same figure. The milestone follows an aggressive increase in Amazon's net income, which jumped from $197 million in Q2 2017 to $2.5 billion in Q2 2018. The company rolled into this year at a little over half of its current value, jumping to the $1 trillion threshold in only a handful of months.
Amazon is working on a new video streaming service that will be ad-supported and only available on Fire TV, according to a new report. The alleged service won't cost anything -- except the time to watch advertisements, of course -- providing an attractive alternative to the existing Prime Video product. The service is reportedly being developed by the Amazon subsidiary IMDB.
Earlier this year, Amazon introduced Prime Book Box, a box of curated books targeted at young children. The new offering was only available through an invitation at the time, but the company has officially opened it up to all Prime customers located in the United States. Buyers can choose to receive a box every month or only a few times a year, depending on their needs.
Amazon Alexa lives inside the newest Bose speaker, a Bose Smart Speaker, made to sit on your counter-top. The first of several machines was made to deliver "the acoustic excellence and superior design Bose is known for - all hands free." It'll do so as it serves up Amazon's own products as quick as possible. This is the Home Speaker 500, and it's made to do battle with Apple's HomePod and the Google Home Smart Speaker right out the gate.