The worlds of voice assistants and streaming devices are quickly colliding.  In just the past 24 hours, Amazon unveiled a new Fire TV with integration to its Alexa digital butler and the Nvidia Shield became the first TV device to get Google Assistant. For today’s episode, we invited CNET’s TV guru, David Katzmaier, to run …

Big, expensive crystal home-decor pieces aren’t for everyone, or even most people. But for the few who are on the market for items such as crystal vases and bowls, shopping may have gotten a bit easier. Mastercard and Swarovski said Monday they’ve teamed up to create a new virtual-reality shopping app for browsing through a virtual home filled with crystal …

Amazon said Wednesday it’s reviewing its website after a British TV station found the company may have been helping people buy bomb-making ingredients through its “frequently bought together” feature. The report from Channel 4 News said Amazon’s site would recommend customers buy together combinations of elements required for making crude bombs. In one instance, Amazon cued up a recommendation for …

The Apple Watch got upgraded with a cellular connection, but it’s still got problems. We brought on reviewer Scott Stein for today’s podcast to discuss his appraisal of the new Apple Watch Series 3, which he said suffered from limited battery life and isn’t as free from an iPhone as some may have hoped. Plus, we talk about the new …

Airbnb wants to serve you dinner. The home-rentals company on Wednesday said it’s starting to offer restaurant reservations in 16 US markets through its app. The startup Resy, which Airbnb invested in earlier this year, is powering the restaurants data and running bookings. “We’re really excited to make it incredibly easy to book great food,” Joe Zadeh, vice president of …

The Amazon devices team used to make devices. Now, they make different shaped houses for Alexa. The e-retailing giant on Tuesday unveiled a new Fire HD 10, Amazon’s first tablet to include a hands-free mode for accessing Alexa, the company’s voice assistant. To entice shoppers into buying the new tablet, Amazon also added a faster processor, increased the battery life …

Reviews of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are out and are largely ho-hum about the latest smartphones from Apple. Sure, there are some nice updates for both phones. But are they really worth getting or is it better to wait for the higher-end and more expensive iPhone X, which ships in early November? One feature, though, that may …

One of the strangest eBay auctions of the year will end tonight, with the seller in a jail cell. Of course, anyone following the life of Martin Shkreli, popularly nicknamed “Pharma Bro,” may not be all that surprised by the situation. Enlarge Image Shkreli’s listing as of Friday afternoon. eBay, Martin Shkreli Shkreli, a pharmaceuticals entrepreneur who rose to infamy …

Apple wrapped up months of rumors and speculation about its latest flagship phones with an unveiling Tuesday of three new models: the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. We run through many of the details on the phones, with the X (pronounced “10”) getting many of the newest features but also a higher price, starting at $999. Especially …

Amazon’s controversial 1-Click patent opens with a summary that’s decidedly dry. It reads: “A method and system for placing an order to purchase an item via the Internet.” Despite its stiff language, that US patent, which was granted in 1999, helped open the internet to droves of shoppers by allowing customers on Amazon.com to buy stuff with — you guessed …