Tag Archives: alexa

Four brothers targeted Amazon in alleged $19 million fraud scheme

Four brothers from New York state were arrested and charged by federal authorities Wednesday in an alleged scheme to overcharge Amazon for wholesale orders and pocket $19 million in the process. From 2017 to 2019, the brothers allegedly ran a wholesale business that exploited Amazon’s vendor systems to send the e-commerce giant significantly more stuff …

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Soundbar sale: The Polk Command Bar with Alexa is back down to $199

Broken-record time: A good soundbar will elevate your TV- and movie-watching experience like few other accessories. Ah, but which one? Here’s a good option at a particularly good price. For a limited time, and while supplies last, Amazon once again has the Polk Audio Command Bar for $199, a savings of $100. There are cheaper soundbars, to be sure, but this …

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Amazon lets you talk to Alexa hands

Amazon is making it a little easier to talk to its virtual assistant, Alexa, on your phone. The tech giant said on Tuesday that you can now ask Alexa commands hands-free on its mobile app.  Updating the Alexa app on iOS or Android mobile devices will let you use Alexa to control smart home devices, play music and more without …

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Denon’s AVR

Denon on Tuesday announced its most “affordable” 8K receiver yet, the $649 AVR-S960H, and it offers a host of new technologies, including HDR10 Plus support. The company announced its higher-end X series at the start of June, but prices started at $849. The AVR-S960H will go on sale in July. The 7.1.2-channel receiver includes six HDMI 2.3 inputs, including one …

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Wyze Band hands

The Wyze brand is making a name for itself, having produced some surprisingly affordable smart-home gear that’s also surprisingly good, like the $20 Wyze Cam. I’ve been equally impressed with products like the $20 Wyze Sense security kit, $20 Wyze Scale and $8 Wyze Bulb. (Order each via Amazon or Wyze.com, and you’ll pay about $4 to $10 extra for …

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What to do during quarantine: 12 fun ideas to keep you busy at home this summer

It’s finally summer, and while coronavirus lockdowns are lifting in many states, many of your usual means of entertainment are probably still off the menu. At some point, even the most introverted of us are going to go stir crazy now that it’s so nice outside — especially if you’ve got kids cooped up inside.  The good news is, the internet …

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How people with Down syndrome are teaching Google

When Matthew MacNeil uses the voice-to-text feature on an Android phone, the resulting transcription looks nothing like what he said.   “Hello, my name is Matthew MacNeil. I live in Tillsonburg, Ontario,” becomes “Hello my name is Master MacNeil. I live in traffic Ontario.”  MacNeil, who is 30, has Down syndrome, and he’s often frustrated that voice technology, like the …

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Amazon says a group of scammers set its sights on Alexa device customers

Amazon is pushing back against an allegedly widespread tech support scam that the company says targeted its Alexa and Echo device customers through phony Alexa apps and websites. In a civil lawsuit Amazon filed in federal court in Seattle last week, the company said an international ring in Washington state and India developed a scheme to draw in people looking …

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Amazon upgrades its Fire HD 8 tablet with USB

Back in October, Amazon updated its value-price 10-inch tablet, the Fire HD 10, and now its popular Fire HD 8 gets a similar update, adding a faster processor, 2GB of RAM (up from 1.5), USB-C charging and 32GB of storage in the base 8-inch model (up from 16GB). The new model is $90, or $10 more than the previous HD …

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Sonos One vs. Amazon Echo Studio: Which smart speaker should you buy?

The first smart speakers, the Amazon Echo and Google Home, broke new ground in voice control and artificial intelligence wizardry. But they simply didn’t sound very good for music. It took until the creation of the Sonos One for a relatively affordable smart speaker to couple voice assistants with proper sound quality. The Sonos earns our Editors’ Choice Award for its sound and reasonable price. …

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