Amazon unveiled a new Echo Plus, an updated speaker with more powerful bass and clearer sound that still works as a smart home hub. The updated device adds a larger, 3-inch neodymium woofer and increased back volume, giving the bass a stronger feel and providing clearer mid- and high tones. The $150 (£140, AU$229) device, which has …
Read More »
It’s official: Amazon is getting serious about audio quality. The retail giant announced three new devices that allow you to attach your own speakers: the $35 Echo Input and two devices that cost a lot more. Lacking the microphones of traditional Alexa speakers like the Echo, they’re basically small Alexa audio controllers with multiple inputs and outputs. Both let you …
Read More »
Like the Echo but don’t like its speaker quality? Bring your own! That’s the promise of the Amazon Echo Input, a new $35 (£35) device that’s designed to connect to whatever speakers you want. Coming later this year to the US, UK, Australia and Germany, the little pancake-looking device lacks the built-in speaker found on the $50 Dot. (Australian pricing …
Read More »
Amazon is adding smarts to its voice assistant Alexa to help make life a little easier for busy parents. On Thursday the company said it’s giving Alexa, which powers its Echo line of products, two new features specifically geared toward families with small children. First it’s added a “whisper” mode, in which Alexa will respond to commands in a whisper …
Read More »
On this podcast, we talk about: Speculation that Amazon may have a high-end receiver, amp and subwoofer in the offing. Would a soundbar be next? Apple TV’s latest update to its operating system, bringing Dolby Atmos sound and other tweaks. Now playing: Watch this: Amazon may bring Alexa to high-end audio 2:01 The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis …
Read More »
The Kindle Paperwhite is the model I usually recommend to people looking for an Amazon e-reader, because it’s got all the features you want in a Kindle and isn’t as expensive as the higher-end Oasis. But I always add, “It goes on sale from time to time, so you may want to wait.” Well, on Tuesday it’s on sale for …
Read More »
We thought Amazon’s Fire HD 10 was a good value at $150. Now Amazon’s running a limited-time sale on the 32GB version, bringing its price down to $110. That’s a good deal. We have previously seen it as low as $100, however. “It’s missing a few key apps and features, but with a lower price, faster processor, more storage and …
Read More »
It’s not hyperbole to say that Amazon’s Fire 7 tablet is a steal at $50. That’s just an amazing price for a 7-inch screen that does all the things: books, movies, music, apps, games and so on. Heck, it even has built-in Alexa. How, then, to describe the Amazon Fire 7 tablet for $35? Super-steal? I’ll just say that’s some …
Read More »
The iPhone SE is dead. Long live the iPhone SE! Needless to say, some folks are not happy that Apple effectively put its compact budget phone out to pasture last week. Granted, some other folks — myself included — might argue that there’s a better option in the form of the iPhone 7. Read more: No iPhone SE? No problem. …
Read More »
There was plenty of intrigue brewing for the 70th Emmy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on Monday night. How many of Game of Thrones‘ 22 nominations did the HBO show take home? While HBO usually leads the Emmy nominations, this year it was Netflix on top, with 112 nominations in total, and the streaming property closed out the …
Read More »
