Amazon wants you to think of your Fire tablet as not just a tablet but a full-fledged Alexa-enabled device — or more precisely, a slimmed down Echo Show. It’s called Show Mode, and it’s coming as a free software update for current generation Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets. Like the Echo Show, …
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If you’ve been eagerly waiting to experience photography with the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium, your wait will soon be over. The phone is slated to ship at the end of July for $1,000 — and if you buy from Amazon, it’ll toss in the new, completely wireless Xperia Ear Duo headphones. The phone made a splash when it was announced …
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Google is moving ahead with Duplex, the stunningly human-sounding artificial intelligence software behind its new automated system that places phone calls on your behalf with a natural-sounding voice instead of a robotic one. The search giant said Wednesday it’s beginning public testing of the software, which debuted in May and which is designed to make calls to businesses and book appointments. Duplex instantly raised …
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Facial recognition systems might recognize you better now. Microsoft on Tuesday said it has updated its facial recognition technology to improve recognition across all skin tones and genders. The company said it reduced the error rates by up to 20 times for skin tone. The improvement comes as people have raised concerns that current facial recognition systems perform best on …
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Apple is apparently looking to steal a page from Amazon’s playbook. The iPhone maker is tinkering with the idea of a single subscription offering that would combine its music service, original TV shows and magazine offerings, The Information reported Wednesday. The idea bears a striking resemblance to Amazon’s Prime service, which offers subscribers access to music, movies and TV shows, …
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You can now control Alexa’s iOS app with your voice, three months after its release. If you’ve got an iPhone or iPad you can now use spoken commands to ask Alexa questions, play music and communicate with your Echo and other devices. But since Apple has its own assistant, Siri, you’ll still have to physically tap the app to activate …
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AT&T may be preparing to launch another video streaming service after acquiring all of Otter Media, a report suggests. The company’s plan to take full control of the streaming video venture, first reported last week, will give it a streaming distribution platform — Otter Media owns VRV, which hosts anime service Crunchyroll and digital star network Fullscreen. VRV has also …
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The elusive LG B8 series OLED TV has quietly reared its head. The TV costs $2100 for the 55-inch and $3000 for the 65-inch sizes. It’s available now at numerous retailers nationwide and online, including Best Buy and Amazon. The B8 is the cheapest 2018 LG OLED TV yet, undercutting the C8 by $200, but it’s still really expensive. Then …
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Oculus Go has arrived in stores in the UK, Europe and Canada, less than two months after its US debut. Prices for the standalone VR headset start at £199 (€219/CDN$270) — the Facebook-owned Oculus designed Go as an affordable option. It’s available from a variety of retailers in all the new countries: Austria: MediaMarkt Belgium: Cool Blue Canada: Best Buy …
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Good news for Arabic language authors: They now have a spot on Kindle. Amazon on Tuesday said Kindle has a growing selection of more than 12,000 Arabic language books. The digital selection is available on Kindle devices and the free Kindle app on iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and Amazon’s own Fire tablets. “We are excited to make Arabic …
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