It is no secret that large tech companies often use various methods to lower the amount of tax they owe in different continents. This has riled up the European Union in the past and now, they intend to do something about it. A couple of weeks ago, reports began surfacing …
Read More »Amazon debuts GameOn service for entry-level eSports competitors
Amazon has placed a lot of focus on expanding into the gaming sector, having built upon its Twitch platform over the years. Now, the retail giant is debuting a new cross-platform gaming service, dubbed GameOn, giving players a chance to win prizes in an eSports-like environment. GameOn is built upon Amazon's sizeable Web Services (AWS), …
Read More »A new Splinter Cell might be unveiled at E3 2018
In June last year, Splinter Cell fans were told that Ubisoft would be picking the IP back up, but it could be a long wait until anything materialises. It seems like 2018 might be the year we see an announcement, however, as an accidental listing points to an E3 reveal. …
Read More »Velocity is introducing Amazon-style ‘smart lockers’ for IT support
For decades, delivery was largely synchronous. You had to be in the right place at the right time, or you'd end up with a look of disappointment and a ‘hastily scribbled card through the door’ from the courier. Amazon is revolutionising the delivery mechanism with technologies like ‘smart lockers' that let …
Read More »Amazon to stop selling Google-owned Nest products as feud continues into 2018
Amazon reintroducing Google’s Chromecast onto its market seemed like it was set to mark the end of the very public feud between the two throughout 2017. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case as Amazon has now announced that it will stop selling Google-owned Nest smart home products as …
Read More »Amazon customers are receiving photos of their front door in flawed security effort
To the surprise of its customers, Amazon users have increasingly been receiving photographs of their own door after a delivery has been made. It turns out that this is one of the company’s new security methods that it has quietly been trialling for the past few months in an attempt …
Read More »Amazon acquires video doorbell maker Ring for $1 billion
Amazon has made a successful push in the home market, with its Amazon Echo taking a sizeable portion of the smart speaker market. It seems the company isn’t stopping there, as it will acquire doorbell startup company Ring Inc. for a whopping $1 billion (£720 mil). The purchase of Ring …
Read More »Twitch lets Prime members vote for the indie title they’ll receive each month, while helping studios
Since Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch and the subsequent expansion of its Prime membership, the company has offered a free game each month to its premiums subscribers. Now, it’s shaking things up with its Indie Amplifier Program, built to help independent game studios while placing the choice in players’ hands. Until …
Read More »Amazon to begin selling Chromecast and Apple TV, possible end to Google feud
Google and Amazon have had a rather public spat for the latter half of the year, with each pulling support for one another. Now, the companies seem to be making some form of progress on a resolution, as Amazon has announced that it will be selling Google’s Chromecast again as …
Read More »Google plans to remove YouTube app from all Amazon products by the end of the year
Google and Amazon have been embroiled in a tit for tat dispute for quite some time now, with each company taking pot shots at the other’s source of revenue. Now, it seems that Google will go as far as to remove its YouTube from all Amazon products by the end …
Read More »Amazon patent self-destructing fail-safe for its drone service
Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery service is still trying to take off, but it seems that the company might have finally quelled customer fears over the vehicle malfunctioning mid-flight. Addressing the safety concerns, Amazon has now been granted a patent for self-destructing drones. Specifically, the paten regards the “direct fragmentation …
Read More »Amazon customers unhappy as many are still waiting for their Xbox One X
The Xbox One X finally released today to such a warm reception that it caused analysts to update their 2017 sales predictions. Unfortunately, some have yet to experience their purchase as Amazon is experiencing stock issues. For days, customers have been reporting that Amazon’s predicted dispatch date didn’t actually match …
Read More »Amazon’s latest patent depicts drones that charge electric cars on the go
Amazon has been pursuing drone related plans for a while now, building up its patents as it fixes potential bugs and finds new functionality for the devices. Its most recent patent showcases a drone meant to recharge electric cars while on the move. The concept of recently granted patent number …
Read More »Amazon’s Echo can now distinguish between voices
Earlier this year, Google implemented its newfound ability to recognise individual voices within its AI-powered devices, something of which was a focus during the Home portion of its Pixel conference. Amazon is not far behind, however, launching Voice Profiles for multiple users on its Echo smart speakers. Amazon’s Echo, Echo …
Read More »Google pulls YouTube from Amazon’s Echo Show device
Google isn't playing nicely with Amazon products as of late, with the search giant removing support for its YouTube platform from Amazon's Echo Show device on Tuesday. A wave of statements regarding the move has come to light, with both companies pointing the finger. Google and Amazon are in direct …
Read More »Amazon rumoured to push Alexa-powered smart glasses
It’s no surprise that Amazon is pushing Alexa given that its virtual assistant dominates much of the market. Alongside implementing the AI into its rumoured 2017 revamp of its Fire TV series, the company is also possibly going to be pushing wearables with its own pair of glasses. The rumoured …
Read More »Amazon said to be launching its own messaging app to compete with WhatsApp, Snapchat and more
We recently heard that Amazon might just be looking to return to the smartphone business, after the company's original Fire Phone failed commercially. Now this week, we are hearing even more about Amazon's future mobile plans, with the retailer apparently planning to launch its own messaging service in an effort …
Read More »Fake AMD Ryzen CPUs appear to be doing the rounds on Amazon
The well known Amazon GPU return scam is now spreading to CPUs.
Read More »Amazon is retroactively limiting SNES Mini pre-orders to just one per customer
With the SNES Mini officially launching in September, many are hoping that they won’t experience the same pain caused by the shortage of the NES Mini. With Amazon UK now limiting all orders to just one console per customer, it looks like history might just be repeating itself. Amazon contacted …
Read More »Amazon fires volley at Microsoft, Google, unveils Echo Show
Following hot on the heels of the Cortana-powered Harman-Kardon Invoke soft launch, Amazon has announced the imminent release of the Echo Show, a digital home assistant-slash-display with integrated Dolby-certified speakers. Amazon's new device builds on the Alexa assistant and adds a number of new features. This will connect you with …
Read More »Amazon to spend $70 million refunding parents charged for in-app purchases
Over the last few years, there have been plenty of horror stories going round of children being left unattended with smartphones or tablets and running up crazy charges on in-app purchases. Amazon was even taken to court over this particular issue, after the FTC received complaints from parents in the …
Read More »Amazon introduces Amazon Cash top-ups in the US, no need for bank cards
US customers of Amazon have been treated to its latest-and-greatest shopping enablement tool: Amazon Cash. Handy, it says, for those who do not own a bank card, but still have a hankering to shop online on Amazon. All you need is an Amazon account, a barcode and some money burning …
Read More »Amazon cloud outage downs vast swathes of the internet
As much as there are many advantages of using a massive cloud infrastructure for your website, when that service crashes, it can take a lot of the internet with it. Take yesterday's downing of Amazon's S3 cloud service, which pulled down a lot of popular websites and services. Ironically enough, …
Read More »Amazon’s new Fire TV stick comes with an Alexa remote
Voice commands for televisions are now smarter than ever and hardly expensive, with Amazon debuting the first of its Fire TV sticks to support its Alexa vocal assistive service. Priced at just £40, the sticks are now available to pre-order, with the first ones set to ship out in April …
Read More »Parachuting parcels: Amazon’s new plan for drone delivery
There are a lot of problems associated with drone delivery, from safe landings and take offs, to the family dog attacking it. But a new patent filed by Amazon suggests that dropping parcels by parachute could be a way to alleviate most of the issues and maybe even ditch the …
Read More »Amazon expands Prime Video in India with exclusive animated shows
While Amazon's strategy for drawing in English speaking crowds to its Amazon Prime Video service might involve live-action shows like The Grand Tour and Mr Robot, elsewhere in the world it's using animation to do the same. In India, Amazon has acquired the exclusive rights to a number of popular …
Read More »Update: Twitch AutoMod is already having some success
The automated moderation algorithm introduced by gaming streaming site, Twitch, earlier this week, is already paying dividends. According to a number of streamers who traditionally have to deal with abuse or fighting in their attached chat, the number of people saying mean stuff has fallen dramatically. Traditionally, viewing any popular …
Read More »Amazon’s first Prime Air drone delivery has taken place
It has been over two years since Amazon first announced Prime Air, its drone delivery service. Since then, the 30-minute delivery service has been tested in countries across the world and this week, the first official Prime Air drone delivery was made here in the UK. For the first customer …
Read More »Amazon Prime Video expands to 200 countries, but not China
Amazon has continued the rapid expansion of its Prime Video service to more than 200 countries around the world. Highlighting the strength of its original programming, Amazon made the announcement among news of discounts for new members for up to six months. While major markets like the U.S., UK, Canada, …
Read More »Twitch AutoMod will try to stamp out chat abuse
Gaming streaming site, Twitch, has announced the introduction of new automated moderation tools, which will try to analyse the intent of messages and block those it deems hateful or abusive. Designed to do what no team of human moderators could achieve, Twitch claims AutoMod will become more effective over time, …
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