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Amazon begins early Black Friday sales on its own devices
Some Fire tablets are half price, while the Kindle is down from $90 to $50.
Amazon is running a Labor Day sale on Kindles and Fire tablets
You can save around 33 percent on many of the devices.
Galaxy Tab A7 review: You get what you pay for
Few companies are even making budget Android tablets anymore. The $230 Galaxy Tab A7 runs Android 10 on a 10-inch screen and has a sturdy yet lightweight frame. Samsung says this thing was “made to entertain,” so if you’re looking for a budget-friendly device for watching movies or playing games, this could be up your alley.
Amazon's latest Fire HD 8 tablets boast sleeker looks and wireless charging
Amazon has updated the Fire HD 8 with new designs, better performance and perks like wireless charging on one model.
These are all of the Alexa devices Amazon unveiled today
Today, Amazon held its second-annual hardware deluge. Like last year, the company had a lot to unveil. It revealed a slew of Echo devices, Alexa-powered wearables, Ring's first indoor security cam and a smart oven. The company also shared Alexa updates -- like the voice assistant's ability to impersonate celebrities.
Fisher-Price built a stationary bike for your toddler
Fresh air? Sunlight? Who needs that mess when your kid can get all the exercise he needs while exploring the Great Indoors? Here at CES, Fisher-Price debuted its Think & Learn Smart Cycle. If you think it looks like a tiny $150 SoulCycle bike with a tablet stand, you're right.
Amazon's next Fire tablet could look a lot more like Android
While there's talk that Amazon will soon release a $50 6-inch Fire tablet, the company apparently wants to make sure all bases are covered. Well-known leaker Evan Blass has shared an render of an upcoming 10-inch Fire slate, which would become the retailer's biggest to date. While the specifications are unknown, it's clear that the tablet runs Android Lollipop and the UI is a little different from what we've seen before. It signals that the company might be moving away from the carousel of apps and services on existing Fire tablets and embracing a cleaner look and feel for fireOS.
Amazon's Marvel deal puts 12,000 comics in the Kindle store (updated)
Amazon has a virtual monopoly on digital Marvel comics, but it's just opened up another way to get them. Kindle owners can now purchase single issues through Amazon's store without needing the Comixology app as before. You can still get Marvel comics through Comixology, but of course Amazon acquired it last year, so the money goes to Jeff Bezos either way. All told, you'll be able to purchase up to 12,000 back issues of titles like Guardians of the Galaxy, Daredevil and The Amazing Spiderman at the Kindle Store. Moreover, all titles will be available the same day they arrive in regular stores.
PAX South 2015: Moonrise and State of Decay shine at the Undead Labs booth
Most media appointments at an event like PAX South 2015 work like this: You meet the person you're supposed to meet, that person shows you the game her studio is working on, and then you rush off to the next booth on your list while cursing yourself for not scheduling time for a snack. Undead Labs handled my PAX appointment a bit differently, sitting me down for back-to-back play sessions with brand-new tablet game Moonrise and a remastered version of State of Decay, the zombie survival game that put the studio on the map. It was a little jarring to go from adorable pet battles to being torn in half by a zombie, but the two-for-one session provided a nice glimpse of where Undead Labs has been and where it intends to go.
Amazon tells Tales From Deep Space on Fire tablets
Tales From Deep Space, from Amazon Game Studios and co-partner Frontier Developments, has achieved lift-off and can now enter the orbit of 2013 Kindle Fire and later tablets, according to a press release from Amazon. The game shoots a spacefaring salesman named E into the depths of space with a helpful robot named CASI. Together, the pair must escape the space station known as "Big Moon." If you and a friend both have a Kindle Fire HDX and/or a Fire 2014 model tablet, one player can control E while the other controls CASI. Tales From Deep Space is one of Amazon's earliest forays into gaming; Amazon Game Studios was founded just two years ago. Since then, they've acquired Killer Instinct developer Double Helix, as well as Portal co-creator Kim Swift and Far Cry 2 lead designer Clint Hocking. [Image: Amazon]
Jeff Bezos gifts Fire Tablet owners six months of access to his newspaper
Jeff Bezos may have bought the Washington Post with his own money, but that doesn't mean that the paper won't be extra friendly to the boss' other company. The outfit has launched a new tablet-friendly app that's designed for a "national and international" audience but, as rumored, it's exclusive to Amazon's Fire Tablets for the next six months. After that point, users will be asked to spend $1 for a six month subscription, and when that's done, will be expected to pay a monthly fee of between $3 and $5 a month. The app will update twice daily, once at 5am and again at 5pm ET, and will also arrive on other Android and iOS tablets at some point in 2015 - presumably six months and one day from today. The app will find itself onto your Kindle Fire Tablet thanks to an over-the-air update, but customers who prefer to get their news from other sources will be able to delete the app in the usual way.
Fully crossplatform LEGO Minifigures Online is coming to the Kindle Fire HDX
Funcom has today announced a partnership with Amazon that will put LEGO Minifigures Online on Amazon Fire TV as well as the Kindle Fire HDX line of tablets. Says the studio, Working with Amazon on this project includes support for the Fire TV game controller as well as Amazon's store and payment systems. Fire TV is currently widely available in North America and Germany, and is launching in the United Kingdom in November 2014. LEGO Minifigures Online is scheduled to go live on Fire TV at the end of 2014. Funcom will also be bringing LEGO Minifigures Online to the HDX line of Fire tablets. The game will be optimized for these devices and will fully support Amazon's store and payment systems for these devices. This version of LEGO Minifigures Online is set to go live at the end of Q1 2015. Of note, Funcom promises that the family-friendly MMO will feature full cross-platform play across "Windows PC, Mac, iOS tablets, Android tablets, Fire TV and Fire tablets," making it one of the few MMOs playable on pretty much everything with the possible exception of your toaster. We've included the game's recent Space World trailer below.
PAX Prime 2014: Hands-on with Undead Labs' Moonrise
One of the maxims of Undead Labs is that the team is composed of "gaming omnivores" who don't want to get stuck in a rut of doing the exact same game and genre over and over again. When this was explained to me, it helped ease the shock that was caused by the realization that a studio best known for its gory zombie survival bent is also making a colorful Pokémon-like title called Moonrise. In Moonrise, you play as a Warden who is tasked with saving a wide variety of cute critters called Solari by -- of course -- enslaving them and making them fight other Wardens and their pets. Instead of striving to overcome its Pokémon heritage, the team admits that the game is specifically targeted at older teens and younger adults who grew up with those games and want to experience a slightly more mature and full-featured iteration. I got to spend some quality time curled up on a couch with a lap full of Moonrise on the iPad at PAX Prime this week. Is this due to be the next "catch 'em all" fad or a strange blip in the company's portfolio? Read on, and I shall make my guess.
Amazon lets Fire TV and Android gamers work together in two-player mode
If you heard that Amazon was launching an app on Google Play, you'd be entitled to hope that it'd be the long-awaited Instant Video for Android. Prepare to be disappointed, since the company's actually released Sev Zero: Air Support for tablets that don't have the words "kindle" and "fire" in their name. It's a companion piece to the Amazon-made Sev Zero game that debuted on the Fire TV, enabling a second player to join in on the tower defense-cum-fps-style fun. Still, maybe next time on that whole video app, please Jeff?
Wacom's sketching app finally arrives on Android, Kindle Fire and Windows 8
Wacom loves doodlers almost as much as serious artists, but its Paper-esque sketching app was limited to iOS devices only. That changes from today, now that the company has launched Windows, Android and Kindle Fire versions of Bamboo Paper. Thanks to Wacom's Ink Layer Language, your notes will seamlessly be shared between your devices -- enabling you to sketch out a plan on your leisure tablet before passing it to your work one. The free app is available to download at the links below, and you'll also be able to try out the various premium brushes for a limited time before you're asked to open your wallet to keep them.
The Room Two among free apps on Amazon App Store through tomorrow
Amazon is offering 31 paid apps for free in its Android marketplace today and tomorrow. Of the premium apps available for free through Saturday on the Amazon App Store, 14 are games. The discounted games include Fireproof's puzzler The Room Two as well as Sega's Android version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, both previously $2.99 each. As for the sale's other apps, Android users can download media library management app Plex and Appgenix Software's thrilling Business Calendar app for free, both usually running $4.99 each. Once your calendar is filled out for the next few weeks, you can check the weather endlessly with Accuweather's premium "Platinum" app, originally $2.99. [Image: Amazon]
NFL's online network is coming to Roku, Fire TV and Kindle Fire tablets
The National Football League has yet to formally launch its new digital network, NFL Now, but there's no doubt it will be fully prepared once it does. As such, the NFL has announced that Roku will join Microsoft, Yahoo and Verizon as distribution partners for its upcoming online video service. In other words, you can expect NFL Now to be available on Amazon's Kindle Fire and Fire TV, as well as Roku streaming boxes when it launches in August. Apps for iOS, Android, Windows devices and "select" game consoles are also set to be ready from day one.
PSA: GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas out now on Fire TV, Kindle Fire
Rockstar's PlayStation 2-era Grand Theft Auto trilogy is now available for Amazon's Android-powered Fire TV and Kindle Fire tablet devices. Starting this week, Android versions of Grand Theft Auto 3 ($4.99), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City ($4.99), and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ($6.99) are available for purchase directly from Amazon. Currently, buying San Andreas awards customers with 2,000 Amazon Coins -- enough digital currency to get both GTA 3 and Vice City for free, along with an additional $10 worth of Amazon apps. [Image: Rockstar]
Raindrops on roses, Lightning adapters, and whiskers on kittens
I own roughly a billion-and-one old-style iPhone and iPod cables, most of them not strictly "Made for iPhone" (MFi). They have seen hard use over the years, but they've been cheap and easy to replace. In February, I finally made the jump to Lightning when I purchased a refurbished pair of an iPad Air and a latest generation iPod touch. I love my new babies, with their lightness and bright screens (and, in the case of the touch, modern Wi-Fi and a 4" screen that is terrific for iOS development). However, their new cable system has been driving me nuts. That's because the ease and cheapness of my existing stock of connectors no longer works with the new Lightning-based models. Purchasing extra MFi cables starts at about $14 for an Amazon Basics 3-foot cord. I tend to use my portable battery packs with tiny 6-inch cables, which make less of a clutter in my backpack. Fortunately, a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across adapters on Amazon that convert Lightning to good old Euro-standard Micro-USB, which I normally use with my Kindle Fire. These adapters cost only about $2 each or less and slide onto the end of the Micro-USB cables, turning them into Lightning cables. I was pretty wary about these adapters since iOS has become very picky with regards to non-MFI products, and some reviews state they have pretty high fail rates. Regardless, I plopped down my $6 and ordered a set of three, hoping that at least one adapter would pan out. Instead, I was delighted to find that all three worked fine. I have tested these adapters with a variety of battery packs (from Antec, HyperJuice, and one that my husband picked up at the grocery store of all places...) and found that if the output amperage is sufficient to charge the device, the Lightning adapters work fine. I do caution you to carry a small pillbox or envelope for those times when you need to use the battery pack without the adapter, as they are quite small and easy to lose. I'm pleased that my portable Lightning needs have been met for the time being with a minimum of cash outlay and a satisfying reliability. Given how widespread complaints have been about Lightning connector failures due to wear and use, I'll be keeping an eye on these adapters over time to see how they last.
Amazon brings Instant Video to Japan, offers over 26,000 movies and TV shows
Folks in the Land of the Rising Sun will be pleased to know that there's now another option where they can rent or buy movies and TV shows. Today, Amazon announced the arrival of its Instant Video service in Japan, bringing with it a selection of more than 26,000 series and films from local and international studios -- such as Shochiku, Toho, TV Asahi, TBS and Warner Bros., to mention a few. Of course, this means viewers will have access to Amazon Instant Video on a number of different platforms, including PCs and the company's Kindle Fire line of tablets. So what are you waiting for? Start building out your very own Watchlist right about now -- and we'd definitely recommend placing Pacific Rim in there.
