Opinion: I hope Siri Speaker is more Amazon Echo and less Echo Show
Amazon’s Echo with a screen is real and it’s shipping at the end of next month. Echo Show is a $230 7-inch tablet with video playback and calling that has to stay plugged in to work.
What makes that better than an iPad or any other tablet? Amazon hopes the answer is its Alexa voice assistant. While I’m curious about an always-listening, always-present voice assistant that anyone can access in the home, the original Amazon Echo has more appeal to me. If Siri Speaker is something we see next month at WWDC (before Echo Show ships!), I’m hoping it’s more Amazon Echo and less Echo Show…
Apple reportedly doing worldwide overnight ‘refresh’ on older Apple Stores on May 16
Apple is planning a worldwide overnight ‘refresh’ of its older retail stores on the night of May 16, according to our own sources. We understand that this is specifically for older and smaller stores that aren’t suitable for the full redesign we’ve seen in flagship stores.
We got our first look at a whole new design for major Apple Stores back in 2015, when the Jony Ive design was shown to the press in Brussels, Belgium. Retail head Angela Ahrendts also showed off the new features ahead of the opening of San Francisco’s Union Square store. These include rows of trees with surrounding seating (the ‘Genius Grove’), a huge display screen and power sockets that rise out of the tables when you wave your hand …
Amazon officially announces $230 Echo Show with a focus on video calls, shipping June 28
Amazon has officially announced its latest addition to the Echo family, the $229 Amazon Echo Show. Adding to its popular range of home virtual assistant devices, the Show combines the usual Amazon Alexa voice commands with a 7 inch touchscreen, displaying relevant content like weather reports and music lyrics alongside your queries.
It also features a camera to enable FaceTime-like video calls between friends and family. The Echo Show is up for pre-order now and is shipping to customers from June 28.
Special edition 32GB Space Gray iPhone 6 now available for just $200 w/o contract
A special budget edition of the iPhone 6 originally created for India and subsequently seen in a number of other countries before it hit the U.S. is now available for just $200 without a contract.
When the iPhone 6 was launched, it was available only in 16/64/128GB tiers, but a 32GB Space Gray model went on sale in India last month before showing up in other countries including the United States. AT&T offered it for $345, but Virgin Mobile is now offering it for just $199.99 as a promo price …
Feature Request: Create an option to automatically reply to text messages while driving
Some sources suggest that distracted driving is as dangerous as drunk driving. The National Highway & Transportation Administration (NHTSA) reported that in 2015, the most recent year for which full data is available, distracted driving killed 3,477 people and injured 391,000.
Using smartphones while driving is the most obvious example of distracted driving, and the NHTSA says that reading or sending a text is the most dangerous form. That’s partly because of the length of time a driver’s eyes are off the road, but also partly because many people find a text hard to ignore.
Hard-hitting videos, like the examples below, definitely help – if you can get people to watch them. But I believe one simple addition to iOS could also play a part …
UBS says low chance of Apple buying Netflix, Tesla or Disney, but ‘surprising’ acquisition possible
When a company has a market cap of around $800B and is sitting on cash reserves of more than $250B, it’s not surprising that we hear continual speculation about some kind of mega acquisition. In Apple’s case, the three usual suspects are Netfix, Tesla and Disney – the latter most recently pitched by RBC last month, the former just last week by Citigroup.
Each has an obvious logic, as UBS acknowledges, but the bank believes that a ‘surprising’ mega-acquisition is a more likely bet …
What feature is a ‘must have’ for you to use Apple’s Siri Speaker? [Poll]
Reports related to Apple’s Siri Speaker have been gaining momentum over recent weeks, with some suggesting the possibility of the device even being shown off at WWDC next month. Earlier today, we outlined some of the potential features that the Siri Speaker could offer, and now we’re curious: What feature is a ‘must have’ in order for you to use Apple’s Siri Speaker?
Amazon will reportedly unveil new high-end touchscreen Echo tomorrow, priced at over $200
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Amazon will unveil its new high-end Echo device with a touchscreen as early as tomorrow. While we saw the first images of the new device leak last week, this is the first we’ve heard regarding a release date…
Instagram now lets you post photos from its mobile site including iPad
Instagram has updated its mobile site with the ability to post photos without using the app, TechCrunch reports. While the move is intended to make sharing to Instagram easier in markets with slow network speeds by eliminating the need to download the Instagram app, the new feature also extends to the web version of Instagram on the iPad…