Tag: Amazon

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Fossil will add Alexa to its Gen 6 smartwatch in the first half of 2022

Fossil announced two new versions of its Gen 6 Wear OS smartwatch at CES 2022 — one for gamers and one for Dutch jewelry enthusiasts. However, another announcement from the company that flew a little under the radar is that it will add support for Amazon Alexa to its Gen 6 watches.

As for when Fossil will add support, well, that’s not entirely clear. The company told 9to5Google in a statement that the Alexa update would arrive in the first half of 2022. It also told The Verge in a CES briefing that Alexa would come to Gen 6 smartwatches “early this year.” Moreover, The Verge’s Victoria Song received a Skagen Falster Gen 6 and the Razer X Fossil Gen 6 watches, both of which include an Alexa widget that simply displays a “coming soon” message.

With all that taken into account, that means Fossil could add Alexa to the Gen 6 smartwatch anytime between now and June. Presumably, Gen 6 owners won’t need to wait six months for the Alexa update, but we’ll see how it plays out.

The Verge also pointed out that Fossil teasing Alexa support may be a way to give customers something to look forward to until Wear OS 3 arrives (which could be anywhere from a few months to the end of the year). Plus, Alexa support would be a win both for Fossil and smartwatch customers. Currently, Apple Watches are Siri-only, Wear OS watches only have Google Assistant and Samsung watches force Bixby on users (although the Galaxy Watch 4 will eventually offer Google Assistant too). The only other smartwatches that offer a choice are Fitbit’s Sense and Versa watches.

In other words, most customers are limited to using whatever assistant ships on their smartwatch. Plus, Amazon’s Alexa is a relatively popular voice assistant, so Fossil’s move to support it will both give customers a choice in what assistant they use and give people access to Alexa on a smartwatch, which so far hasn’t been available outside of Fitbit’s smartwatches. Hopefully, this starts a trend with smartwatch makers and we see more watches offer a choice of on-wrist voice assistant.

Source: The Verge, 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon reveals new Ring sensor that detects glass breaking

As CES 2022, Amazon revealed a new Ring alarm sensor that’s capable of detecting glass breaking from up to 25 feet away.

The sensor utilizes artificial intelligence to detect the sound and then notifies your Ring mobile app. The sensor itself seems to look very similar to a standard Ring security system base station.

The Ring Alarm Glass Break sensor can also be mounted to a wall, making it easy to place it near glass doors and windows.

Amazon says that the Ring Alarm Glass Break sensor is available to pre-order now for $49.99 and starts shipping on February 16th. A two-pack of sensors costs $94.99.

You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

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Image credit: Amazon 

Source: Amazon 

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Mobile Syrup

Facebook’s 10-inch Portal Smart display is $130 off at Amazon

Facebook’s Portal smart video calling display is currently discounted on Amazon Canada’s website.

Below are all of the Facebook Portal deals:

Facebook’s Portal smart video calling displays allow users to easily video call with friends and family using Messenger and WhatsApp, even if they don’t have a portal.

The devices also feature Alexa built-in, which will let you control your smart home, listen to music, watch the news and more.

The products are on sale for a limited time.

Check out the sale, here.

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.

Source: Amazon 

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Amazon is currently offering Razer gaming accessories for up to 50 percent off

Several of Razer’s notable gaming accessories are currently on sale on Amazon’s website, ranging from headsets to gaming mice.

Discounts go so far as to slash 50 percent off some of the gaming accessory maker’s products.

Below are some of Amazon’s best deals on Racer products:

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships and publishes sponsored posts. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links.

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Microsoft withdraws itself from attending CES 2022

CES 2022 is due to be held between January 5th through to January 8th and the show’s biggest partners continue to drop out. As COVID-19 Omicron variant numbers continue to rise, Microsoft is the latest to withdraw itself from having a presence on the show floor.

In a statement the company shared with The Verge, Microsoft will no longer be attending the upcoming event in person. “After reviewing the latest data on the rapidly evolving COVID environment, Microsoft has decided not to participate in-person at CES 2022,” a company spokesperson said.

Rather than have a presence on the CES 2022 show floor, Microsoft will be migrating its efforts to hosting itself digitally for the Microsoft Partner Innovation Experience and the Automotive Press Kit.

Microsoft is the latest exhibitor to drop out as the landscape of an in-person show continues to become worrisome. Large companies such as Google, Amazon, Twitter, and Meta have all withdrawn their presence. Each of them has taken notice of the rise in Omicron cases and decided against sending staff members to the show.

Other companies that have chosen to withdraw include Intel, Lenovo, Hisense,

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Earlier this week, CES organizers confirmed that the Las Vegas, Nevada show will indeed be held early on in the new year. In a statement posted on Twitter, the organizers stated that “focus remains on convening the tech industry and giving those who cannot attend in person the ability to experience the magic of CES digitally.”

CES 2022 will see many COVID-19 health measures in place. All attendees will be required to show proof of full vaccination. Additionally, masks are to be worn while inside the event space. Rapid tests will also be provided to attendees.

Source: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

TikTok overtakes Google as most visited website of 2021

TikTok has become a titan within social and viral content in 2021. So much so that the ByteDance-owned platform has overtaken Google as the most visited website of 2021.

CloudFlare, a security company, released this year’s annual rankings. It was discovered that Google has finally been usurped as the number one most visited website by users around the world. Google now sits as number two, opening up the top spot for TikTok.

The top 10 most popular domains of 2021 are as followed:

  1. 1. TikTok.com
  2. 2. Google.com
  3. 3. Facebook.com
  4. 4. Microsoft.com
  5. 5. Apple.com
  6. 6. Amazon.com
  7. 7. Netflix.com
  8. 8. YouTube.com
  9. 9. Twitter.com
  10. 10. WhatsApp.com

In comparison, TikTok ranked number seven in 2020’s rankings. While still largely popular, TikTok sat behind websites such as Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon in the seventh spot. However, over a mere 12 months, the popularity of TikTok escalated to the point where it was able to overtake each aforementioned website.

CloudFlare’s data does not specify if it includes traffic from Douyin, TikTok’s sister app, available in China. Additionally, the use of TikTok has been banned in India, which was once the app’s top global market.

According to the data, the first day TikTok held the number one spot was February 17th, 2021. It then fluctuated between March and May gaining that spot once more a few days during that period. However, come August 10th, 2021, TikTok managed to hold that spot for the majority of the year, including Thanksgiving in the US and Black Friday.

It’s an impressive feat by TikTok in 2021. Though, it is slightly scary considering how popular and accessible Google is as a website. Google is a ubiquitous website that for all intents and purposes is the internet to many. Though, I suppose that can not compete with TikTok’s apparent 1 billion monthly active users.

Source: Cloudflare

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon Canada Boxing Day 2021 tech deals now live

Boxing Day 2021 has arrived a tad early this year on Amazon Canada. Below you will find a slew of tech deal that range from big discounts on TVs, smartphones, headphones, tablets and accessories.

Source: Amazon Canada

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.

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To the annoyance of many, Amazon is trying to hold onto Alexa users in a declining market

Alexa has appeared on curated Amazon Christmas gift lists in one way or another for years. This contributes to the excitement around the smart speakers that allow users to complete tasks simply with the use of their voice.

But according to a recent analysis by Bloomberg Businessweek, the excitement around the gift quickly drops once given out. The organization examined internal data on the speaker between 2018 and 2021 and found that in some years, users were no longer active with the device just two weeks after receiving it.

Documents also showed the smart speaker market had “passed its growth phase” Estimates stated the market would only expand 1.2 percent annually over the next couple of years.

The company has desperately tried to increase interactivity by changing the way Alexa interacts with users. This includes using the speaker to do more than then setting a timer; every time Alexa is requested to do something, it follows up with related suggestions that many find annoying.

For example, if a consumer asks Alexa to pull up a specific recipe, Alexa will ask the consumer if they want to purchase something related (or not) to the command off Amazon.

The company has disputed the idea that Alexa has stalled.

“The assertion that Alexa growth is slowing is not accurate,” an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg. “The fact is that Alexa continues to grow—we see increases in customer usage, and Alexa is used in more households around the world than ever before.”

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon Canada promises to deliver Prime Member packages to Yellowknife and Whitehorse in 5 days

Amazon Canada has announced that Prime Members in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Whitehorse, Yukon, will experience faster deliveries on their orders this holiday season.

Orders that would typically take between 10-12 days will now be delivered in an average of five days, says the company.

“Amazon has been providing residents of Yellowknife and Whitehorse with access to affordable goods and everyday products for years,” said Adam Baker, vice president of Amazon’s global transportation services. “We are extremely proud to create a faster delivery experience for our Prime customers and deepening our efforts to increase important access to goods for northern communities at the same cost as southern Canada.”

For those unfamiliar, Amazon’s Prime service is a subscription service that gives members fast, free shipping of items purchased directly from Amazon. In addition, a Prime Membership also offers access to streaming services such as Amazon Music and Prime Video.

Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos recently announced that there are over 200 million Prime Members globally, with 2 million in Canada specifically.

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Mobile Syrup

Amazon Canada promises to deliver Prime Member packages to Yellowknife and Whitehorse in 5 days

Amazon Canada has announced that Prime Members in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Whitehorse, Yukon, will experience faster deliveries on their orders this holiday season.

Orders that would typically take between 10-12 days will now be delivered in an average of five days, says the company.

“Amazon has been providing residents of Yellowknife and Whitehorse with access to affordable goods and everyday products for years,” said Adam Baker, vice president of Amazon’s global transportation services. “We are extremely proud to create a faster delivery experience for our Prime customers and deepening our efforts to increase important access to goods for northern communities at the same cost as southern Canada.”

For those unfamiliar, Amazon’s Prime service is a subscription service that gives members fast, free shipping of items purchased directly from Amazon. In addition, a Prime Membership also offers access to streaming services such as Amazon Music and Prime Video.

Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos recently announced that there are over 200 million Prime Members globally, with 2 million in Canada specifically.