Instant Pot saw massive success with its electric pressure cooker on Amazon, but now it’s eyeing a different retailer: Walmart. The company has announced a new cooking blender product that it’ll make available exclusively through the retailer, requiring brand fans to order one from the retailer’s online shop. As with other cooking blenders, the Instant Pot Ace 60 can do … Continue reading
Instant Pot saw massive success with its electric pressure cooker on Amazon, but now it’s eyeing a different retailer: Walmart. The company has announced a new cooking blender product that it’ll make available exclusively through the retailer, requiring brand fans to order one from the retailer’s online shop. As with other cooking blenders, the Instant Pot Ace 60 can do … Continue reading
Amazon has launched a handful of new Echo devices today one of which is the Echo Sub. As the name suggests, it’s a subwoofer that can be linked up with Echo speakers for a more premium audio experience. Amazon is clearly making a big push into the home audio space with these products. The Echo Sub is a 100W subwoofer that will provide ample bass for a home audio setup.
The Echo Sub can be paired with compatible Echo devices for full stereo audio. The setup can then be controlled via voice commands given to Alexa or through the Alexa mobile app for iOS and Android.
The Echo Sub can be connected in a 2.1 or 1.1 pairing to an Echo or Echo Plus. The subwoofer itself looks like a big cylinder that’s wrapped in cloth. Inside the shell there’s a down-firing six inch woofer. It can create a 2.1 stereo system when paired with a compatible device which is a new feature in and of itself. It was only possible to pair Echo devices in a room previously and not into a proper stereo setup.
Amazon has confirmed that the Echo Sub is going to be available for pre-order starting today. It’s priced at $129.99.
Echo Sub Is Amazon’s New Subwoofer That Links Up Echo Speakers , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
It was reported earlier today that Amazon might soon launch a smart plug and the company has done just that today. The Amazon Smart Plug has been officially announced today. It’s a smart plug just like any other which users will be able to use in order to remotely control their devices. Amazon has confirmed the price and availability information for the plug.
Since Alexa is at the core of Amazon’s IoT vision, the company confirmed that device that’s plugged into the wall via the Amazon Smart Plug will be controllable using voice commands through Alexa.
The plug doesn’t have microphones inside it so users will require an Echo device nearby so that they can control the plug with Alexa. Once everything is set up it will also be possible to control the plug through the Alexa mobile app.
It’s certainly not the first smart plug that works with Alexa as there are quite a few of them available already but this is the first from Amazon. The company has confirmed that the Amazon Smart Plug is available for pre-order starting today. Customers who are interested in it will be able to pick it up for $24.99. Amazon will start shipping the smart device next month.
Amazon Smart Plug Launches For $24.99 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
In the past we have seen how some insurance companies have actually encouraged their customers to use devices like the Apple Watch or Fitbit fitness trackers. They even offered customers incentives for meeting certain health/fitness goals. However it seems that for some insurance companies, fitness trackers are now mandatory.
In a report from Reuters, John Hancock has announced that customers who wish to buy a life insurance policy will only be able to do so if they agree to use an activity tracker. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a smartwatch or a fitness tracker, as long as it is capable of logging their activity, like a smartphone such as the iPhone.
Prior to this, John Hancock was one of the companies that tried to incentivize its customers into adopting such devices by offering it at an extremely low price. While we understand where the company is coming from, at the same time we can also see why some privacy and consumer advocates might be worried about this implementation.
As it stands the law only says that insurance companies are allowed to increase premiums if the person shows increased risk, but some are questioning how far does this “risk” go? For example if the activity tracker shows the user doing something dangerous like an extreme sport, does that count as a risk factor? Either way it is no doubt a controversial approach but we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
Activity Trackers Now Required For John Hancock Life Insurance , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Image credit – Fixje iPhone
Ahead of the new iPhones being announced, it was rumored that Apple could be adopting a new battery design. With the iPhone X, Apple introduced a large battery which was accomplished by using an L-shaped battery design. However this required two separate batteries that formed an L-shape.
However with the iPhone Xs, it was rumored that this could be changed into a single L-shaped battery, and as it turns out the rumors were true. In a teardown of the iPhone Xs by Fixje iPhone (via AppleInsider), it confirms that the iPhone Xs does indeed use a new L-shaped battery as you can see in the photo above which compares the iPhone X against the iPhone Xs.
There is no difference in terms of functionality as it is essentially one single piece now. However it should be noted that in terms of capacity, the iPhone Xs has a smaller battery of 2,658mAh versus the iPhone X which had a 2,716mAh battery. However Apple did tout during its unveiling that the new iPhones with its new chipset would allow the phone to be more energy efficient, resulting in 30 minutes more usage time.
Undoubtedly many would prefer a much larger battery as battery life is one of the main gripes of iPhone users, but Apple has started to support fast charging since 2017’s iPhones so we guess there’s always that.
iPhone Xs Teardown Confirms Single L-Shaped Battery , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
B.J. May has a Nest Hello Doorbell standing watch at his front door. He recently donned his favorite Batman t-shirt recently and stepped outside. Then, the Nest locked him out. He did what any tech-loving geek would do and opened the Nest app to see what the eff.
What he found was that rather than seeing his face, the Nest Doorbell locked onto the screaming, angry, ninja face of Batman on his shirt and said nope. Fortunately, B.J. was able to unlock the door using the app and get back into his home. The tweet here explains the event history. It’s pretty funny.
I often wonder why Batman is so angry all the time. I get that his mom and dad were killed years ago, but he is a billionaire ninja, so he has that going for him.
[via Laughing Squid]
The scientific world, like so many industries, is finally reckoning with widespread sexual and gender-based harassment within its ranks. This week, a number of prominent organizations and groups have pledged to take concrete steps to deter and punish scientists who engage in sexual misconduct. But outside observers…
A voice-activated microwave is a terrible idea and a pointless frivolity, a device which solves a problem almost no one had. Why trust your lying eyes? Amazon’s Basics microwave (with Alexa!) is no such bauble, and as silly a creation as it may appear, it’s the company’s cutthroat business as usual.
We see a lot of deals around the web over on Kinja Deals, but these were our ten favorites today.
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