Hasta La Gadget!

New hardware without a software refresh? Don’t make Jeff Bezos laugh. Today’s arrival of three new slates also marks the unveiling of the company’s latest tablet operating system. And this time, it even has a name. See, Amazon’s been using “Fire OS” internally to describe the software powering its tablet line, and now we get to use it as well, with the arrival of version 3.0. As ever, Bezos and Co. have based the OS on Android (Jelly Bean, this time out), with this year’s codename being “Mojito” — a move from candy names to sugary cocktails. The operating system will ship on the new HDX and HD devices. We weren’t able to confirm that it will roll out to older devices, but an Amazon rep we spoke with implied that there’s a good chance of that, given earlier precedents.

First thing’s first: there’s still no Google Play access. No surprise there, of course. After all, the company’s in the habit of subsidizing the cost of its hardware based on future content sales. Still, as ever, the company was quick to point out the speed with which its proprietary app store has grown in recent years. UI-wise, things look familiar. Content is still king, with the home screen built around a river of apps, games, movies, music, et cetera. The company did respond to customer concerns, however, by adding a more familiar grid-style layout that you can access with a swipe up, which should appease all you Android users out there. Swipe from the right, and you’ll see Quick Switch, which lets you switch between different recently used pieces of content.

Filed under: Tablets, Software, HD, Amazon

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“Today, we’re going to show you the third leg of our device business strategy,” Jeff Bezos begins. His audience is modest: four people sitting around a table in an Amazon conference room. It’s a far cry from the Santa Monica airplane hangar his company rented out for last year’s event. Bezos picks up a dry erase marker and begins breaking down the first two parts, elements the company has focused on since it first began building Kindles. “One,” he says, narrating the words as he goes along, like an enthusiastic high school teacher, “premium products at non-premium prices. Two: make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices.”

“We sell our hardware and roughly break even and then when they use the devices and buy content,” he adds. “Our point of view is that this is more aligned with the customer. We don’t have to get discouraged when we see people using fourth-generation Kindles. Bezos draws a Venn diagram to illustrate the third part of the puzzle. He writes “customer delight” on one side and “deep integration throughout the entire stack” on the other. The intersection houses the “hardest” and “coolest things,” which utilize OS, key apps, the hardware stack and the cloud. “It’s a little abstract,” he adds, “but I think it will be extremely clear when I show it to you.” The template for the third piece of the puzzle is the new Kindle Fire HDX series — the company’s latest premium tablets.%Gallery-slideshow90904% %Gallery-slideshow90903%

Filed under: Tablets, Amazon

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Source: Amazon (1), (2)

A lot of us don’t have much in the way of home automation, but we’d venture to guess that most of us would absolutely love having a smarter residence. Amazon knows this, and it wants to celebrate its Home Automation store by hooking you up with a Nest thermostat. The smart thermostat — which learns your preferred temperatures, turns itself down when you’re not at home and can be controlled via WiFi — is valued at $250 and is just one of a plethora of products that Amazon is featuring to help you control your house easier, near or far. We’ve got three to hand out to lucky readers, so take a chance by entering in the Rafflecopter widget below!

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile, Alt, Amazon

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Streaming Thundercats to your iDevice with Lovefilm is all well and good, but what if you wanted to watch it on a bigger screen? Well, now you can, assuming you use Apple TV: the app’s latest update has added AirPlay support. The refreshed app also tacks on Watchlist management and IMDb integration, much like the update Amazon (Lovefilm’s parent company) brought to its Instant Video app earlier this month. Just like that, Apple faithful have another video option to choose from. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some catching up to do with Lion-o.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, Amazon

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Via: The Digital Lifestyle

Source: iTunes

Amazon Studios clearly isn’t messing about. One of the more notable series in its original round of pilots is getting a bit more star power. Comedians Amy Sedaris, Wanda Sykes and Sex and the City alum Cynthia Nixon are set to join the cast of Alpha House, which already includes the likes of John Goodman. The Garry Trudeau-penned show is shaping up to be the largest of Amazon’s first round of five green lit series. The show will premier through the company’s streaming service later this year.

Billy Steele contributed Photoshopped magic to this report.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Amazon

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