Tag: amazon

Amazon To Let You Order Things Simply By Pushing A Branded Button

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: The Verge

Amazon is ready to streamline your purchase process even more with the launch of a new “Dash Button”, a branded, key fob-sized button that orders a specific product with just one press. Connected to your Amazon account over WiFi, this physical button comes with its own safeguard measures to avoid repetitive orders, and promises to distill the tedious process of online purchase into one simple, tangible act.

Header image taken from Amazon’s site for “Dash Button“.

Leading Tech Companies To Test Commercial Drones

Posted on by Lab Team

Recent announcements from Google, Amazon, and Facebook demonstrate the companies’ paths towards drone adoption:

  • Amazon’s plan to deliver shipments got a bit closer to reality last Thursday, as federal regulators granted the ecommerce behemoth approval, albeit with many restrictions, to test its unmanned aircraft.
  • Facebook will be testing its solar-powered laser-equipped drones this summer, as part of its internet.org project that aims to beam Internet access to remote areas or third-world countries that lacks the infrastructure.
  • Google was reportedly testing its delivery drone aboard last year, but recent reports claim Google is pushing to launch a fleet of high-altitude atmospheric satellite drones within months to provide Internet connectivity, similar to what Facebook is doing.

Amazon Officially Launches Marketplace For On-Demand Service

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: TechCrunch

Back in August last year, we reported that Amazon was starting to tap into the local services market, and now the ecommerce giant has reportedly confirmed the official launch of its Angie’s List competitor, aptly named “Amazon Home Services”, set for next Monday.

With the launch, Amazon is taking a big step to compete in the on-demand economy. Right now most services in the marketplace are focused on providing assembling or placement help for Amazon shoppers following certain purchases, but a promotional video for the site promises that it will eventually offer a wider range of professional services, including “plumbers, auto mechanics, and yoga instructors”.

Look Out Netflix! Amazon Is Coming For You

Posted on by Lab Team

Read the original story on: Ad Age 

Fresh off its major Golden Globe wins, Amazon has unleashed a dozen new TV pilots on its streaming platform Prime Instant Video. The company is looking for feedback on the pilots to decide which ones to order to series, a sign of its belief in the power of big data.

But Amazon’s ambition does not just stop at TV. The company also announced its plan to produce up to 12 full-length feature movies each year as part of the new initiative. Those original movies produced by Amazon will become available to US Prime subscribers just four to eight weeks after they premiere in theaters.

What Amazon’s Big Win At Golden Globes Means For The TV Market

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: NPR

At last night’s 72nd Golden Globe Awards, Amazon Prime claimed their first-ever victories at any major award show, as their new original series Transparent collected awards for Best TV Comedy Series, as well as Best Actor in a Comedy for its lead Jeffery Tambor.

Such big wins for Amazon mark the first time a streaming service other than Netflix (which also scored a big win with Kevin Spacey winning Best Actor in a Drama for House of Cards) has beaten traditional TV players, signaling the continuing diversification of the OTT TV market. At the end of the day, consumer don’t really care which distribution channel they are using, as long as they are enjoying the quality content.

What Amazon Has Been Up To This Week

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: VentureBeat

It’s only Tuesday, but Amazon has already unveiled a trifecta of new services with one-hour delivery in NYC, 4K Streaming for Amazon Instant, and a new price-negotiation feature.

  • Trialing now in New York City, Amazon Prime Now uses bike messengers to deliver Amazon-ordered packages within an hour, helping the ecommerce giant better compete with brick-and-mortar stores, as well other instant-delivery services.
  • Amazon Instant has started offering 4K or Ultra HD resolution for a limited number of movies and TV titles to its Prime members at no extra charge. Similarly, fellow streaming service Netflix also has offered 4K streaming, but for a $3 monthly markup.
  • Amazon is taking a leaf out of eBay’s playbook by introducing a new “Make an Offer” feature that lets consumers negotiate prices with sellers. Right now this feature is limited to categories only—namely Sports & Entertainment Collectibles, Collectible Coins, and Fine Art, and is entirely opt-in from the merchant’s side—so don’t expect Amazon to turn into a haggle-friendly bazaar just yet.

Amazon Branches Into Food Delivery & Take Out

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: TechCrunch

In the past few months, Amazon has expanded its grocery delivery to more cities, launched its point-of-sale service Amazon Local Register, and even opened three pop-up stores in NYC and California. Now it looks like the ecommerce giant will be diving deeper into the local services market with new features quietly added in Amazon Local app for food delivery and take out. Right now the new service seems to be limited to Seattle only, but it marks another step in Amazon’s ambitious plans to branch into the physical world.

By The Numbers: The Shifting Market Of OTT Streaming Devices

Posted on by Lab Team

According to a new report by Parks Associates, Google’s Chromecast has surpassed Apple TV as the No.2 most popular media streaming device on the U.S. market. Despite a considerable slip, Roku’s lineup is still the most popular this year, with a solid 29% of market share, while Apple TV fell to third place with 17%.

ParksAssociates-Streaming-Media-Devices--TopBrands

Apple TV sales have always been lukewarm for an Apple device, and its recent slide in market share could be reasonably attributed to its comparatively hefty price tag, as well as its closed ecosystem. The Cupertino company needs to add more value to their set-top box if they wish to continue competing with the likes of Roku and Chromecast, boasting accessible prices and better compatibility.

Moreover, the recently introduced Amazon’s Fire TV box and stick came in fourth place with an impressive 10% share.  As new media streaming devices, be they dongles or set-top boxes, continue to emerge, the market for OTT devices will maintain its grow amid swiftly shifting competition.

Walmart Matches Price With Amazon To Combat Showrooming

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: Gizmodo

The growing power of ecommerce is bleeding into brick-and-mortar retail. Walmart has reportedly informed managers of its roughly 5,000 stores across the US that they can match prices with Amazon.com and other online retailers.  As 21% of US respondents use a smartphone to research online in their purchase journey, according to Google’s consumer barometer, we expect more practices like this to be formalized in retail stores to combat the showrooming effect.

 

Amazon Surprises With Echo, A Smart Speaker With A Built-in Virtual Assistant

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: The Verge

Out of nowhere, Amazon announced a new product named Echo, the world’s first smart speaker that comes with an always-on, Siri-like virtual assistant. Connected to the cloud via Wi-Fi, the AI assistant, dubbed “Alexa,” can provide you with news, weather, and even Wikipedia-generated answers to random questions. When connected with your mobile device, it can also perform tasks such as setting alarm clocks and managing to-do lists, all handsfree via voice command.

Of course, the wireless speaker also serves its traditional purpose: playing music. It has built-in support for Amazon Prime Music, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, it’s also fully Bluetooth compatible, making playback from Spotify, Pandora, and other audio apps from other devices possible.