Amazon's Fire phone good for a first effort

Amazon may be new to the smartphone business, but its Fire phone doesn't feel like a first effort.

The new device, which Amazon started shipping Friday, offers many of the features you'll find on other smartphones -- a high-quality display, a speedy processor, a high-resolution rear camera and an integrated store with access to thousands of apps, millions of songs and lots of videos. It also has a voice control system similar to Apple's Siri, a front camera that can be used to make video calls and an email program that can connect to corporate mail systems.

But the Fire goes beyond just covering the basics. It has some unique features that make it stand out from the crowd.

For one thing, Amazon offers Fire buyers a free year of its Prime service, which provides streaming videos and discounted shipping. That's a $100 value and makes the phone a more interesting proposition if you are a big Amazon customer.

Other unique features can be found in the device itself.

At the top of the screen, you'll find a virtual carousel filled with large icons representing apps you've recently used, books you've recently read or movies you've recently watched. Underneath the carousel, you'll find items related to the highlighted app or piece of content. When the camera app is front and center in the carousel, you'll see your recent pictures. When the maps app is highlighted, you'll find links to recent locations you've searched for.

The carousel makes it easy to find apps or content you frequently use. But the links below it can be even more helpful, because they can quickly return you to the task you were doing when you last used the app.

Unfortunately, not all apps have this extra capability when they are in the carousel. With those apps, the Fire will typically show links to apps it thinks are related, rather than to content within the app. When Netflix was at the center of the carousel, the Fire recommended that I download Pandora.

Beyond its interface, the Fire offers two other unique features: a visual and audio search app called Firefly and something called Dynamic Perspective, which, by tracking the orientation of the device and users' line of vision, can adjust what the Fire displays on its screen.

Firefly uses the Fire's rear camera to identify products by their cover, packaging or barcodes. It also can identify songs, TV shows or music by simply listening to them. And it can pick out telephone numbers and email and Web addresses from business cards, posters and other printed materials.

I used Firefly to quickly identify the book I was reading and then buy an e-book version of it from Amazon's Kindle store. I also used it to identify a song I was listening to and instantly create a station based on it on iHeartRadio. But Firefly is currently limited in what it can recognize. Except when an item had a barcode, about the only thing Firefly recognized consistently in my tests were books. When Firefly does recognize things, there's typically not a lot you can do with that information other than shop Amazon for the product.

Dynamic Perspective has a lot of potential when it comes to games. Instead of swiping on the screen to look around in a virtual environment or to steer an on-screen character, users can simply tilt the device or move their head. I tested a game called "Lili" that used this feature to great effect. It was much more natural to play it on the Fire than to be constantly swiping the screen when I played it on my iPhone.

For the most part, though, Dynamic Perspective feels like a gimmick and an often annoying one. Sometimes you want to just see information on a screen without having to tilt your head or the screen itself.

The biggest shortcoming of the Fire is its lack of apps. Because the device runs a custom version of Android rather than the Google-approved version, it can't link to the Google Play store.

Users have access to Amazon's Appstore instead, which offers only a fraction of the apps available in Google Play.

What: Amazon Fire smartphone
Likes: Firefly feature instantly identifies books, other products, allows users to comparison shop on Amazon; Dynamic Perspective feature allows users to access menus and navigate games without using their fingers; includes a complimentary year of Amazon's Prime discount shipping and streaming video service; "carousel" interface makes it easy to go directly to recently received email or frequently used features within particular apps; glass case feels solid; offers twice as much storage as comparably priced iPhones from Apple; display size is ideal compromise between readability and ability to use with one hand; Mayday feature offers speedy connection to live technical support.
Dislikes: Relatively heavy. App store selection small compared to other Android devices and the iPhone, and lacks many apps, including many of Google's popular apps; except for use in games, Dynamic Perspective often feels like a gimmick; Firefly can identify relatively few everyday objects beyond books, and does little besides connect users to Amazon; only available on AT&T.
Specs: 2.2 GHz quad-core processor; 4.7-inch, 1280 x 720 pixel screen; 2.1-megapixel front and 13-megapixel rear cameras.
Price: $200 for 32-gigabyte model, $300 for 64-gigabyte model, both with a two-year contract.
Web: www.amazon.com

Alleged 'Near-Final' Moto X+1 Prototype Spotted With 5.1-Inch Display

The much-anticipated successor of the Moto X, expected to be called the Moto X+1, has been the subject of numerous leaks for a while now, and the latest piece to hit the Internet are some purported images of the device, as well as a few accompanying specifications.

The leaked images are claimed to be of a "near-final prototype" of the anticipated Moto X+1, and show a device with a similar design to the Moto X (Review | Pictures). The device features wood-finished back panel, with a camera in the centre above a Motorola logo. Previously, serial tipster @evleaks had suggested 25 colour options for the Moto X+1 in five categories - Cool, Neutral, Warm, Wood and Leather.

The latest leak (via Android Police) also tips the display seen in the alleged Moto X+1 images is 5.1-inches large. The front also has a speaker grill at the bottom of the display, like the Moto E (Review |Pictures). The Moto X+1's display was earlier tipped to be a full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) one.

The alleged Moto X+1 seen in the images features metallic side panels, claimed to made of aluminium by the tipster. The device in the images features a 3.5mm audio jack on top, along with the power and volume controls on the right panel, consistent with Motorola's current series of smartphones. Also seen, is that the SIM card slot has been shifted to the top, alongside the audio jack.

While previous leaked images had indicated the Moto X+1 might not come with a rear flash, the latest leak shows two small circular dots on the mounting surrounding the camera lens, claimed to be dual-LED flash.

So far, other rumoured speculations for the anticipated Moto X+1 include a Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM; a 12-megapixel front camera and a 5-megapixel front camera, 32GB of built-in storage; and a 2900mAh battery

Zuckerberg tops IT billionaires' list

The Facebook Inc chairman added $1.6 billion to his fortune on Friday after the world’s largest social network closed at a record. The surge elevated the 30-year-old’s net worth to $33.3 billion, moving him past Mr Brin, 40, and Mr Page, 41, as well as Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos, 50, on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Mr Zuckerberg is No. 16 on the ranking. The Google founders are 17th and 18th. Mr Bezos occupies the 20th spot.

“He’s just getting started,” David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect, said in a telephone interview. “He’s going to become the richest person on the planet.”

The Menlo Park, California-based company posted second-quarter sales that soared 61% to $2.91 billion on Thrusday, exceeding analysts’ average estimate of $2.81 billion. The company’s revenue gain follows Google’s results last week, when the web-search company posted sales that topped analysts’ estimates, largely based on the strength of online ads.

Facebook has jumped 183% in the past 12 months, the biggest rally in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company trades at 82-times reported earnings, compared to a multiple of 18.2 for the S&P 500. Google is up 7.5% for the year.

Ad revenue

Mobile promotions accounted for 62% of ad sales, up from 59% in the prior period. Net income more than doubled to $791 million, with profit excluding some items at 42 cents a share, above the projection of 32 cents. In total, Facebook accounted for 5.8% of worldwide digital ad revenue in 2013, up from 4.1% in 2012, according to EMarketer Inc.

The company’s performance also propelled the fortunes of other Facebook shareholders, including Dustin Moskovitz, the 30-year-old who started the social network with Mr Zuckerberg at Harvard University a decade ago, and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s 44-year-old chief operating officer who became one of the world’s youngest female billionaires in January. Ms Sandberg owns about 9.9 million shares valued at $740 million and has collected more than $550 million in share sales.

“The company’s success is growing by the minute,” Mr Kirkpatrick said. “There’s no sign it’s going to slow anytime soon.”

Bezos, Gates

Amazon reported its biggest quarterly loss since 2012 on Friday as Mr Bezos builds more distribution warehouses, adds grocery deliveries and develops new smartphones and tablets. The world’s largest online retailer had a second-quarter loss of $126 million, wider than the $7-million loss a year earlier, even as revenue climbed 23% to $19.3 billion. The Seattle-based company is down 10% for the year, and was down another 8% in extended trading.

Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Facebook, didn’t respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Google spokesman Tim Drinan declined to comment. Drew Herdener, a spokesman for Amazon, didn’t immediately return an e-mail for comment.

Bill Gates remains the world’s richest person with an $84.7-billion fortune. The Microsoft Inc chairman’s net worth has grown 7.9% this year, with five of his biggest holdings, including Microsoft, Canadian National Railway Co and Republic Services Inc, accounting for almost $4 billion of the gain.

The 58-year-old, who controls the majority of his fortune through holding company Cascade Investment Llc, also has collected about $400 million in dividends this year.

Mr Gates is followed by Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim, who has a $78.8-billion fortune.

Blink Is An Affordable Wireless Security Cam For Your Home

Security conscious types with a hankering to pepper their homes with sensor-packed cameras to keep remote tabs on their stuff should point their eyes at Blink: a wireless connected security camera with a relatively cheap price-tag vs the extant competition.

Blink is currently a prototype — with its makers pulling in crowdfunds via Kickstarter to go into production, aiming to ship in May next year. At the time of writing the campaign is just over half way to its target of $200,000, with another 41 days left to run. So it’s looking like it has a decent chance of getting funded.

In the home security camera space there are a fair few options to choose from already — such as the likes of Dropcam — recently bought by Nest (itself owned by Google) for $555 million. With that level of cash and interest floating around, others pushing into the connected camera space is inevitable.

How is Blink different? It takes the camera component wireless — promising battery life of more than a year (with “standard use”; defined as 4,000 five-second events per year, or 20,000 total seconds of video recording) — so you have more freedom about where you site your all-seeing motion-triggered eyes, since they don’t need to be tethered to a mains plug.

A secondary Sync Module device does need to be plugged in for the system to work though, and that’s presumably where the Wi-Fi radio lives, with the Blink camera (or cameras) connecting to the module via Bluetooth to keep power consumption down. Update: Blink’s makers have confirmed there is, in fact, Wi-Fi in the camera, and that no video goes through the sync modules. Instead, they say they have developed a system enabling the cameras to remain on “ultra low power” and be woken up by the module on demand to preserve battery life.

Currently the device does not have a local storage option, so recorded footage is always uploaded to Blink’s cloud for viewing later — or users can peek at a live feed of the inside of their home whenever they fancy via the companion app.

However Blink’s makers say they may add a local storage option as a Kickstarter stretch goal — i.e. if they manage to crowdsourced substantially over and above their $200k target.

But, even without a local storage option, it’s worth noting that Blink’s cloud storage is feeless – so there’s no requirement to pay a monthly subscription to access video recorded by your own cameras. Which does put some more clear water between Blink and other systems. Dropcam, for instance, charges $9.95 per month for 7 days worth of saved video, or $29.95 for 30 days’ worth.

The Blink camera records at 720p HD, and also includes a temperature sensor, microphone, night vision and the aforementioned motion sensor so it can trigger if someone or something moves around your home when you’re not there.

IThere’s also an LED built onto the camera — and an option recording alert noise — to make whoever is in the room aware that they are being watched. So a little less creepy spy tech.

When Blink has been armed, alerts triggered by motion are sent to the corresponding app so the user can react and check up on what’s going on by looking at the Live View of their cameras. Footage of alert events is also recorded and saved to the cloud so you can check it out later.

So how much does Blink cost? Early Kickstarter backers were able to bag a unit for $49. It’s now stepped up to $59, with a $69 mainline price after all discount pledges are bagged. Even at $69 it’s considerably cheaper than the likes of Dropcam — even on the upfront hardware cost alone, without factoring in the recurring monthly fees bill.

So, if Blink can pull off what they claim, they’re going to be undercutting the more established competition by a fairly wide margin — giving them a shot at bagging buyers who have, up to now, been put off by the cost of turning their home into a digitally enabled panopticon.

Apple Makes OS X Yosemite Beta Download Available To Testers

Apple flipped the switch on the OS X Yosemite Beta today as promised, and if you’ve already signed up and been accepted to the Beta program, you can head to the Apple site for the preview to get a Mac App Store redemption code for the new build now. If you haven’t yet signed up, you can try now, but remember that Apple has a ceiling of 1 million members for this all-new public beta testing program.

If you haven’t yet seen what the Beta program can offer, check out our extensive preview of the new features and changes Apple has made to its desktop OS with 10.10, which should be launching for the general public beginning sometime this fall as a free update. The operating system is already pretty solid, but there are bugs, and it’s probably best to install this on a backup machine or a separate partition of your main device just to be safe.

NEW MODELS 2015 Toyota Yaris Unveiled in US Spec

Toyota’s compact little car may have lost some of its appeal in recent years, but it’s hard to argue about the Yaris’ reliability and fuel economy for short urban trips. For 2015, the happy little hatchback gets a new nose without changing its internals, following in the footsteps of its big sister, the Corolla.

The same 1.5 litre engine is back under the hood, still producing a face-melting 106 HP. It it still paired with a 5-speed manual transmission, or a very dated automatic with four speeds.

A real paragon of simplicity, the Yaris is still offered in 3 trim levels, and it is not possible to order any options. The model ranges from the 3-door L model, starting at $14,845 US to the top of the line 5-doors SE with the automatic transmission, which goes for $17,620 US.

The most significant changes are on the outside, with an updated front and rear bumper closely matching the most recent cars from the brand.

And for the first, time, the Yaris will be available with GPS. This modification will be installed by your dealership.