Roku has announced that it has aquired the rights to Quibi’s library of content. Quibi shut down last month despite spending millions on original content featuring well known stars. Quibi’s content will appear on the Roku Channel, which recently arrived on Fire TV devices, for free with ads later this year. Read more ›
While Amazon and Roku are neck and neck for stand-alone streaming media player dominance, the same is nowhere near true for smart TVs, where Fire TV Edition TVs lag way behind Roku, which says it was the best-selling platform for smart TVs in 2020. Meanwhile, Sony continues to be all-in with Android TV for its smart TV platform of choice and has revealed that its 2021 TVs will run the new Google TV interface which is currently only available on the Chromecast with Google TV. Read more ›
Roku has announced that it has reached 51.2 million active accounts. It gained over 14 million accounts in 2020, up from 36.9 million at the end of 2019. Roku says these figures are “preliminary estimated data for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2020” which, to me, sounds like it couldn’t wait to one-up Amazon’s announcement last month of reaching 50 million Fire TV users. Read more ›
Discovery, and its suite of channels and shows, has launched its new streaming service, Discovery+, on Amazon Fire TVs and other streaming devices. The new service provides a-la-carte access to Discovery’s networks including Food Network, HGTV, TLC, ID, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, DIY, Magnolia, OWN, A&E, Lifetime, History, and Discovery. All of the content is available with ads for $4.99 per month or ad-free for $6.99 per month. Read more ›
Amazon has just launched its first Amazon-branded Fire TV Edition televisions using its AmazonBasics private label in India. The first two TVs being released, among several in the series, are a 55-inch model for ₹34,999 (~$480 USD) and a 50-inch model for ₹29,999 (~$410 USD). Both sizes are 4K UHD TVs with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG high dynamic range formats, as well as Dolby Atmos audio. Read more ›
With 2020 coming to a close, I’ve gathered a bunch of data to put together a series of charts that determine which of the Fire TV, Firestick, and Fire TV Cube models that have ever been released are the most popular devices being used today. Going all the way back to the very first Fire TV and Fire TV Stick from 2014, you may be surprised by which models are still going strong. Some very old models are surprisingly still relevant, while some recently released models hardly made a blip on the charts. Read more ›
A few Fire TV games that normally cost money to buy are currently available for free and even more paid games have gone on sale. Whether you want a game to try on the new Fire TV that you got for Christmas or you’ve just got some downtime to fill before the new year rolls in, here is a list of Fire TV games that are currently discounted. If you have digital credit from selecting no-rush shipping, they will automatically be used when purchasing apps. Go here to check your no-rush credit balance and see when the credit expires. Read more ›
Merry Christmas from my family to yours! May today, and all days, be filled with love and happiness. Even though I wasn’t around last year to keep this little tradition of posting a picture of me and my kids on Christmas going, thank you for being here for its return. Leaving Amazon and returning to this site was a scary decision, but you all welcomed me back with open arms. I was worried that the site wouldn’t bounce back from such a long departure, but there are more of you visiting now than ever before. Your patronage makes it possible for me to support my family with the flexibility that lets me spend so much more time with them than most jobs would and, for that, I can’t thank you enough.
A new Sound Detection option for configuring when an Alexa Routine is triggered has begun appearing in the Alexa app for some Amazon Echo owners. When selected, the option allows for Alexa Routines to be triggered by the sound of a baby crying, a person snoring, or when someone coughs. These new options seem to be rolling out slowly to customers in the US. Read more ›
Amazon just brought back the deal that gets you an Echo Flex with a Free Smart Bulb for $9.99. This bundle was briefly available at this price back in October and it sold out very quickly, so grab it while you can. The Echo Flex normally sells for $24.99 on its own and the included Sengled smart bulb normally costs $9.99. That makes this bundle 70% off and one of the best deals you can find on an Echo and Smart bulb. Read more ›
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