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Amazon has been making Alexa-powered Echo devices for a few years, but the new Echo Show is the first one to have any sort of visual element. The device's 7-inch touchscreen panel provides access to content like your security camera feeds, live news, and YouTube videos. Well, that last item was only true until yesterday afternoon. That's when Google blocked the Echo Show from accessing YouTube. There's plenty of fingerpointing on both sides of this one, too.
Woot sells some junky stuff on occasion, but it also offers some really excellent deals just as often. Today is the latter; Woot has the Pixel and Pixel XL (both refurbs) on sale for very competitive prices. The Pixel starts at $349.99 and the XL starts at $399.99. You even have the option of stepping up to the 128GB version.
Andrew Bell and Dead Zebra have been making Android mini collectibles for a long time. We've had hot dog bugdroids, panda bugdroids, and even Nexus bugdroids. Tomorrow, there's a new special edition Android mini launching in celebration of Oktoberfest. It's an Android drinking beer, which makes sense. You can even get a mug with your Android so you can have some beer, too.
Plex is mainly a way to get your own media library organized and streaming to all your devices, but today Plex is announcing a new source of content called Plex News. As the name implies, it's a feed of news and information from various sources that you access from your media library. There are over 190 sources at launch, and Plex says more are on the way.
Fitbit has been making fitness trackers for years, but we now have a launch date for the company's very first smartwatch. The Ionic launches on October 1st for $299.95, but that's not all. Fitbit is also releasing its first Bluetooth headphones on that same day for $129.95.
Your phone has a big fancy touchscreen, so why not use it to render some DJ tools? WeDJ was released on iOS last year, and it's just now launched on Android. This app pipes your music collection into a virtual DJ station with support for multiple tracks, audio effects, and more.
Verizon announced its very own Android Wear smartwatch earlier this year, powered by its LTE network. It started selling the Wear24 in May for $300 on contract and $350 without one. That seemed like an interesting proposition when consumers have shown little interest even in cheap smartwatches. Verizon didn't let this product languish too long, though. We've confirmed with the carrier that Wear24 is dead.
It's common for device makers to tweak the performance of a phone's camera after release, but it usually requires a full software update. However, last year Motorola used an app in the Play Store to make changes to the Moto G4's camera. It looks like the company is taking a similar approach to managing the camera on its upcoming Moto X4. A tuning app for that phone is live right now ahead of the phone's official launch.
Google kept Motorola's ATAP (Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group) when it sold the company a few years ago, but some high-profile projects like Ara have failed to materialize. Now, the ATAP division is finally bearing fruit. The Project Jacquard touch-sensitive fabric first demoed more than two years ago is coming to market as a collaboration with Levi's. The new Levi's Commuter Trucker Jacket launches this Wednesday for $350.
It's rare that new smartphone makers arrive on the scene to launch a phone without even so much as a Kickstarter campaign. Of course, they don't all have Andy Rubin at the helm. Essential released its first phone a few weeks ago as an unlocked device and a Sprint edition. Until now, only the Sprint version was on sale at Best Buy, but now you can get the unlocked one, too.
Samsung has launched the Geat Fit2 Pro, so the Gear Fit2 is officially yesterday's news. It's not terribly different from the new version, though, and it's heavily discounted on Verizon today. You can pick up the Gear Fit2 for $89.99, which is half of the MSRP, and a solid $30-50 less than the usual sale price.
When it comes to online automation platforms, IFTTT is the name most people know and trust. It's a little limited, though. We've covered Stringify a few times, citing it as a more powerful alternative that can plug into IFTTT. The company apparently caught the eye of Comcast recently, which just had to have it. So, Comcast owns Stringify now.
Firefox is a full-featured browser, which is what most people want. Firefox Focus, however, is intentionally lacking in features with the aim of improving user privacy. That doesn't mean it needs to be completely barebones, though. With today's update to v2.0, Firefox Focus supports multiple tabs. Plus, it's a little more secure.
Asus made the ZenFone 4 family official in North America recently, and now it's Europe's turn to get a preview of things to come. Five different ZenFone 4 devices will be rolling out to Europe in the coming months: the ZenFone 4 Pro, ZenFone 4, ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro, ZenFone 4 Selfie and ZenFone 4 Max. They run the gamut from budget to flagship.
The rumor mill was working overtime over the last few weeks as everyone speculated what a Google acquisition of HTC would look like. Would it be a Motorola situation? Maybe more like Microsoft acquiring Nokia? In the end, it's nothing so extreme as an acquisition. Google and HTC have come to an agreement wherein Google essentially carves out the Pixel business from HTC, leaving the rest to continue making smartphones.
FLIR's name is essentially synonymous with thermal cameras from cheap mobile sensors all the way up to industrial and military applications. The company first got into mobile devices with an iPhone-specific camera case and later a dongle. FLIR One came to Android a few years ago with a microUSB-equipped version, but that was right at the dawn of USB Type-C. Consequently, that first camera became obsolete quickly. Now there's a new FLIR One, actually two of them. The third-gen FLIR One costs $199 and the FLIR One Pro will run you $399.
Nest's cameras are a reasonably good solution for keeping your home secure, but they lack many of the features you'd expect from a traditional home security system. Nest is filling in those gaps with the new Nest Secure, a modular security system that connects to smart home products from Nest and other makers. It won't be cheap, though.
Nest has various cameras that are just cameras, but the company now has a camera that's also a doorbell. Nest Hello is going on sale early next year and aims to keep an eye on all the comings and goings at the front door. It includes several features from the high-end Nest Cam IQ, but it also includes new functionality suited to a doorbell.
Rumors began to percolate early this month that Google and HTC were on the verge of agreeing to a deal that would let Google take over the struggling smartphone maker. Now that rumor is sounding all but inevitable as HTC has halted trading of its shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange pending a major announcement. However, the acquisition may not be as complete as the Moto deal in 2011.
Samsung is currently pushing the Galaxy Note 8, but it's extremely expensive. The Galaxy S8 Plus is a good alternative if you want a big Samsung phone, and it just so happens there's a refurbished model on sale right now. For $550, you get a Verizon GS8 Plus, which is also unlocked for use on GSM networks. Add a coupon code, and it's $499.99.