Tuesday, January 19

Amazon

19Jan By thecanadianNo Comments
Amazon, Manufacturers, News

Amazon will open new facilities in Quebec creating more than 1,000 jobs

Amazon has announced its investment in Quebec with new sorting centers and three delivery stations in the province. Together, these five facilities will offer more than 1,000 jobs with competitive salaries, as well as industry-leading benefits and career growth opportunities from the day they start. Amazon will open its largest sorting center in Couteau-du-Lac in 2021, with a 520,000-square-foot facility that will create at least 500 jobs. The first sorting center has already opened in Longueuil in 2020. It created 500 jobs and a 200,000 square foot facility at 5799 Route de l'Aéroport. Additionally, Amazon's delivery stations in Quebec will open in 2021 and the third in 2022. The first will be located in Laval at 5555 Ernest-Corm...
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19Jan By thecanadianNo Comments
Amazon, Business, e-books, General

Amazon Faces Class Action Lawsuit Alleging E-Book Pricing

A new lawsuit filed in New York alleges that Amazon and five book publishers are in collusion to fix the prices of e-books, it reported. The Guardian. Editors include Penguin Random House, Hachette, Simon and Schuster, Harper Collins, and Macmillan, often referred to as the 'Big Five'. The lawsuit alleges that publishers pay high commissions to Amazon, driving up the price of e-books on the platform. It argues that this forces consumers to pay higher prices for e-books that are purchased on platforms other than Amazon. “Amazon's deal with its co-conspirators is an unreasonable trade restriction that prevents competitive pricing and causes plaintiffs and other consumers to overpay when they purchase Big Five e-books through a com...
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17Jan By thecanadianNo Comments
Amazon, Apple, Manufacturers, News, Podcasts, spotify

Apple is reportedly looking to create a podcast subscription service

Apple is reportedly considering creating a podcast subscription service to compete with companies like Spotify and SiriusXM. A new report from Information reveals that the tech giant is currently in talks with production companies about the service, which would charge people to listen to podcasts. By charging for individual podcasts, Apple could offer creators a way to earn more money, which could convince them to ditch rival services. The report highlights that it is worth noting that Apple often explores ideas without carrying them out, so it is unknown when or if the service could launch. It makes sense for Apple to consider creating its own premium service, especially since it played a role in popularizing podcasts via the ...
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13Jan By thecanadianNo Comments
Amazon, iPhone News

Amazon Prime Video Announces Toronto Maple Leafs Documentary Series

Amazon Prime Video and NHL Original Productions have announced that a new documentary series will be released soon, featuring an "inside view" of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This Canadian Amazon Original series, part of the All or nothing The docu-series franchise will hit Prime Video later this year in more than 240 countries and territories. It will show action on ice and also "unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the 2020-21 NHL season," which begins today. “The latest addition to the All or Nothing documentary series franchise will follow the Toronto Maple Leafs organization as they compete in the first all-Canadian division in NHL history, offering an intimate look at the world of the players, coaches and staff. team, ”explains the synopsis of the documentary series, d...
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7Jan By thecanadianNo Comments
Amazon, News, Wearables & Gadgets

Amazon Reportedly Developing a Sleep Apnea Monitor Powered by Alexa Technology

Amazon is reportedly developing a new Alexa-powered device that can detect signs of sleep apnea, according to Business Insider. This palm-sized Alexa product would sit on a nightstand and use millimeter wave radar to detect your breathing and monitor and track any interruptions related to sleep apnea. The Amazon project is reportedly codenamed "Brahams" (based on Johannes Brahams, the German composer of "Lullaby") and was built last year by an in-house Amazon team. Business Insider notes that the device looks like "a hexagonal foot pad attached to a metal wire base." The leak also indicates that Amazon may be using machine learning and cloud technology to understand other types of sleep disorders beyond sleep apnea. The edge conta...
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2Jan By thecanadianNo Comments
Amazon, Buyers' Guide, echo, Features, Google, Nest Audio

Google’s Nest Audio vs Amazon’s Echo (2020)

Google and Amazon updated their smart speakers this year with a renewed focus on music. We've been going head-to-head with the two speakers over the past few weeks to figure out which smart speaker to buy this holiday season. The Amazon Echo (2020) is the magic eight ball of your dreams with the ability to answer thousands of questions and more. This year, Amazon chose to revamp the look of the regular Echo and Echo Dot to turn them into cloth-covered spheres. The regular Echo also got a big boost in sound quality now that it has three internal speakers. The new Nest Audio is Google's replacement for the original Google Home smart speaker that looks like an air freshener. This model also includes a nice speaker update and a compelling redesign that involves a lot of tissu...
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29Dec By thecanadianNo Comments
Amazon, Deals, game sales, News, nintendo

$ 20 off select Nintendo Switch games

If you're looking to get some first-party Nintendo games at a discount, you're in luck because Amazon has a pretty decent game sale. It should be noted that very rarely do we see games developed by Nintendo for sale. However, this list of random Switch games has dropped to these prices multiple times in 2020. The games for sale are listed below:Source: Amazon
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18Dec By thecanadianNo Comments
alexa, Amazon, Apps & Games, News

Amazon launches group audio and video calls from Echo devices in Canada

Amazon is launching group video and audio calls for Echo devices in Canada. Group video calls allow up to seven people to join an audio or video call on compatible Echo devices, including the Echo Show, Echo Dot, and Echo (2020). Also, Amazon says that you can create and name these groups in the Alexa app. It's also worth noting that these video and audio calls support Alexa commands such as "Alexa, call my family" to contact a specific group you've created. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it appears that Echo group calls could work as a decent alternative to video chat services like Zoom and Google Meet, especially since there is no limit on call times. That said, you obviously need an Echo device for group calling to work. ...
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17Dec By thecanadianNo Comments
alexa, Amazon, echo, Echo Show, Netflix, News, Smart Home

Netflix comes to Amazon Echo devices … and it’s broken

Amazon has finally brought Netflix to its Echo smart displays, and it looks like the Alexa Skill is broken in Canada. The skill appears to have been available to Canadians for a few days judging from their reviews. That said, every time I try to add it to my Amazon account, either from the Amazon website or from the mobile app, it refuses to work. MobileSyrup has contacted Netflix to find out why the skill was broken and if there is any timeline as to when it could be fixed. Netflix has been a long time coming to Amazon's smart displays. For a time, users could access the site via their smart display's built-in web browser, but that option sucked and they couldn't use Alexa's voice controls. According to Engadget, This ability wo...
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16Dec By thecanadianNo Comments
Amazon, echo, News, Smart Home, spotify

Spotify’s podcast controls are now much better with Alexa in Canada

Canadians who like to listen to podcasts on Spotify via an Alexa-compatible smart speaker they're in luck, as a new update gives them more robust voice controls. This means that you can now ask Alexa for requests like the following:Alexa, play SyrupCast podcast on Spotify Alexa, play the latest episode of the SyrupCast podcast on Spotify Alexa, resume SyrupCast podcast on Spotify Alexa, fast forward 30 seconds Alexa, next episodeWhile this isn't the biggest update Alexa has received, it's great that the functionality is finally available through Amazon's smart speakers. It's worth noting that the Google Assistant can perform all of these commands as well.
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