Amazon’s servers provide the backbone for much of the Web, and while upload speeds are improving, what happens when you need a few dozen petabytes backed up to the cloud? Enter Amazon Snowmobile, literally a giant truck with a mobile data center capable of physically moving up to 100 petabytes of your data to Amazon’s cloud servers. The concept is the evolution, both in name and function, of the company’s “Snowball” service, which ships customers data units with capacities up to 80TB. As for price, it’s in the “if you have to ask…” category, although Amazon says it aims to make the Snowmobile cheaper than any network-based data transfer which, even at gigabit speeds, would take a while.
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Amazon Music Unlimited versus Prime Music: What's the Difference?
If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber you can already stream music, so why would you want to pay US$7.99 for the just launched Amazon Music Unlimited? It’s the extras you get with Amazon Music Unlimited that set the two apart—but they may not be worth the price.
Amazon Plugs Ecosystem Hole with Streaming Music Service
Apple Music, Spotify, say hello to Amazon Music Unlimited. Amazon just launched its own streaming music service, and here’s the kicker: It doesn’t need to be better than Apple Music or Spotify, just more convenient. That’s enough to keep more people in Amazon’s ecosystem.
Amazon Offers Financing on Fire HD Tablets Starting at $89.99
Amazon rolled out financing for its line of Fire HD tablets this weeks, even on devices that retail for as little as US$89.99. The retailing giant is allowing qualifying customers to purchase a Fire HD8, Fire HD10, or Fire Kids Edition and pay for it over five payments.
Evidence is Mounting: Apple Will Convert the Macs to ARM CPUs
The time since most of the Macs have been updated can now be described as geologic. Is that because Apple doesn’t care about the Macs? Or, more likely, could we be in for another major architectural change? Evidence is mounting that Apple will abandon Intel and take the Mac lineup to ARM. John looks at the evidence and makes the case.
Pandora Inks Deals with Sony and Universal as it Prepares to Take on Apple and Spotify
Apple Music is about to get a new, yet familiar, competitor. Pandora today announced that it has secured licensing agreements with two major music labels, positioning the company to soon enter the on-demand music streaming industry currently dominated by Apple and Spotify.
Sonos's Future: Opening Up Control to Alexa and Third-Party Apps
On Tuesday, wireless speaker manufacturer Sonos summoned the press to Manhattan to show off some new software features they’ve been working on and, in doing so, painted a picture of a more open Sonos experience. Demonstrating Amazon Alexa voice control and Spotify app integration, Sonos showed a not-too-distant future where customers have the ability to control their Sonos products in a variety of new ways without sacrificing any of the existing benefits of the Sonos platform.
Senator Warren: Apple, Amazon, Google Killing Competition
Apple, Amazon, and Google are abusing their market strength to block competition from smaller companies, according to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In a speech at the America’s Monopoly Problem on Wednesday, she said the three companies are using their size to “snuff out competition,” and she’s at least partly right.