MasHD Blog

Amazon has announced two new versions of the Paperwhite line, the new e-readers, which now come with larger 6.8” displays are now 10% brighter than before and has automatic brightness control (on the Signature edition only). The new models also have improved battery life and has a battery life of 10 weeks. It also charges via USB C. Apart from the difference in the brightness option, the signature edition has 32GB of internal storage while the regular one only has 8GB. The new Kindles are also compatible with iOS and Android Kindle Apps and thus you can set up one easily and sync any material you already own.  Also announced at the event is Amazon’s first Kindle Paperwhite for Kids - the conveniently named Paperwhite Kids. This model has the same displays as the above and the same good battery life, but it is said to come with Amazon Kids+ for child friendly content for 1 year and parental controls as well. However the main attraction of this is said to be its water resistance of 0...

Amazon has updated its 4K capable Fire Stick with the new FireTV Stick 4K Max. The new model, priced at $54.99, packs new upgrades including a new Mediatek MT8696 SoC and 2GB of RAM and a faster user experience with Wifi 6 support and supports for bands 802.11ax . On the software side, the overall user interaction has been improved and the Picture in Picture mode from the cube has also made it here as well. As standard, Dolby vision and Atmos is supported as well as short cuts for popular streaming services as well. Source - GSMArena

 Amazon's Alexa assistant  has so far been a vocal affair ,the simple AI assistant , designed to home in on your voice commands - even from across the next room was a smart and bold project which would get Amazon into the smart home world . The Echo , followed by the Echo dot has been mostly to test waters  , but now the company is set to work on a even more intergrated affair thanks to the addition of a display and a fully connected "Digital frame " of sorts with the new Echo Show . The device , designed to look like a smart speaker head-unit  , features a 7" HD touchscreen , a 5MP front facing camera , dual stereo speakers , 9 microphones and wifi + bluetooth support sounds a bit like your typical Fire tablet , but unlike your slate , this unit is set to sit on your table with the intention of giving you weather , news (CNN) , video streaming (youtube , twitch?) And stream music from spotify , Amazon music , Tunein ,iheartradio and pandora ...

Although tablets stole its thunder, e-readers are still somewhat relevant for book readers who like to save their eyesignt from the backlkght of iPads and Android tablet displays .e readers are also more power efficent than Lcd counterparts and they sometimes can go on for days without a single charge .Amazon , one of the last manufacturers to keep the e ink devices in production has unveiled the most capable and probably the most expensive reader yet - the Kindle Oasis . Although the e reader sounds like a English pop rock band , the e reader is set to keep you running through two months on a full charge *, this incredible battery is achieved by the Oasis thanks to its 6 inch 300dpi 10 LED backlit e ink display that sips only a small drop of batterylife while you read and the *case cover which charges up your device when tethered (and is included in the box) .The e reader however is not some extreme tent side companion as the elements will remder the oasis uselss so think twice ...

If you thought that your kindle is free from the pressures of getting software updates then we have some bad news ,Apparently Amazon wants you to install a critical update on all kindle devices .The popular e-reader family lets users download and sync books and other material for reading content ,but all that functionality will not be available to these devices if you fail to update your device .therefore if you own a Kindle e-reader (not the fire tablets) install  the update as soon as possible independent.uk

Amazon struck gold with the original 7" Kindle fire tablet a few years back . The tablet revolutionized the tablet industry forever as it paved the way for the Nexus 7 and the iPad Air , bringing the small tablet pricing down so everyone could own one .Although the $100 Kindle fire tablet still exists in new iterations, none of the successors really had any impact as competition in the tablet market is very tough as Samsung and Apple basically own the turf . Amazon , not let down by the not so great sales of its high priced tablets and failure of its Fire Phone are now allegedly planning to launch a even cheaper $50 Android based Kindle tablet aimed at new users (possibly children) as a affordable device fot the Christmas/Holiday season .The alleged $50 tablet is said to be made on the already cheap $99 Kindle Fire HD6 chassis so we can expect to see a similar 6" panel inside .The tablet might also skip on the rear  camera and there are rumors that it will come with only on...

Amazon's  has a tradition of giving a paid app free for android devices that have its 3rd party appstore installed , and since we are in the holiday season , Amazon has decided to give away $220 worth of paid apps for a limited time . Majority of these 40 apps are small games and other productivity apps but gems like Sonic 2 can be downloaded for free during the given time . The offer ends  on the 26th of December . Written by Rakitha for MasHD Source - PCPRo , AndroidAuthority Download Amazon app store - Amazon/Getappstore(Android) Games Age of Zombies: Season 2 Angry Birds Space (Ad-Free) Angry Birds Space HD (Fire Edition) Anomaly Warzone Earth HD COGS Colin McRae Rally Construction Simulator 2014 Farming Simulator 14 Five Nights at Freddy's Quell Reflect RPG Soul Historica Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Tarraria Tetris To-Fu Fury Worms 3 Music djay 2 iReal Pro - Music Book & Play Along Plex TuneIn Radio Pro Ultimate Guitar Tabs and To...

After the near-disastrous fire-phone smartphone , we all thought that Amazon gave up on the idea of venturing into uncharted territory  , but now the company is back with its new Echo wireless smart-speaker system , this cylindrical speaker - which costs $199 if you don't have a Amazon prime account (Prime users can bag one up for $99) can play streaming music via Bluetooth once you install the companion app on your iOS or Android device , the device also has Wifi which allows the device to reveal its secret weapon - Alexa (Personal assistant) , this personal assistant uses omni-directional microphones to listen to the keyword "Hey Alexa" and the question and task following it . Alexa is "always On" and it is connected to the internet via Wifi , you can assisn tasks , set reminders or ask  silly questions like the ones said in this rather cheesy commercial which reminds us of the 90's TV commercials designed to teach people how to use the internet . Whate...

Launched along side the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 and HD7 tablets (and a host of E-Readers) the new Amazon HDX 8.9 brings major improvements in terms of hardware to the popular high -end tablet from Amazon .  The new HDX 8.9 , unlike most Android tablets today , feature one of the fastest CPU's to date - The Snapdragon 805 . The chip , clocked to 2.5 Ghz features the new Adreno 420 GPU and 2GB of ram to the Kindle Os powered tablet . The tablet ,unlike its other Kindle sibblings , is a bit expensive , but the price looks decent when we consider the hardware available on board . The HDX 8.9 will come in 16/32and 64GB versions and prices will start at $379 for the 16GB version , $429 for the 16GB version and $479 for the 64GB version . Display - 8.9" 2560x1600 IPS display , 339ppi , 400 nits of brightness OS - Kindle OS4 "Sangria" ,modified version of Android 4.4 Kitkat Design -tablet , non removable back cover , 231 X 158 X 7.8mm , 379g for WI...

Amazon has introduced a whole line of new tablets to the market today .among the tablets , we can see the ultra powerful - snapdragon 805 powered Kindle Fire HDX8.9 and the somewhat affordable and kid friendly  Kindle Fire HD -Kids edition tablet , amazon also unveiled new additions to the HD lineup - The Kindle Fire HD6 and HD7 tablets , which , like the other two , run on Amazon's own "Sangria" Os , which is a forked version of Android 4.4 Kitkat . The new HD6 and HD7 tablets are set to go online today at $99 for the 8GB HD6 model and the 16GB version will cost $119 . The HD7 tablet will cost $139 for the 8GB version and $159 for the 16GB version . Display - 6" 1280x800 IPS display in Kindle HD6  ,252ppi               7" 1280x800 IPS display in Kindle HD7 ,217ppi OS - Kindle OS - "Sangria"  - modified version of Android 4.4 Kitkat Design - HD6 = 169 x 103 x 10.7 mm , 290g HD7 = 191 x 128 x 10.6 mm , 337G Connectivity -...

Twitch - a popular video sharing site used by gamers has apparently been bought for $970 million by Amazon . The twitch service , which lets users share their gameplay or record video sessions is probably the second most popular game related website/service after Steam so the acquisition for that kind of money is quite reasonable . Amazon already owns cloud based services and has its "Fire" based smartphones and tablets  so the move was probably done in order to integrate the cloud services with the video streaming capabilities to further promote the Fire brand and Amazon's online service network in the long run . Google , who also wanted to buy the service for a whooping $1billion was apparently turned down due to concerns about anti-trust issues that can arise as they planned to integrate twitch to their already existing streaming site - YouTube .The Amazon purchase ,which is the largest purchase by the company since it accquired Zappos for $850 ,is said to spearhead ...

Amazon has been dealing with mobile devices for a very long time now , the Kindle series of E Readers have been highly successful , but with the rise of low priced tablets , Amazon knew that the Days of the E-reader are numbered . The company adapted to the situation and launched the Amazon Kindle Fire , which for its time , was one of the fastest devices devices to come out with a then High end -Dual core processor , the price of $199 made it a instant hit .Amazon rode on this low price-high end spec platform until last week when they launched their first smartphone ,The Amazon Fire Phone , which being priced at $649 off contract ($200 for a 2year contract on AT&T) makes it a definite No-No to the average smartphone buyer , but As far as Amazon is concerned ,the Fire phone is not about selling a phone , its about making a statement , or let's say , setting a foundation for future devices , but in order to do that , the foundation must be firm , people usually pay thousand...

Rumors about a Amazon smartphone have been around since 2012 ,but now after years of development ,the said smartphone is probably ready for launch thanks to the latest leaked pictures thanks to BGR. According to the rumor and the leak , the phone is said to feature a modified version of Android with a "never-before seen" 3D UI  , and this coupled with a glasses-free 720p 3D display of around 4.7" makes this the second mass market 3D smartphone after the HTC Evo 3D .Other specs include a unknown Qualcomm processor (we guess it will be a Snapdragon 801 probably ) , 2GB RAM and  a 13 mp main camera and 6 other cameras for video chats and Amazon's Mayday service feature , the launch date of the device is unknown,but rumor has it pegged for a late-summer launch . Source - BGR

According to a report in The Financial Times, HTC and Amazon are working together on an upcoming smartphone. The article goes further to point that there are three different devices in the works, with one of them being in advanced stage of development. Amazon has not responded to requests for comment on the report, though it stated that it has “no plans to offer a phone this year”. HTC’s chief of marketing Ben Ho also declined to comment on the Amazon partnership, but said that the manufacture is “always exploring new opportunities”. A partnership with Amazon could give HTC a break from its troubles, as the device will likely be a high-volume product which will give the ailing company’s balance sheet a welcome boost. It will also represent a back to basics approach for the Taiwanese manufacturer, which made a name for itself by producing hardware under different brands. As far as Amazon is concerned, a potential cooperation with HTC will signal an even more aggressive stance toward...

The case for an incoming Kindle Fire update seems to be getting stronger every day -- not only have we seen benchmarks and alleged photos of the device , but now @evleaks seems to have come across an official render. The purported press image matches previous leaks in bezel size and design, but lacks the front-facing camera Amazon introduced with the Kindle Fire HD. This leads us to suspect that the render is of a non-HD model of Bezos' latest tablet. The flagship model is rumored to have a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, the aforementioned camera upfront and an OS based on Android 4.2.2. We're still waiting for Amazon to give the official word of course, but for Kindle users waiting for an upgrade, it's something to salivate over. Engadget

Amazon’s Silk web browser, which comes built into Kindle Fire devices, has received its first major upgrade since September 2012, the company announced today. Though there have been steady under-the-hood improvements over time, this is the first release since last fall to introduce consumer-facing changes to the way the browser looks and behaves, including a new tutorial, redesigned tabs, better browser controls, simpler navigation options, and easier access to Silk’s Reading View feature. One of the new features rolling out today has to do with how Silk appears to first-time users. Like many apps do today, the browser now launches with a brief tutorial to explain its features. Instead of screens you have to swipe through, Silk adopts the “overlay” interface which darkens the background to point out various navigational buttons like the Action Menu, Reading View, and Left Panel slider, for example, which is where users can view their Most Visited pages, Bookmarks, and History. Bu...

Amazon has apparently dropped the price of its Kindle Fire HD ereader-tablet in what appears to be a response to Barnes & Noble’s NOOK HD cuts, dropping the 7-inch Android-based slate by as much as 15-percent in the US and UK. The price adjustment sees the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD come down to £139 in the UK (saving £20) for the 16GB model, and to $169 (saving $30) in the US, compared to the latest 7-inch NOOK HD at £129/$149 for the 16GB model. In the US, Amazon lists the Kindle Fire HD change as a “limited time” offer, though it’s worth noting that B&N has used the same nomenclature for its own discounting. Our suspicion is that the cuts will last for roughly as long as the other company’s do, given the fierce competition between the two firms. Despite Amazon’s changes, the NOOK HD is still the cheaper of the two. For a start, B&N offers an 8GB version, which is $129, and has no direct capacity equivalent in the Kindle Fire HD range. However, B&N’s motivations a...

Amazon seems to want to shake things up in the tablet sector, as it’s rumored that the e-tailer giant will be releasing a $99 Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tablet at some point. Currently, you can get a 7-inch Kindle Fire HD for only $199, which comes with 16GB of storage, but cutting that price down by half seems like quiet the feat. According to TechCrunch, the sub-$100 tablet will come with a Texas Instruments processor and will feature a 1280×600 resolution display, so it looks like it won’t have anything too revolutionary, but we shouldn’t be expecting anything ground-breaking anyway, except for maybe the price, but as far as components are concerned, expect a bottom-of-the-barrel type of device. Of course, you can grab a regular Kindle Fire for just $159, so a $99 Kindle Fire tablet seems pretty realistic. None of the major companies have outed a $99 tablet yet, so Amazon being first to the punch could be great news for the company. However, it’ll be interesting to see whether or no...