Amazon Archives - VR World

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Smartphones gain PC-strength VR capabilities via new codec

NGCodec, a company that specializes in developing algorithms, silicon logic and FPGA implementations for cloud video processing, this week announced the availability of their potentially transformative cloud-based encoding technologies via the Amazon AWS Marketplace. The company’s RealityCodec acts as a low-delay H.265/HEVC encoder, which allows much of the processing load of VR video streams to be shifted into the cloud. The codec also boasts sufficiently low latency that it can reliably deliver VR streams to untethered, mobile, VR head-mounted displays. “We have worked diligently to bring our advanced video codecs to the Amazon Cloud and to demonstrate the potential for cloud media and virtual reality,”

Amazon, Augmented Reality (AR), News

Amazon patent reflects another push into 1.7 trillion dollar industry

A patent issued on the first business day of the new year may herald a breakthrough in online fashion retailing. US Patent 9,858,719 was Issued on January 2nd to Amazon Services Inc. It suggests the company is developing an augmented reality-type system consisting of a mirror, display and camera combination that allows individuals to virtually preview the look of clothing prior to purchase, and to do so while also virtualizing their locale. The invention, as described, appears to go a long way towards solving the many issues pertaining to look and fit that tend to plague the purchase of fashion items online. Currently, these challenges

Android, Augmented Reality (AR), iOS, Mobile, News, OSx, Smartphones, Social Media, Tablets, VR World, Windows

Lens Studio lets anyone create AR effects for Snapchat

Snap, the company behind prominent messaging app Snapchat, has released Lens Studio, a software for producing augmented reality effects for still photos and videos. What used to be an in-house application is now in the hands of all who want to dabble in creating their own AR experiences for use in Snapchat. Lens Studio is Snap’s second app, and it’s available on Mac OS X and Windows. The release of this design platform is actually the most recent in a series of similar stories: Facebook opened its AR platform earlier this week, as well as Amazon earlier this month. With Lens Studio opening up to advertisers

Amazon, Augmented Reality (AR), Cloud Computing, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Amazon launches Sumerian, a new VR/AR development platform

Amazon is one of the biggest names in tech, and this doesn’t stop with its status as a storefront. Another way Amazon has made its impact known is through its Amazon Web Services, which serve as a backend for applications worldwide. AWS offers server infrastructure and tools well beyond the scope of typical indie developers, and for this reason, it’s a favorite among enterprises and indies alike. So when Amazon makes an announcement in this space, everyone pays attention. Sumerian, software tools debuted by the retail giant, is an extension to the Amazon Web Services platform, and it focuses on the creation of virtual reality,

Amazon, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, Business, Companies, Entertainment, Google, Hardware, Microsoft, News, Smart Home, VR World

Amazon willing to team up with Apple and Google

Amazon.com Inc. is willing to team up with competitors Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google if it would help improve customers’ experience with its Alexa voice-activated virtual assistant, an executive working on the platform said. The online retailer, which is already working with Microsoft Corp. on productivity features for Alexa such as calendar interactions, will put the user first in pursuit of any other partnerships, said Toni Reid, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Echo devices, who has been on the team since 2014. Just a few weeks ago, Apple was hiring brand new software engineers in Cambridge to help improve its Siri service. Sensing

Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality (AR), Companies, Entertainment, Mobile, News, Operating Systems, VR World, Wearables

Amazon Wants You to Wake up and Travel with Alexa

Amazon, hoping to replicate the success of its Echo device, is poised to extend its eyes and ears into every part of your life with the launch of new voice-controlled and camera-equipped Alexa devices designed for bedrooms, living rooms and even your car. Amazon prides itself on its almost pathological focus on what its customers want, rather than what its competitors are doing. But its new Alexa products are clearly a response, at least in part, to new smart speaker offerings from Google and Apple. Amazon is betting that it can defend its franchise by using an old trick – aggressive pricing – and by finding ways

Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Business, Entertainment, Gaming, Opinion, Virtual Reality (VR)

Sofa Sports and the Rise of Live Gaming

Just two decades ago, if somebody prophesized that reality TV would have the lion’s share of airtime on some channels, a job posting for a soothsayer wouldn’t be too far behind. There’s something bizarre about tuning in to watch others do things we’re capable of doing ourselves, not so much the pro sports of this world but the bundling everybody in the same house (Real World) expanded to sitting on sofas (Big Brother) or partying (Jersey Shore), and the arguing that typifies an hour with the Kardashians. Thus, the question present itself – are eSports and the popular forms of entertainment – actual sports themselves? Twitch

Breaking, Business, Buying Guides, Event, News, VR World

FOLLOW-UP CYBER MONDAY DEALS ARE HERE

After an article on Black Friday we decided to do a Cyber Monday article as well. It’s easy for Cyber Monday to be overshadowed by the Black Friday hype, but this billion-dollar shopping holiday has its own unique qualities. Amazon Amazon’s web portal is pushing their own wares with 50+ percent discounts on own Kindle tablets and Alexa assistant. True Cyber Monday deals are being pushed in waves, so a person should pay attention to Amazon 2016 Cyber Monday landing page. Best Buy Best Buy has numerous amount of gadgets, computers and accessories. Check their Cyber Monday landing page here. Dell Cyber Monday at Dell brought discounts on all Inspiron

Breaking, VR World

Are You Ready For Black Friday

Black Friday is the day that every shopping enthusiast is waiting for the whole year. Regardless of are you looking for a new gadget, computer component or a piece of fashion, Black Friday is the event to enjoy in. In fact, Black Friday even got copied in China with their “Singles Day” (does not relate to relationship status, it’s four ones in a row – 11.11.). If you are on a tight budget and want to buy something nice, then enjoy this article. Black Friday is now just a few hours away, and we will bring you few good deals that may interest you. Amazon

Breaking, Gaming, News, Rumors, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables

Is Oculus Touch Priced at USD 199?

Even though they’re not the only VR headsets on the market, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift attract the most attention and command the mainstream media presence. When announced, Oculus Rift launch price of $599 presented a main advantage over HTC Vive’s $799. In markets such as the European Union, that price went as high as Euro 699 (Rift) vs. 899 (Vive). Translated into USD, $785 vs. 1010. From the very start, explanation for the Vive price was that the package enables “room scale VR,” with the included tracking solution (Lighthouse) and a pair of motion controllers, while the Oculus Rift only comes with a Microsoft Xbox controller.

Amazon, Breaking, Business, Entertainment, Hardware, Mobile, News, Tablets, VR World

Is Amazon Saving the Tablet Market?

ABI Research reports that Amazon has set the tablet market “ablaze” thanks to the launch of its $50 Fire Tablet. The device was released in late September 2015, sporting a 7″ display, a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, and 8 GB of internal storage. Even more, it features a microSD card slot allowing the owner to beef up the internal storage to a massive 136 GB (total). Amazon evidently expects customers to download media left and right from the company’s various online services. According to ABI Research, Amazon took a big chance by launching the tablet with such a low price point. The move was a

Amazon, Apple, Breaking, Business, Exclusive, Google, Microsoft, Mobile, Mobile Computing, News, Smartphones, Tablets

Microsoft to Offer Data Plans, Mobile Service

MVNO or Mobile Virtual Network Operator is becoming a thing of fashion among IT giants, and could start to slowly squeeze conventional telecom operators, especially among the early adopters. Among the traditional IT names, IBM was the first that ran its own MVNO that was accessible to non-employees (back in 1990s, you could subscribe to IBM’s modem service and use it globally), but that was not widely adopted until Amazon launched its Kindle tablet, which used Qualcomm’s MVNO, and later replaced it with an in-house, SIM-free architecture for Kindle devices more known as the Whispernet. As Google seeked a path to grow, the company decided to become a fully fledged

Breaking, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Entertainment, News

Netflix Goes Global, Available in 120 Countries

Netflix used CES to make an announcement we all expected for too long – the online video streaming juggernaut finally managed to secure global rights for the content showed. Unlike previous (blackmailed) negotiations, Netflix did not cave to Hollywood’s content distribution cartel and made its entire portfolio available to users in 120 countries around the globe. This means that you can watch all the shows and movies Netflix has to offer, meaning users that were stifled and forced to use torrents to get the latest content – finally getting an opportunity to legally watch the content that 91% of bit-torrent users would gladly pay for (according to a survey

3D, Gaming, Hardware, Mobile, News, Smartphones, Virtual Reality (VR)

VR hits Magical $99 Price with Samsung’s New GearVR

As we all know, the key to adopting a technology for mass market is hitting the ‘sweet price point’, which is typically based around three figures – $99, $199, $999. $999 was the price point when first VHS demolished Betamax, CD replaced vinyl, DVD replaced VHS, and so on. $199 was the price point that Apple hit with the iPhone and we all know what happened afterwards. $99 however, is a price point where a product becomes a commodity, whatever it is. After launching its first generation GearVR Innovator Edition for $199, Samsung teamed up with Facebook and Oculus to prepare a product which could

Amazon, Apple, Audio/Video, Business, Google, Hardware, News, VR World

Report: Amazon To Ban Sales Of Apple TV And Google Chromecast

In a true “gloves off” scenario, Amazon will ban the sales of Apple TV and Google Chromecast devices in their shop, starting October 29th. This marks another chapter in the ever going battle of streaming services and providers. It seems that the online store giant is taking none of it from Google and Apple as it won’t allow Prime Video on neither the Apple TV and Chromecast devices. Likewise, the app is also not available for the Chromecast. The current generation of Apple TV (not the newly released one) is the 14th best selling device in the entire electronics section of Amazon. Currently is ranks 4th place

Amazon, Android, Business, Companies, Operating Systems

Report: Amazon Will Forego Future Phone Development

According to a story on Wall Street Journal, Amazon will forego any further phone development. While not ruled out completely, the development of the next-generation Amazon phone is extended “indefinitely.” Sources of the paper say that a significant volume of Fire Phone engineers have been sacked, which marks the first round of layoffs in history of Lab126, Amazon’s secretive hardware division. The failure of Fire Phone (no longer available for sale) took Amazon in a direction of rethinking their hardware strategy. With the aformentioned device, even heavy subsidizing didn’t help – the phone wouldn’t sell even when the price was dropped from $199 – $0.99 in an effort

VR World

Step Aside Black Friday – Amazon Reveals Their Prime Day

It’s called Prime Day and it’s Amazon’s way of celebrating their 20th birthday. It will be a day filled with great deals, discounts and some other worthy deals, available on the online store. Amazon is advertising this as their version of Black Friday – but better. On Wednesday, July 15, new and existing members in the U.S. will find deals starting at midnight, with new deals starting as often as every ten minutes. They can shop thousands of Lightning Deals, seven popular Deals of the Day and receive unlimited fast, free shipping. This event is available exclusively for Prime members in the U.S., U.K., Spain,

Internet of Things (IoT), VR World

Rockchip’s RK3288 Powers Sub-$150 Chromebooks and Chrome Stick

Super cheap chips from Rockchip allows low-end Chromebooks to hit $149.

Business, VR World

Amazon Testing Drone Delivery in Canada

Fed up with US regulations, Amazon is developing its drone technology 2,000 feet north of the border.

Gaming, VR World

Amazon Lightning Deal Lists 50% Off PlayStation TV

Amazon’s upcoming Lightning Deal slashes the PlayStation TV by 50%, possibly lowering the price to as little as $40.