Walyou

Amazon’s $50 Fire Tablet Isn’t Just for Emerging Markets

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 12:28 PM PDT

When manufacturers launch low-cost gadgets, they typically target developing countries, but there’s a whole different story with Amazon and its $50 tablet.

The newly announced Fire tablet is said to be twice more durable than the latest iPad Air, but there’s no word on how exactly did Amazon measure that. One thing is certain, though. The e-tailer has refreshed its Fire family with 7 all-new products, but there’s no doubt that the most interesting of them all is this low-budget tablet.

Since it carries a price tag of $50 ($49.99, more precisely), one cannot help but wonder if Amazon is turning any profit with this device. As in the case of many other products manufactured by this company, it’s not the tablet itself that brings in the money, but the additional services. Basically, what Amazon would like to see people do is buy (and read) ebooks on the Fire tablet, or just watch TV shows and movies through a streaming services that pay the e-tailer a small commission.

At such a price, some people wouldn’t mind using it as a remote control for other smart devices, or even as their children’s first tablet. I wouldn’t trust kids with a Nexus 9, but a $50 tablet really is something expendable, if it weren’t for the data stored on it.

Amazon has also come up with a deal for families (or even possibly schools): get a six pack by paying for 5 Fire tablets and receiving the sixth for free.

The technical specs are obviously mediocre, but asking for more at this price would just be mean. The manufacturer equipped it with a 7″ IPS display with a resolution of 1024×600 and a pixel density of 171 ppi, as well as a quad-core processor running at 1.3Ghz, and 1GB of RAM. Rear and front-facing cameras were included for basic photography and video calls or selfies. Since the 8GB of internal storage are far from being enough, Amazon enables users to extend this with a microSD card of up to 128GB.

As for software, the Fire tablet runs on Fire OS 5, which is a heavily modified version of Android 5.0 Lollipop. The battery is not exactly the strongest point of this device, but it should be enough for 7 hours of reading, surfing the web, watching videos, or listening to music. As you can see, gaming is not listed, not because the tablet wouldn’t be capable of running games, but because this activity consumes more resources and depletes the battery much faster.

The amount of supplementary media is absolutely mind-blowing, as there are 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, apps and games, all available through Amazon’s own Android store.

Head over to Amazon and get yourself one… or a six-pack! The e-tailer is already taking orders, but it will start shipping on September 30, when the product gets in stock.

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Via: CNBC

5 Coolest Star Wars Episode VII Funko Pop! Bobbleheads

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 11:33 AM PDT

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is due to hit theaters by the end of year, and there are several characters that are already part of the public consciousness. That being the case, of course they were going to get their own Funko Pop! Bobbleheads before the movie even got here. These are some of our favorite new figurines that will get you ready for when the new Star Wars movies finally do roll out – and we’re all about new faces, so don’t expect to see C3P-O, Chewie and R2-D2 in this one list!

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens Kylo Ren Pop! Bobble Head

Of course we were going to start the list featuring Kylo, a mysterious new character who sports an unconventional light saber. We really do hope he fares better than Darth Maul because the costume design and sword look amazing. Get it here or here.

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens BB-8 Pop! Bobble Head

We’re sorry, but “BB” doesn’t stand for BlackBerry anymore. The movie isn’t even out and we’re already in love with the cute spherical droid featured in the trailers and promotional art. Just look at him/her and tell us it’s not adorable. Buy it here or here.

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens Captain Phasma Pop! Bobble Head

Another new character, Captain Phasma’s Storm Trooper armor looks absolutely amazing in grey and we can’t wait to see what the deal with him is the new movies. Buy the figurine here or here.

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens Rey Pop! Bobble Head

Rey sort of reminds us of the very first glimpse we got of Luke Skywalker back in Tatooine, in Episode IV, except she looks much more badass and like a true survivor. We don’t know anything about her role in the upcoming movies, but we’re sort of expecting her to become a fan favorite. Get the figurine here or here.

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens Poe Dameron Pop! Bobble Head

Poe Dameron is an X-Wing pilot who by the time of Episode VII has made himself a reputation as the greatest in the galaxy! We’re sure he’s good, but can he do the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs? Can he fit a missile through the Death Star’s thermal exhaust point? We’ll see. Get the figuine here or here.

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