NowIAmUpdated

Tag: Amazon

  • ByteDance plans to venturing a Smartphone

    ByteDance is renowned for its TikTok app, its short video streaming and sharing app.

    However, the company seems to have a lofty dream of creating its own Smartphone, as per the report.

    The Smartphone is expected to have the popular TikTok app and other apps from ByteDance to make it easier for lovers of these apps to have unlimited access to them.

    ByteDance will work in alliance with Smartisan, a Chinese phone maker, to make this dream come true. However, nothing much has been heard about when the Smartphone will hit the market or its other specifications.

    This is supposed to be one such smart transit, the company has developed in recent years, to beat its rival, in its attempt to take over Tencent, the Chinese section of the social media world.

    In 2017, the company acquired Musical.ly, a US-based lip-sync app. It was an attempt to give the company a global presence and recognition.

    The move has had a huge positive impact on the company. Earlier this month, ByteDance hit the one billion downloads of its apps. It has since surpassed that figure.

    There is a concern about this company’s venture into the phone industry. The past experiences of Facebook and Amazon give observers the impression that ByteDance may be heading for disaster too.

    Amazon and Facebook failed with their Fire Phone and HTC First Smartphone projects respectively.

    More so, seasoned phone manufacturers such as Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are also on the ground to give the company a run for its money.

    Nevertheless, ByteDance may have perfected a plan to overcome the challenges.

  • Alexa Extends its Intercom-Like Broadcasts to Non-Echo Devices

    Amazon is gradually increasing the number of devices empowered to use one of the best innovations in recent years, Alexa Announcements.

    Amazon has made this feature available to any type of device with a built-in Alexa support. This implies that you can communicate with members of your household through any type of device that has Alexa.

    Well, if you recall, Alexa introduced the Alexa late last year. This new innovation makes it possible for a user to speak into a device while other devices will simultaneously broadcast the message to others through their speakers.

    While explaining how to use the device, Amazon said:

    “By saying ‘Alexa, then ‘announce’ or ‘broadcast’ or ‘tell everyone’ followed by your message, you can gather the family or your roommates together for movie night without having to yell at everyone to make their way to the lounge.

    Simultaneously, you can call your beloved ones who are busing watching TV to walk down to the dining room for dinner.”

    Thus, you can communicate with your entire family members via your fridge, thermostat, or any device with Alexa support.

    Furthermore, the devices that support this feature ought to have the ability to convert MP3 files to a format supported by Alexa. Such files will be 45 seconds long or longer.

    It is believed that as more devices are built to support Alexa, this intercom-like feature will be a great addition to every home. This will make communication between family members to be easier and faster.