Amazon Prime Music now available to Canadian subscribers with 1 million songs

Amazon Prime subscriptions in Canada seem to be the gift that keeps on giving. Around a year ago, subscribers got access to Amazon Prime Video (with great shows like Grand Tour, American Gods, Man in the High Castle).

Amazon Canada announced today that Amazon Prime Music is available to Canadian Amazon Prime subscribers. Offering 1 million songs for playing back on Echo devices (or the Sonos One), or be downloaded for playback on a PC or smartphone.

Adding to today’s exciting announcements, starting now, Amazon Prime Members in Canada have access to more than one million songs on-demand, at no additional cost with Prime Music! This launch will also enhance Alexa’s intelligence, as you’ll be able to stream music on your new Amazon Echo devices! Begin streaming Prime Music today at www.amazon.ca/PrimeMusic. 

Amazon's Alexa cloud-based voice service and Echo devices available in Canada

 The voice-assistant space in Canada is about to get more interesting. Amazon has finally brought its Alexa-powered Echo smart speakers and service to Canada which means it is now competing directly with Google Home.

It’s official, Amazon’s cloud-based voice service, Alexa, is now available in Canada along with three Alexa-enabled devices: Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Plus. The lineup of innovative voice-controlled speakers allows users to experience a new level of convenience and intelligence.

From simply asking Alexa for the temperature, or the news of the day, to controlling your entire home’s lights and locks, Alexa’s capabilities are endless and ever-expanding. You can pre-order your Echo device today at www.amazon.ca/echo. Shipping is expected by December 5, just in time for the Holiday season.

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Disney CEO says streaming service will be priced ‘substantially below’ Netflix when it launches

Some of the current Disney offerings on Netflix

We know that Disney plans to pull out its titles from Netflix when it launches its own service in 2019. What we don’t know is what pricing will be like. Now, we get a bit of an idea straight from the company’s chairman and CEO. Bob Iger mentioned at Disney’s latest quarterly earnings call that the monthly subscription cost for Disney’s streaming service will be “substantially below” Netflix’s price because they have “substantially less volume” in terms of the amount of content they will have as compared to Netflix. Although we don’t know which tier of Netflix is referring to as there are a number of them. But we have a bit of a wait before we find out.

Source: MacRumors

Essential outs beta build of Android Oreo for the Essential Phone

It seems we might be well on our way to getting Android Oreo on the Essential Phone. The startup did promise to release update for the latest Android operating system soon and it looks like we’re well on the way to that. Essential just made a beta version of the update available through its developer portal. You don’t have to be a developer to access it. It’s available to anyone who’s interested to try out the pre-release software. To get it, you’ll need to sign up for beta builds and grab the update as a download and sideload it to your device. You would also need the latest ADB tool and a bit of technical know-how to get this going though. So it’s not exactly for newbies. Plus, pre-release builds are not stable so if this is your main phone, you will need to proceed with caution.

Source: TechCrunch