Amazon refreshes Halo View, introduces Halo Fitness service

Amazon wants to take on Fitbit and Apple with its new fitness tracker and service. The new Halo View even reminds us of Fitbit's Charge trackers. Amazon equips the Halo View with an AMOLED display but decides to forego the always-listening microphone. So, the emotion detecting feature is dropped from the band but still lives in the app. 

The Halo View gets a seven-day battery life, and it takes 90 minutes to charge fully. It will retail for US$80 and will ship in time for the holidays. 

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Amazon Astro is a new robot that can follow you around at home

Amazon has just launched a new home/companion robot that can follow you around the house thanks to it being on wheels. The Amazon Astro will map out your floor plan and do things like following voice commands, help you or your family stay in touch with others via voice calls, and even serve as an aid for eldercare.

With its computer vision, it can also check on your home while you're away. It won't be able to play with your pets just yet, but it has a dedicated periscope cam that pops up from its head to check things out. Think of it as a roving security bot.

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Amazon adds bigger screen, longer battery life to Kindle Paperwhite

Amazon recently announced new Kindle Paperwhite models that bring essential improvements to the series. The new Kindle Paperwhites get a larger 6.8-inch display with adjustable colour temperature, longer battery life, and faster charging via USB-C. 

Similar to the three-year-old Kindle Paperwhite, this new model still gets a flush-mounted display, built-in backlight, IPX8 waterproofing, and 300ppi resolution. Amazon reduced the bezels a bit to accommodate the bigger screen, which may or may not be a good thing given that you hold onto these bezels when you read.

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Amazon wants to make it easier to use its Kindles

Amazon is rolling out a software update in the coming weeks that's meant to improve the experience on its Kindle, Oasis, and Paperwhite devices. You will be able to swipe down from the screen to adjust brightness, go to All Settings, and toggle Airplane, Sync, and Bluetooth modes. There will be a new bottom navigation bar that will let you switch easily between Home, Library, and the book you're currently reading. These changes are coming to 8th-generation Kindles or later, 7th-generation or newer Paperwhites, and the Oasis series.

Later this year, Amazon plans to offer "an improved Home and Library experience." The Library will get "new filter and sort menus, a new collections view and an interactive scroll bar." Meanwhile, the Home portal will get a Recently Read section that shows up to 20 items.  

Source: Engadget