Amazon Launches Fire TV Cube in India– The Fastest and Most Powerful Fire TV Device Ever With Hands-Free Alexa Voice Control

Amazon today announced the all-new Fire TV Cube, the hands-free, Alexa-enabled Fire TV experience, and the fastest and most powerful Fire TV ever at INR 12,999 in India. The all-new streaming media player features far-field voice control built into the device. This signature Fire TV device combines the capabilities of Amazon’s best-selling line of Fire TV streaming media players with the Alexa features. With Fire TV Cube, customers can voice control their entertainment system including compatible TV, Set Top Box, Smart Home devices, A/V receivers, etc.

“We are excited to introduce Fire TV Cube – our fastest and most powerful Fire TV device, developed after gathering a wealth of feedback about how customers use voice in the living room. We have combined the far field voice technology of Echo devices with the much loved Fire TV user experience so that customers can use the convenience of Alexa to control their entertainment. With its excellent picture quality and immersive sound experience, Fire TV Cube aims to deliver theater like experience at home.’’ said Parag Gupta, Head of Amazon Devices, India.

With Fire TV Cube, you can watch your favorites from Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLiv, Voot, and others. Plus, tune to live TV channels with cable or set-top box providers. Fire TV Cube gives you access to tens of thousands of channels, apps, and Alexa skills. The vast Fire TV catalog combined with powerful voice control makes it easier than ever to enjoy TV. Simply say, “Alexa, open Netflix” or “Alexa, find music videos on YouTube” or “Alexa, watch Pokemon on Voot Kids”.

The Fastest, Most Powerful Fire TV Ever

Featuring an ultra-powerful hexa-core processor, the all-new Fire TV Cube delivers a fast, fluid experience, with instant access to Dolby Vision and 4K Ultra HD content at up to 60 frames per second. You will enjoy the brilliant color of Dolby Vision and HDR, and HDR 10+, as well as the audio clarity of Dolby Atmos on the all-new Fire TV Cube.

Easy Control of All Your Entertainment

Hands-free voice control means convenience. The all-new Fire TV Cube features cutting edge far-field voice recognition with eight microphones and advanced beamforming technology that combines signals from the individual microphones to suppress noise, reverberation, content currently playing, and even competing speech to make sure Alexa clearly hears your request when placed next to your TV. When combined with the powerful new processor, you can easily search and navigate content using just your voice, whether it’s through your cable or set-top boxes; streaming apps like Prime Video, YouTube, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLiv and more. From across the room, just say, “Alexa, switch on the TV” or “Alexa, watch Mirzapur ” and Alexa will respond to your request.

Fire TV Cube uses multi-directional infrared technology, cloud-based protocols, and HDMI CEC, that when combined with Alexa, lets you control your compatible TV, sound bar, A/V receiver, cable, select set-top boxes, as well as other smart home devices. Fire TV Cube lets you dim the lights, check the weather, listen to the news, and more—even with the TV off with the built-in speaker.

Always Getting Smarter

The Alexa service is always getting smarter with new features, device control capabilities, and hands-free voice functionally currently supports enhanced in-app voice controls on Fire TV Cube, giving you more ways to use your voice while navigating through content.

Pricing and Availability

Fire TV Cube comes with an Ethernet adapter, Alexa Voice Remote, and IR extender cable and is available for customers in India at INR 12,999 starting today on Amazon.in and select Croma and Reliance outlets. To connect Fire TV Cube, customers can purchase an HDMI cable separately, which is available at no extra cost along with the device as an introductory offer. For more information visit www.amazon.in/firetvcube

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Amazon today introduced Alexa Skill Blueprints in India, a new way to create your own personalized skills and responses for Alexa

Amazon today introduced Alexa Skill Blueprints in India, a new way to create your own personalised skills and responses for Alexa. Using a set of easy-to-use templates anyone can create customised experiences for Alexa within minutes just by filling in the blanks. Whether it’s your own answer to the question “Alexa, who makes the best Rajma Chawal in the world?” or a skill that helps you surprise parents with a personalised story narrated by Alexa, “Alexa, open My Dad's Story.” Alexa Skill Blueprints allow you to build experiences into Alexa that are personalised to you and help make Alexa even more useful around your home. The skills you create are specially designed for you and your family, and will only appear on the devices registered to your Amazon account.

“Alexa Skill Blueprints are a new way for you to customise your Alexa experience. Personalised skills and responses make Alexa even more knowledgeable, delivering a delightful experience that is unique to you and your family,” said Dilip R.S., Country Manager for Alexa Skills, Amazon India. “You don’t need experience to build skills or coding to get started. At home we created our family trivia skill in a matter of minutes, and Alexa is keeping everyone entertained in a totally new and personal way.”

Using Alexa Skill Blueprints is as easy as filling in the blanks. You can have fun customising responses to questions like “Alexa, what is the best city?" or “Alexa, who has the best sense of humor?” You can also use Skill Blueprints to create an interactive adventure story with your child as the lead character and rename the skill as desired, “Alexa, start Tina’s Story” or create a skill to relive hilarious family moments, “Alexa, open Family Jokes.” The skills and responses you create with Alexa Skill Blueprints will be available instantly on the devices associated with your account.

You can also share your personalised skill with family and friends to use on their own Alexa-enabled devices. Skills can be shared via email, text, WhatsApp, or social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Recipients will receive a direct link where they'll be able to see details about your skill and have the ability to enable it for use on their own account.

Getting Started with Alexa Skill Blueprints:

Creating your own Alexa skill and responses is simple. Just ask “Alexa, tell me about Alexa blueprints” and follow three easy steps:

1.       Select your blueprint template by visiting the Alexa Skill Blueprints website: blueprints.amazon.in. There you can browse through 30 Skill Blueprints across four categories including Fun & Games, Learning & Knowledge, At Home, and Storyteller.

2.       Unleash your creativity. Each blueprint comes with pre-filled content that can be used as-is or customised as you like.

3.       With just one click your skill will be available on all Alexa-enabled devices associated with your Amazon account.

There is no limit to the number of skills you can create. Need to add even more hilarious jokes to the “Family Jokes” skill? No problem, editing is simple on the Alexa Skill Blueprints website.

Alexa Skill Blueprints available at launch include:

Fun & Games

1.       Inspirations: Curate a list of your favorite motivational quotes.

2.       Roast: Roast your friends and family with lighthearted burns.

3.       First Letter: Play a game of categories starting with a certain letter.

4.       Family Jokes: Create a list of your favorite jokes for when you need a laugh.

5.       Trivia: Create a multiple choice trivia game on any topic.

6.       Couples Quiz: Play to find out which couple knows each other best.

7.       Birthday Trivia: Play to see who knows the birthday girl or boy best.

8.       Compliments: Flatter your favorites with a list of custom compliments.

9.       Family Trivia: Play together and brush up on your family history.

10.   World's Best Dad: Celebrate dad with a list of customised compliments.

11.   Interactive Story: Create a story and test your memory.

12.   Three Word Sort: Train your brain in this topsy-turvy sorting game

13.   World's Best Mom: Celebrate mom with a list of customised compliments.

14.   Five Item Rush: Score your friends in this wacky categories game

Learning & Knowledge

15.   Flash Cards: Study, test yourself, and master any subject by voice

16.   Facts: Keep a list of facts on your favorite topic, all in one place

17.   Quiz: Challenge yourself and others with a customisable quiz

18.   Listening Quiz: Listen and recall with this listening quiz skill.

At Home

19.   Custom Q&A: Customise responses to your questions

20.   Houseguest: Make your guests feel at home with quick access to important info

21.   Whose Turn: Figure out whose turn it is to do something by having Alexa choose for you.

22.   Task Chart: Schedule and track weekly chores for your entire household.

23.   Roommate: Help your roommates by providing them with all the important information they should know.

24.   Sidekick: Alexa always has your back with these supportive and funny responses.

Storyteller

25.   Adventure: Write an adventure story where your child is the hero

26.   Fairy Tale: Customise an interactive prince and princess-themed tale

27.   Sci-Fi: Create an interactive story with a far-out theme

28.   Fable: Create a short narrative with a moral of the story

29.   All About Dad: Surprise dad with a personalised story narrated by Alexa.

30.   All About Mom: Surprise mom with a personalised story narrated by Alexa.

Alexa Skill Blueprints is available now for customers in India. To get started with Alexa Skill Blueprints visit:http://blueprints.amazon.in/. For frequently asked questions: blueprints.amazon.in/help/frequently-asked-questions/.

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Sneak peek into Wave 2 of Amazon.in Great Indian Festival

Amazon.in today announced the return of its biggest festive celebration 'Great Indian Festival'. Wave 2 of the 'Great Indian Festival' will start tonight at 12 AM and end on 11:59 PM on 28th October.

Amazon Great Indian Festival - Deals Preview

Smartphones

·         Up to 50% off on mobile phones, get additional cashbacks, exchange offers, No Cost EMI, Free screen protection worth up to INR 30,000 and Guaranteed Exchange Price offers on select models

·         Top offers from Xiaomi, Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, Realme, Vivo, Motorola, Honor, Huawei, 10.or and more

·         Pre-book the Amazon Exclusive OnePlus 6T for INR 1,000 to get free gifts worth INR 2,000 including free OnePlus Type-C Bullets Earphones

·         Launch of Amazon Exclusive Honor 8X at a special price of INR 14,999 with exciting launch offers; Honor Play with Kirin 970 AI Flagship processor for just INR 17,999

·         Redmi Y2 64GB with 16MP AI Selfie camera (successor to India’s best-selling Selfie Smartphone -  Canalys estimates, Smartphone Analysis, July 2018.) for INR13499 10,999 with additional INR 500 as APay cashback on prepaid orders, 6 months No Cost EMI and Free screen protection

·         Mi A2 with 12 + 20 MP Dual rear camera for INR 17499 14,999 with 6 month No Cost EMI, Free screen protection and Assured Buyback

·         Redmi 6 Pro (Xiaomi’s first Redmi device with a 19:9 Notch Display) starting INR 10,999 with extra INR 1,000 off on exchange, 6 month No Cost EMI and Free screen protection

·         Redmi 6A at INR 5,999 (Successor to India’s No.1 selling Smartphone - IDC Quarterly Smartphone tracker 2018Q2) with free screen protection - on flash sale everyday at 12 noon

·         Realme 1, the most affordable 6GB smartphone, at INR 10,490 with No Cost EMI and Free Screen Replacement worth INR 4,000.

·         Samsung Mobiles - up to INR 19,000 off + extra off on exchange + NCE + free screen protection

Large Appliances

·         Free 1 year Extended Warranty on all refrigerators and washing machines

·         Front Loading washing machines starting INR 13,799. No Cost EMI starting INR 1,150 per month

·         Side-by-Side refrigerators starting INR 39,990. No Cost EMI and Exchange available

·         Fully Automatic Washing Machines starting INR 8990| No Cost EMI starting INR 500 per month

·         Split and Window Air Conditioners starting INR 16,990| No Cost EMI starting INR 1,150 per month

·         Flash Sales on BPL 690 L Side By Side Refrigerator for INR 49,990

·         Kitchen chimneys from INR 4,490 | No Cost EMI from INR 650

·         Dishwashers starting INR 24,990 | No Cost EMI from INR 2,100 | IFB, Bosch, LG, Whirlpool, Siemens

TVs

·         Amazon exclusive MI (32 inch) Android Smart TV now on open sale starting midnight

·         Mi (49 inch) Android Smart TV flash sale at 11 am on 24^th October, limited stocks only.

Consumer Electronics

·         Boat Bassheads 225 headphones at INR 999 Rs.499

·         Fujifilm Instax Mini cameras - Starting 5,530 INR 3,000 | No Cost EMI starting INR 1,000 per month

·         Laptops from HP, Lenovo, Asus with Windows starting from INR 16990. With no cost EMI from INR 999/month and up to INR 16,500 off on exchange

·         Printers up to 50% off & No cost EMI starting INR 583/month 

·         Min 50% off on Memory Cards from Sandisk, Samsung and Strontium

Home & Kitchen

·         Up to 80% off: small appliances for Home & kitchen; Irons starting at INR 299, Mixer grinders starting at INR 999

·         Up to 80% off Home furnishing & décor | Top offers - Cotton double bedsheets at flat INR 299; Bombay dyeing double bedsheets starting INR 399

·         Cookware & dining offers on top brands starting at INR 99; Gas stoves starting at INR 999

·         Up to 70% off: Furniture; Top offers on Sofas, Beds, Mattresses & more | No Cost EMI starting at INR 349

·         Home cleaning supplies starting at INR 89; Spin mops starting at INR 469

·         Power tools starting at INR 799; Save up to INR 2,500 on Bosch tool kits

Amazon Fashion

·         Up to 90% off on Amazon Fashion; Extra 15% cashback on all Amazon Fashion prepaid orders.

·         Flat 70% off on 3 lakh+ styles; Over 5,000 deals on top brands

·         40 - 60% off on Vero Moda, Pepe Jeans, American Tourister, Red Tape, Crocs, United Colors of Benetton, Gap, Biba, Levis, Adidas, Reebok, New balance and more

Daily Essentials

·         20% - 60% off on Daily Essentials

·         20 - 60% off on Household Essentials

·         Up to 40% off on Groceries

·         Up to 45% off on Chocolates and Dry Fruits

·         Up to 50% off on Pet Supplies

Toys & Baby

·         Up to 60% off on Remote controlled Cars

·         Min. 30% off on Lego

·         Min. 20% off on Outdoor Toys

·         Up to 50% off on Diapers

·         Up to 40% off on Baby Bath & Skincare

·         Up to 50% off on Baby Gear & Nursery

Beauty & Personal Care

·         Up to 50% off on Men’s Grooming

·         Up to 65% off on Makeup and Accessories

·         Up to 60% off on Perfumes

·         Buy Luxury Beauty worth INR 6,000 and above and get a 1g 22k gold coin complimentary

·         Flat 50% off on Top Shampoo brands

·         Up to 60% off on Personal Grooming Appliances

·         Up to 60% off on Philips Grooming Devices

Sports nutrition and health care

·         30% - 50% off Sports Nutrition

·         Up to 80% off on Healthcare Devices

Sports & Fitness

·         Minimum 40% off: Treadmills & Exercise Bikes

·         Up to 60% off: Home Gyms & Fitness Accessories

Car & bike accessories

·         Minimum 25% off on Helmets

·         15% - 50% off on Engine oil, Vehicle cleaning & Tyres

Amazon Devices

·         All New Echo Dot 3^rd Gen at INR 2,999. Echo Dot 2^nd Gen at INR 2,449 (until stocks last).

·         All New Echo Plus 2nd Gen at INR 11,999.

·         Amazon Echo at INR 6,999.

·         Offers up to INR 4,000 on other Echo devices.

·         Offers up to INR 1,000 on Fire TV Stick.

·         Offers up to INR 3,000 on Kindle devices.

Kindle Content

·         Get one year of Kindle Unlimited at INR 2388 1,499.

·         Kindle eBook bestsellers starting at INR 19.

Alexa Built-in devices

·         Up to 70% off on Alexa Built-in devices.

·         Take Alexa wherever you go! Up to 50% off on “Alexa on the go” devices.

·         Up to 70% off on Alexa Built-in speakers starting INR 1,499/-.

Special offers

·         Unlock Amazon Pay offers of up to INR 2,000 back on select Amazon Pay partner merchants like Swiggy, MakeMyTrip, Freshmenu & Eazydiner by shopping on the Amazon shopping app & paying through any online payment method

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Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is back with second edition of Pen to Publish Contest

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Pen to Publish Contest which celebrates the work of self-published authors, across all genres, will launch its second edition this year. The contest will be bigger than ever as it is now open to writers in Hindi and Tamil languages in addition to English. Winning authors in each language for long-form content (more than 10,000 words) will receive a prize of ₹5 lakh and a merchandising deal for the winning work, as well as 1-on-1 mentoring by a popular author.

Additionally, the contest will also accept entries for short-form content (between 2000 to 10,000 words) in Hindi, Tamil and English languages. Winners in the short-form segment, one for each language, will win ₹50,000 each. All shortlisted finalists across both forms of contents win a Kindle E-reader. To participate, authors need to publish their original and new work through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.in from 10^th November 2018 to 9^th February 2019.

In addition to customer feedback, contest entries will be judged on creativity, originality and quality of writing. Up to 5 finalists will be short-listed for each language and content form combination, and one winner will be selected from each segment. The judging panel for the contest includes best-selling authors Ashwin Sanghi, Rashmi Bansal, Divya Prakash Dubey, Sundari Venkatraman and Pa Raghavan.

Sudha Nair, who won the contest last year has since published 3 more bestselling titles, says “The KDP Pen to Publish Contest has been a stepping stone in enabling me to take up writing as a full-time career. I believe that it will empower more writers sitting on the edge to turn their passion into a career.”

“After a successful first year, we are delighted to make the contest even bigger this year. This time, we aim to unearth great stories and storytellers in Hindi and Tamil languages too and make them available to readers across the world” said Sanjeev Jha, Director – Kindle Content, India. 

KDP is a fast, free and easy service for authors to self-publish their books in digital format to a global audience and receive up to 70% royalties on the sale of their eBooks. At present, nearly 20% of the Top 100 books on the India Kindle Store are self-published through KDP.

The contest is open for submissions of original and previously unpublished content across all genres in English, Hindi and Tamil languages. Participants need to visit kdp.amazon.com to self-publish their book on amazon.in while enrolling it in KDP Select program. All eBooks entering the contest will be available on Kindle as well as the free Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, PC and Mac as well as Kindle E-readers. For more information, authors can visit www.amazon.in/pentopublish.

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Infocus offers upto INR 3000 discount at Amazon's Great Indian Sale

Infocus has announced upto INR 3000 discount on the entire smartphone portfolio for its customers. It will be exclusively available at the Amazon Great Indian Sale, starting 21^st January till 24^th January, 2018.  Making it special for Amazon Prime users, InFocus is providing them early access to InFocus Vision 3 starting 20^th January, 2018, 12 noon onwards.

InFocus smartphones Turbo 5 (2+16 & 3+32), Turbo 5 Plus and Snap 4 will have discount upto 3000INR, the recently launched, InFocus Vision 3, an extremely impressive edition priced at INR 6,999/- will now be available at an exchange offer- Extra INR 1000/- off.

Commenting on the offers, Dr. Luo Zhongsheng, Global CEO for Sharp & InFocus said, “We have had a very successful start to 2018 with Amazon India. The amazing user response received on the platform has further strengthen our exclusive partnership. To keep the excitement going, we have announced several offers on our entire smartphone portfolio. We are really thankful to our fans for this exceptional response and are confident that InFocus will continue to win more hearts with its upcoming products.”

The Turbo 5 focuses on reliability and performance packs as the device has battery life of 5000 mAh offering an incredible 34 days of standby time. The smartphone can also be used as a power bank due to its reverse charging option.

InFocus Turbo 5 Plus flaunts a 13MP AF and 5MP dual rear camera with Digital Zoom and a 5MP selfie camera and is backed with a 4850mAh battery which lasts upto 34 days of standby time. While InFocus Snap 4 comes equipped with 4 cameras; 13MP AF with 8MP dual rear camera with LED Flash Light.

The recently launched Vision 3 flaunts a 5.7 inch 18:9 HD High-resolution Large Screen ONCELL display and allows consumers to click ‘Dualfie’, where the screen allows the photos from both front and rear cameras to be displayed on it simultaneously. The smartphone comes with 13 MP AZ and 5 MP 120° Wide-angle rear camera and the 8MP front camera that comes loaded with beauty features and allows upto 7 levels of beauty modification.

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Le Eco Sold 25000 units in 16 minutes on Le Eco Day on Flipkart, also awarded most innovative company at MWC

Le Eco had a great day today on Flipkart, as company was celebrating Le Eco day celebrating great success of Le 1S smartphones in India. Le 1S was available in open sale for first time, company claims to have sold out 25000 units in just 16 minutes. Le Eco has been creating a lot of buzz since the launch of its devices in India. Company has broken and created many in records in India in Social media marketing and in ecommerce by selling record number of devices in Flash sales.

To make Le Eco day exciting for customers company had put up exciting offers and benefits worth around Rs 8 crores, which is again first of its kind , largest and most attractive shopping carnival organized by a smartphone maker in country. 

With offers such as exchange offers on old smartphones, cash back offers on Axis bank cards, Bluetooth headset giveaways worth Rs. 2800 and a bumper prize of Mahindra KUV 100, the LeEco Day was a great hit with consumers.

The shopping carnival garnered a massive response from consumers, highlighting the growing strength of the company’s ecosystem-based superphones and signalling the potentially massive impact on Indian consumers as it continues to consolidate its presence. The festival’s success is evident from the response the company received for its Le Superphones on Flipkart today. Having sold 25000 units in just 16 minutes, goes on to show the success of LeEco’s shopping festival.

Expressing gratitude to Indian consumers who have helped the brand gain so much popularity in just a short span of time, the senior management of the company plans to personally undertake the delivery of the Superphones to first few customers across the 4 cities of – Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. This is being planned as part of LeEco’s consumer-connect policy which has been integral to the unprecedented success the company has had in such a short period in the Indian market.

 Awarded Most Innovative company at MWC

LeEco (formerly Letv), a leading global Internet technology company, was awarded “Best of Mobile World Congress - Most Innovative Company” by leading UK technology site Alphr.com. LeEco was recognized for its high quality products, innovation and market disruption notably in the smartphone and automobile industries, where it’s generated headlines around the world.

“We’re honored to receive the ‘Best of Mobile World Congress - Most Innovative Company’ award from Alphr,” said Eric Mika, senior vice president of open ecosystems, strategic alliances and partnerships at LeEco. “LeEco has made tremendous momentum over the past year having just entered the smartphone market last spring, and expanding to India and the U.S. this year. This award reinforces our vision to bring consumers everywhere a truly connected lifestyle that is powered by an Internet ecosystem of content and accessible, innovative products.”

Additionally, in a gesture befitting a socially conscious corporate, LeEco, the internet and technology conglomerate joins hands with Akshaya Patra to support a mid-day meal for two children for every Le Superphone sold (Le 1s and Le Max) on LeEco Day on Feb 25, 2016.  The initiative is part of a program that helps Akshaya Patra feed over a million children, who have the zeal to learn and the potential to contribute to India’s social and economic development.

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