All posts tagged: Echo

Google Home Speaker vs. Amazon Echo Dot Max: I compared the smart hubs by the specs

Google Home Speaker vs. Amazon Echo Dot Max: I compared the $99 smart hubs by the specs

Published by skeptic

Google/Amazon/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways New Google Home Speaker arrives June 25 for $99. It directly rivals Amazon’s $99 Echo Dot Max. Google may be smarter, while Amazon may sound better. Google just announced the new Google Home Speaker, which will officially go on sale on June 25. This is a $100 smart speaker that will come with a generative AI-powered Gemini for Home onboard, 360-degree sound, and the ability to double as a smart home hub. The speaker is directly competing with the newer Amazon Echo Dot Max, a $100 smart speaker (though it’s currently on sale for $65) that comes with Alexa+ built in. Alexa+ is Amazon’s take on a generative AI-powered virtual assistant that, like Gemini, can handle complex tasks, answer questions, and generate content. Also: How I’m using this cheap smart plug to automate tasks around the house Considering that both speakers are similar in price and features, the question of which is better is inevitable. Since the Google Home Speaker isn’t officially available …

Best early Prime Day Amazon device deals 2026: Fire TV, Blink, Echo, and eero

Best early Prime Day Amazon device deals 2026: Fire TV, Blink, Echo, and eero

Published by Jenni Sidey

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. Amazon’s own hardware gets its deepest cuts during Prime Day, and a handful are already live in the early deals. Early deals rotate fast, and a lot of the bigger device discounts won’t land until the main event opens June 23, so this is the live early slice rather than the full list. Nearly all of it is members-only pricing, so you’ll need a Prime membership to see the discount. A free 30-day Prime trial covers you through the main event, which runs June 23 to 26. Prices and stock move fast, so check before you buy. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select $17.99 (was $39.99) 4K streaming stick …

Amazon Updates Echo Hub With More Screen Customization for Smart Homes

Amazon Updates Echo Hub With More Screen Customization for Smart Homes

Published by skeptic

Amazon has unveiled new changes coming to its all-purpose wall-mounted display, the 8-inch Echo Hub ($180). The Hub, focused on smart home control, now has new graphics and significantly deeper customization, Amazon announced Thursday.  During normal operation, the Echo Hub usually shows controls for the devices you use the most, including those that use Matter, Zigbee, Thread and Bluetooth connections (as long as they work with Alexa). But you can also move these tiles around, enlarge or shrink them, and you can choose specific devices to add to the home screen for easier access. A representative from Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.  While devices are now grouped automatically by room and function, you can manually create your own groups to add a series of controls to. That includes routines that you may have previously set up. Another innovation adds more granular controls, which is more useful than it may sound. For example, you can now access supported smart light bulbs, allowing you to dim them from 1% to 100% and to …

America’s secret civilian killings echo one of its darkest chapters

America’s secret civilian killings echo one of its darkest chapters

Published by Sam Flores

The United States passed a grim milestone in the past few days: The Trump administration has killed the 200th civilian in its military strikes against small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. U.S. Southern Command marked the occasion by releasing footage of the strike in color for the first time. As the nation prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our founding, we would pause to consider that what was once a scrappy little collection of colonies fighting against a mighty empire in a quest for self determination has become a mighty empire itself, asserting its dominance over the Western hemisphere by picking off small speed boats in two oceans and blowing them to bits with massive military force. What a triumph for the cause of human freedom promised in the Declaration of Independence.  This military action has been ongoing since September with very little serious explanation or oversight, and originally appeared to be a precursor to the administration’s January operation in Venezuela, which deposed the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and brought him to …

An Indian food gem flourishes inside this Echo Park convenience store

An Indian food gem flourishes inside this Echo Park convenience store

Published by Sam Flores

It’s a spring afternoon in a strip mall in Echo Park. Jasmine is in bloom. Along Sunset Boulevard, bars are crowded with Dodger fans. A man in a Clayton Kershaw jersey steps out of Leo Market carrying a plastic bag filled with homemade curry, chicken tikka and a pack of American Spirits. Inside, Kajari Ghatak stands behind the counter, selling creamy curries and biryani. She may be one of the few people in the neighborhood who has little interest in Shohei Ohtani. And yet, her family-owned convenience store has become an unlikely destination for some of the most sought-after Indian food in the area, which might not be known precisely for great Indian food. “It’s a good neighborhood, and people like us,” she says with a shrug. Kajari and Amat hold containers of chicken curry and biryani that they sell from Leo Market. (Joshua Cullen / For The Times) At the counter, a smiling woman presents Kajari’s husband, Amit Ghatak, with a winning lottery scratcher. “Sorry, we’re out of money,” he says, with a mischievous …

4 Best Alexa Speakers (2026): Echo Dot Max, Echo Dot, Echo Show 11

4 Best Alexa Speakers (2026): Echo Dot Max, Echo Dot, Echo Show 11

Published by skeptic

Comparing the Best Alexa Speakers Honorable Mentions While I wouldn’t call these smart speakers my absolute favorites from Amazon, they have some excellent qualities that make them stand out among the vast lineup of Echo models. The Echo Studio (2nd Gen) is the best Alexa speaker for sound quality. This is the second version of the Echo Studio to be our audiophile pick. The current version is a similar size to the old Echo (4th gen), but the musical power on this speaker is almost ridiculous. It filled my entire second floor’s long great room with music, and I didn’t even need to reach the highest level of volume to pull it off. Honestly, I’m almost afraid to use it at full blast. Not only was it loud, but clear and delivered a nice amount of blast, beautifully playing soft tones of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and the piano riffs of “Dark Blue” by Jack’s Mannequin with its three 1.5-inch drivers, plus a 3.75-inch woofer. The harmonizing of “What Is This Feeling?” by Ariana Grande …

SK Hynix Joins Trillion Dollar Club As Korean Stocks Echo Nasdaq’s 1999 Meltup

SK Hynix Joins Trillion Dollar Club As Korean Stocks Echo Nasdaq’s 1999 Meltup

Published by Jenni Sidey

The breathtaking rally in South Korean stocks hit a couple of key milestones overnight. The benchmark Kospi index at one point in the session was up 100% for 2026, rivaling the Nasdaq 100 Index’s 102% surge in 1999 – right before the bubble burst… Samsung (005930) was up 2.7% and SK Hynix (000660) soared 9.3% rallying to new record highs mainly on three things: 1) overnight backdrop of SOX +5.5% driven by MU +19% strength, 2) launch of leveraged ETF instruments including 14 products that track 2x the return, and 2 inverse products that track -2x the return of SEC(005930) and SK HYNIX(000660), and 3) reports of SEC’s union members voting in favor of a compensation deal and separately, that SK Hynix is making efforts to strengthen its long-term supply agreements via more favorable terms such as higher prepayment and ultra-long tenors of five years or more. Flow-wise, foreigners extended their net-selling streak in SK HYNIX to 14 consecutive days, selling -$156mn today, while they’ve also ended as marginal net sellers in SEC (-$54mn). Local …

5 moments in history that still echo along Route 66

5 moments in history that still echo along Route 66

Published by Sam Flores

p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix”> Richard Mitchell, 84, of Albuquerque in 2016. Mitchell used the Green Book to drive across the United States in 1964. The travel guide “assured protection for Negro travelers.” (Photo by Craig Fritz / For The Times) Forty-four of the 89 counties along Route 66 were sundown towns, communities where it was encouraged for Black people to leave before dark — or else. Route 66 diners, motels and gas stations routinely refused service to Black travelers. In 1936, a Harlem postal worker named Victor Green began publishing the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to the hotels, restaurants and gas stations along the route that would serve Black travelers. More than 1,400 tourist homes (private residences that took in guests when hotels wouldn’t) were listed during the guide’s run. For Black families on Route 66, the Green Book was as essential as a spare tire. In Tulsa, the Greenwood District was once known as “Black Wall Street.” White thugs destroyed it in the 1921 Race Massacre. The community rebuilt and became a hub of …

Trump’s dog whistles and prosecutions echo Nixon’s racist strategy

Trump’s dog whistles and prosecutions echo Nixon’s racist strategy

Published by Sam Flores

Anyone who’s observed the Supreme Court over the past few years knew it was pretty much assured that the conservative majority would gut the Voting Rights Act the first chance they got. But the anticipation made the Court’s 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais no less shocking and appalling for having been anticipated.  The conservative justices paved the way for the massive redistricting of Southern states that is already transpiring only days after the ruling. These actions will almost certainly eliminate most of the South’s Black representation, leaving those states essentially where they were before the Civil Rights Movement.  After the Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, Republicans set out to maintain and solidify control of the South. The operation went into full force in 1968 when historian and political scientist Kevin Phillips took note of Alabama Gov. George Wallace’s success in embedding racist-coded “law and order” messages in his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president, and he persuaded GOP candidate Richard Nixon to …