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Amazon is reportedly trying to attract more consumers to its Dash push-button ordering devices by beefing up the brands offering goods for sale through the gadgets.The inteet retail giant is expected to aounce this week the addition of dozens of new brands for Dash buttons, according to a Wall Street Joual report Sunday that cites documents and people familiar with the matter. It wasn't immediately clear which brands might be added to the lineup of Dash buttons, which are small, Inteet-coected buttons that people can click to purchase household goods like paper towels or detergent through Amazon.The new batch of brands comes roughly two months after Amazon unleashed dozens more of them to ma...

Amazon original series "The Man in the High Castle" stars Rufus Sewell as a ruthless Nazi villain. Amazon Amazon's video service has surged in usage in the last year, jumping to third place behind Netflix and YouTube by traffic in North America. Amazon Video accounted for 4.3 percent of downstream inteet traffic during peak evening viewing hours in North America, according to network equipment maker Sandvine in its twice-yearly Global Inteet Phenomena Report Wednesday. That's still far behind the 35.2 percent of traffic that Netflix gobbles up, and the 17.5 percent commanded by YouTube. But Amazon's No. 3 ranking is a leap from eighth place a year ago. Amazon has been aggressively chasing Ne...

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.Enlarge ImageHe's about to throw. David Gregory/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET This doesn't look good.Here is footage from Davi...

Enlarge ImageWhich Amazon pilots will survive? It's up to you. Amazon Amazon's latest TV shows promise to be a little... interesting.The inteet retail giant debuted two of its TV-like video show pilots: The Interestings, about artist...

Sarah Tew/CNET Vizio TVs from the 2010-2011 model year will no longer support the Amazon Video app.That's the word from Amazon, which notified users of the affected televisions via email. The app will cease to work on August 15.Amazon is offering an olive branch, however: the same email offers affected users a $15 discount on the Amazon Fire TV Stick with voice remote. (We'd suggest you opt for a Roku Streaming Stick instead, which also has the Amazon app, but is currently on sale for just $5 more.) So fans of Transparent and The Man in the High Castle can breathe a sigh of relief.Note that this isn't the first -- nor last -- time that a streaming video vendor has discontinued support for an...

Enlarge Image James Martin/CNET As Indians increasingly move to e-commerce to do their shopping, Amazon is giving domestic companies a big reason to worry.Company CEO Jeff Bezos on Tuesday aounced that his company will be...

PayPal has pulled the plug on apps for Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Amazon Kindle devices. PayPal PayPal is ditching apps made for Microsoft Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Amazon Kindle Fire devices, the company aounced in a blog post Wednesday.The news comes as PayPal readies its latest iteration of its app version 6 for Apple iPhone and Google Android users. June 30 will be the last day for Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Amazon Kindle users to access their PayPal apps.It's little surprise that PayPal would ditch support for Windows devices given Microsoft's aouncement earlier this month that it's scaling back its mobile business. BlackBerry's steady decline over the past few years also mar...

Netflix is already investing in European content, making shows such as "Marseille," starring Gerard Depardieu. Netflix Netflix, Amazon and other streaming services operating in Europe will be required to ensure that at least 20 percent of their content is European, according to new European Commission proposals.The Commission published its proposals on Wednesday as part of its edict to create a single digital market in Europe. A large part of its mission is to promote the European film industry and ensure that its citizens have access to homegrown content alongside films and TV shows created in the US. Streaming services will therefore also be compelled to contribute financially to creating ...

Google built a knockoff of Amazon's Echo. Now, reportedly, it's Apple's tu. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images As if family squabbles weren't enough, just wait till all those voice-activated smart home speakers start trying to out-shout each other in your kitchen or living room.That's right, we not only have an Amazon Echo rival from Google, but, if a report from The Information tus out to be true, we may be seeing (and hearing) one from Apple too.The device will be powered by everyone's favorite iPhone seductress, Siri, and will, among other things, be able to tu on or off any appliance that's compatible with Apple's Homekit platform, The Information says. But the gadget may not appear for a whil...

Google built a knockoff of Amazon's Echo. Now, reportedly, it's Apple's tu. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images As if family squabbles weren't enough, just wait till all those "voice-activated smart home speakers" start trying to out-shout each other in your kitchen or living room.That's right, we not only have an Amazon Echo rival from Google, but, if a report from The Information tus out to be true, we may be seeing (and hearing) one from Apple too.The device will be powered by everyone's favorite iPhone seductress, Siri, and will, among other things, be able to tu on or off any appliance that's compatible with Apple's Homekit platform, the Information says. But the gadget may not appear for a wh...

"Marseille" is one of the few Netflix original TV shows set and produced in Europe. Netflix If you're not already a fan of British period dramas and Scandinavian noir thrillers, this may be the time to get on board.On-demand video services including Amazon and Netflix may soon need to adhere to rules that dictate how much of their European catalogs must be occupied by European films and TV shows, according to the Daily Mail. A European Commission proposal due to be aounced next week will include an obligation for on-demand services to dedicate a 20 percent share of space in their offerings to homegrown content, said documents seen by the newspaper."While we caot go into details [regarding po...

Amazon's Jeff Bezos speaking in 2014. James Martin/CNET Amazon's foray into brick-and-mortar outlets began last year in Seattle and continued this year with a package pick-up center at the University of Pesylvania. That won't be the end of the effort, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said Tuesday."We're definitely going to open additional stores, how many we don't know yet," Bezos said at the company's aual shareholder meeting, according to the Wall Street Joual. But at least initially, the expansion is more experimental, he said: "In these early days it's all about leaing, rather than trying to ea a lot of revenue."Amazon has said it'll open small pop-up store kiosks in San Franci...

No longer content to trail Siri on Apple TV, Amzon's Alexa is speaking up for herself, and listening to more of your commands.Today Amazon unveiled a for new capabilities for Fire TV devices, namely the $99 Fire TV box. They add expand the box's voice recognition features, and allow its built-in Alexa voice assistant to respond with certain imformation. Here's a rundown.Launch apps by speaking phrases like "Open HBO Now" and "Launch Hulu." Start playing TV shows and movies by speaking the titles, like "Play Interstallar" and "Watch Veep." This ability works with Amazon Video and add-on Subscription content (Starz, Showtime, and others), but not other apps.Ask for information on local movie s...

Amazon already sells clothing and electronics under its own brand labels. But soon Amazon may be adding snack foods to the mix. The Wall Street Joual reports that Amazon is close to launching a generic brand of grocery and household items, but the online retailer hasn't always had the best luck in this area. Meanwhile, Amazon also launched a Dash button that can be programmed to do much more than order toilet paper.As Amazon finds ways to lure in more Prime subscribers, Walmart is rolling out its own mobile payment service to keep you coming to its store. Instead of letting customers use Apple Pay or Android Pay, the chain began rolling out Walmart Pay. But the technology Walmart uses feels ...

Mama Bear? Wickedly Prime? If you're an Amazon Prime member, these brands are soon going to start to make a lot more sense.Amazon is reportedly about to launch its own private-label business, similar to Costco's Kirkland in-house brand. Because we needed another reason to stay hooked on our Prime accounts. We also talk about Nintendo getting into the film business, and the late '80s classic that is "The Wizard." Also, we give a shout-out to "The Simpsons" and its experimental live Q&A segment last night. The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about the top stories of the day, brought to you by CNET Executive Editor Roger Cheng, Senior Writer Ben Fox Rubin and Producer Bryan VanGelder...

Enlarge Image"Drive" auteur Nicolas Winding Refn directs Elle Faing (pictured) and Keanu Reeves in this horror movie for Amazon. Amazon "Drive" director Nicolas Winding Refn reckons Amazon will save indie filmmaking.Speaking to Variety at the Caes film festival, Refn described Amazon's production of original movies for its online streaming service as "a blessing" and "the key facto...

Amazon will introduce new lines of its private-label brands in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Joual reported Sunday, citing unidentified sources.Representing Amazon's first broad foray into perishable foods, the new brands will have names like Happy Belly, Wickedly Prime and Mama Bear and include nuts, spices, tea, coffee, baby food and vitamins, as well as household items such as diapers and laundry detergents, the newspaper reported.The reported move mirrors the strategy of several major retailers, including Costco, Walmart and Target, which have recognized the lucrative nature of selling groceries. Private-label portfolios tend to have higher profit margins than brand-name goods becaus...

Amazon@Pe probably doesn't look like any store you've ever visited. The brightly lit space includes no shelves, no standing inventory and no checkout. It's likely debatable the location is even a "store" at all. Yet this 3,500-square-foot space, which hosted a grand opening Friday at the University of Pesylvania in Philadelphia, serves as another example of Amazon's evolution, as the world's biggest e-commerce company starts building physical locations to draw itself even closer to its millions of customers. "We see lots of opportunities with this model," Ripley MacDonald, director of Amazon's student programs, said in the store's media center, which includes couches, conference tables and T...

Apparently, a 40GB data plan isn't enough to move the needle anymore. To sweeten the deal on its "Better Choice XXL" plan, Sprint is now throwing in a free 12-month subscription to Amazon Prime. The plan -- dubbed "Amazon Better Choice XXL," of course -- is open to new and existing Amazon customers. Prime, of course, is Amazon's signature $99 aual service plan that offers free 2-day shipping, video streaming of thousands of free movies and TV show, an all-you-can eat music plan and a selection of free e-books -- and that's just for starters. (CNET's David Katzmaier recently called it "the best deal ever.")Interested? Check out the full details of the Sprint plan at the company's website.Let'...

Presidential candidate Donald Trump attacks Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Fox News. Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET In his newest attack on Jeff Bezos, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says the Amazon chief executive and Washington Post owner has "a huge antitrust problem."Trump has taken on Bezos before, but on Fox News' "Haity" show on Thursday accused Bezos of anticompetitive business practices. The attack on one of the technology industry's biggest powers comes as Post investigative reporters dig into Trump's past for a forthcoming book."He's got a huge antitrust problem because he's controlling so much. He bought the Washington Post for practically nothing. He's ...