With the summer now a distant memory and nights rapidly starting to draw in, is it too early to remind everyone that it will soon be Christmas Day?
Three-quarters of 2020 have already passed, and the super-organised amongst us will be turning their attentions to the festive season.
For many people, the highlight of the year from a technology perspective is the launch of the next-generation consoles.
However, as they are a little while away from their release date, we’ve taken a look at the hugely popular Amazon 2020 hardware event to get some early Christmas gift ideas.
Ring Always Home Camera
Tech sites such as ComputingNews.com are hot on security and the Ring Always Home Camera is likely to spark plenty of interest.
It is an autonomous flying indoor camera that will patrol specified routes in your house to keep it secure while you are elsewhere.
The device has a home base which acts as the charger and is only triggered when the Ring Security System is armed ‘away’.
If unexpected motion is detected, the Always Home Cam flies to that area to investigate and gives you a live view on your mobile of what is happening.
Echo Family
Amazon has given its Echo range a makeover, with the Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock all getting redesigned.
The Echo has a new spherical look, while ‘premium, adaptive sound’ from Dolby has been incorporated into the device.
The Echo Dot and Echo Dot with Clock have a new look, while new Echo Dot Kids Edition designs have also been introduced.
Alexa can also now recognise and respond to children’s voices with new voice profiles for kids, meaning everyone in the house can now use the device.
Eero 6
For anyone who wants a stable connection when they are watching soccer streams on new gadgets, the Eero mesh router system is the answer to your prayers.
A single Eero 6 covers up to 1,500 square feet, two can reach up to 3,000 square feet and three will cover up to 5,000 square feet.
The main Eero plugs into a modem or direct internet line and then broadcasts to the other Eeros, effectively creating a mesh Wi-Fi system.
If you want a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 enabled mesh router, a single Eero Pro 6 covers 2,000 square feet, two covers up to 3,500 square feet and three will cover up to 6,000 square feet.
Fire TV
Amazon has listened to customer feedback about its clunky Fire TV interface to launch a far more user-friendly set-up.
Alexa can now work her magic without blocking the entire screen, once again proving that ‘less is more’ when it comes to certain tech items.
Individual user profiles are also being introduced, allowing each member of the family to set up their own unique interface.
The Fire TV Stick Lite is the new basic device in the range which Amazon claims is the most powerful streaming device on the market for under $30.
Luna
Another hugely exciting development for Amazon this fall is the launch of a cloud gaming platform called Luna.
This will initially be available on PC, Mac, Fire TV and iOS, with an Android version set to be released once the service is fully operational.
Luna will be available at an introductory rate of just $5.99 per month, and more than 100 games will be available from the outset.
These include Resident Evil 7, The Surge 2 and GRID, while a new partnership with Ubisoft will allow for exciting new titles to be added in the future.
