When Amazon released the Dash Button last year, it was the real life manifestation of Staples’ “That Was Easy” button. A true danger for the compulsive buyer and an indulgence for every couch potato in the world, the $5 plastic device allows you to re-order anything you want with nothing more than a push of a button. But now, Amazon is looking beyond products and towards services, introducing a limited release of the new Amazon Web Services Internet of Things Button. Because there’s absolutely no shortage of things a button can do. The programmable button, Amazon explains, …

The future of smart cars is a dedicated infotainment system like Android Auto. But it’s going to be a long while before everybody upgrades their vehicles to get a car with the latest gadgetry built in. Logi, which is the consumer division of Logitech, thinks it has a solution. The company on Wednesday released a pair of car connectors and a voice-controlled app that transforms your phone into a smart dashboard with support for multiple voice commands.

The Internet of things (IoT) has been a topic of conversation for several years, but business executives appear to have gotten to the point where they have a clear understanding of what IoT can mean to their business, and companies increasingly are putting plans in place to launch initiatives around the trend. Those were some of the findings of a survey by QuinStreet Enterprise—which publishes a number of tech news sites, including eWEEK—conducted earlier this year. More than 600 professionals were asked a broad range of questions about IoT, from its importance to their businesses and where they got their …

Appliance retailer Sub-Zero & Wolf offers a variety of home appliances with hefty price tags, so the brand turned to Your Smart Home, a technology integration firm, to design and install an integrated A/V infrastructure inside its London-based showroom, to upgrade from previous systems that had proven unreliable, while also offering customers a high-end shopping experience. “It’s essential to create an environment that’s as sophisticated and upscale as the products we sell,” said Ricky Davies, Operations Manager at Sub-Zero & Wolf in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “The home automation system installed had to be reliable, since we’ve worked with finicky and disappointing systems …

McDonald’s is ramping up anticipation for The Angry Birds Movie’s May premiere by enabling customers to scan codes on various products to uncover an exclusive augmented reality game that brings the film to life on their mobile devices. The fast-food chain is serving as one of The Angry Birds Movie’s key collaborators by featuring a digital program rollout in conjunction with a global Happy Meal program. McDonald’s is continuing its digital-first efforts by foraying into augmented reality, signaling that it understands its target customers’ interest in lifelike mobile experiences.

A product team at Google is working on a hardware device that would integrate Google's search and voice assistant technology, akin to the Amazon Echo, Recode has learned. Google's device will resemble its OnHub wireless router, according to several sources. We don't know if it has a name yet, but internally the project goes by "Chirp." Google declined to comment. The Information previously reported that Google was plotting a competing version of Echo, a portable speaker with voice assistant tech. Sources said the device is unlikely to launch next week at Google's I/O developer conference, but plans are for it to land at some point …

To compete with the Amazon Echo, Google is reportedly readying a device that will integrate search and voice assistant technology. “Google’s device will resemble its OnHub wireless router,” Recode reports, citing sources. “We don't know if it has a name yet, but internally the project goes by ‘Chirp.’”

Nest has launched OpenThread, a version of the connected home networking protocol used in the firm's products available to the open-source community. Announced on Wednesday, the company said the OpenThread project will accelerate the development of products for the connected home. OpenThread is the fully public implementation of the Thread networking protocol suitable for Internet of Things (IoT) products and is used in Nest's own range of connected devices.

Samsung Brasil made a promo video showing off how it can keep pro surfer Gabriel Medina connected to his smartphone when he’s out putting in a training session on the waves. Now, some of you are going to disagree with me, but I think Samsung’s really missing the point here. It’s put together technology and a ‘cool’ sport to make a promo video that almost no-one involved in that sport would seem to want. Pairing a secret drawer hiding away a Galaxy S7 on the side of the surfboard with LEDs allows for wave conditions, tweets from fans and tips …

BMW highlighted the "dramatic" changes it will need to make in the coming 10 years if it is to maintain its position in a car industry that is undergoing considerable upheaval through the arrival of electric vehicles, in-car connectivity and driverless cars. Speaking during a keynote session at TM Forum Live this week, BMW CIO Klaus Straub said the goal to become fully digitised is "driving us forward", and will see the Germany-based car manufacturer take on new challenges such as establishing more direct relationships with customers. "We need a 360-degree view of the customer," he said, noting that connectivity …