Sarah Perez
Sarah currently works as a writer for TechCrunch, after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to becoming a professional blogger, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
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Latest from Sarah Perez
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Amazon, now a physical retailer too, is granted an anti-showrooming patent
Amazon was recently granted a patent that could be used to prevent brick-and-mortar retailers from leveraging technology in their stores that could stop shoppers from comparing prices of in-store products to those online. Yes, it appears that a new patent that could prevent the practice of “showrooming,” is now, hilariously, in the hands of Amazon – the very company that… Read More
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Amazon wants to become Walmart before Walmart can become Amazon
The future of retail will be a combination of both online e-commerce and a brick-and-mortar retail presence – as recent moves from both Walmart and Amazon have shown, including today’s back-to-back announcements from the two rivals, which sees Amazon buying a chain of popular grocery stores with a Whole Foods deal for $13.7 billion, and Walmart picking up yet another online… Read More
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The first ad network for Alexa Skills shuts down following Amazon’s policy changes
A series of policy changes at Amazon that detail how advertising will be supported within Alexa’s voice-enabled apps, called “Skills,” have now had their first casualty: VoiceLabs. The startup was the leading way for third-party developers to make money from their Alexa applications, through the use of VoiceLab’s “Sponsored Messages.” Unlike traditional… Read More
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Musical.ly gets into original content with new shows from Viacom, NBCU & Hearst
Lip-syncing social network Musical.ly is getting into original content, thanks to new deals with Viacom, NBCU and Hearst, which will bring short-form video series to the app. However, unlike the original videos found on Snapchat – an app that’s often the next step up for the tween-age Musical.ly audience – these shows are designed to be interactive. That is, the shows… Read More
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Microsoft Pix can now turn your iPhone photos into art, thanks to artificial intelligence
Microsoft is rolling out an update to its AI-powered photo editing app, Microsoft Pix, that aims to give Prisma and others like it some new competition. While the app was originally designed to enhance your iPhone photos by tweaking things like color, exposure and other variables, the newly updated Microsoft Pix will now let you have a little more fun with your photos, too – this time… Read More
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Twitter tweaks its design again in an attempt to woo newcomers
In an effort to better cater to newcomers, Twitter once again is redesigning its app across mobile, desktop and the web. The revamp isn’t a radical departure from its prior look-and-feel or user experience – unlike when it introduced its own stories-like feature called Moments, for example, or when began reordering the tweets in your timeline. Instead, the update involves a series… Read More
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Sling TV rolls out a better DVR with an option to protect recordings, record from Fox
Live TV streaming service Sling TV is today rolling out an improved DVR feature, while also making the option to record TV shows available on more devices and channels. The DVR is one of the key selling points for Sling TV, given the increased competition in the live TV space from newcomers like YouTube TV, Hulu (which recently added live TV), and AT&T’s DirecTV Now. According to… Read More
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Plex can now play local video files on Android, no media server required
Personal media player software maker Plex says it’s now easier for mobile users on Android to play any video file saved on their device within its app. The move will enable it to better challenge VLC, an app users have historically turned to in order play a wider variety of video file formats. The new feature is entering a public beta today, and will support local playback of a number… Read More
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77% of consumers want a la carte TV, TiVo study finds, but price they’re willing to pay drops
The majority of consumers in the U.S. and Canada are no longer interested in hefty pay TV packages filled with channels they don’t watch. According to a new study from TiVo out this morning, 77.3 percent now want “a la carte” TV service – meaning, they want to only pay for the channels they actually watch. And they’re not willing to pay too much for this… Read More
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Facebook’s Safety Check will integrate fundraisers, among other upgrades
Facebook today announced a series of improvements for its Safety Check feature – the service that allows Facebook users to communicate about their safety to friends and family during a crisis. Most notably, people will now have the option to start fundraisers from within Safety Check, in order to immediately translate concern for victims of a crisis or natural disaster into specific actions. Read More
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Amazon launches Prime Reload, offering 2% back on purchases funded through debit cards
Amazon today is launching a new perk for Prime members that will give them cash back on purchases – even if they’re not paying for items using an Amazon cashback credit card. Through a new rewards program called Amazon Prime Reload, Prime members can receive 2 percent back on purchases when they first load funds into their Amazon Balance using a debit card attached to their… Read More
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Google Play introduces ‘Android Excellence’ collections that showcase editorially selected top apps and games
At WWDC this month, Apple introduced an entirely revamped App Store that puts a much greater focus on editorial, with plans for stories about the apps, how to’s, interviews, and more, in addition to regular postings of curated lists and “app of the day” type features. Today, Google announced its own plans to expand editorial involvement on Google Play, with the launch of its… Read More
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Twitter chatbots can now include buttons that push you to tweet, follow, click & more
Twitter today is rolling out a new feature that will allow businesses to prompt their followers to take an action beyond a simple fav or retweet. The company is introducing the ability for businesses to add buttons inside their direct message conversations designed to encourage customers to do things like tweet about the company’s Twitter bot, visit their website, follow the… Read More
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Astro lets you manage your inbox from Slack, check email hands-free with Alexa
Astro is today rolling out a new bot that merges Slack and email. The bot will allow you to receive your most critical emails within Slack, write and respond to emails using Slack usernames, as well as share important emails – and their attachments – into Slack private messages or channels, among other things. The bot is an expansion on Astro’s previously launched email… Read More
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comScore: cord cutters tend to have lower incomes than pay TV subscribers, watch less television
A new comScore study out today has taken a deeper look at the behavior of cord cutters here in the U.S., in order better understand how this growing demographic differs from pay TV subscribers, as well as what factors may have influenced their decision to leave cable TV behind. According to the report, cord cutters tend to be lower- to middle-income, and – despite spending more time… Read More
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Zelle, the real-time Venmo competitor backed by over 30 U.S. banks, arrives this month
The U.S. banking industry’s answer to Venmo has now arrived. Starting this month, a new, person-to-person payments network called Zelle will roll out to the over 86 million mobile banking customers here in the U.S., promising a faster form of digital payments compared with apps like PayPal, Venmo, Square Cash, and others. Instead of transfers taking place overnight or after a couple of… Read More
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Google’s smart keyboard app Gboard adds phrase suggestions, a draw-an-emoji feature & more
Google this morning is rolling out a notable update for its smart keyboard app, Gboard, which introduces a number of new features aimed at helping you communicate more quickly, while typing less. In the latest release, Google is improving typing quality via machine intelligence, which is an under-the-hood update that will impact its ability to make suggestions and correct mistakes. To end… Read More
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Amazon launches ‘My Mix,’ a personalized shop filled with your favorite things
Amazon has quietly launched a new feature offering shoppers personalized suggestions of products they might like to buy. Called “My Mix,” the addition is tied to Amazon’s “Interesting Finds” — the curated gift shop introduced last year that provides a Pinterest-like experience for discovering products across Amazon’s vast website. Read More
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Cortana can now do price comparisons when you’re shopping online
Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana will now be able to save you money when you’re shopping online. The company announced today that it will begin a pilot test of a new Cortana feature that will pop up the best price and availability of similar products, when you’re shopping the websites of over a dozen top retailers in the U.S., including Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Best Buy… Read More
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Target and Cartwheel apps to merge starting this summer, mobile payments and improved maps to follow
Target’s mobile app strategy will undergo a significant change, starting this summer. The retailer announced this week it will soon combine the functionality of its Cartwheel savings app with its main shopping app, in preparation for an eventual Cartwheel shutdown. The Target app will also receive a notable upgrade this year, adding support for an indoor map that shows your location in… Read More
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