Alexa becomes more of a newscaster by giving you more in-depth information
Amazon wants Alexa to be your own personal newscaster right in your home. A new report suggests Alexa will soon be able to read long-form news stories to you from major publications including CNN, NPR, Bloomberg, and others. The in-depth reporting will be available in audio and video form.
Amazon’s Echo Link and Echo Link Amp bring hi-fi sound to Alexa’s living room
Amazon's Echo Link and Echo Link Amp are designed to bring high-fidelity sound to your Alexa ecosystem. Are they worth the significant expense over a smaller Echo speaker, and how well do they integrate into a typical hi-fi system? We've spent time with both, and have answers to those questions and more.
Amazon drops prices on TP-Link mesh Wi-Fi system, smart plugs for just one day
Amazon has dropped prices for just one day on the TP-Link mesh Wi-Fi system and Alexa- and Google Home-compatible smart home plugs and light switches. These and other infrastructure products that are on sale help you control your smart home with Alexa or Google Home voice commands.
Amazon drops price on smart power strips for Alexa and Google Home
Amazon dropped prices on smart power strips that work with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. One power strip, the Kasa Smart WiFi Power Strip by TP-Link, is an Amazon Deal of the Day. Smart power strips cut clutter and cost less than multiple smart plugs in locations with several Alexa or Google Assistant devices.
Walmart Voice Order lets you shop straight from your Google Assistant
Walmart Voice Order is a service launched for Google Assistant that lets users order groceries with just their voice. The service will work with all Google Assistant-enabled devices later this month, but the company has plans to bring Walmart Voice Order to other platforms in the future.
Alexa’s chief scientist wants to give the voice assistant a robot body
Voice assistants live in our tabletop devices, but they might not for long. Rohit Prasad, the chief scientist behind Amazon's Alexa, recently said that he believes the voice assistant needs a robot body to explore and experience the world. That experience could help it better answer human questions.
Amazon Echo Spot review
The Amazon Echo Spot, the newest member of Amazon’s smart speaker family, is cute, fun, sleek, and the perfect little alarm clock. With this little device, you'll be snoozing the alarm just for fun.
Amazon slashes prices on Echo devices that play Alexa’s sweetest-sounding music
Amazon slashed prices on Alexa-controlled Echo devices with the best music sound quality. All Alexa smart speakers stream music, but some sound better than others. Save on Echo Plus and the Echo Sub bundled with Echo and Echo Plus speakers. These deals give you better music in your home office or a full-on party room.
Amazon lowers Echo Dot cost and slashes price of the Dot and Smart Plug bundle
Amazon just unleashed two extraordinary price cuts on third-generation Echo Dot smart speakers, which means the Alexa device is finally back in stock following the blowout sales last holiday season. The third-gen Amazon Echo Dot sold out in December, a sign of how popular the Alexa smart speaker has become.
Amazon cuts prices on Alexa-controlled Echo and Echo Dot bundles
Amazon cut prices on Alexa and Amazon Echo device bundles. The second-gen Amazon Echo and third-gen Echo Dot are bundled in discounted deals with the Amazon Smart Plug. The Echo and Echo Dot are also bundled together. If you're starting or expanding an Alexa-based smart home network, check these deals.
Think Alexa’s voice is too binary? Meet Q, a gender-neutral voice assistant
Voice assistants have alternative voices, but they are typically female by default. That can reinforce sexist stereotypes. Most voice assistants also don't have a gender-neutral option. Q aims to change that. The gender-neutral voice was developed to urge tech companies to rethink their A.I. voices.
Take $50 off the all-new Alexa-enabled Lenovo Smart Tab with Smart Dock
Android tablets have struggled to compete with Apple's iconic iPad, but the new Alexa-enabled Lenovo Smart Tab is a clear exception. From now through Sunday, March 17, a 20-percent discount knocks $50 off the price, letting you score the Smart Tab with Smart Dock for just $200.
Bark commands at Alexa and your Roku will respond, unless you want Netflix
Current-generation Roku streaming devices and Roku TVs can now be controlled by Amazon's Alexa, if you have a compatible Alexa device, like the Echo or Dot. Google Assistant was added to the platform in 2018. Unfortunately for Netflix fans, neither A.I. can directly access Netflix content on a Roku.
Alexa can now give you a heads-up on what song is next in the queue
Wondering what song is playing and who the artist is? Alexa has you covered. Amazon rolled out a new feature for Alexa called Song ID. When enabled, it will tell you the name of the artist and song on upcoming music while you're listening to playlists and streaming radio stations.
A popular podcast app finally makes its way to Alexa devices
Pocket Casts is a favorite app for podcast listeners on the go. Now it can be your go-to at home, too. A new Alexa skill for Pocket Casts is now available from the Alexa Skills Store so you can listen to all of your favorite podcasts right from any of your Alexa-powered Echo speakers.
6 ways Alexa can help kids with their homework
Alexa can help with homework by teaching your kids valuable skills, prepare for quizzes, and gain interested in subjects they may be struggling in.
Qualcomm goes all-in on Amazon Alexa voice control with a new development kit
Qualcomm Technologies is giving a major boost to smart home device manufacturers with a new addition to its popular mesh Wi-Fi networks. A new development kit is designed to enable the Amazon Alexa Voice Service in new devices with minimal time and financial investment.
With new blueprints, Amazon empowers anyone to create Alexa skills in minutes
Amazon launched its Skills Blueprints initiative last year to help users create and publish new and custom Alexa skills in minutes using easy-to-use templates and now the technology giant is handing out a new and improved model that includes more customization, bells and whistles.
The Echo Dot is sold out until early March at Amazon and Target
The Amazon Echo Dot is the most popular of the Alexa-enabled devices. It's so popular, in fact, that it's sold out until early March on both Amazon and Target, with only limited availability at Best Buy. Even higher-priced options might be hard to find until February 10.
Don’t worry, Alexa won’t be triggered during Amazon’s Super Bowl ad
Don't worry about unplugging your Alexa during Amazon's Super Bowl commercial out of concern the voice assistant might get triggered. The company is using acoustic fingerprinting to identify trigger words coming from other devices rather than people and will prevent Alexa from responding.
Alexa grudgingly picks the Patriots to win the Super Bowl
Alexa studied up on sports last year to provide users with stats and trivia. Now she has her own favorite pick for the Super Bowl, but it's not her favorite team. Alexa thinks the Patriots will win, but prefers the Rams. Given her statistical knowledge, it's better not to bet against Alexa.
Amazon confirms it has 10,000 employees working on Amazon Alexa
With more than 100 million Alexa devices sold so far, 10,000 Amazon employees work on the smart assistant's development. Thousands of people focus on building Alexa's knowledge base while others work on Alexa's personality, machine learning, interaction, conversational skills, and other technical features.
Amazon patents a technology to help Alexa fight fake voice attacks
Amazon's Alexa is ever-evolving and according to a new patent filed by Amazon, the company has developed a new technology that would help the digital assistant identify fake voice attacks, such as playing a pre-recorded command and help stop Alexa users from being spoofed.
Project Alias is a ‘smart parasite’ that stops smart speakers from listening
Two designers chose to do something about nosy smart speakers. The result is Project Alias, a "smart parasite" that whispers nonsense to Google Home and Alexa until it hears a specific wake word. While not a perfect solution, Project Alias is the first step toward a more private future.
This just in: Alexa can now deliver the news like a professional newscaster
The Amazon team has given Alexa a newscaster voice that improves the way she delivers the news and reads Wikipedia articles, making the smart assistant easier to understand. The change has been rolled out to U.S .customers. Simply ask Alexa, What's the latest? to hear the new voice.
Polk Audio’s Command Bar joins Alexa’s multiroom music party
Polk's Command Bar is a home theater soundbar with Alexa built in. But with a new update, it can also be grouped with Amazon's Echo products, and other third-party speakers, to produce a sophisticated multi-room, whole-home sound system, all of which can be controlled by your voice.
The Auri smart home lamp wants to improve your mood, has Alexa built in
If it feels like basically everything has Alexa built into it these days, well, you're right. The latest example is Auri, a smart home lamp that aims to meld concepts of wellness with modern technology to create a mood-improving lamp that just happens to have Alexa built right into it.
Leviton’s smart home line shines with Alexa-powered smart switch and lights
Your lights are about to get a lot smarter with the help of Leviton. The company is at CES 2019 and showing off a lot of new, connected lighting options including a dimmer switch that has Alexa built right into it and Wi-Fi connected outlets that make it easy to take control of your devices.
Temi the personal robot butler is now getting Alexa support
If you wish Alexa could follow you from room to room without requiring an Echo speaker to be hooked up wherever you are, well then your prayers have finally been answered. It was announced at CES 2019 that Temi, a personal robot butler that follows you around the house, now offers support for Alexa.
Talk to your car with conversational voice interface for in-car navigation
Now that everyone has gotten used to talking to Siri or Alexa, the next logical step is to enable a voice interface for cars. A new collaboration between connected car solution provider Telenav and Amazon Alexa aims to achieve seamless integration of navigation and voice assistant.
Forget about singing in the shower. U by Moen lets you converse with Alexa
You've probably done your fair share of singing in the shower, but imagine if you could talk to your shower and have it respond. At CES 2019, Moen brought out its U by Moen technology that allows you to control every part of your showering experience through Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri.
Alexa is everywhere: Kohler’s smart toilet brings voice assistant into bathrooms
Have you ever had a pressing question hit you while you're going about your business in the bathroom? Well, your toilet just might have an answer for you, assuming you have the Kohler Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet. The toilet with Alexa built right into will be on display at CES 2019.
Nobody asked for an Alexa-powered bicycle, but Cybic Legend built one anyway
Amazon Alexa goes mobile this summer as part of the new Cybic Legend smartbike. The bicycle comes equipped with the digital assistant, which can not only answer questions but will also provide updates on traffic and navigation via a 3G always-on cellular connection. The bike will be exclusive to the U.K. for now.
Fake Alexa setup app for iOS taken down but could still be dangerous
A fake iOS setup app for Amazon Alexa was taken down from the iTunes store, but not until many users downloaded it. If you downloaded One World Software's "Setup for Amazon Alexa," the best course of action is to delete it. The app didn't work but it collected IP addresses and device IDs.