Use your smart speaker to make Valentine’s Day a little sweeter
This year, there's no better wingman for your Valentine's Day than Alexa or Google Assistant. Here's how to use your smart speakers to light a spark this February 14.
Lonely this Valentine’s Day? Alexa can help you feel better
Valentine's Day doesn't need to be lonely if you're staying home this year. You have Alexa! Here are some things to try if you find yourself feeling down.
You can now scan bar codes for your grocery list with the Amazon Echo Show
Now when you need to add a new item to your grocery list, you can scan the item's bar code by holding it up in front of your Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8.
In St. Noire, Alexa plays a detective helping you solve a Clue-like mystery
Amazon's Alexa can play tons of games, but it doesn't play too many board games. St. Noire is one of the first that uses the voice assistant to great effect. Voice actors play suspects, and you're the detective trying to solve a murder. It's a light, cooperative board game with great sound effects.
Best fitness skills for your Alexa speaker to help you get into shape
Alexa can help you get healthy, lose weight and stay fit throughout the year thanks to her multitude of great skills. Some skills can help you keep track of water consumption and fitness goals, while others provide guided workouts anywhere you can take your Alexa speaker. Here are the best skills.
Best Amazon year-end deals on Alexa-compatible Echo and Ring smart home devices
Amazon's year-end smart home device deal prices may not be as low as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but you still can save on Alexa-compatible Echo and Ring devices. Equip your home with smart devices to protect your home, boost your home entertainment, and make life a little more convenient.
How to clean your Amazon Echo Buds
The Echo Buds offer outstanding value for the price, but keeping them spotless can be difficult. Thankfully, Amazon's first set of earbuds are easy to clean if you forgo shampoo and harsh chemicals that might otherwise damage the casing. Here's what you need to know.
The Best of Amazon’s 12 Days of Deals on Alexa, Echo, Ring, and Fire TV
Cyber Monday is over, but many of Amazon's own device brands are on sale today for the 12 Days of Deals. The killer prices for Echo, Ring, Fire, Blink, Eero, Fire TV, Blink, and Kindle devices are here now.
Amazon introduces a portable, battery-powered Echo smart speaker in India
Amazon has introduced the first portable, Echo-branded smart speaker in India. Called the Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition, it functions like any other Echo device, with the exception of a 4,800mAh battery, which means it doesn’t have to be constantly plugged in.
This self-emptying Roomba robot vacuum is still $400 off for Cyber Monday
The iRobot Roomba i7+ is the Maserati of robot vacuums. With smart navigation, self-emptying capabilities, and the ability to sync with the Braava jet m6 to vacuum and mop your floor at the same time, $700 is a steal. You can find it now at Walmart and other retailers for a limited time.
Digital Trends Live: Alexa gets emotional, VR for cows, holiday gift guide
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, hosts Greg Nibler and Ryan Waniata discuss the biggest trending stories in tech, including Alexa becoming emotional, “Go” champion retires, Disney+ adds a feature, virtual reality for cows, a 3D-printed autonomous vehicle, and more.
Alexa can now show more emotion when your sports team loses
Alexa, Amazon's voice-activated digital assistant, can now express more emotion during interactions. The update also includes new speaking styles designed to create "a more natural and intuitive voice experience” for people that use the digital assistant, the company said this week.
Amazon Alexa can now remind you to take your medication
If you struggle with remembering to take your pills every day, Amazon Alexa can now remind you to take them. Amazon announced that it has partnered with Giant Eagle Pharmacy locations to provide its customers the option to create medication reminders or even request prescription refills.
Spotify’s free tier now works with Alexa and Bose speakers
In the wake of Amazon's announcement that its free tier of Amazon Music is now available on more devices, Spotify has enabled the use of its free subscription on all Alexa products, including Echo speakers and Fire TV devices. You can also use it with Bose smart speakers via Spotify Connect.
Amazon’s $35 Fire TV Blaster extends Alexa to all of your home theater gadgets
If you love the idea of what Amazon's Fire TV Cube can do, but don't want to replace your perfectly good Fire TV device, the $35 Fire TV Blaster might be just the ticket: It can extend Alexa's voice commands to TVs, receivers, and cable TV boxes, for a fully voice-controlled home theater experience.
Your Alexa speaker can be hacked with malicious audio tracks. And lasers.
Smart speakers are awesome. But they're also subject to some pretty terrifying vulnerabilities, as two recent proof-of-concept demonstrations show. Whether it's adversarial sound attacks or laser hacks, here are two ways researchers have found to exploit smart speaker weaknesses.
Snag free ice cream in select cities to celebrate Alexa’s 5th birthday
Amazon's virtual assistant wants you to know that it’s her special day because for a limited time today, you can snag a free scoop of ice cream at participating locations . Just know that the selection is only limited Alexa’s favorite flavor, which happens to be Mint Microchip.
Alexa can now set sleep timers to simulate a sunrise using your smart lights
If you have Alexa-compatible smart lights and live in the U.S., you just got some new features that will be rolling out this week. You can set up wake-up lights or sleep timers and create new Alexa Routines to dim or brighten over a certain stretch of time, just like sunsets and sunrises.
You may be able to ask Amazon Alexa about your bills soon
Amazon announced that they will be partnering with the payment network Paymentus to make keeping track of bills easier with a new Alexa feature. While you won't be able to pay your bills with Alexa, you can use the new skill to ask about the status of your bills, such as whether they are past due.
The Marshall Stanmore II is the best-sounding Alexa speaker, and it’s on sale
Marshall amplifiers have been the go-to standard for decades, but you don’t need to own a guitar to have one of these iconic speakers in your home: The retro-styled Marshall Stanmore II could just be the best-sounding Alexa speaker on the market today, and it’s on sale right now for $100 off.
Anker Nebula Soundbar Fire TV Edition packs 4K, HDR, and Alexa in a $230 speaker
The first soundbar to include the Amazon Fire TV platform is the $230 Anker Nebula Soundbar -- Fire TV Edition, and it's now available for pre-order with deliveries starting on November 19. The 2.1 channel 100-watt speaker features 4K and Dolby Vision HDR and has Alexa built in for smart home control.
Hey Alexa, inspire me — Adobe launches new skill aimed at sparking creativity
Are you in a creative rut? The new Adobe Inspiration Engine allows Alexa to be your muse. The Alexa skill allows the virtual assistant to offer inspirational quotes or images, or to walk you through a creative exercise. The free Alexa skill is available beginning October 21.
Habla Español? Yes! Amazon Alexa can now speak in Spanish
Those who speak Spanish can now talk to Alexa in their native language, or two languages at once through multilingual mode, on supported Alexa devices like the Echo. The assistant is getting a new voice and Amazon has also beefed up Alexa's knowledge base with hundreds of new skills for Spanish speakers.
Don’t be surprised that Amazon workers are watching footage from the Cloud Cam
After the public outcry against the practice of using human reviewers on voice and video recordings, Amazon gave users the ability to opt out of human review, but it's important to understand what the review is for. Human reviewers improve an A.I.'s ability to understand and respond to users.
You can now apply for a job at McDonald’s via Google Home or Amazon Alexa
Apply Thru is a voice skill from McDonald's that lets Amazon Alexa and Google Home users start the job application process from their couch. McDonald's hopes that by making applying for a job easier, more people will be encouraged to look for work without worrying about a long online application form.
Amazon slashes prices on Ring Alarm Systems and throws in a Free Echo Dot
Amazon is getting a fast start with smart home device deals this fall. Amazon and Walmart know they can't save all the best bargains till the end of the season. Continuing to cut prices on smart home security devices, Amazon just slashed prices on Ring Alarm Systems bundled with free Echo Dots.
Opinion: Amazon is pushing us toward a screenless future, and I kinda love it
Amazon seems to be steering us toward a world that isn’t so dominated by glowing, blinking, attention-stealing screens -- and that’s something I think we can all get behind.
The Discovery Channel is uniting The Food Network and Alexa
The Food Network is one of the Discovery Channel's stars and now the company is making a major investment in merging the recipe-and-show channel into the Amazon Alexa ecosphere with access to 80,000 recipes.
Amazon’s new Echo Frames smartglasses have Alexa, but that’s about it
Amazon announced new Alexa-enabled smart glasses during Wednesday’s Amazon Devices Event. The Echo Frames look like normal glasses and can be tailored to your individual prescription, but unlike other smart frames, they don’t have a camera or display within the frames -- just Alexa capabilities.
Amazon’s new smart oven can air-fry, bake, and microwave your meals
Today at the Amazon 2019 event the company unveiled its newest smart cooking appliance, the Amazon Smart Oven. It's described as a combination of a microwave, convection oven, air fryer, and food warmer. All of that cooking versatility can be controlled via Alexa-enabled devices and voice commands.
The Amazon Echo Loop is a smart ring that puts Alexa at your fingertips
Amazon announced the Echo Loop smart ring at its Devices Event on Wednesday, which essentially puts Alexa at your fingertips when you're on the go. The Echo Loop has two microphones you can activate with a button tap, as well as the smallest speaker ever installed in an Echo device.
Amazon wants your kids to use Alexa and its new Echo Glow night-light
Amazon announced a slew of new Alexa features geared towards kids during the Amazon Devices Event, including the new Echo Glow, a a multicolor smart lamp that pairs with Alexa, the Alexa Education Skill API pairs up with programs like Canvas, Kickboard, and Coursera, and a new FreeTime feature.
Amazon announces new $59 Echo Dot with a bright LED clock
Amazon announced a new Echo Dot at its Devices Event that looks just about the same as previous models -- except it's got a clock. The new $59.99 Echo Dot with Clock has the same look and function as previous models with one major exception: it now boasts a large, bright LED clock on the side.
Amazon makes Alexa more transparent with ‘Tell me what you heard’ feature
Amazon announced privacy improvements for its Alexa assistant during the Amazon Devices Event on Wednesday, September 25. Updates include the addition of “Alexa, tell me what you heard,” which rolls out today, and “Alexa, why did you do that?” which comes later this year.