Amazon’s partnership with SideChef makes Alexa your sous chef
As if Amazon's week hasn't been busy enough, the company announced this week that it's furthering its partnership with interactive cooking platform SideChef to integrate its cooking guidance into Echo devices, including voice guidance, photography, video demos, and voice commands.
Amazon ups its smart home game with a new Echo Show, microwave, and clock
Amazon dropped a whole bunch of new devices on the smart home market this morning at its annual hardware event in Seattle including a completely redesigned Echo Show, an AmazonBasics smart microwave, a new security platform, an Alexa-enabled analog clock, and a Ring-friendly security camera.
Voice technology is useful, in demand, and not moving fast enough
A new survey about voice technology commissioned by IT analytics company AppDynamics indicates that enterprise companies aren't keeping up with millennials' demand for advancements in voice technology, and need to adapt to consumer behaviors and needs sooner rather than later.
Amazon might open 3,000 cashier-free Amazon Go stores by 2021
A new report by Bloomberg indicates that Amazon's head honcho Jeff Bezos is considering upending the convenience store and quick service restaurant market by opening up 3,000 of his experimental, cashier-less Amazon Go stores by 2021, a move that could reinvent the shopping experience in urban centers.
Is Amazon tweaking its search algorithms with a new A.I.-driven shopping site?
Amazon has quietly rolled out a new shopping experiment in a test site called Scout, which uses a visual platform to display products. It allows users to like and dislike products to tweak their recommended products in seven shopping categories including women's shoes, home furniture, and kitchen and dining products.
Who needs Stitch Fix? Maison Me uses A.I. to custom design clothing just for you
A new Silicon Valley-based startup called Maison Me is deploying a new custom-designed clothing service that combines an A.I.-driven chatbot, hand-drawn sketches, video profiles, and smart manufacturing to produce design-to-order clothing that's cost competitive with standard retail outlets.
Amazon creates a bigger toy box with its new Alexa Gadgets Toolkit
Amazon is building a bigger toy box with the release of its new Alexa Gadgets Toolkit, a collection of self-service programs and gadget interfaces that facilitate direct pairing and connectivity, communication, and over-the-air updates between interactive devices and their paired Echo device.
Armenian startup Bluenero is fishing for funds for a smart aquarium
A start up operating out of the Republic of Armenia has launched a successful Indiegogo campaign to design and manufacture a smart aquarium that will automatically feed fish, monitor water quality and water levels, and let customers look at their fish via an HD camera.
Hampton’s new smart lock is functional for both techies and traditional users
Hampton Products International manufactures a host of home security devices but is just now entering the lucrative smart home market by launching a new line of interoperable home security hardware products, starting with its flagship product, the Array Connected Smart Lock.
If Ikea can flat-pack its furniture, why not a tiny house?
Ikea's Copenhagen-based future living lab Space10 is a trip on a normal day but two Danish design students have just outdone themselves by designing a 500-square-foot tiny house that can be open-sourced around the globe and manufactured for less than $10,000.
Hanwha Techwin enters the smart security market with two new indoor cameras
Hanwha Techwin America is a well-established manufacturer of video surveillance equipment and cybersecurity solutions, and is now entering the smart home market with two new smart security cameras that feature HD monitoring, facial recognition, and two-way communication.
Qaio smart mirrors give your bathroom a window on the world
A California-based manufacturer of consumer electronics is getting into the niche side of the smart home market with a new line of Qaio smart mirrors that come outfitted with Alexa, an HD camera and display, onboard speakers, and even a night light with a motion sensor.
Adobe survey finds digital assistants, smart speakers are popular with shoppers
A new survey of more than 1,000 American consumers about voice assistants and smart speakers offers dramatic new intelligence about shopping, adoption rates, types of usage, and a widening diversity of voice activities that reflect an expansion beyond music and weather.
This tiny house produced in the Alps opens up to the skies
A small - make that tiny - house manufacturer high up in the Alps of Rhone, France, is manufacturing tiny homes that are transportable, can be operated completely off the grid, and have roofs that can open up to the skies.
Google confirms that its Assistant is acting strangely again
Google Assistant is getting off to a rocky start this month as a bunch of the digital assistant's users are reporting a new rash of glitches, including the loss of non-US accented English language speakers, some sex changes, and a refusal to respond to the "Hey, Google" wakeup command.
Nest launches an investigation into its own smart doorbell glitches
Nest's new smart door bell the Nest Hello has gotten rave reviews and achieved wide popularity among users but now the company has launched an investigation into widespread reports of delayed and false notifications, random disconnects, and outages.
Yale’s refreshed Sync security system set to launch in Europe
A refreshed security system from Yale is making its way to Europe, the company announced at IFA 2018 this week. The security systems and lock manufacturer is bringing the new Yale Sync Alarm, its next-generation home security system, to European customers starting October 1.
Lenovo augments its smart home line with new camera, plug, and bulb
Lenovo is debuting a wide range of low-cost to high-end laptops at IFA 2018 but the biggest news for smart home users is the launch of a new "Smart Home Essentials" line of products that will initially include a smart bulb, plug, and a surveillance camera with remote access.
Google Assistant goes bilingual, lets you speak two languages interchangeably
Google has always had the lead on language support in the war between it and Amazon for digital assistants and smart speakers, but Google just widened its market considerably by announcing that Google Assistant now supports two languages interchangeably, making it fully bilingual.
Best Buy is bundling the new Lenovo Smart Display with the Google Home Mini
Best Buy is the latest enthusiast to help Google win the smart speaker war as it's now being reported that the retailer is giving away a free $49 Google Home Mini with every purchase of the $199 8-inch Lenovo Smart Display, striking yet another blow in Google's mortal combat with Amazon.
Petco is fighting the competition with voice-activated content on smart speakers
Petco's new strategy to compete with retailers like PetSmart, Bark, and Amazon's new Wag is to develop content to position the company as the best source of pet information and the ability to source pet products intelligently by partnering with Alpine.AI to help users interact via digital assistants.
Swann is arming its 4K Ultra HD security cams with Google Assistant
Today the DIY security cam manufacturer Swann became the first in its market to roll out Google Assistant voice commands for its wired 4K Ultra HD video surveillance system, giving customers the ability to control, record, and receive alerts from their 1080p resolution security cameras.
Amazon’s Whole Foods is stealing customers from Trader Joe’s, analysts say
New reports from two separate data analysis firms indicate that a year after Amazon bought Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion, the boutique grocery chain is starting to attract customers from Trader Joe's and other grocers with discounts on popular foodstuffs and new delivery methods.
Gjemeni’s transformer furniture lets you power up or down with a click
A new Bay Area startup named Gjemeni is hitting the furniture-in-a-box market with a transforming new line of furniture that includes a couch that folds down to a bed, a chair, and an ottoman, with features like USB and traditional socket power, memory foam, and temperature-controlling technology.
Zap! A new portable sterilizer called Klistem uses UV light to kill bacteria
A new portable, USB-charged sterilizer called Klistem uses 253.7nm wavelength UV-C light, the most potent germicidal wavelength on the spectrum, to kill 99.9% of germs that are harmful to the human body within 90 seconds.
Despite privacy concerns, music lovers are still grooving to smart speakers
Consumer research firm MusicWatch has been digging into the habits of 5,000 smart speaker owners to see how they're using devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home and the research indicates that users still have concerns about privacy while streaming music.
VAVA expands into home security with a new wireless home cam
VAVA, based in Fargo, North Dakota, makes a wide variety of electronics, accessories and other gizmos but it's following up on one of its most successful products, the VAVA Dash Cam for automobiles, with a new weather-resistant, wireless security camera designed for homeowners.
Hilton doubles down on construction trends with a San Francisco hotel
Modular construction is a booming trends in the hotel industry and Hilton is embracing with construction strategy, recently breaking ground on a new Home2 Suites by Hilton build in South San Francisco that will use modular construction to cut costs and retain quality.
Fraudulent sales of home alarm systems are on the rise nationwide
Some home alarm companies are accused of making false claims about safety in order to get people to sign up, according to a new report from the Consumer Federation of America that says many consumer advocates and law enforcement agencies are receiving complaints about sales of alarm systems.
Alexa goes to college as Saint Louis University puts an Echo in every dorm room
Alexa goes to college, as one of the country's largest private universities is about to experience a whole lot of Amazon Alexa as Saint Louis University prepares to start the fall semester by distributing more than 2,300 Amazon Echo Dots into every dorm room on campus.
Trulia enables homeseekers to know the neighborhood with a new app feature
Trulia is taking a long look at American life with a new digital experience called Trulia Neighborhoods, a multimedia experience focused on neighborhoods designed to enhance and educate via its website and mobile app.
Amazon Dash-powered WePlenish smart pantry device orders snacks, coffee, more
A Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based startup is moving beyond its original Kickstarter goals to sell directly to customers a new smart pantry, the WePlenish Java Smart Container, which connects with Amazon Dash via Wi Fi to automatically keep a smart home stocked with snacks and coffee.
White-hat Chinese hackers turn Alexa into a spy, briefly
It's a hack that's more akin to boosting a car than cracking a code but researchers at Chinese firm Tencent Holdings were able to use a modified Echo to crack the security and recording functions of other Amazon Echos running on the same network. Amazon has already released a fix.
Alexa will soon speak the language of love as she debuts in France
Amazon sought common ground with the French in June with a redesigned version of Alexa and its Echo smart speaker series featuring a new French voice, a help function designed in French, local knowledge and hundreds of localized skills. Amazon told developers Alexa will be in Mexico later this year.