Technology, hardware, and gadgets. WiFi speakers, digital dashboards, and more.
The Amazon Alexa voice control platform will be getting integrations with Windows 10 PCs from multiple manufacturers. HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer all said they will have Alexa support in some of their laptops and desktops being released this year. The companion app for using Alexa on those machines is slated for release in the spring of 2018. Continue Reading
Roku is elbowing its way into the voice and smart speaker space. The company, best known for its streaming video set-top boxes, announced that it plans to launch its own voice assistant this year. Also, Roku said it is expanding its licensing program to include soundbar and smart speaker manufacturers. Continue Reading
LG has released a new smart speaker with Google Assistant integration. The LG ThinQ is LG’s first in the premium smart speaker niche. It uses Meridian Audio technology and offers high resolution audio for services that support lossless listening. Continue Reading
The awaited Podcast Analytics suite from Apple has arrived in beta. Whatever its shortfalls in the minds of some industry observers, and however ambivalent some podcast publishers might be about the intrusion of new data, Apple’s reporting of podcast consumption will sharply influence the shape, growth and revenue prospects of podcasting. Details and RAIN analysis. Continue Reading
Google’s latest addition to the smart home speaker space has officially launched. The Google Home Max is now on store shelves both physical and digital. The launch draws Google’s smart speaker offerings closer in line to market-leader Amazon, although the Echo line is still leading in adoption. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. Podcasting is on the rise, and as with any hot concept, several startups have already emerged to fill specialized needs. Here’s a look at three newcomers: Descript, Backtracks, and Shortcut. Continue Reading
In a RAIN webinar last August, Melbourne-based podcast hosting and technology company Omny Studio announced a technology achievement that seemed either revolutionary or implausible, depending on one’s perspective. Omny claimed to offer podccast listening data captured from Apple’s Podcasts app. Today, prompted by the imminent release of Apple’s own podcast analytics, Omny has unfurled a description of its previously secret method. Continue Reading
Over the weekend TechCrunch broke news from undisclosed sources in Apple that the tech giant was close to acquiring market-leading music-ID platform Shazam — Apple confirmed the acquisition this morning. The enormously popular and influential Shazam has historically taken the role of Switzerland, standing in the midst of Spotify, Napster, Apple Music and others, offering to funnel ID’d songs to the user’s preferred listening platform. That could change. Continue Reading
In a whitepaper released yesterday on its blog, Triton Digital explains how podcast caching challenges the growth of podcasting, offeers supporting metrics, and and pledges its full support of platforms which move away from the practice. Continue Reading
Amazon shared some insights from its sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The Echo Dot was the top-selling product on Amazon, regardless of segment or manufacturer. Amazon didn’t reveal any specifics of sales numbers for the Dot, but they likely numbered in the millions. Continue Reading
With the holiday shopping season now upon us, the top tech toys are in position to make a lot of sales. The smart speaker niche seems likely to be a strong performer at the end of 2017. Jacobs Media Strategies, jācapps, and Sonic Ai have collaborated on a survey into consumer sentiment toward voice-activated smart speakers going into December. Continue Reading
Amazon’s Echo Show has restored access to YouTube videos. The Amazon smart speaker, which has a screen, debuted in the spring but lost the ability to play YouTube clips in September. Google and Amazon each have their own take on why the service was suspended. Continue Reading