Technology, hardware, and gadgets. WiFi speakers, digital dashboards, and more.
The Music Business Association (Music Biz) hosted a webinar to share data into smart speaker ownership. Of the more than 3,000 U.S. participants in its September music consumption survey by AudienceNet/LOOP, 10% said they owned an Amazon Echo and 3% owned a Google Home. The results shows a strong correlation between smart speaker ownership and use of the device for music consumption. Continue Reading
Pandora announced new integrations with Sonos wireless home speakers. Listeners can control their music played on a Sonos device with the Pandora mobile app. It’s difficult to predict whether a company like Sonos, one that doesn’t operate its own in-house voice assistant, will see a benefit from being service-agnostic. Continue Reading
Amazon has rolled out its Echo smart speaker line in Japan. The Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot are now available by invitation in the country. The devices will begin shipping in Japan next week. Continue Reading
Spreaker has launched its first foray into Amazon Alexa skills. The company’s entire catalog of English-language podcasts can now be accessed by voice commands on Alexa-enabled devices. That catalog includes Spreaker-hosted programs, and many popular podcasts hosted elsewhere, such as the TED Radio Hour. Continue Reading
Content feed company Inoreader announced that it is integrating Audioburst’s API. This brings Audioburst’s curated “bursts” of audio programming into six of Inoreader’s RSS feeds: tech, entertainment, sports, U.S. news, world news, and business. The integration offers an audio counterpart to the company’s text news items. Continue Reading
XAPPmedia announced a new platform for creating voice skills across multiple systems called One Voice AI. The service is now operating more than 450 voice apps, up from 119 at the company’s previous update in early September. At last month’s announcement, the company was mostly focused on supporting the Amazon Alexa system. One Voice AI offers expanded reach that includes Microsoft Cortana and Google Assistant. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: The government gets into podcasts; duo of blog posts highlight radio and podcasting; creating audio for augmented reality. Continue Reading
Integr8 Research published the second part of its investigation into radio listening. The first part examined crossover between owning physical radio sets and streaming audio habits, and the new data looks specifically at listening among people who own smart speakers. Continue Reading
Google’s media event earlier this week showcased the company’s voice assistant and voice-control technology. Two music and audio services – iHeartRadio and Spotify – are part of tie-ups around Google Assistant. Continue Reading
Integr8 Research conducted a survey to explore radio ownership trends and whether the emerging smart speaker product segment is growing into a replacement for radio sets. The company surveyed more than 3,000 radio listeners aged 15 to 39 who are dedicated to a local genre station. Ownership of radios appeared shaky. Continue Reading
Google is expanding its footprint in the smart speaker space with two new products. The Google Home Mini is a puck-shaped option priced at $49. The Google Home Max is a larger version of the original Google Home with a more powerful sound system. Continue Reading
Sonos hosted a press event today to announce its latest developments in implementing voice controls into its wireless speaker product line, a pivot the company first announced in March 2016. First, the company introduced a new smart speaker with voice controls. Continue Reading