The Amazon Alexa voice assistant platform is coming to more and more gadgetry around the home. This week began with rumors of at least eight new Alexa devices to come before the year’s close, and the week is ending with a leak confirming two of them. Continue Reading
Amazon is reportedly preparing to take its streaming music service to a more public position. Bloomberg reports that the tech giant will be launching a multimedia campaign in support of its streaming service. Continue Reading
Amazon and Microsoft have integrated their digital assistants, which could open up new possibilities for cross-support of features and services outside of whatever hardware brand a user owns. Plans for an integration were announced last year, and the integration is just available as a preview in the U.S. right now. Continue Reading
Amazon released its second-quarter financial results, and the company continues to amass enormous windfalls from across its diverse range of products and services. Alexa was a key factor in the conglomerate’s business updates from the period, and will likely continue to be a focus in their financial success too. Continue Reading
Amazon is launching a feature called Alexa Cast that will allow smartphone controls for devices enabled with its voice-activated technology. That includes both speakers from its Echo product line as well as devices from other hardware companies that integrate Alexa. Continue Reading
So far, voice assistants are commonly used to access audio entertainment, but as the technology advances, the next step could involve commerce and shopping. Voicebot and Voysis have collaborated on a report pointing to the future of voice shopping. The analysis predicts that, due to the high rates of ownership (79.8%), many people will first be introduced to voice assistant shopping on smartphones. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio shared two audio announcements today. First, Matty Staudt has been promoted to the newly created position of vice president of podcast programming. The second announcement furthers ties between iHeartRadio and Amazon within the Alexa for Hospitality suite. Continue Reading
The Infinite Dial Canada looked at the uptake of smart speakers in the country, as well as pointing out some unique trends compared with the southern neighbors. In Canada, smart speaker ownership is 8% of the adult population. People aged 35-54 were most likely to own smart speakers at 11%, followed by ages 18-34 at 10%. Continue Reading
Amazon Alexa is getting more options for actions that can be incorporated into the voice AI’s routines. This feature lets users assemble a set of actions from the smart speaker triggered by a single voice command. Initially limited to news, weather, traffic, and smart home skills, routines can now incorporate music, podcast, and radio content. Continue Reading
TuneIn announced a new subscription offering specifically for accessing its audio content on Amazon Alexa. TuneIn Live offers access to premium live audio from the company, including news stations, talk shows, and professional sporting events, on smart speakers. Continue Reading
It was only a matter of time before two of the biggest trends in the tech world crossed paths. There’s a new skill for Amazon Alexa called DeepMusic that plays songs composed by artificial intelligence over a smart speaker. Click to listen. Continue Reading
Voxmatic is looking to put voice commands into the hands of podcasters large and small. The business has launched a free platform for the creation personal skills on the Amazon Alexa platform for podcasters. Its starter kit offers individual skill/flash briefing publishing. It plans to add a professional package later this year. Continue Reading