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
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
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Streaming pushes indies to the majors; curators vs creators; wireless audio survey results. Continue Reading
Digital voice-activated advertising platform Instreamatic.ai announced its formal launch this week. The service now offers programmatic buying for voice-activated ads that would run on smart home speaker systems and related technology. The technology seems designed around the types of interactions smart speaker owners would have. Continue Reading
This year’s WWDC announced Apple’s foray into WiFi speakers, bringing it into direct competition once again with Google and Amazon for control over music and audio in your home. The new device is called HomePod, and it will retail for $349. The initial launch is this December for the U.S., the UK, and Australia, with a broader global rollout next year. Continue Reading
Clip Interactive, a radio digital solutions company, announced that it has completed the first stage of development in its consumer product integrations. This includes in-car services Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and in-home consumer product integrations Amazon Echo and Google Home. Continue Reading
Voice-activated smart home speaker Google Home has started experimenting with what may or may not be an ad format. Owners of the device started hearing unprompted promotions for Disney’s upcoming live action version of Beauty and the Beast. Although Google then said the mentions weren’t intended as ads, will advertising be coming to these devices? Continue Reading
A new report from VoiceLabs examines the burgeoning market of voice-activated personal assistants. With the pushes by so many tech companies – such as Amazon, Google, and Sonos – into this space, what are device owners actually using them for? VoiceLabs’ used its Voice Experience Analytics service to give some answers to that question. Continue Reading
Harman International’s JBL brand has added a new home speaker product that offers wireless playback without a Bluetooth connection. The JBL Playlist has Google Chromecast built in, which means owners of the speaker can use the it to stream music, radio, or podcasts from their other devices. Continue Reading
Mood Media has entered a partnership with Denon Electronics to make its Mood Mix available on the HEOS wireless multi-room sound system. This means that Mood Media’s commercially licensed streaming music service can be used more easily by businesses that own HEOS systems. Mood Mix is specifically designed for use as a soundtrack in retail environments. Continue Reading
Sonos’ partnership with Spotify is getting a new layer. The companies have launched the public beta for controlling music on the wireless speakers directly from the Spotify app. With this beta, anyone on the same wifi network as the Sonos speaker can take control of the music choices. Continue Reading
Apple will begin selling Sonos speakers on Oct. 5. The tech company will have the wireless speakers for sale in its brick-and-mortar stores and on its website. Sonos’ PLAY:1 and PLAY:5, two of the company’s most popular products, will be sold by Apple. Continue Reading