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Tag: Amazon Echo

  • Mycroft, the Open Source Virtual Assistant Project, Is Out of Money

    Mycroft, the Open Source Virtual Assistant Project, Is Out of Money

    Mycroft, the open source, privacy-respecting alternative to Amazon Echo and Google Home is shutting down after running out of money.

    Mycroft was created by Joshua Montgomery, a 15-year entrepreneurial veteran with a background as an aerospace engineer. As a long-time open source advocate, Montgomery wanted to create a voice assistant that could provide the convenience of commercial options while still respecting user privacy.

    After a major Kickstarter campaign, Montgomery has informed backers that the project has run out of money and will not be able to fulfill orders for the Mycroft Mark II.

    “I have some unfortunate news to share and there’s no easy way to say it, so here it is,” writes Montgomery. “We will not be able to fulfill any remaining Mark II rewards.

    “Since starting here in early 2020 I’ve had to make some of the toughest decisions I’ve ever faced, and none more so than at the end of last year. At the end of November, just after the Mark II entered production, I was faced with the reality that I had to lay off most of the Mycroft staff. At present, our staff is two developers, one customer service agent and one attorney. Moreover, without immediate new investment, we will have to cease development by the end of the month.”

    Needless to say, the news is not going over well with backers, many of whom are questioning why the project has run out of money, despite multiple rounds of funding. Some also questioned why the company has more than 100 units on eBay for $499 each instead of sending those units to backers.

    Ultimately, Mycroft’s fate is all too familiar among crowdsourced hardware projects, with many failing to overcome the cost and logistic issues involved in manufacturing.

    The demise of Mycroft is also unfortunate in the wider privacy debate. While convenient, Amazon Echo and Google Home siphon gargantuan quantities of user data and are a privacy nightmare. If the Mycroft project is truly dead, it’s a major blow to the privacy-conscious.

  • Alibaba Will Invest $1.4 Billion in Smart Speaker AI

    Alibaba Will Invest $1.4 Billion in Smart Speaker AI

    Chinese tech giant Alibaba has announced its plans to invest $1.4 billion in smart speaker AI systems.

    Alibaba gained famed as an e-commerce giant, but has been working to branch into other markets. One of its endeavors is the Tmall Genie smart speaker, similar to the Amazon Echo, which is not available in China.

    According to U.S. News & World Report, “the money will be used to add more content to Tmall Genie, as well as develop proprietary technology, Alibaba said.”

    AI has become the new tech battleground, as companies across multiple industries race to harness the power and promise of the technology. It seems Alibaba is willing to spend big to make sure it’s not left behind.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDkOcp0h3Mw

  • Andy Rubin’s Startup Essential Shutting Down

    Andy Rubin’s Startup Essential Shutting Down

    Essential, the startup Andy Rubin founded upon leaving Google, has announced it is shutting down.

    Andy Rubin, the co-founder of Android, started Essential in 2015 with the goal of creating a new line of phones, as well as smart speakers. Unfortunately for the company, the Essential Phone (PH-1) didn’t received the greatest reviews and failed to carve out a substantial market.

    Similarly, the company announced Essential Home, a smart speaker to compete with the likes of the Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod and Google Home. Ultimately, the company halted development on the speaker in an effort to focus on its phone lineup. The company also acquired CloudMagic, maker of the popular Newton email client. Essential finally announced a new phone initiative, Project GEM, that would have relied heavily on voice control and artificial intelligence.

    In the announcement outlining the shutdown, the company says: “Despite our best efforts, we’ve now taken Gem as far as we can and regrettably have no clear path to deliver it to customers. Given this, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations and shutdown Essential.”

    The company goes on to say the PH-1 security update that was released on February 3 will be the last, and Newton Mail will stop functioning after April 30, 2020. Although the company does not go into further detail about what led to the shutdown, it seems the company’s focus was somewhat scattered for a startup trying to break into a crowded market. In addition, given the sexual misconduct allegations against Andy Rubin, the company may have had difficulty securing additional funding and support.

    Either way, it’s a sad end to a phone that had some promising potential and an email client that was beloved by many.

  • Apple, Amazon, Google and Zigbee Alliance Partner to Establish Smart Home Device Open Standard

    Apple, Amazon, Google and Zigbee Alliance Partner to Establish Smart Home Device Open Standard

    Apple announced today that it is working with Amazon, Google and the Zigbee Alliance to form a working group that will establish open standards for smart home devices.

    The group “plans to develop and promote the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products, with security as a fundamental design tenet. Zigbee Alliance board member companies such as IKEA, Legrand, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), Silicon Labs, Somfy, and Wulian are also onboard to join the working group and contribute to the project.

    “The goal of the Connected Home over IP project is to simplify development for manufacturers and increase compatibility for consumers. The project is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use. By building upon Internet Protocol (IP), the project aims to enable communication across smart home devices, mobile apps, and cloud services and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification.”

    The announcement comes on the heels of news the Amazon Echo has become the first non-Apple device to natively support Apple Podcasts, the latest in a series of moves indicating greater cooperation between the two companies. With tech companies—especially, Amazon and Google—under increasing scrutiny for what some perceive as anticompetitive behavior, the move toward greater compatibility is a welcome one.

  • Echo Show Highlights Amazon’s Dominance in Home AI Technology

    Echo Show Highlights Amazon’s Dominance in Home AI Technology

    Amazon further distanced itself from Google with the launch of Echo Show, a voice-activated home smart assistant with a 7-inch touchscreen display.

    With the 7-inch screen, homeowners will be able to sing along through the lyrics on display, monitor security cameras, read shopping lists, keep up with the news, or view photos and videos. They can also make hands-free video calls with paired devices.

    Smart home devices are geared to become the next battleground for tech companies, with the industry estimated to hit almost $200 billion by 2021. But while Google, Apple, and the rest of the pack are still trying to catch up, Amazon has seemingly asserted its dominance with the announcement of its latest product.

    Google’s answer to Alexa, dubbed as Home, was released a full two years after Amazon introduced its smart home devices. Microsoft’s own version was only released this week, while Apple has no timetable for their release.

    Martin Utreras, vice president of forecasting at business digital data miner eMarketer, said that Alexa-powered Echo devices already corner 70% of the market compared to Google’s Home, which controls 23.8%. Amazon managed to do this by opening the ecosystem to third-party developers such as Ford, GE, and LG with their smart cars and appliances being able to link up with Alexa.

    “Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with the technology, which is driving engagement,” the forecaster said. “As prices decrease and functionality increases, consumers are finding more reasons to adopt these devices.”

    The Amazon Echo Show is seen to address previous gripes about its functionality. Pictures really do paint a thousand words, as users found it difficult to receive information provided by Alexa. Search results, for instance, are much easier to absorb when you read them instead of listening to each one being dictated to you.

    However, surveys have shown that customers are under no illusion about the capacity of the smart home AI assistants to replace PCs, tablets, or mobile phones. In fact, according to the survey, homeowners don’t really want to see a web browser in the Amazon Echo Show or any other similar devices with a touchscreen display.

    Instead, they want easy access to the clock, calendar, news headlines, weather, music, or entertainment, which only serves to affirm that homeowners want the innovation to enhance their experience in performing any voice-activated task.

    Amazon’s Echo Show will be released in the U.S. on June 28, 2017, with a price tag of $229.99. Shipping will be free.

  • You Can Now Do Banking With Amazon Echo Devices

    You Can Now Do Banking With Amazon Echo Devices

    Amazon announced that Capital One will be the first company to provide customers with the ability to interact with their financial information through Alexa-enabled devices like the Amazon Echo, Fire TV, or the new Amazon Tap or Echo Dot.

    “Starting today, customers can stay on top of their credit card account by checking their balance, reviewing recent transactions, or making payments as well as get real-time access to checking and savings account information to understand their available funds– all hands free,” a spokesperson said in an email.

    “The Alexa Skills store is quickly growing, and today we’re excited to add the Capital One skill – which is the first skill that will enable Alexa users to interact with their financial accounts,” said Alexa Direcotr Rob Pulciani. “Now Alexa can quickly provide your Capital One banking balance, latest transactions and more on Amazon Tap, Echo Dot, Amazon Echo or Fire TV devices —all conveniently with just your voice. More and more voice experiences are coming, and it’s only going to get better for our customers.”

    Capital One customers can interact with their accounts by enabling the Capital One skill in the Alexa app, and then saying things like “Alexa, ask Capital One for my Quicksilver Card balance,”…for recent transactions on my checking account,” …when is my credit payment due?,” or “pay my credit card bill.”

    The Capital One Alexa skill is available starting today.

    Image via Twitter

  • Amazon Unveils Echo Dot and Amazon Tap

    Amazon Unveils Echo Dot and Amazon Tap

    Amazon announced two new Alexa-enabled devices called Echo Dot and Amazon Tap.

    Describing the former, an Amazon spokesperson tells WebProNews, “Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice controlled device that uses the same far-field voice recognition as Echo. Directly connect Echo Dot to speakers with an audio cable or via Bluetooth, and add voice-control to your home stereo system. Plus, with its small built-in speaker, you can place Echo Dot in the bedroom and use it as a smart alarm clock, or in any room as a voice assistant to control smart home devices and more.”

    The device is available for $89.99 exclusively for Prime members through Alexa Voice Shopping. To order an Echo Dot, existing Echo and Fire TV customers can just say “Alexa, order an Echo Dot.”

    echo-dot

    You can check out the device here.

    “Amazon Tap is an Alexa-enabled portable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speaker that offers rich, full-range sound,” the spokesperson says. “Just tap the microphone button and ask for music, hear the news, search for information, order a pizza, and more with the Alexa Voice Service. Amazon Tap has dual stereo speakers with Dolby processing that provide crisp vocals, extended bass response, and 360° omni-directional audio.”

    amazon-dot

    Amazon Tap is now available for pre-order for $129.99. You can check that out here.

    Amazon’s Echo has proven to be a popular device, particularly compared to its failed Fire Phone. The company said it was the number one best seller across all $100+ products available on Amazon.com on Black Friday. In November, Amazon Echo was added to the inventories of 3,000 stores throughout the U.S. including The Home Depot, Staples, Sears, Brookstone, Radioshack, Fred Meyer, P.C. Richard & Son, and others.

    Echo gained new support from Spotify and Uber about a month ago.

    Images via Amazon

  • Amazon Echo Gets Uber Integration

    Amazon Echo Gets Uber Integration

    As Amazon prepares to put its Echo device in front of America’s collective face, it appears to be getting some more bells and whistles that will make it appealing to more people.

    Amazon has already teased a Super Bowl ad for the device, which features Dan Marino and Baldwin with the hashtag #BaldwinBowl.

    This week, we learned that Echo is gaining new Spotify support, which instantly make is more useful to a lot of music fans as a smart speaker. Spotify Premium subscribers in the U.S. can now listen to music on the device, operating it by voice command.

    Now, The Verge is reporting that you can also use the device to order an Uber. Andrew J. Hawkins reports:

    Uber is announcing Friday that its application program interface, or API, has been integrated with Amazon’s smart home hub. The update may be the purest manifestation of Uber’s mission to make getting you from point A to point B completely seamless. After all, what’s easier than speaking the words “call me an Uber” into thin air, and having the car show up minutes later? This could be the provenance of germaphobes everywhere. (Of course, you’ll still have to touch the Uber’s door handle.)

    Users will be able to tell Alexa “request me a ride,” “call me a ride, “get me an Uber,” and other similar things, according to the report.

    Uber also recently gained integration with Facebook Messenger.

  • Amazon Echo Gets More Appealing With Spotify Support

    Amazon announced that Spotify Premium subscribers in the U.S. can now listen to music on Amazon Echo, operating it by voice commands.

    “Additionally, customers can seamlessly switch between playing music on their phone to playing on Echo with Spotify Connect meaning users can listen to music on their headphones and upon walking in the door have Alexa rock the tunes from the Echo,” an Amazon spokesperson tells WebProNews.

    “To activate, users will sign into their existing Spotify account in the Alexa app,” they say. “Users can then ask ‘Alexa, play Blink 182 from Spotify’ or ‘Alexa, play Today’s Top Hits from Spotify.’”

    Echo has become a major product for Amazon. It’s even the subject of the company’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial, which it teased last week.

    Since launching last summer, the device, which lets you add items to a shopping list, and gives you info, music, news, weather, etc., has apparently sold pretty well.

    The company said it was the number one best seller across all $100+ products available on Amazon.com on Black Friday.

    In November, Amazon Echo was added to the inventories of 3,000 stores throughout the U.S. including The Home Depot, Staples, Sears, Brookstone, Radioshack, Fred Meyer, P.C. Richard & Son, and others.

    Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon will soon release a smaller, portable version of Echo. It’s expected to sell for a lower price than the $180 device that exists.

    Spotify support will make the device instantly more appealing to a lot of people.

    Image via YouTube

  • Amazon Expected To Launch Smaller, Cheaper Echo

    Last summer, Amazon Launched Echo, its voice-controlled smart device that talks to you, lets you add items to your shopping list, and gives you information, music, news, weather, etc.

    The device has sold pretty well (which must be a relief after the failure of the Fire Phone), and the company is reportedly readying the next version, which will be smaller and cheaper.

    A report from The Wall Street Journal says:

    In the coming weeks, Amazon expects to release a smaller, portable version of its voice-activated tabletop Echo speaker, building off the device’s surprise success, according to people familiar with the plans.

    The Pringles-can-sized Echo, which must be plugged into an outlet, answers questions, creates shopping lists, plays music and can even turn connected lights on and off upon command. The new portable device is expected to sell at a lower price than the $180 Echo in part to draw more buyers, these people said.

    In November, Amazon Echo was added to the inventories of 3,000 stores throughout the U.S. including The Home Depot, Staples, Sears, Brookstone, Radioshack, Fred Meyer, P.C. Richard & Son, and others.

    The Echo was the number one best seller across all $100+ products available on Amazon.com on Black Friday.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Echo Is About To Be Sold In A Bunch of Stores

    Amazon announced that Echo, its voice assistant smart device, will be available in thousands of retail locations across the United States in time for the holiday shopping season. It will be in over 3,000 The Home Depot, Staples, Sears, Brookstone, RadioShack, Fred Meyer, P.C. Richard & Son, and other retail locations.

    The device was introduced a year ago and made available in June.

    The device has seven microphones and beam-forming technology, which it uses to listen to you from across the room. It uses Amazon’s virtual assistant technology Alexa to help you with looking up information, getting the weather, setting timers and alarms, getting news, creating shopping/to-do lists, etc. It will play music from a variety of apps, integrate with connected home apps, and access local search with Yelp. It’s also compatible with Audible, Google Calendar, and more.

    “Amazon Echo is a must-have gift this holiday season, and we’re excited to work with retailers across the country to make Echo available to their customers,” said Greg Hart, Vice President, Amazon Echo and Alexa Voice Services. “Using only your voice to play music, control your lights, and ask questions is magical, so it’s great that people will be able to visit local stores and try it for themselves.”

    “Our customers continue to show interest in smart home products across the many categories we carry. One of our newest products, Amazon Echo, is a smart device that helps make connected home easy and fun,” said Jeff Epstein, Merchandising Vice President at The Home Depot. “Echo, paired with smart lighting devices, is an excellent gift for this holiday season.”

    “Staples.com launched Amazon Echo several months ago and the product has been well received by our customers,” said Eric Cayton, VP Technology at Staples. “We are excited to continue to work with Amazon to offer Echo in select Staples retail stores and on Staples.com during the holiday season.”

    “We’re thrilled to have Amazon Echo in select Brookstone stores this holiday season,” said Brookstone CEO Tom Via. “Our goal is to give customers the opportunity to see and try out the best in new technology and gifts, and Echo is a great fit for them.”

    Amazon Echo costs 179.99. It’s already available at Amazon.com, but the roll-out into retail stores will occur over the coming weeks.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Makes Echo Smart Device Available To The Masses

    Last year, Amazon unveiled Echo, its smart device that serves as a speaker and a virtual assistant. Until now, it’s been available on an invitation basis, but on Tuesday, Amazon announced that it’s now available to all customers.

    You can now pre-order the device for $179.99, and it will begin shipping on July 14. It also has some new features.

    “The customer response to Amazon Echo has been incredibly positive, and we’ve been working hard to build more as quickly as possible. We are grateful to our early customers for their incredible engagement and for providing us with invaluable feedback to help shape Echo as it evolves—with their help, we’ve been able to add features like Audible, Pandora, home automation, sports scores, calendar, and more,” said Greg Hart, Vice President of Amazon Echo. “We’re excited to get Echo into the hands of even more customers and continue to invent new features and experiences.”

    With one new feature, users can use Echo to switch on a lamp, turn on a fan or heater, dim the lights, etc. thanks to integration with Belkin WeMo and Philips Hue products.

    You can now pause and skip tracks, and gives tracks thumbs up and down on Pandora and listen to audiobooks from Audible. You can say, “Alexa, read my book” to do this. Alexa is the “brain” behind Echo, by the way. It also supports Whispersync for Voice so you can switch between reading and listening without losing your place.

    There’s new Google Calendar integration and the ability to re-order Prime-eligible products.

    “If you’re low on kitchen supplies, want to restock on snacks, or need more rolls of duct tape for the garage, simply ask Echo to place an order for you,” the company explains. “Echo uses your order history and can order the Prime-eligible item for you using your default payment and shipping settings. If Echo can’t find the requested item in your order history, it may suggest an item for your approval using Amazon’s Choice, which picks highly-rated, well-priced, Prime-eligible products.”

    You can create “if this then that” recipes using shopping and to-do lists, and use Echo to add items to Evernote, email your to-do list to your spouse, and add your list to your phone.

    You can also use Echo to get sports scores and schedules and get traffic info.

    Finally, there are personalized streaming music stations from Prime Music and customized news from more sources including The Economist, NPR Business, TMZ, and ESPN Radio via TuneIn.

    A free SDK, which developers have already been using in private beta, will roll out later this year.

    Now check out this parody of the device.

    Image via YouTube

  • Amazon Introduces Echo, A $200 Device That Serves As An Assistant And…Companion?

    Amazon just unveiled a new device called Echo, a plug-in, voice-controlled hardware device that talks to you, and gives information, music, news, weather, etc. Apparently it even tells jokes. Soon, you’ll never need people again.

    The video below, which shows the device in action, probably sums up what we’re dealing with here better than I can.

    It gives you weather and news from various sources, including local radio stations, NPR, and ESPN from TuneIn. You can listen to your Amazon Music Library, Prime Music, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio with it. It includes voice-controlled alarms, timers, shopping, and to-do lists, and gives you info from Wikipedia, definitions, answers to common questions, and other things.

    Amazon will be adding more features, and Echo will be updated automatically via the cloud.

    To use it, you just connect it to your home network, and use the set-up provided by the companion app on Fire OS, Android, iOS or desktop browsers. It’s always on and connected to WI-Fi, and is Bluetooth-enabled. That means you can use it to stream music services like Spotify, iTunes, or Pandora from your phone or tablet.

    Here’s a look at the hardware:

    The company explains, “Amazon Echo is designed around your voice. It’s always on—just ask for information, music, news, weather, and more. Echo begins working as soon as it hears you say the wake word, ‘Alexa.’ It’s also an expertly-tuned speaker that can fill any room with immersive sound.”

    Examples of commands you can use include:

    – Will it rain tomorrow?
    – Set an alarm for eight a.m.
    – Play music by Bruno Mars
    – How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
    – Wikipedia: Abraham Lincoln
    – Add gelato to my shopping list
    – Play my “dinner party” playlist
    – When is Thanksgiving?
    – What’s the weather in Los Angeles this weekend?
    – Add “make hotel reservations” to my to-do list

    You get the idea.

    “Tucked under Echo’s light ring is an array of seven microphones. These sensors use beam-forming technology to hear you from any direction,” Amazon says. “With enhanced noise cancellation, Echo can hear you ask a question even while it’s playing music.”

    Not only does Echo update via the cloud, it continuously learns and adapts to your speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences.

    Echo costs $199 for regular customers and $99 for Prime members. For now, it’s only available by invitation, which would seem to suggest Amazon isn’t looking to bulk up its holiday sales with it.

    Image via Amazon