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SoundHound's voice assistant lives inside its own speaker
Alexa and Google Home aren't the only pieces of voice-controlled assistant hardware available this holiday season. Today SoundHound announced the first third-party speaker to harness the power of its Hound platform. Built by Boombotix, the stand-alone device will not only play your music, but can answer your questions about the weather, flights, news, sports scores and more.
Wu-Tang's RZA on making digital music more physical
Back in October, the news broke that Wu-Tang Clan's A Better Tomorrow would initially be released preloaded on a limited-edition Bluetooth speaker. RZA worked with Boombotix to iron out the details on the special version of the Boombot Rex. A second edition of the gadget is now on the way for those who missed out the first time, allowing fans to once again possess the music like we did in the days of buying physical albums. What's more, his work with Boombotix is ongoing, with new products (like the just-announced Rex+) and more artist collaborations in the works. RZA stopped by to chat with us about the unique distribution system, why he's drawn to these compact speakers, and the process of recording that new album.
RZA on why the Wu-Tang Clan put its new album inside a speaker
Back in October, RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan revealed that the group's upcoming album A Better Tomorrow (no, not that one) would be released ahead of its official December 2nd date on a Bluetooth speaker. Of course, that early option was limited to a few thousand units from Boombotix and emblazoned with the iconic W branding. But why a speaker? Box sets and the like are popular options for die-hard fans to shell out a little extra dough on a new release, but this is certainly a rather unique undertaking. RZA knows this, and he explained late last week why he did it.
Daily Update for November 4, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Kickstarter project aims to add Bluetooth and waterproofing to your nano-powered iWatch
iPod Nano watches have taken off. With the addition of a well designed strap, your iPod Nano becomes an iWatch with different time faces, a music library, pedometer and a cool touch screen interface. But some things have been lacking. For instance, the iWatch is obviously not waterproof, like so many traditional watches out there. And what about taking your iWatch to the next level with Bluetooth? Wouldn't it be cool to be able to stream your music to wireless speakers from your wrist? Boombotix seem to think so. Through a Kickstarter project aiming to raise US$17,000, Boombotix is hoping to release the Proof: an iPod Nano watch strap with all-round rugged protection and three interchangeable adapters. One for waterproofing, a slightly larger adapter with Bluetooth support for wireless audio devices and one that simply locks your Nano into the strap as is for use with headphones. If this sounds like the iWatch you've been looking for, check out the Kickstarter promo video here and the Boombotix website here. [Via PCWorld]
