Alexa
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Nucleus is an Alexa-enabled touchscreen intercom
Most people have smartphones and tablets (sometimes, in multiples) these days and don't actually need an intercom. But if you're looking for one and want something more feature-packed than your typical walkie-talkie-like variants, you may want to check out Nucleus. It's a touchscreen tablet/intercom that comes integrated with Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa and its many voice commands. You know how you can ask Alexa through Amazon Echo to add eggs to your grocery list, tell you the weather forecast or play Prime Music/iHeartRadio/TuneIn? Well, you can do all those with Nucleus, as well.
Amazon Echo now controls your August Smart Lock
Amazon's Echo is about to become much more useful if you've ever worried about leaving the door unlocked. August Home is introducing an Alexa skill that gives you voice control over its Smart Lock system. If you have a first- or second-generation lock with an August Connect bridge, you can ask Alexa to both check a lock's status and lock the door. It's a simple addition, but it beats having to pull out your phone or walk across the house simply because you didn't remember to lock up when you got home.
Amazon finally lets Echo play Spotify or Pandora by default
Amazon's Echo speakers have a ton of smart capabilities, but until recently, playing music from any service other than Prime Music required telling the device which service to use each time. Now, users may have noticed an option to set Pandora or Spotify as its default music player. If you have one of the Alexa-connected devices, then you can go into its control app on the web or a mobile device and look under settings to switch the default away from Amazon. Once it's set, just talk normally to the speaker, "Amazon/Alexa play (artists/song/etc.)" and it will play from the proper service.
Amazon Alexa deals will make you shout out your shopping list
The folks at Amazon are clearly attempting to entice you into the dangerous world of shopping with voice commands. They're doing Alexa-exclusive deals for customers who shop through the company's Echo, Echo Dot and Tap speakers, starting today until July 12th. The team is also adding more items to the list (including gadgets and smart home products) on the 12th, which the company has designated as "Prime Day." You simply have to ask your faithful voice assistant: "Alexa, what are your Prime Day deals?"
Alexa shops for Amazon Prime items so you don't have to
Amazon's virtual assistant could already lend a hand with re-ordering items, and now Alexa is a much more helpful shopping companion. Rather than just replenishing items you've already purchased or compiling a shopping list, Alexa now searches for new items based on your voice commands. If you're looking for a new food processor, for example, the virtual assistant will go through Amazon's Prime product listings to make a suggestion. If you're happy with what Alexa turned up, you can easily order it without having to use another device.
Ask Alexa to add new features to your Amazon Echo
Amazon opened up Alexa to developers a year ago, and there are now over 1,400 apps or "skills," as the company calls them. To take the hassle out of installing those on your Echo product, it now lets you do it automatically just by asking Alexa. For instance, if you want to test your trivia skills, you say "Echo, enable Jeopardy" and it'll add that third-party app. Up until today, you had to go to the Alexa app, find the skill and then add it manually, so the new feature will save you some time.
Amazon's Echo Dot is a great way to bring Alexa to more rooms
I haven't been shy about my love for the Amazon Echo. I wake up with it, and aside from my phone, computers and TV, it's one of the gadgets I rely on most throughout the day. So when Amazon announced the $90 Echo Dot, which brings all its larger sibling's features to any speaker, I was onboard before you could say "Alexa, what's the weather?" I couldn't wait to bring Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant, which is the heart of soul of the Echo, into my bedroom (ahem) and office. It took a long while for the Echo Dot to finally reach me (Amazon, once again, refused to make it available early for reviewers), but after a week of living with it on my nightstand, I'm finding it just as useful as the original.
Pebble adds Alexa's voice controls to its upcoming Core wearable
Pebble announced its 3G-enabled Core device just last week, and even though the gadget won't ship until 2017, the company is already adding features. Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant will be available on the wearable exercise accessory, bringing voice controls to the iPod Shuffle-esque device. With the Core, Alexa can still handle tasks like playing music, reading news headlines, shopping on Amazon, ordering food, controlling smart home tech and more. In terms of more Pebble-specific chores, the virtual assistant can read your Pebble Health summary to keep you up to speed on your daily stats.
Take Amazon's Alexa for a spin in your browser
Alexa's gradual procession toward ubiquity is proof that the Echo speaker isn't the heart of Amazon's voice assistant, it's the server farms that run it. Now you can tap into Alexa with the device sitting on your desk or lap thanks to Echosim.io, a website that replicates the experience of talking to Jeff Bezos' smart speakers. Sign in with your Amazon info, give the website permission to access your microphone and you're good to go.
WSJ: Amazon is making an Alexa-powered tablet
Amazon is working on a new device imbued with Alexa's powers, according to The Wall Street Journal. It won't be yet another speaker, though: it's a device with a "tablet-like computer screen" that's codenamed Knight. Lab126, the company's secretive hardware facility, is reportedly in the midst of developing the tablet, which sounds like it's meant for the kitchen. WSJ says it'll allow users to load websites or images "even when their hands are covered in flour." Amazon has been working on a high-end kitchen computer for quite some time, but it's unclear if this is the reimagined version of that old project.
Amazon gives Alexa more control of your Fire TV
Amazon's virtual assistant was already hard at work helping with tasks via its Echo speakers and Fire TV, but now Alexa is getting more control of your television. The online retailer announced today that Alexa can handle more requests on its streaming gadgets, including launching apps, playing selections from Amazon video and add-on subscriptions (HBO Go, Starz, Showtime, SeeSo) and browsing local movie times. Fire TV already offered voice search and Alexa has been available on those devices as well, but this update expands the virtual assistant's workload.
Roger app puts Amazon Alexa in your phone for free
Roger, a voice app brought to you by former Spotify engineers and Facebook executives, is relaunching soon as a voice platform with support from third-party services. Among them is Amazon's Alexa, the virtual assistant that ties into Amazon's Echo device.
Tap into Alexa from your iPhone with a $5 app
We've seen support for Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant arrive on a variety of devices, and iOS gadgets are next. That's by way of the Lexi app. The Next Web reports that the application mirrors Alexa's functionality on the Echo speaker and lets you place orders, control smart devices and do other general stuff like ask about the weather and movie listings. Unfortunately, it sounds like you'll still need an Echo if you want to take advantage of stuff like Amazon Prime Music or its book service.
The people who made Siri are readying another big leap in AI
It's been a couple of years since we heard from Viv Labs, but a report from the Washington Post says it will debut the next generation of AI assistance on Monday. One reason we won't dismiss that possibility is because of the last project developed by company co-founders Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham -- a little feature called Siri. According to the Post, as much of a third of the team behind Siri is now at Viv, ready to fulfill a bigger dream of what the personal assistant can do than what we've seen so far in its Apple iteration.
Ask Alexa what's playing on Syfy
Amazon has been nudging third parties to make products that use its voice-controlled software, Alexa, but it's also encouraging others to specially interact by making custom 'Alexa skills'. Today, the Syfy network announced that it is the first entertainment channel to get one of these skills.
Triby will be the first non-Amazon device to get Alexa
Amazon set up a $100 million fund last year to help developers integrate Alexa Voice Service (AVS), the tech in the Echo, into their third-party devices. The first of these to hit the market is the Triby, a portable voice-controlled hub built by Invoxia.
Amazon Echo can now add events to your Google Calendar
It's Friday, so that means Amazon is pushing out some updates to the Echo, and todays' big addition sounds like a very useful one. You can now ask Alexa to schedule events on your Google Calendar -- it'll interpret your request and add an item for you. To set it up, just go to the settings section of the Alexa app and tap the "calendar" item.
Amazon Echo can answer questions about your kid's health
Amazon Echo's voice assistant has gained a handful of new skills, including the ability to answer questions about your kid's health. It now has access to KidsMD, a new app powered by info prepared by doctors from Boston Children's Hospital. You can ask it about various symptoms like fever, coughing or headache if your kid's experiencing any, as well as age- and weight-specific dosing guidelines for various medications. Just say "Alexa, ask KidsMD about [symptom]/dosing." The feature sounds especially useful if you're frantically dealing with a sick child and don't have time to pick up a phone to do a Google search.
The Amazon Tap is a so-so speaker with a so-so voice assistant
The Amazon Echo has been an unexpected hit for Amazon. Since it came out a year and a half ago, the always-listening Alexa has expanded its reach beyond ordering stuff and answering questions about the weather to controlling household items and cars. Now, not too surprisingly, Amazon is integrating this winning feature into new products. Case in point: the Tap, Amazon's $130 voice-controlled Bluetooth speaker. But unlike the Echo, you have to press a button: You can't just yell a keyword to get the device to listen to random questions or commands. The result is a mediocre voice assistant in the body of a mid-range speaker.
Lutron adds Alexa support to its connected home devices
While Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices get more and more features to play music and order goods from the online retailer, it's IoT that's making it the must-have device for the home. With it, instead of reaching for a smartphone and launching an app, you can simply say, "Alexa" and control an increasing amount of connected devices. Now Lutron's Caseta Wireless lighting system is ready to be told what to do.
