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Alexa offers voice-controlled takeout from Amazon Restaurants
At CES 2017, it's pretty much "Alexa this" and "Alexa that" as Amazon's voice assistant insinuates itself into cars, smartphones and refrigerators. Now the device works as a waiter of sorts, letting you place a takeout order from any of Amazon's affiliated restaurants. There are some limitations: You need to be an Amazon Prime member, and you can't order anything new -- it'll only let you repeat an order you've placed in the past.
Amazon Alexa now lives inside a dancing robot
"Inhale. Stretch right leg back as far as possible." Lynx, a small white humanoid, gave yoga instructions as it slid its chunky leg back for the pose. A bright blue light flashed across the side of its round head to indicate activity. After a few more leg movements, it came back into standing position when Alexa's voice boomed: "Your next exercise is waist stretching."
Ford vehicles will soon have Amazon Alexa on board
We finally know when Ford will unleash the Alexa integration it promised almost exactly a year ago. The automaker has announced it will roll out the feature in two phases, with the first one going live later this month. Folks who own Ford vehicles with the company's Sync 3 entertainment system, starting with the Focus Electric, Fusion Energi and C-MAX Energi, will be able to control their cars from home sometime this January. They'll be able to start or stop their car engines, unlock their doors and check their fuel levels simply by issuing commands through Amazon's Echo, Echo Dot and Tap speakers.
Huawei is bringing Amazon's Alexa to the Mate 9
One of Huawei's biggest priorities when building its Mate 9 was shoehorning some handy machine-learning features into to it. The result: a machine-learning algorithm designed to improve performance by finding the patterns in how you use the phone and allocating resources like RAM accordingly. Turns out Huawei's AI ambitions don't end there. A spokesperson confirmed to Engadget that the Mate 9 will receive a software update bringing Amazon's Alexa assistant.
Amazon's Alexa assistant is coming to LG refrigerators
Last year, LG brought a refrigerator to CES that ran Windows 10, showing the a world a device that could keep food cold and play Minesweeper. This year, it's taking the concept one step further, introducing a new screen-adorned "InstaView" door-in-door refrigerator with voice control. Specifically, LG's new icebox is a full-on Amazon Alexa device. Think of it as a really big Amazon Echo.
Car makers can let Alexa ride shotgun later this year
Amazon's Alexa assistant can already communicate with some cars, but the conversations are a little one-sided. You can tell your home-bound Echo to start warming up your Hyundai on a frosty day, for example, or send directions to your BMW ahead of setting off. But when you're on the road, you're on your own. Later this year, though, car makers will be able to put Alexa in the passenger seat, giving drivers a virtual assistant that'll put on some tunes, load up an audiobook and carry out many other tasks while their hands are stuck to the wheel.
Whirlpool brings Alexa to its next generation of appliances
Alexa can already order a pizza and fire up your TV as you lazily bark commands at it, but appliances giant Whirlpool is about to put Amazon's personal assistant to work with some extra chores around the house. The two companies announced they've teamed up to connect Alexa with Whirlpool's next line of smart home appliances. The future where you can ask your fridge to set the temperature in the veggie drawer has finally arrived.
Dish brings Alexa and multi-room music to Hopper DVRs
Until recently, the world of voice-controlled computing, nay, voice-controlled living, seemed like it was still a few years away from becoming mainstream. Amazon's Alexa platform, however, has made it easy for companies to bolt on the technology to their existing products. Case in point: Dish has announced that you'll soon be able to pair your Hopper DVR with the Amazon Echo or Echo Dot in order to change channels just by speaking.
