VoiceControl
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This DIY Furby Echo speaker will probably give you nightmares
Furby is already a tad creepy by itself, but a new DIY mod just stepped up the spookiness: Howchoo has converted a Furby toy into a makeshift Amazon Echo. The project works its dark magic by shoehorning a Raspberry Pi Zero W mini-PC into the critter's frame, giving it the power to run Amazon's open source Alexa Voice Service. Add a USB mic, a speaker and a stepper motor and you get a Furby that can read the news or turn up the thermostat.
Third-party Alexa skills can now use notifications
Your phone gets notifications, so why can't your smart speaker? Amazon is doing something about it.. and thankfully, it's not as bothersome as it could be. The company is trotting out a developer preview of notifications in Alexa skills. If you opt in, third-party skills can push notifications to your Alexa-equipped devices (such as an Echo speaker or your phone) that will trigger both a sound and an on-device alert (whether an LED light or on-screen display. This doesn't mean you're going to be peppered with unwanted speech, though: your notifications accumulate, and you'll only hear what they are when you ask Alexa to read them.
Amazon's Alexa and Prime Music service arrive in Canada
The absence of Amazon's Alexa and Prime Music services in Canada has been a strange oversight, given that the nation's share a border and (one of two) common languages. That has now been corrected, as Amazon has finally launched the Echo family, Prime Music and Alexa Voice services and skills in the land of hockey and poutine. "We're excited to bring [Alexa] to Canada with an experienced designed from the ground up for our Canadian customers," said Amazon Senior VP Tom Taylor in a statement.
Control Ecobee's smart thermostats with Google Assistant
You no longer have to be picky about which voice assistant you use to steer Ecobee's smart thermostats. Google Assistant now offers control over Ecobee3 and Ecobee4 models, letting you tweak the temperature from your phone or an Assistant-equipped speaker like those in the Home lineup. It's a relatively simple addition, but it means that Ecobee's thermostats now respond to voice commands from three of the major voice assistants (Alexa, Assistant and Siri) in some capacity -- sorry, Cortana fans.
Google's Voice Experiments harness the power of Assistant
Google already has technological showcases for Chrome, neural networks and other technologies, so why not demonstrate what Assistant can do? Sure enough, it's doing just that. Its newly launched Voice Experiments site highlights projects that use Assistant tools (such as Actions on Google) to perform odd feats using only the AI companion. Google's own MixLab lets you create music just by making requests. Mystery Animal lets you play the classic "guess what I am" game. Story Speaker lets you tell tales you've written in Google Docs. And then there's Meme Buddy -- you can create dank memes in a matter of seconds just by describing them.
Google Assistant is ready to help on your Sony TV
If you have a Sony TV in your living room, it just got a little smarter. Sony is rolling out an update to many of its Android TV-powered 4K HDR sets (more on that in a moment) to enable Google Assistant. Talk to your remote and you'll get the same AI helper that you can likely find on your phone. Naturally, Assistant can do a little more than you're used to on your phone: you can ask about the weather, search for factoids or play videos, but you can also control your TV. Sony is particularly keen to tout the 'seamless' smart home control -- you should have an easier time dimming the lights when it's movie time.
Sonos promises Alexa-powered Spotify controls by December 21st
Sonos made a big hubbub about its first voice-controlled speaker a few weeks ago, which makes the Sonos One not having Alexa support for Spotify out of the box all the more suspect. That will change by December 21st as the speaker company says it will push an update enabling "full voice support" for Amazon's digital assistant before the self-imposed deadline. Meaning, it could be around seven weeks longer before your free Echo Dot will take advantage of everything a Sonos speaker can offer. It isn't clear if this is the timeline for Alexa control on older Sonos speakers. At the moment, you can only start music with either the Sonos or Spotify apps. Oh well; this is the future we live in. The update should be out in time for your winter solstice playlist, at least.
Alexa can control all the Dish TVs in your home
Dish has been cozying up with Amazon of late. The Pay TV provider already offers an Echo Dot to new customers, which lets you control its Hopper DVR or Wally with your voice. And, now you can do the same with all the Joey-enabled TVs in your home as well. As long as you have one of Amazon's smart speakers in earshot, you'll be able to bark orders at your extra television sets, which is great for when you want to pause and resume the action between rooms. And, if you seek to rule the TV in the kid's bedroom.
FTC loosens guidelines to let kids use voice commands
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act bars companies from collecting audio recordings from kids under 13 without their parents' permission. However, that raises concerns about voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri or Google Assistant: is it legal for under-13s to use voice commands, given that there's rarely (if ever) a permanent recording to put them at risk? According to the Federal Trade Commision, the answer is yes... within limits. The agency has stated that it won't pursue enforcement action against companies simply because they let kids issue voice commands. So long as the firms only hold on to recordings for a brief moment and use them solely for voice commands, they'll usually be in the clear.
TiVo's Bolt Vox DVR jumps into the future with voice control
Stop us if you've heard this one before: TiVo is updating its Bolt DVR lineup with a new remote, a new UI and a new name. The TiVo Bolt Vox (and TiVo Mini Vox) are easy to spot thanks to the remote's new bright blue button that is the key to the extra characters in their name. Following a trail blazed by many other media setups lately (Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Roku -- just to name a few) voice control is a central feature of the new hardware. TiVo has had universal search across platforms including broadcast television, cable TV and streaming for quite a while, but it's not just adding a microphone.
TiVo’s rumored voice-controlled DVR pops up at Amazon, Best Buy
We've been looking forward to a voice-controlled TiVo for a few months thanks to a leak about a new peanut-style Bluetooth remote and trademark for new products with the "Vox" name appended. Now it appears that both the TiVo Bolt Vox and TIVo Mini Vox will soon be available for purchase. Originally posted on Twitter by Dave Zatz, the Bolt Vox was seen on Amazon (it has since disappeared) and the Mini Vox is still showing up on Best Buy's Magnolia page.
Motorola's newest mod puts an Alexa speaker on your phone
Ever wanted to have an Amazon Echo speaker with you wherever you are, rather than relying on your phone's built-in voice assistant? Motorola is betting you do. As promised, it's releasing an Alexa-powered Moto Mod (the Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa, to be exact) that slaps an Echo-like device on the back of compatible phones like the Moto Z2 Force or Z Play. The key, as you might guess, is that it delivers that across-the-room voice control in a way your phone can't by itself.
Control YouTube's live TV service with Google Home
You can already use a Google Home speaker to control regular YouTube videos if you have a Chromecast device, but what about YouTube TV? You're set from now on. Google has enabled voice control over its cord-cutting television service from Home speakers, making it possible to change channels without touching your remote. You can ask Google Assistant to play a specific channel or show, and it's smart enough to recognize fuzzier requests. Tell it to "play the MLB game" and it'll switch to baseball without needing a specific channel or team, for instance.
Sky Q is getting system-wide voice control
Back in March, Sky finally introduced voice search for its next-gen Sky Q service. With it, you can request specific TV shows and movies, or look through its vast library by mumbling the names of actors, directors and film genres. Now, Sky is going a step further with "enhanced Voice Control." The update will let you change channels, play recorded TV shows and fast-forward or rewind with simple commands like "skip back 30 seconds" and "watch from the start." You'll also be able to nip around the Sky Q menu with "go to Sky Store," "go to Sky Sports" and similar phrases.
Sonos One hands-on: Betting on voice control to evolve
After months filled with teases, rumors and speculation, Sonos has finally introduced its first speaker with built-in support for voice commands. Today, at an event in New York City, the company unveiled the Sonos One, a device billed as "The Smart Speaker for Music Lovers." As expected, the main attraction here are the voice features, which at launch will be powered by Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant. We say "at launch" because Sonos CEO, Patrick Spence, ended the presentation with the news that the One will also work with Google Assistant in 2018.
Google Home Mini is a basic $49 smart speaker
If you feel the regular Google Home is overkill when you just want to ask about the weather, you're in luck: As rumored, Google has introduced the cut-down Home Mini. For all intents and purposes, it's Mountain View's take on Amazon's Echo Dot. The puck-sized, fabric-covered device drops music-grade speakers in favor of a narrow focus on Google Assistant voice commands (including a Find My Phone feature) and, as you might imagine, a lower price to match. At $49, it's competitive with the Dot and decidedly more accessible than the standard Home. Pre-orders start now, and it ships October 19th to all seven countries where Home sells today.
Sonos One is the company's first speaker with built-in voice control
Sonos wasn't shy about promising a voice-controlled speaker at its October 4th event, and it's delivering. The Sonos One will support Alexa out of the box, but Sonos says it's open to using other voice assistants -- in fact, Google Assistant will be coming in 2018. The company says this is the first smart speaker for music lovers. It looks like a Play:1 on the outside (not a bad thing), but it has a six-microphone array to pick up your spoken commands and lighting to indicate when voice control is active.
Google hints Assistant is nearly ready for Chromebooks
Google's October 4th event might include more for Chrome OS fans than the rumored Pixelbook. David Cannon and 9to5Google have spotted multiple app references to Google Assistant coming to Chromebooks. Google's Home app notes that some Assistant apps will work with Chromebooks, for instance, while the Chat with your Assistant app recently started listing compatibility with the Chrome machines alongside the usual gaggle of Android releases. There was code hinting at Assistant support in the past, but these public nods suggest that support is imminent.
BMW will offer Alexa voice control in its cars next year
Amazon isn't content with Alexa pervading every corner of your home -- now, it's bringing that technology to your car. BMW has announced that it's making Alexa available in all its 2018 model year cars (including the Mini brand) starting in mid-2018 for the US, UK and Germany. You can use the voice assistant for typical Alexa tasks like the news or smart home control, as well as driving-oriented features like navigation or finding businesses. In many instances, voice responses will include relevant "visual cards" on your car's control display.
Google Assistant can order around LG's connected appliances
LG has placed its trust on Google Assistant and has given it the power to control its smart appliances. While it teamed up with Amazon earlier this year to give its refrigerators built-in access to Alexa, its partnership with Google is much bigger in scale. Now, you can control any of the company's 87 WiFi-connected smart home appliances by barking out orders through a Google Home speaker or through any iOS or Android smartphone that can install the Assistant app.
