Items tagged with echo
Valentine's Day is almost here, and if your sweetheart would rather have tech than candy or flowers, Amazon has your back. The retail giant is running some deals on its line of Echo devices, with the second-generation Echo smart speaker in multiple colors on sale right now for $69.99, a $30 discount off the normal list price. You can get it in charcoal, heather gray, or sandstone colors all for the same price. If you want the fancier walnut finish version, you will pay a bit more with that unit going for $89.99. If you are looking to step up to an Echo Sub bundle, you can get a pair of the...
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Amazon is intent on getting Alexa into just about every object in your home. While the voice assistant started embedded in smart speakers, it has since expanded into devices that are suited to the kitchen like microwaves and now wall clocks. Amazon has announced the availability of the Echo Wall Clock, and this device isn't what you think it is at first glance. Alexa isn't actually embedded into the clock; it requires a compatible Echo device to operate. People who cook frequently in the kitchen and need lots of timers will probably be interested in the Echo Wall Clock. The device can show a single...
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Apple and Amazon sure seem to be getting cozy with one another these days. Earlier this month, Amazon started allowing sales of iPhones, iPads, and other Apple products directly and via authorized sellers in the Amazon Marketplace, ending a long-standing feud between the two. In true 'scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' fashion, Apple now plans to bring its streaming music service to Amazon's Echo smart speakers. It's a logical match, given the popularity of Apple Music and Amazon's line of Alexa-enabled Echo products. Despite what should have always been a logical pairing, Apple and Amazon...
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All that is old is new again. Big Mouth Billy Bass, an animatronic largemouth bass, is now compatible with Amazon’s Alexa. The late 1990’s classic singing animatronic can mow be paired with any Alexa-enabled device. According to Steve Harris, vice president of product development at Gemmy Industries, “This is not your father’s Big Mouth Billy Bass.” Big Mouth Billy Bass is now programmed to respond to Alexa voice commands and lip sync with Alexa’s responses. He will answer questions about the weather, the news, and other inquiries, react to notifications and...
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Microsoft is extending its partnership with Amazon in a big way, as the Microsoft Store is now selling both the second-generation Echo and the third-generation Echo Dot Alexa-powered smart speakers. The Microsoft Store offers both the Echo and the Echo Dot at their regular MSRPs of $99 and $49 respectively. This is a striking turn of events given that Microsoft is currently marketing the Cortana-powered Harman Kardon Invoke AI smart speaker. The Invoke hit the market priced at $199, but is now selling for $99 from the Microsoft Store -- only the Pearl Silver model...
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Amazon is the biggest online retailer in the world, and so you can bet it is going to have a whole bunch of products on sale for the holiday season, and specifically the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping bonanza that looms next week. In anticipation of the shopping frenzy that awaits, Amazon is offering a sneak peek of its upcoming Black Friday deals, some of which are live right now. "Whether customers are readying their house for the holidays or searching for gift-giving inspiration, they will find incredible savings and fast, free shipping options on the hottest items across toys, electronics,...
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Black Friday is still over three weeks away, but retailers are already showing their hand with respect to what deals they will have. So far, we've seen the tech goodies that Costco, Sam's Club, Kohl's and Target will have on the biggest shopping day of the year. Amazon doesn't want to be left out, but it isn't quite ready to give us a look at its hottest Black Friday deals. Instead, the company is giving us a rundown of its pre-Black Friday deals what will run from November 16th through November 22nd. Without further ado, here's what to expect: November 16th:...
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Amazon is doing very well with its line of Alexa-powered Echo smart speakers. Earlier this week a rumor was making the rounds that suggested Amazon was set to significantly expand its Alexa offerings on the market with eight new devices including a microwave and an amplifier. A couple of those new Alexa devices have leaked with Amazon itself being the source. It appears someone hit the live button a bit too early and listings turned up for an Echo Sub and an Echo Plug on Amazon UK. Those listings have since disappeared, but Pocket-lint was able to grab images and details on what we can expect in...
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A new study published by Adobe Analytics that looks at the market for voice devices such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home. The study surveyed 1,000 consumers in the U.S. and looked at how people use the devices they own and what they use them for. According to the study, the most common use for voice assistant devices is music playback with 70% of owners using their device for that task. Weather forecasts came in a close second with 64% of owners using their device for figuring out what the weather will be like for the day. Asking fun questions was a common use for 53% of people along with conducting...
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If you are wondering why companies like Amazon and Google put so much time and energy into smart speakers, just look at the numbers. Sales of voice-activated speakers will add an incremental $1.6 billion to the US technology industry through 2019, in part because they tap into the growing smart home market, according to data by The NPD Group. “While many new households will explore the smart home experience in the next two years, propelled by the growing ownership of voice-activated speakers, the biggest and best opportunity for retail may remain in encouraging the installed smart home base...
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Smart speakers are growing in popularity, but in addition to providing a level of convenience to home consumers, they can potentially act as another point of entry for hackers and cyber criminals. To demonstrate this, researchers Wu Huiyu and Qian Wenxiang demonstrated at DefCon 2018 a technique for hacking Amazon's second-generation Echo speaker that allows an attacker to spy on the speaker's owner. The hackers spent month developing the technique. On the bright side, they have only managed to intercept the microphone rather than take complete control of the speaker, the latter of which could...
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I had an aunt who used to have her living room lights plugged into a timer, so they turn on and serve as a deterrent to potential burglars. That is how it was done 'back in the day'. What about today? There are fancier methods, and one of them involves Amazon's Echo smart speaker with Alexa. There is a new skill available that could keep would-be thieves away. The skill is called Away Mode and it works by playing lengthy audio clips that sound like people are having a conversation inside. It was created by Hippo Insurance, an insurance outfit located in San Francisco, California. At present, Away...
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Amazon's Echo family has expanded over years with the addition of the Echo Dot, Echo Spot, and Echo Show (among others). Last year, Amazon unveiled a second-generation Echo and it appears that this year the company is looking to launch a third-generation Echo Dot. The first- and second-generation devices were codenamed "pancake" and "biscuit" respectively, and the new third-generation device is rumored to have been developed under the codename "donut". Rather than the flat top of the current Echo Dot, it appears that its newer counterpart has a more rounded appearance. Second-generation Amazon...
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The world of digital assistants is a little bit crowded and immensely competitive. Since its introduction, Amazon has looked at ways of setting Alexa apart from the competition, and it just found another one—equalizer controls. In a blog post, Amazon announced it has added EQ and sound mode controls for smart home entertainment devices using Alexa. If you own an Echo speaker, you can shout, "Alexa, crank up the bass" or "Alexa, turn up treble" and the digital assistant will do exactly that. The new feature is available to customers in the US across the Echo family of devices, and on select...
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