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Alexa

Amazon to release new Alexa options for families and kids, including ‘magic word’ feature that gives positive reinforcement for saying ‘please’

Amazon plans to release a slate of new Alexa features for parents and children, plus a new $79.99 version of… Read More

Amazon’s new Alexa Skill Blueprints aim to let anyone build their own custom Alexa capabilities

Amazon today unveiled Alexa Skill Blueprints, a set of templates that anyone can use, even if they don’t know how… Read More

Amazon completes Ring acquisition, drops price of original video doorbell under $100

Amazon completed its acquisition of smart-home security company Ring this morning and dropped the price of the Santa Monica, Calif.-company’s… Read More

‘Hey kids, it’s time for dinner!’ Amazon rolls out Alexa Announcements for Echo

That Amazon Echo device in your home is about to get a lot more vocal — using your words. Amazon… Read More

Podcast

Geared Up podcast: Hands-on with Samsung’s Galaxy S9, and why Apple bought the ‘Netflix of magazines’

Samsung’s newest smartphone, the Galaxy S9, is set to launch this Friday, but Geared Up podcast co-host Andru Edwards already… Read More

How Amazon aspires to transform business meetings using Alexa

Amazon first announced Alexa for Business, the entrance of the company’s digital assistant into the enterprise world last year, and… Read More

‘Hey’ no more, as Microsoft’s Cortana drops the pleasantries from voice commands

Microsoft doesn’t want its users to have to waste any time in getting the attention of its digital assistant Cortana.… Read More

Widespread outage at Amazon Web Services’ U.S. East region takes down Alexa, Atlassian developer tools

Problems with Amazon Web Services’ Direct Connect service took down several customers Friday morning using the cloud leader’s creaky U.S.… Read More

What happened to Yahoo’s $10M alliance with CMU, and how it could help AI restore our humanity

You know Siri and Alexa. Maybe even Cortana. But have you met Sara? She’s pretty amazing. Sure, she can do… Read More

Amazon Alexa accelerator expands, will host up to 3 startups in London for 2nd cohort

Amazon is now accepting applications for its second Alexa Accelerator cohort. The 13-week program, which launched last year and is run… Read More

Amazon reportedly expanding chip design efforts, aiming at Echo, cameras, and AI

Amazon has been designing its own chips for a few years, ever since acquiring Annapurna Labs in 2016, but it… Read More

Satya Nadella

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explains why he’s not worried about Alexa on Windows PCs

Alexa’s impending arrival on several Windows PCs looks like it could be trouble for Microsoft’s Cortana, but its CEO Satya… Read More

Amazon’s Alexa can now send SMS text messages to smartphones via voice command

Amazon’s digital brain, Alexa, can already make calls and now she can send text messages too. Users can now ask Alexa to… Read More

‘The plants look happy’: Jeff Bezos, with help from Amazon’s Alexa, opens ‘remarkable’ Spheres

After hearing from Washington’s governor, Seattle’s mayor and others, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos turned to a voice he truly recognizes… Read More

New data: Google Home faring better against Amazon Echo, grabbing 40% of U.S. holiday sales

Google’s push to compete with Amazon Echo in the home is starting to pay off with increased market share, according… Read More

Amazon adds voice control to Alexa app for Android with iOS update on the way

Amazon is beefing up its virtual brain Alexa within the Android operating system, as it continues to battle Google and… Read More

Amazon Echo with Alexa

Getting to know you: Amazon is widening the repertoire for Alexa AI voice assistant

G’day, Alexa: Amazon’s digital voice assistant is getting an Australian accent for its Down Under debut this week, but there’s… Read More

Where’s Cortana? Microsoft is playing the long game as Amazon and Google dominate CES

LAS VEGAS — Lost in the shuffle of Amazon and Google’s digital assistant showdown this week at CES is another… Read More

Podcast

Geared Up Podcast: Voice assistant mania and the latest TV tech at CES

It’s that time of the year: This week is the Consumer Electronics Show, the biggest tech expo in the U.S.… Read More

Testing Alexa in a hotel room: We used Amazon’s voice assistant inside a swanky Las Vegas suite

LAS VEGAS — Alexa is just about everywhere here at CES this week — in PCs; in cars; in coffee… Read More

Video: Inside Amazon’s traveling smart home trailer, where Alexa controls the PC, coffee pot and the mood

LAS VEGAS — A downpour forced Google to pack it in for the day at CES, but Amazon was out… Read More

Polk Audio debuts first voice-controlled sound bar with Amazon Alexa

LAS VEGAS — Polk Audio is teaming up with Amazon to sell the first voice-controlled sound bar with built-in Alexa… Read More

Panasonic bringing Alexa and Google Assistant to in-car ‘infotainment’ systems, with offline capabilities

LAS VEGAS — An overriding theme of CES this year is Amazon’s Alexa versus the Google Assistant, but Panasonic isn’t… Read More

LG bets big on Google Assistant, but still hedging its bets with Amazon

LAS VEGAS — The battle of voice assistant platforms has begun at CES 2018, pitting the Google Assistant versus Amazon’s… Read More

Alexa is coming to PCs: HP, ASUS and Acer bring Amazon’s assistant onto Microsoft Cortana’s turf

Amazon Alexa will soon arrive on Windows PCs, creating new competition for Microsoft’s built-in Cortana voice assistant. Hardware makers HP,… Read More

Alexa headphones and smartwatches? New Amazon development kits open digital assistant to more devices

Amazon’s goal of getting Alexa everywhere is taking a step forward today as the retail giant announced two new development… Read More

CES 2018 preview: Amazon in the spotlight again as it aims to get Alexa everywhere

Many of today’s most valuable tech companies — Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google, etc. — don’t make a big splash at… Read More

Why Alexa and Cortana aren’t BFFs yet: Amazon and Microsoft taking longer than expected to integrate voice assistants

A few months ago, Amazon and Microsoft said their respective digital assistants, Alexa and Cortana, would begin talking to each… Read More

Amazon HQ

Amazon’s epic year: 5 biggest storylines from 2017, and what to watch in 2018

2017 has been the year of Amazon. On a Friday morning in June, the world woke up to the shocking… Read More

Amazon sells ‘tens of millions’ of Alexa devices worldwide in record holiday season

Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant may have reached critical mass during the 2017 holiday shopping season, judging from a new report… Read More

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