voice assistant

Posted inNews

Researchers expose Amazon, Google smart speaker vulnerability that could let malicious apps spy on you

by Brad Linder 4 Comments on Researchers expose Amazon, Google smart speaker vulnerability that could let malicious apps spy on you

The smart speaker space has exploded over the past few years, as Amazon, Google, Apple, and others have continued to crank out internet-connected, voice activated speakers that you can control by talking to them. But some folks have been wary of putting devices with always-listening microphones in their homes, and reports have indicated that there’s […]

Posted inNews

Report: Google’s Nest WiFi mesh routers will double as smart speakers

by Brad Linder 5 Comments on Report: Google’s Nest WiFi mesh routers will double as smart speakers

Google is holding an event October 15th where the company will officially launch the much-leaked Pixel 4 line of smartphones. But the company could also use the event to introduce other new products… like an update to its Google WiFi line of mesh networking routers. According to a report from 9to5Google, the next version of […]

Posted inNews

Jibo’s robot-shaped smart speaker becomes even more useless as servers are shut off

by Brad Linder 14 Comments on Jibo’s robot-shaped smart speaker becomes even more useless as servers are shut off

Smart speakers powered by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are so common today that it’s easy to forget that the original Amazon Echo was introduced less than five years ago. At the time voice assistants were, at best, things we used on our phones. But Amazon wasn’t the first company to announce plans for a […]

Posted inNews

Microsoft’s new Cortana strategy: Embrace, extend, and if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em

by Brad Linder 6 Comments on Microsoft’s new Cortana strategy: Embrace, extend, and if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em

Voice assistants were everywhere at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, where hundreds of new products featuring Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant technology made their debut. You know what you didn’t hear much about? Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant. There’s only a single smart speaker that ever shipped with Cortana baked in (and it’s currently selling for […]

Posted inNews

Non-Cortana voice assistants could become first-class citizens on Windows 10

by Brad Linder 7 Comments on Non-Cortana voice assistants could become first-class citizens on Windows 10

Windows 10 ships with Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant software baked in. There’s not even a separate search icon in the taskbar — currently you can choose between a Cortana/Search box or a Cortana circle icon. But a recent Windows 10 preview build offers a new look: separate search and Cortana icons. Folks who have dug […]

Posted inNews

Amazon launches Echo Wall Clock, Echo Auto, Alexa-enabled microwave, and other voice-enabled gadgets

by Brad Linder 6 Comments on Amazon launches Echo Wall Clock, Echo Auto, Alexa-enabled microwave, and other voice-enabled gadgets

In case you missed the memo, Amazon launched a lot of new Alexa-enabled devices today. In addition to new Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Show, Echo Input, and Echo Sub, and Echo Link devices, the company also introduced a bunch of accessories that let you interact with Alexa in new ways and new places. For example, […]

Posted inNews

Expect to see more Alexa-enabled PCs soon

by Brad Linder Comments Off on Expect to see more Alexa-enabled PCs soon

Acer’s latest laptops come with support for Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. And Asus and HP announced plans to bring Alexa to some of their PCs earlier this year. Now Amazon says it’s working with ODMs (original design manufacturers) too. The company has unveiled four new PC designs that feature microphones for far-field voice recognition that […]