As the ninth iteration of the Amazon Prime Day sale is around the corner, so are the Amazon Alexa and Fire TV product discounts. The shopping discount extends up to 55% on most of the Amazon home-grown brands in India. The sale will commence on July 20th at midnight and run until July 21st at midnight. However, interested folks can add their favorite products to their wishlist, so you don’t miss any important deals or discounts.

Deals on Amazon Alexa and Fire TV Stick

Preparation for Amazon Prime Day 2024 in India is already in full swing, and Amazon is unveiling the deal details each day. Details about Amazon Alexa devices are already out, and users can grab up to a 55% discount:

• All New Fire TV Stick – Rs 5,999 Rs 3,999
• Fire TV Stick – Rs 4,999 Rs 2,199
• Fire TV Stick Lite – Rs 3,999 Rs 1,999
• Fire TV Cube – Rs 13,999 Rs 12,999
• Echo Pop – Rs 4,999 Rs 2,999
• Echo Dot 4th Gen with Clock – Rs 5,499 Rs3,449
• Echo Show 5 Rs 13,999 Rs 3,999
• Echo 4th Gen with Dolby Audio – Rs 9,999 Rs 4,999

The discount extends if you bundle it with Smart Bulb or any other device. There’s an Echo Dot 5th Gen + LED Smart Bulb bundle retailing for Rs 4,749 and an Echo Pop + LED Smart Bulb, which is available for Rs 2,749. Furthermore, there’s an Echo Dot 4th Gen with Clock + Smart Plug that is retailing for Rs 3,948.

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As artificial intelligence and AI-based technologies continue to advance, they are becoming more integrated into our daily lives. Even standard products we used to use every day are gaining a touch of artificial intelligence. An example of this is Microsoft integrating ChatGPT into their services. The latest company to join the AI craze is Amazon. The company has ambitious plans to rework its voice assistant, Alexa. Here are the details…

Amazon plans to rework Alexa in the age of ChatGPT

As the AI trend sweeps the world, more and more companies find themselves working in this field every day. Recently, some leaked documents revealed Amazon’s plans to integrate advanced AI chatbot technology. The company aims to make Alexa more versatile, proactive, and engaging in conversation. In short, they plan to transform their already limited voice assistant into a much more comprehensive tool.

According to the leaks, Amazon plans to use its own large language model (LLM), called the Alexa Teacher Model, to enhance Alexa’s abilities. This is different from competitors like Microsoft’s Bing, which uses OpenAI’s model. The goal is to make Alexa seem more thoughtful, making media recommendations, news delivery, and storytelling more interactive.

The new Alexa will be able to create imaginative stories, similar to ChatGPT‘s storytelling abilities. It will also use the Echo Show’s camera to include real-life elements in its stories. Additionally, the upgraded Alexa will be better at handling complex queries, like finding specific TV shows based on vague descriptions, and providing additional details such as cast information and subscription pricing.

Amazon is also considering partnerships with companies like Disney and Lego. According to reports, these collaborations aim to make the most of Alexa’s new AI capabilities, but it is unclear how this will fully impact the end user.

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(via)

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Amazon Alexa might be getting a cool new feature in the near future. The company plans on offering an update that would allow the AI voice assistant to mimic voices, which basically means that Alexa can sound like whoever you want it to.

According to a Reuters report, the popular online retailer and tech giant plans on offering users an Alexa that sounds like their grandmothers, a former president, or just about anyone else. During the MARS conference held earlier this week in the US, Amazon senior vice president Rohit Prasad stated that the idea is to let Alexa copy anyone’s voice after hearing it for less than a minute.

Prasad also added that the goal is to have Alexa help “make the memories last” after “so many of us have lost someone we love” during the pandemic. Although, it is currently unknown when the company plans on rolling out this feature but we know its coming sometime in the future. Notably, there are possibilities of illegal and criminal activities being performed through this feature. But there should be some levels of safeguards as well.

Furthermore, the new feature for Alexa can also have applications as a companion feature. In the video shared by Amazon, a child asks that “Alexa, can grandma finish reading me the Wizard of Oz?” Alexa then proceeds to read the children’s book using the kid’s deceased grandmother voice. So, it is a sweet and wholesome feature, if not a bit creepy as well.

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Amazon and Lockheed Martin have announced plans to send Alexa to space as part of the Artemis I NASA mission. The mission will be the first of several intended to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon.

Alexa will be used in NASA’s Orion spacecraft and will have access to real-time telemetry data through which it will be able to respond to thousands of mission-specific questions such as “Alexa, how fast is Orion traveling?” The virtual assistant will even process requests to control connected devices on board the Orion, starting with in-cabin lighting.

Using NASA’s Deep Space Network, Alexa can also retrieve all sorts of information from Earth for astronauts in space, whether it’s news briefings or sports scores, helping astronauts stay connected to home.

Artemis I will be an uncrewed mission because of which Amazon had to depend on a virtual crew experience at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. It has been developed jointly with Lockheed Martin and Cisco. The experience will provide remote access to Callisto and simulate interactions between Alexa and future astronauts.

But it’s not just the crew and scientists that will be benefitting from the initiative, as back home, users with Alexa-compatible devices will be able to browse info on the mission. Access to Orion’s telemetry data as well as videos and photos from the mission will be granted.

Amazon will be launching the new Alexa features “closer to the mission”, but a preview is already available now available across Alexa-enabled devices. To access it, all you have say is “Alexa, take me to the Moon.”

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Lenovo is known for its smart clock range powered by Google Assistant. At CES 2022, the company has introduced yet another model in the lineup. Unlike previous models, the new one comes with Amazon Alexa. Hence, it is aptly named Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in Specifications and Features

The newly announced Lenovo smart clock is almost similar to the older Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with a slightly tweaked design lacking the built-in nightlight. Apart from featuring Amazon Alexa instead of Google Assistant, it also arrives in two new colors, namely Clay Red and Misty Blue.

Apart from the above-mentioned differences, the new model is the same as the older one. Additionally, the company has also unveiled a new accessory called Lenovo Ambient Light Dock. The clock is also compatible with the Lenovo Wireless Charging Dock, which debuted alongside the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 last year.

Talking about specs, the device sports a 4-inch monochrome LED non-touch display with support for customizable clock faces. It features a soft-touch fabric finish and multiple buttons for volume up/down, alarm, and Alexa.

It also has a microphone mute toggle and a USB Type-A port to charge other devices. Most importantly, the clock houses a 1.5-inch 3W speaker and a far-field microphone array consisting of 2 units.

The accessory is powered by an Amlogic A113X chipset paired with 4GB RAM and 4GB storage. It has all the essential sensors like an ambient light sensor, accelerometer, and proximity sensor.

Connectivity options on the product include single-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.1. The older Essential model with Google Assistant has dual-band WiFi but Bluetooth 5.0.

Last but not least, the clock weighs 249g, which is 9g more than the older variant.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in Price and Availability

The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in starts at $59.99 and will hit the shelves from January 2022 itself. On the other hand, Lenovo Ambient Light Dock starts at $29.99 and it will be available sometime later in Q1 2022.

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The uncharted territory and black boxes that some tech devices are in are brought to the fore by a recent incident with Amazon’s Voice Assistant Alexa. A 10-year-old girl who asked Alexa for a challenge was advised by the voice assistant to partake in the penny challenge which entails touching a coin to the prongs of a half-inserted phone charger with the switch turned on. The dangerous “penny challenge” started circulating on TikTok in 2020. Amazon said it has fixed the error immediately it became aware of the incident and has now updated the voice assistant.

The report indicates that the young girl was with her mother when the incident happened and the mum immediately intervened by shouting “No, Alexa, no”, although she knew her daughter was knowledgeable enough not to take on the dangerous challenge. It is unclear how Alexa got to suggest a very dangerous endeavor and this brings to focus again on the need for greater scrutiny of these devices and their algorithms.

Amazon stated that it had updated Alexa to prevent the suggestion of dangerous activity in the future, but it remains to be seen how effective the new updates will be. The risk remains and the voice assistant should be put to fair usage. Amazon insists that customer trust is at the heart of its activities and operations, stressing that Alexa is designed to provide accurate, relevant, and helpful information always.

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Xiaomi is India’s largest smart TV brand. The company’s television offers a unique software experience in the form of PatchWall. The firm is known for updating its TVs with new features every now and then. Select Mi and Redmi televisions have now started receiving a new system update with an interesting feature.

All the TVs sold by Xiaomi in India run Android TV with PatchWall content aggregation service. Hence, they come with Google Assistant by default. In fact, it is the only smart home platform available on these televisions. 

The company is now changing this by introducing the ‘Works with Alexa’ app for select TV models. The application enables users to control Amazon Alexa-powered through their televisions.

The app is currently being rolled out to the Redmi Smart TV X series and Mi QLED TV 4K 55 via a software update. This system update arrives with build numbers R21.10.29.3261 and R21.10.29.3261 for the former and the latter respectively.

Apart from bringing the Alexa application, the latest update also bumps up the security patch level. 

The announcement of this software update comes directly from Sudeep Sahu, the head of the TV category at Xiaomi India. He says that the update will be rolled out in batches.

If you have any of the above-mentioned televisions and have received the update, then do let us know your experience in the comment section below.

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Samsung might be trying its hand in the smart speaker segment again, as rumors have surfaced of a device dubbed the Galaxy Home Mini 2 being in the works.

According to a report by SamMobile, sources reveal that Samsung is working on the second generation of the Galaxy Home Mini smart speaker, which carries model number SM-V320. The upcoming smart speaker may come with a display, making it more of a smart display than just a smart speaker. Other than that, no information about the rumored device is available right now.

This is not Samsung’s first rodeo when it comes to smart speakers, as Samsung has previously launched its first Galaxy Home smart speaker back in 2018 and followed it up with Galaxy Home Mini in February 2020. If you are wondering why you’ve never heard about these smart speakers before, that might be because Samsung never released these devices outside their home country of South Korea. The upcoming Galaxy Home Mini 2 is expected to meet the same fate as its predecessor when it comes to global availability, but it is far too early to say for sure.

The smart speaker segment is currently dominated by Amazon’s Alexa, Google‘s Nest speakers, and Apple’s HomePod range of speakers. We hope Samsung will soon step into the global smart speaker market, offering a little Bixby flavored variety.

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GGMM D3 Portable Battery for Echo Dot 3 which generally retails for $30 is now available at a heavily discounted price of $20.39 only at AliExpress. This deal ends on 17 October.

GGMM D3 Portable Battery for Echo Dot 3

The easiest way to convert your wired Amazon Echo Dot 3 into a stylish, portable, and wireless speaker is to get the GMM D3 portable battery base. This stylish yet powerful base allows you to carry your speaker outdoors without having to worry about cables, wires, and plugs. With this battery base, you can use your speaker for about 8 hours continuously. It does not interfere with the sound quality or the design and gives you a true wireless Bluetooth speaker experience. 

Key Features:

• 5200mAh battery
• Supports 8 hours of playing on 50% volume
• Charging time: 3.5 hours
• Compact and well-fitting design
• No interference in sound quality
• Colors: Black and White

Generally retailing for $30, you can now buy GGMM D3 Portable Battery for Echo Dot 3 at a discounted price of $20.39 only at AliExpress. Please note that this deal is applicable only on orders placed from the German warehouse. This deal ends on 17 October. So place your order asap.

Please note that the above price is region-specific and the final price may vary according to your shipping region, warehouse, and regional taxes.

For more information on such exciting deals and offers check out our deals hub.

* Please Note: When you buy something using the links in our articles, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

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Earlier this year, tech giant Amazon announced a new “Show Mode” for the PC version of the Alexa app. The feature hopes to expand the user base of Amazon’s smart home app as it brings features that are found on the Echo Show including skills that can be activated only by a voice prompt.  The company has now announced that the feature will be making its debut on some Lenovo laptops.

Amazon describes the Show Mode for PCs as a “voice-first, interactive Alexa experience for PCs”. The mode can be activated via a voice command asking the virtual assistant to open the feature. It can also be activated using the Show Mode icon domiciled in the Alexa app.

When activated, the app displays in fullscreen mode on the PC’s screen, showing information that the user will find vital. The interface is exactly as it is on the Echo Show with features such as calendar appointments, weather information, and others. In addition, users can perform actions such as playing a song on Amazon Music, controlling connected smart home devices, checking for weather updates, and creating to-do lists.

The feature will also be enabled automatically when the laptop is idle and become sort of a screensaver. This feature, Lenovo says, is optimized to deliver optimal battery conservation. Lenovo’s Igor Bergman, Vice President of Cloud and Software, Intelligent Devices Group says; “By enabling Show Mode on Lenovo PCs, we are providing customers with a highly versatile user experience on a natural and convenient interface”.

The company listed the models in which the new feature will be available to include the Lenovo Yoga, IdeaPad, and ThinkPad PC models equipped with the Alexa app built into the Windows 10.

The feature will be available in the following countries; US, UK, Germany, Japan, India, Ireland, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. Amazon plans to expand the compatible models with the addition of other Lenovo models in due course.

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(source)

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Amazfit launched the GTS 2 mini in India back in December 2020. At the time of launch, it didn’t have the Amazon’s Alexa assistant features built-in. However, it is getting it now via an OTA update in India.

Amazfit has sent a press release(via XDADevelopers) to notify the new feature on the Amazfit GTS 2 mini. Accordingly, users of the smartwatch are now getting the Alexa support via an OTA update. After updating the wearable to the latest firmware, users can send voice commands to Alexa AI Assistant via their smartwatch.

Specifically, you can now play music, set an alarm, provide weather forecasts, get traffic updates, and do more via the Alexa. For the unware, Alexa is a virtual assistant AI technology developed by Amazon. It was used on the company’s Echo devices initially in November 2014 and expanded to other devices gradually.

Coming back, the update has a firmware version 1.0.2.31 and it should enable all the features of Alexa assistant on GTS 2 mini. The GTS 2 mini is currently retailing on the Amazfit website and Amazon India for ₹6,999($96.24). It is available in Black, Sage Green, or Pink color.

You can follow the steps below to enable the Alexa on your GTS 2 mini:

• Pair the watch with your phone via Bluetooth(Zepp App)
• Open the Zepp app, click on profile, and select GTS 2 mini
• Update the firmware to version 1.0.2.31
• Once the update is complete, swipe left on the watch home screen
• Tap on “Authorize Alexa on the device page of the app”
• Open the Zepp app, tap on profile, and select add accounts
• Click on “Amazon Alexa”
• Log in to your Amazon account

After this, you should be able to get help from Alexa through voice commands. Let us know your Alexa experience with GTS 2 mini down in the comments below.

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Amazon has just announced that its virtual assistant, Alexa now supports a Live Translation feature, allowing users who speak different languages to communicate with each other. The complex process will involve the virtual assistant translating both sides of such a conversation.

At the moment, Alexa can translate English, Spanish, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Hindi, with the Live Translation feature. Amazon said the feature is supported on Echo devices with the location set to English U.S.

The Live Translation feature draws support from existing Amazon systems and features, including Alexa’s automatic-speech-recognition (ASR) and its text-to-speech systems.  These, in combination with Amazon Translate, as well as the whole gamut of Amazon’s machine learning models, designed and optimized for conversational-speech translation all combine seamlessly to produce the Live Translation feature, Amazon said in a recent statement.

The berthing of this translation feature opens up new vistas in real-time communication, providing exciting possibilities with the seeming demolition of the communication barrier. 

Similar to what obtains with most ASR systems, Amazon said that the live translation system incorporates both an acoustic model and a language model, both models combining to provide insights for the ASR system to decide between alternative interpretations of the same sequence of phonemes.

To provide users with a near-natural experience, Amazon adapted Alexa to a conversational speech by modifying its end-pointer to accommodate longer pauses for the Live Translation feature. Alexa uses the end-pointer to determine when a person has finished speaking. Alexa can also easily identify pauses in the middle and end of sentences.

Search engine giant Google also offers a similar feature called Interpreter Mode. It is yet to be seen how the two services square up side by side, but this certainly provides an additional option for live translation and inter-language communication. 

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Hey, Alexa, what time is it? Alexa, turn on the light. Alexa, play Boy with Luv by BTS. These are just a few of the retinues of commands Amazon’s Alexa smart assistant processes daily in millions of homes around the world. Well, in one US home the use of the command has left the couple’s eleven-month-old baby confusing her name for “Alexa”.

A video shared by the New York Post shows how 11-month-old Emily wouldn’t respond when her mom called her real name while pushing her in a stroller. But as soon as she called “Alexa”, she snapped to attention, turning her head towards her mother’s gaze. “No, your name’s Emily, not Alexa,” her mom retorts.

The thing is, Emily’s parents had acquired an Amazon Echo smart speaker and usual calls “Alexa” to awaken the smart assistant since she was five months old. Like the quote by Haim Ginott; “Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.”

Smart home assistants are all the buzz right now, with Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Xiaomi and others with significant stakes in the market. While the current assistants available offer a wide range of capabilities such as answer queries and commands, provide answers, play music, etc. This has made them useful for smart home applications and is a regular in many homes. You may want to exercise some care when waking up the voice assistant in front of an impressionable child. Else, a child might just go thinking his/her name is Ok Google or Hey Siri. Changing such an impression is sure going to be a tough nut.

UPDATE: We couldn’t embed New York Times’ video on this post so you can check out the video from the source link or from the YouTube channel below.

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(source)

Apparently, there are a few more videos on YouTube of a couple of other cuties who think their names are “Alexa”. Quite hilarious.

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Xiaomi Mi Bands are one of the popular budget fitness trackers in the market. The last iteration in the series, Mi Band 4, brought improvements like larger OLED color display, more fitness functions, XiaoAI voice assistant (only China), and more. As the launch of its successor called Mi Band 5 is nearing, leaks have started emerging on the internet revealing its features.

Xiaomi Mi Band 5 Features Leak

Recently, Huami, the maker of Mi Bands released its financial report for Q1 2020. In that, the company’s CEO confirmed the release of Mi Band 5 later this year. Now, a week later, the upcoming fitness tracker’s features leak courtesy of TizenHelp.

According to the website, just like previous years, there will be two versions of Mi Band 5 – one for China and the other for global markets. But the difference between them will be minute compared to the previous generation.

Internationally, the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 will be called Mi Smart Band 5, a new branding introduced in the last model. The global variant will come with model number XMSH11HM, which goes in line with Mi Smart Band 4’s model number XMSH10HM.

As usual, the international version will lack NFC for contactless payments. But this time around, both the variants will feature Amazon Alexa. The Mi Band 4 comes with XiaoAI voice assistant but it is limited to China.

Further, the Mi Band 5 will also come equipped with a SpO2 sensor to monitor blood oxygen level. Also, it will have features like menstrual cycle tracking and PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence), which is found on Huami’s Amazfit products.

Having said that, the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 was supposed to launch in the first week of June in China. But due to the current situation, the release is said to be postponed to late June or early July. Hence, we can expect the global launch a month or two from that.

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(Source)

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In recent years, smart home devices and gadgets with voice assistants have increasingly grown in popularity. This holds especially true for IoT devices like Amazon Echo, Google Home (Nest Hub products) and more. Notably, these products have been fairly well received in India, which is the second-largest smartphone market and an emerging region for IoT smart home products as well.

Now, Amazon is seeking to grow its Alexa voice assistant supporting lineup with the latest launch of the Echo Auto for the Indian market.

Amazon Echo Auto

The latest smart IoT product announced by Amazon is designed exclusively for automobiles, namely cars. Amazon Echo Auto enables users to access Amazon Alexa in the car; through which one can stream music from any service that supports Alexa and also ask information regarding a wide variety of topics.

The device in and of itself does not possess a physical speaker, rather it connects to the car’s audio systems via a 3.5mm audio jack. It is powered by a standard 12V electrical socket, the ones that are usually found in almost every car nowadays. Amazon Echo Auto is equipped with 8 microphones that listen for the “Alexa” wake command. Apart from streaming music, the voice assistant can also grant access to audiobooks, Alexa Skills, information on landmarks and other points of interest.

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Amazon Echo Auto features only two physical buttons on its body. One is the action button and the other is for muting the microphone. Under the hood, the device is powered by a MediaTek MT7697 processor which enables hands-free voice control access to users’ smartphones; and by its extension calls, messages and more.

Price and Availability

Amazon’s latest smart IoT gadget for cars is currently available for pre-orders and is being sold for a price of 4,999 INR (or roughly 69 USD or 482 CNY). It will officially start shipping on the 15th of January 2020.

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Internal documents that leaked from Amazon‘s lab have revealed the e-commerce giant has got a wearable device in the works. The device is described as a health and wellness product and is worn on the wrist but it does more than tracking physical health stats. The document reveals the wearable will be voice-activated and that it recognizes human emotions.

The gadget is said to be the brainchild of a collaboration between Lab126 and Alexa voice software team. Lab126 is the hardware development group that developed Amazon’s Fire phone and Echo smart speaker. The project goes by the code name, Dylan.

The wearable device is designed to work with a smartphone app and it has microphones that are connected to the internal software. Thus, it is able to decode the user’s emotional state from the pitch or sound of his or her voice, the documents and a source familiar with the program revealed. The document also shows that the technology will eventually be able to advise the wearer how to interact more effectively with other persons.

The project is similar to a patent filing which Amazon made in 2017 for a system where voice software uses analysis of vocal patterns to determine how a user is feeling, discerning among “joy, anger, sorrow, sadness, fear, disgust, boredom, stress, or other emotional states.” The patent was only made public last year and its description hints at the possibility of Amazon using knowledge of a user’s emotions to recommend products or to determine responses. A sketch accompanying the patent filing explains that the technology can detect an abnormal emotional condition. The sketch shows a woman telling Alexa she’s hungry, between a cough and sniffling afterwards. The digital assistant, picking up that she has a cold, asks the woman if she would like a recipe for chicken soup. A second patent granted Amazon is of a system that uses techniques to distinguish the wearer’s speech from background noises. This patent will also be integrated on the wearable.

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We don’t know the stage the project currently is or if there are plans for it to ever go commercial. We expect Amazon to include it on its first-ever wearable device which should be in the works. We must state, though, that Amazon gives its various teams the free hand to experiment with products, some of which will never come to market. However, work is said to be ongoing on this one and beta testing is presently ongoing, according to a source familiar with the matter.

(source)

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The Amazfit Verge is a fitness smartwatch made by Huami, the brand behind Xiaomi‘s Mi Band series. The smartwatch which was first released last year in China is also sold in the US.

The watch has support for voice AI assistant – Xiaomi XiaoAI on the Chinese version. However, the US version has now gained support for Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

Owners of the Verge will be able to call up Alexa to ask it questions, get news briefings and weather updates, and set reminders just from their wrist. You can also link it with your calendar (Google, Apple. Microsoft) and ask it for your schedule. It also supports translation to several languages.

The feature was announced back in December when the phone launched in North America but has just been made available.

Huami also says the Amazfit Verge now supports calls on iOS (the US only). So if you have an iPhone and have been waiting for the feature, you should go right ahead and update the watch using the Amazfit Watch app. There is also a Find Watch feature for iOS and new watch faces.

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The Amazfit Verge has a 1.3-inch AMOLED display. It can track 11 different activities including skiing, cycling, and soccer. It has GPS built-in and an optical heart rate sensor. The watch is priced at $159.99 and comes in three color variants. You can read our review of the watch (Chinese version) here.

(Via)

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Earlier this year in January, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Hisense announced its lineup of smart Android TVs — HiSense H9E Plus 4k TVs, along with a number of other Hisense TVs including H10E TV, H6E-series, and the H8E-series.

Now, the company has announced that the H9E Plus 4K TVs are now available to purchase in the United States directly from the company’s website, as well as from Walmart and Best Buy. Hisense has revealed that two models are currently available for purchase.

One of the two models is the 55-inch model (55H9100E Plus), which is the more affordable option as it carries a price tag of $699.99 MSRP price, while on the other hand, the larger 65-inch model (65H9100E Plus) comes with a price tag of $1,199.99.

As said, these 4K-enabled TV sets come loaded with Android TV as the main interface and also features Google Assistant. This enables users to take advantage of Google TV to browse content and control using Google Assistant. It also syncs seamlessly with Google Home while helping users personalize their entertainment with a huge suite of compatible apps.

Further, it comes with Hisense TV exclusive built-in 2018 FIFA World Cup Edition app which offers five live 4K HDR video feeds, highlights from 32 potential camera angles, on-demand match replays and FOX’s gripping documentary series “Phenoms,” which chronicles the journey of soccer’s biggest rising stars.

Besides 4K and smart features, the H9E Plus line features Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 support (which varies depending on model), along with Motion Rate 240, UHD upscaling, and sound tuned by Harman Kardon, depending on the model.

Read More: Hisense HLTE310M Seen On TENAA: Sports Dual Cameras and A Notch

In terms of design, the TV comes with a bezel-less design and for connectivity, it has four HDMI ports, two USB ports, and Bluetooth audio out. For those who aren’t happy with the Google Assistant smart home ecosystem, both H9E models are also said to support Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant as well.

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At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, China-based Coolpad Group, a mobile manufacturer, has announced that select phones of the company will now receive the Amazon Alexa voice service in India.

The company has announced that the Coolpad Cool Play 6, Note 5, and Note 5 Lite will get Amazon Alexa through an over-the-air (OTA) update, while the future Coolpad devices will include this feature out-of-the-box.

With this Amazon Alexa integration, users of Coolpad’s devices will be able to perform certain tasks such as play their favorite music tracks or shop from Amazon.in using voice commands. They will also be able to access information about weather, calendar, and to-do lists, or listen to the latest news briefings directly using the Alexa app.

Notably, the similar Alexa integration is already available in the United States. However, Coolpad has become the first Amazon Exclusive smartphone brand in India to natively offer Alexa on its devices. Commenting on this development, Syed Tajuddin, CEO of Coolpad India, said in a statement:

We are working to immerse more AI and tech into smartphones to make the experience more intelligent, friendly, and beneficial for the customers. Incorporating Alexa in Coolpad smartphones is one such step in that direction.

Recently, Amazon Alexa app introduced voice command support to Android devices in several markets, including the US, UK, Germany, and Austria. While the introduction of this new feature brought voice commands, it didn’t include support for “Alexa” hotword functionality.

Read More: Coolpad Cool Play 6 Officially Launched in India For INR 14,999 (~$234)

The latest offering from Coolpad in India is the Cool Play 6 which was launched last year. It comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD display and a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 653 processor with 6GB RAM and 64GB of storage space. It packs a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front-facing snapper. The phone comes with Coolpad’s Journey UI based on Android Nougat operating system out-of-the-box and is powered by a 4,060mAh non-removable battery.

For More MWC 2018 Coverage, Click Here!

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Hisense announced a bunch of smart TVs at the on-going CES in Las Vegas. Two of them, the Hisense H10E and Hisense H9E Plus, are its top models for the year and they both come with Google Assistant.

Hisense had earlier revealed that some of its smart TVs for 2018 will have Amazon’s Alexa built-in. So it was a surprise when it unveiled its top end models and they were shown to also have Google Assistant support. The remote of the two models also have a dedicated button for Google Assistant unlike Alexa.

The Hisense H10E is the most premium model with a 75” screen. It is the successor to 2017’s H10D model and brings a number of upgrades. The screen is brighter at 2200 nits compared to last year’s model with 1000 nits. Hisense’ custom OS has also been replaced with Android TV. It also has Dolby Vision HDR.

The Hisense H9E Plus comes in 55” and 65” sizes. It has Android TV, Dolby Vision, and also comes with both AI assistants.

Hisense has not announced the prices and release date of both models.

Apart from those two, there is the Hisense H9E, H8E, and H6E models too. The H9E and H8E both have Amazon Alexa but run Hisense’s custom OS. The H6E on the other hand lacks support for any assistant. Price and release dates have also not been announced for all three.

READ MORE: Hisense P9 Rugged Phone With 6000mAh Battery, AMOLED Display & Dual Rear Cameras Seen On TENAA

This year, Amazon and Google’s assistants will power more devices. We have seen them on TVs and smart locks at CES; we expect them to come with more speakers, earphones, and a bunch of other household appliances before the end of the year.

(Via)

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Vuzix, a U.S.-based supplier of wearable display technology, VR and AR will be announcing a pair of AR smartglasses that will be featuring Alexa assistant by Amazon. It will be unveiled  at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 and it is expected to be available for buying by the second quarter of this year.

Vuzix’s upcoming smartglasses featuring Alexa will make it possible for the users to ask questions to the virtual assistant and view the answers on its field of view. Hence, its users will be able to view updates like stock prices and weather data seamlessly without accessing their smartphones. In order to use it, a wearer needs to have an account with Amazon.

The exact name of the product is not known yet. It is expected to launch with a price tag of $1,000 in Q2 2018. Paul Travers, the CEO of Vuzix has said that the pricing of the Alexa enabled smartglasses will be reduced to $500 in the next year.

Google could not find success when it attempted to commercialize Google Glass in 2012 because of its costly price tag and complicated distribution procedure. Companies who are looking to launched AR enabled smartglasses have learnt from the failure of Google Glass which indicates that we may soon see a new market for it in future.

Read More: Motorola’s New Moto Mod Is A Smart Speaker With Amazon Alexa

Apple is expected to debut its smartglasses in 2020. Analysts are of the view its popularity could be higher than the iPhone. Travers is of the view that Amazon may release its own Alexa and AR enabled smartglasses in the near future.

Since last year, Amazon has been making its Alexa assistant available on non-Amazon devices. By making its personal assistant available on numerous third-party devices will allow the retailer giant to generate good revenue since it can drive users to make purchases on Amazon.

(source)

 For more coverage from CES 2018, check out this link! 
 

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If you are a fitness enthusiast, your workout experience is about to change with the Vinci 2.0 AI sports headphones. For the first time ever, your headphones will become the only device you need when exercising. No smartphone, no fitness band needed.

The Vinci 2.0 AI sports headphones is a combination of all the devices you need for that perfect workout experience. The headphones has a SIM slot (3G only), Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity allowing you receive calls, connect to the internet, and stream music from services like Spotify, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, and KKBOX. That is in addition to being a fitness tracker that records your workout, providing feedback during and after your exercises.

The cool features of Vinci 2.0 doesn’t end there. With Amazon Alexa built-in (and promise of Google Assistant support in the near future), you get access to all the features of an AI powered device. From setting reminders, to asking for weather reports, listening to the news, getting directions, requesting an Uber, and so much more, the Vinci 2.0 has got you covered. All you have to say is “Hello Vinci” followed by your command. The headphones also has gesture support. By waving your hand in any of the programmed ways, you can control the volume, change songs, and pause/resume playback.

The Vinci 2.0 AI sports headphones is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core chip. It has 1GB of RAM and up to 32GB of built-in storage. There is an AKM4376 audio chip for improved audio quality. A 600mAh battery powers the device and should last up to 8 hours during standalone use or 40 hours in Bluetooth mode. Charging time is estimated as 1.5 hours.

The headphones has an accelerometer, a gyrometer, heart rate sensor, GPS, and compass built-in. With all the features it packs, the it is actually light, weighing just 86g.

The Vinci 2.0 AI sports headphones is available in 3 versions:

1. a Lite version with 8GB  of storage but which lacks an OLED display, a bone conduction mic, and smart noise cancellation.
2. a Pro version with 16GB of storage with a 1.1” OLED display but lacks the active noise cancellation and bone conduction mic.
3. a Super version with 32GB storage, OLED display, active noise cancellation with support for up to 8 different environments, and bone conduction microphone.

The Lite version will retail for $149 when it launches but can be gotten for as low as $79. The Pro version will have a $289 price tag and the Super version will go for $399. All versions will come in red, black, white, and blue.

READ MORE: The Dodocool DA143 Wireless Earphones Provides Worry-Free Listening While You Work Out

The Vinci 2.0 AI sports headphones is listed on Kickstarter. It has surpassed its $20,000 goal 3 times over but still has 59 days left. Shipping is expected to begin in March 2018.

[envira-gallery id=”158193″]

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Motorola has announced a new Moto Mod accessory for its Moto Z series of smartphones — Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa. Moto Mod is a hardware add-on that can be used to enhance phone’s functionalities.

As the name itself suggests, the snap-to-connect mod accessory features its own dedicated speaker. It also has that blue illumination ring that we saw on Amazon Echo or Echo Dot.

The speaker comes with four mics, ensuring that it picks up the voice in relatively noisy environments. It delivers across-the-room sound in a way that a smartphone can’t by itself.

Powered by Amazon Alexa, it allows users to trigger the smart assistant with voice and can be used to play music, get news, ask questions, pull up to-do lists, provide weather forecast, and more. It comes with same features that Amazon’s Echo smart speaker has.

This new accessory from Motorola comes with a built-in battery, which as per the company, can last for around 15 hours on single charge.

Read More: Android 8.0 Oreo Update for 12 Motorola Smartphones Confirmed

While this newly announced Mod boosts one feature on the phone — speaker, it blocks another feature — camera. It is designed in such a way that it completely hides the rear camera on the phone.

The Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa will be available for $149.99 from November in markets where Amazon Alexa is available.

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Apple launched the new Apple TV 4K at its event two days ago. The new TV box brings 4K HDR content to your home and will be arriving next week. However, it seems Amazon is also planning to release new Fire TV devices as images and specs have leaked.

The image shows a square-shaped Chromecast-like device with a HDMI cable attached to its body and a new remote-controlled cube-shaped Fire TV box with a top similar to an Amazon Echo Dot.

The Chromecast-like device is said to be a mid-range TV stick that will support 4K HDR video. It will have a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.5GHz with a Mali-450MP GPU. There will be 2GB of RAM and 8GB of built-in storage.

The box will be in the flagship category and will double as a streaming device as well as an Echo device. The top has a similar layout to the Echo Dot with a bunch of far-field microphones to pick up instructions. It also comes with a remote identical to what is currently available with Fire TVs.

The cube is expected to have ports for ethernet and storage expansion at the back. Specification details are also not available but it should pack more processing power than the other one.

READ MORE: Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana Become Buddies United Against Google Assistant

The mid-range Fire TV is expected to sell for between $60 to $80 when it launches while the cube may get a price higher than $100.

(Source, via)

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When Amazon released the Amazon Echo back in 2015, everyone was blown away. The speaker with a built-in smart assistant called Alexa performed a variety of functions. You could ask it questions, order items from Amazon’s website, set alarms and even control your other smart electronics with it. Other companies such as Google seeing how successful the Echo is launched their own version called Google Home with Google’s Assistant baked in.

But what if you do not want to buy Google’s Home and you don’t like Amazon’s Echo because it’s only available in black and white? Lenovo has got you covered. The PC manufacturer just launched its own smart home speaker before CES 2017, called the Lenovo Smart Assistant which comes in very cool colors and the best thing about it is that it has Amazon’s Alexa built-in.

Lenovo Smart Assistant Design

Lenovo’s Smart Assistant can be said to be a cross between the Echo and Google Home. The top half looks like an Echo and the lower half like the Google Home’s replaceable base. The top has just a single button but has a circular speaker grille similar to that of the Echo, although just one set of holes in the Lenovo.

The top part has a ‘floating design” from the rest of the body and has an aluminium frame around it. Just below it is the remaining part of the first half that has Lenovo’s branding hanging like a banner outside a castle. The lower half is the part that looks like the Google Home with its fabric design which we believe is covering the speaker(s). While the Google Home has a removable base, the Lenovo Smart Assistant isn’t and you are stuck with whatever color you purchase.

The underside of the speaker has a cut-out groove for the power cord and a reset button that can be activated using a sim ejector tool or office pin.

RELATED: Lenovo has just unveiled the stylus-equipped Microsoft Surface Killer

Lenovo Smart Assistant Features

The Lenovo Smart Assistant equipped with eight 360° far-field microphones with noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation is designed to pick up users’ voice commands from up to 5 meters away. Lenovo says there is a special Harman Kardon Edition of the Smart Assistant for those who want premium audio quality when streaming music.

The Smart Assistant not only answers questions and takes commands but can also be used to control other Lenovo smart home devices as well as a number of existing 3rd part products.

Lenovo Smart Assistant Pricing and Availability

The Lenovo Smart Assistant will be available in May 2017 for $129.99 in White with either a Light Gray, Green, or Orange base and Black for $179.99 if you want the Harman Kardon Edition.

Note that our CES coverage can be read at CES 2017 Hub

(Sources: 1 and 2)

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