AiC Episode 95

In this episode, Teri will talk about all of the incredible announcements that Amazon made at its recent event last week.

Enjoy!

For the last couple of years, Amazon has had a big event where they announce all their new products, and this year was no different. They launched a number of new services for Alexa, and also launched a huge number of new products. Some of the products are available for pre-order in Canada while others are only available in the US.

The Different Features Coming Online

  • Multilingual mode: This was a much anticipated feature in Canada, and it allows Alexa to be able to speak both English and French at the same time. Canada is one of the first countries that this feature is coming to. Canadians will be able to talk to their Echo devices in English or French.
  • The Neural Text-to-Speech Module: It uses machine learning to help Alexa to be more expressive and to learn voices from voice recordings of celebrities. For example, Amazon just announced that the voice of Samuel L. Jackson will be one of the voices that you can choose for Alexa.
  • Alexa coming to GM: 2018 and newer Cadillacs, Chevys, Buicks, and GMC vehicles will have Alexa on board.
  • Scan to Cook: This is an upgrade for the Echo Show which lets a user scan a barcode and then have their new Amazon smart oven (one of the recently announced products) prepare the item correctly.
  • Certified for Humans: This is a new program that is going to highlight smart home products that are very easy to set up.
  • Alexa Guard: This is a feature that listens for breaking glass and acts as a home security system. It’s also going to be able to listen for human activity like footsteps, coughing, talking, etc. It’s only available in the US. There is also a routine aspect to Alexa Guard that is going to be available.

The Services

  • People will now be able to say things like, “Alexa, tell me what you heard?” or “Alexa, why did you do that?”
  • If Alexa says or triggers something and you’re not sure why it happened, you will be able to go back and ask Alexa why, so you can clarify what is going on with your system.
  • Alexa will be able to answer your doorbell when you’re not home through Ring. Alexa will say things like, “Hi, this is Alexa. Is this a delivery?” or “Hi, this is Alexa. How can I help you?”
  • Photo Sharing: You’re going to be able to share photos between Echo devices and the Alexa app, and you can react to those photos with emojis.
  • Alexa Connections: These are reminders to drop in or find mutually available drop in contacts.
  • The Alexa Powered Food Network Kitchen Service: This will provide cooking classes on a user’s Echo Show so they can learn how to cook.
  • Amazon Sidewalk: It’s a wireless protocol that can allow the geographical area of a user’s smart home devices to be expanded out into a user’s mail box, the lights in their yard, and so on.

Amazon Alexa Launch Event 2019 Recap

The New Products

  • The Ring Fetch: This is a little tag that goes on a dog and tells the dog’s owner when the dog leaves a geo-fenced area. It’s going to be launched in 2020.
  • The new Echo has upgraded speakers and is going for $129.99. If a person buys two of them, they will save $40 at the checkout.
  • The Echo Dot is now available as the Echo Dot with clock. It looks like the regular Echo Dot, but for $10 more, one can get it with an LCD time that shows through the fabric around the Echo Dot. The Echo Dot is priced at $69.99 while the Echo Dot with clock is $79.99. If one buys two, they can save $25.
  • The Echo Studio: It’s a brand new product and is a high fidelity audio speaker with Alexa built in. It has five speakers, a subwoofer in the bottom, a one inch tweeter, three two inch mid-range speakers, and is about the size of a water melon. It has Alexa built in. The price is $259.99.
  • The new size Echo Show 8: This Echo Show has an 8-inch screen and is priced at $169.99, and if one buys two, they can save $65. It has better speakers than the Echo Show 5, has a bigger screen, and also has the camera shutter that is on the Echo Show 5.
  • The Echo Flex: It’s the least expensive way of adding Alexa to a location in a home. It’s a square box that has a two-prong plug on it that is plugged directly into an outlet. It has a speaker and microphone, and goes for $35. If one buys two, they can save $15. It has a USB on the bottom for adding other hardware devices such as a motion detector, night light, etc.
  • The Echo Buds: They are the competitor to Apple Airpods. They are a set of ear phones/ear buds that have very high quality sound. They use Bose’s active noise reduction technology. They can’t completely eliminate background noise, but they can reduce it. They’ve got very high quality speakers and Alexa built in.
  • The Echo Glow: It looks like a snow globe but it’s a light with all different colors. It’s being marketed as a kid’s light.
  • The Echo Frames: These are a pair of Alexa enabled glasses. They don’t have a camera, but they have speakers, and are compatible with Alexa.
  • The Echo Loop: It’s a smart ring that is worn on the finger. They have micro speakers, micro-microphone, and a little button on it that one can activate Alexa through. One can literally hold the ring up to their ear, hear what Alexa is saying, talk to the ring, and make phone calls through it. It’s priced at $129.99.
  • The new Eero Mesh WiFi Router: It’s the next generation of the Eero router, and it allows users to shut off, pause, or turn on their WiFi through voice.

Thanks to our Sponsor:

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VOCALiD is a breakthrough Voice AI solution company that combines state-of-the-art speech synthesis technology with advanced audio processing to create custom designed voices. Amplify and extend the reach of your messaging by augmenting your current voice solution with the robust always-on power of custom synthetic voice.

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