Tag Archives: voice-recognition

Amazon Fire TV and Nvidia Shield get chattier (The 3:59, Ep. 291)

The worlds of voice assistants and streaming devices are quickly colliding.  In just the past 24 hours, Amazon unveiled a new Fire TV with integration to its Alexa digital butler and the Nvidia Shield became the first TV device to get Google Assistant. For today’s episode, we invited CNET’s TV guru, David Katzmaier, to run …

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Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 might come with a Bixby

Samsung is reportedly working on Bluetooth earphones that work with Samsung’s new Bixby voice assistant. The earphones are expected to be available around the same time as the Galaxy Note 8, according to Etnews.  Since the Note 8 “phablet” — translation: part phone, part tablet — is scheduled to arrive sometime in “late August,” we likely won’t have to wait …

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Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant not coming to speakers soon

It’ll be a while before Samsung’s Bixby joins Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant on speakers. Samsung announced the Bixby voice assistant with the launch of its Galaxy S8 phone in March, but it only reached devices in the US on Tuesday after multiple delays. Samsung said the voice assistant would be available on its refrigerators, washing machines and televisions, …

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Siri and other voice assistants have a long way to go, research shows

Conversations with robots are still pretty crummy. Anyone who’s had to bark at Alexa three times to turn off the lights knows this irritation quite well. Now a new study from Adobe, released Thursday, provides some insights into how much folks use voice assistants and how much they like — and dislike — them. In all, 37 percent of people …

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Amazon Echo price cut may signal arrival of new smart speaker

Now playing: Watch this: Alexa, can anyone dethrone the Echo? 1:33 Is Amazon making room for a new Echo? The internet retailer on Sunday began offering the smart speaker for $150 in the US, a price cut of $30 from its previous price. The discount, presented as a Mother’s Day gift idea, is available on both black and white models …

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With Bixby, Samsung tries to talk its way into contention

OK Google, meet Bixby. Alexa, meet Bixby. Hey Siri — never mind, you all get the point. There’s another voice assistant on the block, this time from Samsung and coming exclusively to its new Galaxy S8 phone later this month. It does a lot of the same stuff those other digital helpers already do, only it does them worse while …

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IBM built a voice assistant for cybersecurity

In this week’s This Feels A Little Like Skynet: IBM built a new voice assistant using artificial intelligence called Hayvn, focused on cybersecurity. Think of it as Amazon Alexa, but instead of ordering soap, it’s helping you manage threats. Sure, this might sound like it’s ripped straight out of the plot for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, in which …

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DirecTV Now shows off its skinny bundles (The 3:59, Ep. 145)

DirecTV Now, AT&T’s new set of skinny-bundle channel packages, goes live Wednesday. We discuss the benefits of the new plans, including a $5 monthly HBO add-on, as well as competitors like PlayStation Vue and Sling TV. Also, we delve into rumors that Amazon is planning a new Echo-like speaker with a touchscreen, plus the latest on Cyber Monday’s record online …

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Google Assistant uses joke writers from Pixar and The Onion

Future conversations with your intelligent gadgets may be co-authored by your favorite comedy writers. It’s not too great a leap: according to a Wall Street Journal report, comedy and joke writers from Pixar movies and the Onion are already working on making Google’s upcoming Assistant AI voice service feel more loose and vibrant. The development of compelling voice AI will …

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Amazon’s Alexa finds its way into tablets. Where next?

When Amazon’s done, it may very well have shoehorned its digital assistant Alexa into your sink, your sofa and your walls. For now, Amazon will settle for connecting Alexa to as many electronic and Wi-Fi-enabled objects as it can. Amazon’s push toward Alexa dominance took another step forward Thursday, when the online retail giant added Alexa for the first time …

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