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‘Works with Hey Google’: A slight tonal shift for Google Assistant branding

In lieu of Google I/O 2020 (Google opted not to hold a virtual event this year), the various arms of the company that would have otherwise had announcements at the event are trying to hold virtual conferences. That continued this week with the “Hey Google” Smart Home Virtual Summit. The big news was Google bringing Home/Away triggers to Assistant Routines with ‘presence detection’, but another minor tidbit surfaced: a new “Works with Hey Google” brand we hadn’t seen yet. Let’s overanalyze this, shall we?


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Smart light switch w. built-in OLED panel is an interesting alternative to smart bulbs [Video]

One of the key decisions you need to make when adding smart lighting to a home is whether to have the smarts in the switches or the bulbs. Switches tend to be the easier option if you have non-techies in the home, while bulbs offer more flexibility.

A new smart switch system called Noon Home aims to offer the best of both worlds …


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Amazon Alexa can control Sony’s Android TVs before Google Home can

One of Google Home’s best features is the ability to throw content from Netflix and YouTube to Google Cast devices, and Amazon is finally catching up in this department. After introducing Alexa control for the Fire TV last week, Sony has revealed that users will be able to use their Amazon Alexa devices to control the company’s Android TVs, something Google Home cannot yet do.


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AT&T customers can now send SMS text messages via an Amazon Echo

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Even though Google Home has been released, it hasn’t taken much attention away from Amazon’s popular Echo devices. The Amazon Echo and Echo Dot both bring a lot to the table, in many ways more so than Google Home does at this point. Many of the Echo’s popular features are enabled by “Skills,” best described as third-party plugins. Now AT&T has released its own Alexa skill, enabling customers to send texts via an Echo.


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Alexa on the Amazon Fire TV & Fire TV Stick gains new universal search functionality

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Amazon has announced today that its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick media streaming devices will be receiving an over-the-air update that will enable a universal search that can find content on 75 different applications and channels. This means less time searching for a show and more time watching it.


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CoWatch is the Indiegogo-fueled smartwatch powered by Amazon’s Alexa

After the big splash made by smartphones and then, albeit with less of an impact, tablets, various forms of smartwatches have tried to sneak in into everyone’s digital life. As companies like Google and Apple try to extend their reach with increasingly bigger ecosystems that attempt to lock users in, the smartwatch race may prove to be an important area, despite the generally lukewarm reception consumers seem to have so far given.

Indeed, much like with chatbots, companies like Microsoft and Amazon may be interested in having a part of their services used right on your wrist, and while not directly coming from the Seattle company, it looks like Alexa may be your next wearable’s digital assistant. iMCO and Chronologics, the two companies behind the project, seem to be on track to deliver the “CoWatch” smartwatch, and have started an Indiegogo campaign that already raised over $10,000 in the first day of debut…


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Nest will soon work with Amazon Echo, but that’s not necessarily a good sign for Alphabet

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Google might just be admitting a notable defeat in its battle with Amazon, with the latter company today saying that Nest thermostats will soon work with Alexa-powered devices. According to a report from Re/code, people familiar with the matter have said that Alphabet’s Nest unit explored the idea of building an Echo-like device at some point, but eventually came to the conclusion that customers wouldn’t be able to trust such a device that was built by the search engine behemoth…


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Amazon announces Echo, a dedicated, Google Now-like speaker system for quick information

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkOCeAtKHIc]

Amazon today announced a new hardware product called Echo. It’s essentially a speaker unit dedicated to being a voice-control system. It kind of sounds like Google Now but in a speaker for a single room instead of in your Android smartphone, tablet, or watch.

You can set alarms, control music, ask about the weather, search the web, ask questions, and access local news. It streams content via Bluetooth and WiFi, and connects to the Fire Phone (if you have one), iOS via the browser, Android, and desktop computers via the web. Instead of “Okay Google,” you say “Alexa” to start speaking the device. You’ll need a Fire OS/Android device to take full advantage.

The whole concept is very futuristic, and it’s unclear how beneficial this will be to people with voice-controlled phones. But, hey, this comes from the developers of a faux-3D phone, so this is not completely out of left field. The Echo is $99 for Amazon Prime users, $199 for everyone else, and (for some reason) you need an invitation to receive the honor to buy one of these things.


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