When Amazon upended the publishing industry with the advent of the Kindle, it also paved the way for an approach to luring consumers into a larger sphere of influence, a strategy that is now being successfully adapted for the new age of smart speakers and digital assistants. Both the Kindle and the Echo provide consumers with valuable services, encouraging them to shop and receive content within Amazon's ecosystem. Most of the experiences of its Kindle and Echo hardware also come in the form of apps or services that appear on other manufacturers' devices without additional charge to the consumer, making that connection even stronger.
Read MoreWeekend poll: Do you use a voice assistant like Bixby, Alexa, or Google Assistant?
With CES about to swing into gear, and Google apparently gearing up for a personal assistant blitz at the event, we've been thinking pretty hard about how Google Assistant has integrated itself into our lives.
Ignoring a few small hardware snafus, Google's solution has become an indispensable tool for many of us. But, it isn't the only personal assistant game in town. Samsung's Bixby has a following of its own, and Apple's Siri is built into MacBooks and iOS devices. There's also always Amazon's Alexa elephant in the room. So, we're curious, which one do you prefer?
Read More[Deal Alert] Get $25 to $100 off Sonos speakers, including the new One voice-controlled model
Cracks fingers. Alright, here we go again, another deal, another post. You can do it, Rita.
Look, I know most of you are just about done with Black Friday, but we do what we do because there are always a few persons who are interested in this deal, as opposed to that deal which others found more appealing. We're here for all. But it's tough to make these posts interesting, especially when the discount is relatively so tiny. Then I remember that Sonos nearly never discounts anything and when it does, it's just as abysmal as the deals today, so here goes...
Read More[Hairy Buttholes] South Park takes on Google Home, Alexa, and Siri in its season opener
What do you get when you mix South Park's brand of seething humor, Cartman's childish behavior, and a slew of Google Homes and Amazon Echos? An episode full of big hairy balls and smelly tampon boogers being added to shopping lists, Simon says sentences about stinky poops, many more over the top juvenile jokes, all mixed with some social commentary on the loss of jobs due to automated assistants.
Read More[Fun Skit] Alexa and Siri battle it off in Ellen Sketch, leave Google Home victorious
If your Friday morning is groggy and you're impatient to get to the weekend, I have one fun little video for you to watch. Ellen DeGeneres recently took on personal assistants in her show with a brief sketch that mostly joshes on their names. These assistants are still quite dumb right now, but look at what happens when they grow personalities of their own, get possessive, and start fighting for your attention:
Read MoreFunny video: 8 accents are tested on Google Home, Alexa, and Siri with 4 different questions
Google's speech recognition error rate is getting lower and lower - yesterday, the company said it's now under 5% and has dropped from 8.5% this time last year. And I find that to be more and more the case in my own use: Google seems to recognize almost everything I throw at it now, even when I add Lebanese/Arabic names from my contacts list that I wouldn't expect it to get right.
But if you're wondering how Google's speech recognition fares in comparison to other voice assistants, Wired has made a video in conjunction with Andy Wood and Matt Kirshen (from Probably Science) to show you just that.
Read MoreJBL updates its latest generation of speakers with Google Now voice integration
JBL makes some killer portable speakers and I'm a big fan of its affordable, stylish, and stellar sounding product lineup. This morning, JBL announced that its latest generation of products is getting even a little better. As of today, JBL's current gen speakers will support Google Now voice integration.
The Flip 3, Charge 3, Xtreme, and Pulse 2 are all compatible with the new update (sorry Clip 2 owners, no support for you). To add the feature, all you need to do is download or update the JBL Connect app on your Android device. Once updated, simply long press the play/pause button on your speaker, wait for the ping, and then state your command.
Read More
Yahoo To Reportedly Take On Google Now, Siri, And Cortana With Its Own Personal Assistant, Code-Named Index
Search engines are been there, done that these days. To really compete, you need your own voice assistant that can do the searching for us, then regurgitate this information using a friendly voice. Business Insider reports that, in a conference call to report Yahoo's first quarter earnings on Tuesday, CEO Marissa Mayer mentioned her company's plans to take on personal assistants such as Google Now, Apple's Siri, and Microsoft's Cortana. The site claims that the project is currently code-named Index.
On the call, Mayer said:
Read More"Those products are really heavily differentiated both from each other as well as from the historic legacy products, and so that's really where we see an opportunity to play in something that's mobile.
The Best Of AP
Nuance Releases Dragon Mobile Assistant, Asks, 'What Google Voice Actions?'
For years Nuance's Dragon served as a leader in the world of voice dictation and commands. More recently, though, as Google and Apple move in on the speech control world, the company has a more pressing need than ever to distinguish itself. Enter Dragon Mobile Assistant. This app aims to "expands the natural language understanding and artificial intelligence" of Dragon Go! and "[add] the most popular personal assistant features."
At this point, most of our readers are probably aware of how voice assistants work. This one isn't much different from the usual fare. You can speak commands to set up appointments, make calls, send texts, and perform searches.
Read More
[Hands-On] Maluuba Is A Google Now Replacement You Might Actually Want To Use
I make no bones of the fact that I find 3rd party voice assistants to be increasingly redundant, especially with the arrival of Google Now on Jelly Bean.
But Google Now doesn't do certain things. One of those things has annoyed me since the early days of Google's Voice Actions: you can't make calendar events through voice input. And as a person that absolute despises digital calendars, this is something of a "must have" feature. Creating a calendar event in an app, to me, is like having a root canal - in that I wish I could be unconscious for the entire experience.
Read MoreLatest Deals
-
2
Monday deals: Savings on Arlo Pro bundles, smart air conditioner controllers, Bluetooth audio, and more
-
2
39 temporarily free and 46 on-sale apps and games to start the week
-
11
[Update: B&H, too] Get a 64GB/4GB Moto G6 from Amazon for $200 ($120 off)
-
36
[Update: It's back] Samsung's Gear S3 Frontier is now $200 on Amazon
-
14
Bose QuietComfort 35 II noise-cancelling headphones with Assistant just $258 at Rakuten with coupon ($46 off)
-
2
Latest Poll
Loading ...Recent Reviews
-
26
Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 is the best solution for European-style locks
-
80
The Sony Xperia 10 is really long and really boring
-
106
The Nokia 9 PureView is a good phone ruined by serious problems
-
157
Galaxy S10e review: The best Android phone for the money - and for most people
-
22
My home never smelled nicer, but Moodo is still a luxury smart fragrance diffuser
-
26
Latest Roundups
-
1
22 best new Android games released this week including NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits, Golf Peaks, and R.B.I. Baseball 19
-
12
18 new and notable Android apps from the last two weeks including Daywise, Hidey Hole, and Dota Pro Circuit (3/9/19 - 3/23/19)
-
4
[Bonus Round] Golf Peaks, Yume Nikki, Shieldwall Chronicles: Swords of the North, R.B.I. Baseball 19, Adrestia - Magic Battles, and Emoji Mine
-
9
22 best new Android games released this week including Stardew Valley, Returner Zhero - Final Cut, and Where's Om Nom?
-
14
40 new and notable Wear OS apps and watch faces from the last 6 months (9/13/18 - 3/16/19)
-
1
Recent Apps and Games
-
1
Manage all your Android data from your computer with AnyTrans for Android [Sponsored Post]
-
13
Google Maps city, state, and country borders are back again on Android
-
2
39 temporarily free and 46 on-sale apps and games to start the week
-
7
Substratum Lite will offer essential theming features in a smaller package
-
8
Sony camera app renamed Imaging Edge Mobile, new Transfer & Tagging utility launched
-
1
Blast from the Past
-
145
1 Year Ago Today
Google is starting to block GApps on 'uncertified' devices, but you can register an exemption for ROMs
-
70
2 Years Ago Today
All the Android O features we've found so far [Continuously Updated]
-
22
3 Years Ago Today
Google's Nik Collection For Professional Photographers Is Now Free To Download On OS X And Windows
-
1806
4 Years Ago Today
[Update: Invites Open Again] WhatsApp Calling Goes Live For Everyone, Provided You Have A Recent App Version And Get "Invited" By Receiving A Call
-
66
5 Years Ago Today
LastPass Updated To Version 3.2 With Automatic Password Entry For Apps And Chrome Browser
-
2
6 Years Ago Today
AT&T U-verse Customers Can Now Stream Live Video With The WatchESPN App
-
30
7 Years Ago Today
Ice Cream Sandwich Leaks For AT&T's GSII Skyrocket, Here's The Download
-
0
8 Years Ago Today
AT&T Confirms That The Atrix And The Inspire Will Receive HSUPA-Enabling Updates In April
-
5
9 Years Ago Today
Android Market Hits Another Milestone - Now Serving 40,000 Applications
-
145
