Amazon, Intel Partner for a Smart Speaker Reference Design With Alexa

Amazon is teaming up with Intel for a smart speaker reference design with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. The speaker will be based on what Intel calls Form Factor Reference Designs (FFRD). Essentially, FFRD is a ready-made modular board design of the board layout that can be placed into a design frame, thereby cutting down the time of development substantially.

The retail giant's collaboration with Intel will allow partners to build new devices with Alexa using Intel-based smart speaker FFRD due in the first quarter of 2017. Amazon wants to expand its voice-based digital assistant's reach, and this partnership will enable third-party developers to bring out a variety of smart home products with Alexa on board.

Amazon AVS content marketing manager Ted Karczewski announced the collaboration in a blog post, "Amazon and Intel see a tremendous opportunity to bring the benefits of a personal voice experience to millions of new consumers and are collaborating to encourage developers and device manufacturers to extend natural voice interaction to more products via Amazon Alexa."

Both Amazon and Intel are focusing on expanding their network to fully integrate into the home. For Amazon to do this, the company knows it cannot restrict Alexa to its own products like Echo - and Alexa Voice Service has been open to third-party integration since last year. Further to than end, Amazon on Thursday also announced a new product called JAM Voice.

JAM Voice is a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled portable speaker that features touch-activated integration with the Alexa Voice Service (AVS). The AVS can essentially put Alexa inside a range of smart devices.

The first FFDR will offer accelerated development of Alexa voice-enables smart speakers on Intel's architecture. It will also support Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Bluetooth to allow full connectivity in the home.

Additionally, Amazon will also release a Software Development Kit (SDK) for the reference design that will let manufactures incorporate voice and video capabilities into their products, Karczewski said.

Source: Amazon

Amazon Music Unlimited Launched; Takes on Apple Music and Spotify

Amazon has launched a full-fledged music streaming service with subscription plans as low as $3.99 (roughly Rs. 260) per month for owners of its Amazon Echo speaker, accelerating the industry trend towards more flexible pricing after years of sticking to $9.99 (roughly Rs. 660) subscriptions.

The new streaming service, called "Amazon Music Unlimited," lets users access a vast catalog of songs on demand, similar to Spotify and Apple Music. Subscriptions to play music on the Echo cost $3.99 per month; for access beyond that device, subscriptions cost $7.99 (roughly Rs. 530) a month for members of Amazon's Prime shipping and video service and $9.99 for non-members. Amazon will continue to offer Prime members a limited streaming service for free.

As part of the launch, Amazon redesigned its Music app for iOS, Android, desktop and Fire products completely. Keep in mind the most important part of Music Unlimited is the integration with Alexa and Echo devices. For example, you may soon just say things like, "Alexa, play the song of the day?" or "Alexa, play Greenday's latest album?"

What's more, Director of Amazon Music Ryan Redington says Alexa is capable of playing tracks based on your mood, as well as tell you who sings a song even if you only know part of the lyrics. Redington claims Alexa will keep getting better with time too, as it learns more about your listening habits through Amazon Music Unlimited.

Currently, Music Unlimited is only available for US customers, but the company says it "will continue to expand and enhance" the service. For starters, it's expected to launch in the UK, Germany and Austria later this year, though no clear timeline was announced by Amazon. A family plan will also be available soon, which will allow up to six people to stream music simultaneously for $15 monthly.

According to Redington, the long-rumored service is part of Amazon's business strategy since the launch of Prime Music in 2014. Still, it isn't until this year that his team actually went all in on the idea, with the goal being to develop a "fun and engaging" product. And with Alexa and Echo in people's homes now, he says, it felt like the right time to introduce Music Unlimited. Sounds Good, right? But we'll see if listeners are willing to give it a chance in the crowded music-streaming space.

Do Subscribe on YouTube!
Follow Me on Twitter>>> @iamBhavish
And like us on Facebook>>> The Gud1