Breaking up tech giants should be a measure of last resort, the European Union’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, has suggested. “To break up a company, to break up private property would be very far reaching and you would need to have a very strong case that it would produce better results for consumers in the […]
View More Don’t break up big tech — regulate data access, says EU antitrust chiefCategory: voice search
You can now ask Alexa to control your Roku devices
Roku this morning announced its devices will now be compatible with Amazon’s Alexa. Through a new Roku skill for Alexa, Roku owners will be able to control their devices in order to do things like launch a channel, play or pause a show, search for entertainment options, and more. Roku TV owners will additionally be […]
View More You can now ask Alexa to control your Roku devicesAlexa for Business opens up to third-party device makers
Last year, Amazon announced a new initiative, Alexa for Business, designed to introduce its voice assistant technology and Echo devices into a corporate setting. Today, it’s giving the platform a big upgrade by opening it up to device makers who are building their own solutions that have Alexa built in. The change came about based […]
View More Alexa for Business opens up to third-party device makersBuy tickets for concerts on TV with the new Comcast and Ticketmaster feature
Comcast and Ticketmaster are rolling out a feature to let Xfinity X1 customers search tour dates and begin the ticket buying process directly through their televisions — using voice search on their remotes. The feature’s launch coincides with the first tickets going on sale for Kelly Clarkson’s new tour. If users speak “Kelly Clarkson tour” […]
View More Buy tickets for concerts on TV with the new Comcast and Ticketmaster featureSpotify tests native voice search, groundwork for smart speakers
Now Spotify listens to you instead of the other way around. Spotify has a new voice search interface that lets you say “Play my Discover Weekly”, “Show Calvin Harris”, or “Play some upbeat pop” to pull up music. A Spotify spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that this is “Just a test for now”, as only a […]
View More Spotify tests native voice search, groundwork for smart speakersImproving search and advertising are the next frontiers for voice-activated devices
Despite millions of orders for voice enabled devices, vendors have yet to map the uncharted territory of voice enabled search and advertising. Indeed, as voice search expands — to the tune of 50 percent of all searches by 2020 (according to some estimates) — so, too, do opportunities for platforms to cash in beyond products and services. In fact, in an earnings call last year,… Read More