Amazon Echo Button gets a bit more useful

While first marketed as a fun accessory for playing party games, the Amazon Echo Buttons are getting some added, useful features. These can now perform Alexa routines by simply tapping a button. It’ll let you do things like turn on the lights without talking to your speaker or let guests cue music without having to remember specific commands. You can enable this feature by creating routines in the latest version of the Alexa app. To activate them, you just choose the Echo Button as a trigger and then you’re good to go.

Source: Engadget

Alexa comes to Windows 10

Amazon just launched its Alexa app on Windows 10 and it’s now available on the Microsoft Store for all Windows 10 machines. It’s important to note, though, that only compatible devices will support Alexa wake word functionality. If your device doesn’t support this, you can just hit the button within the app to speak to Alexa or use a keyboard shortcut.

Just like other Alexa apps, this will let you do things like control music playback as well as your smart home devices. But it doesn’t have PC-specific controls just yet, these are said to be coming in “early 2019.” Video, calls, Pandora, and Spotify aren’t supported within the app just yet either.

Source: The Verge 

Amazon Alexa can let you know if your favourite musicians release new music

Amazon Music and Alexa will make it easier for its subscribers to find out if their favourite musicians released new songs or albums. Amazon’s Music app is getting a New Release Notifications feature that can turn up on the mobile app or as a yellow light notification on your Amazon Echo device. If you’re in the US, you can follow an artist by saying to your Echo device, “Alexa follow ______ on Amazon Music.” Or say, “Alexa, let me know when ______ has new music.” You need to have notifications enabled to get updates. No word yet when Amazon plans to bring this feature outside the US.

Source: CNET

Anki’s Vector robot to come with Amazon Alexa integration

We’re seeing more and more toy robots out in the market and one of them is about to get smarter. Anki confirmed in a blog post from its CEO Boris Sofman that the company is working with Amazon to integrate Alexa into the new Vector robot. This Wall-E lookalike will be getting the integration in the future as Sofman say they are still in early development stages. He acknowledges that these robots can’t just be cute but need to smart enough to last for years, which he claims they plan to keep doing for the coming years. The Alexa integration is expected to arrive by the end of the year.

On top of this, though, Anki is working on things like pet detection, delivering messages, music recognition, home monitoring, and a 360-degree camera. The Anki Vector is coming to stores in the US on October 12^th for US$250. 

Source: Engadget