Here It Goes Again
Amazon unveils new devices; Voice of Mobile Apps set for Wednesday at noon Eastern / 9 AM Pacific
After a hiatus from This Week In Voice VIP, and the launch of Season 6 of the This Week In Voice podcast (starting this Thursday with Cerence CEO Sanjay Dhawan), it’s going to be a fun next few months of voice/AI stories, commentary, and analysis.
Had to go and start a $20M VC fund investing in voice/AI companies.
Back now, and reporting for duty.
Amazon announced new devices today as part of their now-annual product event.
CNBC has a nice write-up here.
These events, which started back in 2018, demonstrate Amazon’s rather unique and highly commendable willingness to experiment.
They also show Amazon’s commitment to failing fast - they don’t let devices flounder for long. Sink, or swim.
Anyone remember Echo Input? Released back in 2018?
Don’t lie.
I see you about to go Google it. Don’t bother.
Amazon announced an Alexa-enabled robot today, which dominated chatter on social media, and they also announced a high-profile partnership with Disney. They also released a projector-based game thing that, at $249, priced itself out of conversation.
But along came today’s hero: a new, larger version of the Echo Show.
Voice-enabled smart displays have carved out an important, valuable niche for themselves in the kitchen. However, they’re small. A bigger display is likely to unlock new use cases and spur families and households to upgrade.
The Echo Show 15 is a product we’ll still be talking about two years from now. These other things they announced today: maybe so, maybe not.
Amazon’s Jeff Blankenburg will have a special Tech Talk event Thursday discussing all of the new products and announcements. You can register for that here.
Wednesday at noon Eastern / 9 AM Pacific is Voice of Mobile Apps, a one-hour event highlighting three emerging companies working at the intersection of conversational AI and mobile app development.
Voicify, Keen Research, and Yobe will all provide updates on the voice-enabled mobile app landscape and it’s a great opportunity to get to know them better, over the course of a fast-moving hour.
[Voicify, by the way, is hiring a VUI Designer, Lead Front-End Developer, Senior Software Engineer, and Senior Project Manager.]
Registrants will receive audio and video of the hour-long webinar once it concludes, for watching or re-watching on demand.
Our friends at DeepZen just inked a major partnership deal with Ingram Content Group to produce AI-generated audiobooks.
Publishers are expected to be able to produce quality audiobooks in half the time, with less cost.
You can read the full press release here.
Ready to go to an in-person conference again, finally?
Have a voice/AI startup you want to pitch to top-tier VC firms looking at this technology?
Have a voice/AI solution and looking for buyers?
Or perhaps the reverse, you’re a buyer looking for the right solution, say for your call center, or maybe other parts of your operations?
Project Voice X (October 25-27, Destin / Fort Walton Beach, Florida) is calling your name.
I’ll be there, along with 400 other senior-level folks from a variety of industry verticals.
Deepgram will provide transcription of every talk, while Cyrano.ai will provide every speaker with insights and analysis of their talk.
(Deepgram is also sponsoring a movie night for the new DUNE film that will have just released.)
Use promo code EARLYBIRD to register and save $200.
We’ve done in-person events already in 2021. They’ve all been done safely.
Come join us if you’re ready to get out of the house and want to make some things happen in Q4.
If you’ll let yourself, you’ll have a great time.