Google to Deliver Assistant with a Screen

Google is bringing forward a speaker with a display capability to compete with Echo Show.    Google has the advantage of having the huge content supply called Youtube, while Amazon only have much lesser content to display without access to Youtube.    Have had a test Echo Show in place for some time,  and we have found the visual display to be largely useful in support, rather than as the key interface.  Like best the voice/sound/device interaction in both directions.  Note too the Asian competitors.  Good detail in article below:

Google to debut display-equipped AI speaker before holidays  In Asia Nikkei
Taiwan suppliers told to prepare for hardware blitz to challenge Amazon
CHENG TING-FANG and LAULY LI, Nikkei staff writers

TAIPEI -- Google is preparing to release a smart speaker equipped with a display for this year's holiday season, sources have told the Nikkei Asian Review, escalating the competition with rivals like Amazon.com and Alibaba Group Holding in the market for voice-activated gadgets.

The new product, which is likely to be similar to the Amazon Echo Show, would round out the Google Home range of smart speakers running the artificially intelligent Google Assistant, akin to Amazon's Alexa..... " 

Smart Displays beyond Voice?

Now emerging, the 'Smart Display', which takes voice interaction to a new place, which is why amazon is calling it voice-first on their Show and Spot assistants.  Now Google is planning to introduce this year 'smart displays' to be attached to their Google Home Assistants.    But are these tablets,  touch screens, or simpler PCs that may pop up a keyboard?   And how will you best navigate, if at all,  beyond voice?  Been noting that issue on the Amazon Show.   Voice is limiting for navigation, so Show adds touch, Can gesture or brain-wave take over?

FastCompany Discusses:
Google Hasn’t Cracked The Smart Display’s Complexity Problem
Navigation remains a challenge for the onscreen versions of Google Assistant and Alexa. But it’s tough to solve without turning a simple device into a PC. .... "

Youtube Works on Show

I had noticed a couple of days ago that Google is now again allowing access of Youtube on the Amazon Show.   So the below article starts out being wrong.  That particular feud is over.  But it would make sense to do this,  if only to control the form of the content involved.   If it can attract the wealth of content.

Amazon may be planning a YouTube rival
Its feud with Google could get uglier with the arrival of "Amazontube."
By Saqib Shah, @eightiethmnt

In the midst of Google's YouTube blockade on the Echo Show, Amazon could be mulling its own video platform. Google announced it was removing its app from the e-retail giant's touchscreen-packing Echo earlier this month, with plans to extend the ban to the Fire TV on January 1st. That same day, Amazon filed two trademarks requests with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for something dubbed "Amazontube," and another called "Opentube," as spotted by TV Answer Man.

Beyond their names, the two bear more than a passing resemblance to Google's video powerhouse. In its filings, Amazon describes Amazontube or Opentube as providers of "non-downloadable pre-recorded audio, visual and audiovisual works via wireless networks."    .... " 

Google Takes Youtube Off Echo Show

I have verified this has happened.  Have been involved in sketching out an application using the Echo Show.  With an option of using the Youtube content on the device.   Will this  ultimately be solved?  Not giving access to a usually freely accessible Web based service is a dangerous precedent.  It had been allowed for a few months, then pulled off again.     Should be noted too that Google has plans to create a similar, competitive device.    Comments on the site below are interesting.

Google is pulling YouTube off the Fire TV and Echo Show as feud with Amazon grows   New Nest devices have mysteriously disappeared from Amazon     by Ben Popper in Engadget  .... " 

Capital One Rethinking Banking: Multimodal Skills

A useful example of multimodal assistance development. Voice plus visual.   Following with another example of skill in this space.

Session recording now available! How Capital One Rethought Multimodal Voice Experiences and Brought Banking to the Kitchen with Echo Show (and the Echo Spot)   #AmazonEcho #Alexadev #IoT #VoiceDesign #AWS #reinvent2017    By Dave Isbitski  @theDavedev

(Update) YouTube Back on Amazon Show

A surprise to me,  interesting details in the article.  Will be taking a look on our smart home Amazon Show.

YouTube is back on Amazon’s Echo Show
Along with added support for Vimeo and Dailymotion

by Chaim Gartenberg @cgartenberg on TheVerge

YouTube has returned to the Amazon Echo Show nearly two months after a Google and Amazon dispute saw the internet search giant pull support for its popular video service from Amazon’s hardware, according to a report from VoiceBot.ai.

Along with the return of YouTube, Amazon is also expanding video services on the Echo Show as well, with the company launching support forVimeo and Dailymotion. In a statement to The Verge, an Amazon spokesperson commented that “We’re excited to offer customers the capability to watch even more video content from sources such as Vimeo, YouTube, and Dailymotion on Echo Show. More video sources will be added over time.  .... " 

(Update)  There were early reports that the YouTube screen would only display in a 'ugly web wrapper'.  But to address this the wrapper can be removed using the voice command:  'Alexa Zoom In'.   Have not yet tried Vimeo and Dailymotion ....

Show does need more skills that utilize images and video ...

Amazon Show vs Google YouTube

Brought to my attention weeks ago.  Just because they are in competition with assistants?  Or is it some technical aspect of how marketing value is shared in Youtube videos.  We need to know that channels, especially new ones, are stable.    Below look is thoughtful.   Including comments.  Supposedly being negotiated now,  will be following that.

Google pulls YouTube off the Amazon Echo Show
Goodbye, cooking lessons and music videos    by Dieter Bohn    ....  "

Marketing Skills for the Amazon Show

Key will be how new skills integrate with the capabilities of the device, and innovations of marketing, looking forward to see the possibilities.    Lots of video content out there,  but how will this be different from

Marketers find a new video platform: Amazon Echo Show
By Ilyse Liffreing in DigiDay

The Digiday Content Marketing Summit is coming up next month in Vail, Colorado, and we’re opening up a limited number of complimentary passes for content marketers from brands. Interested? Apply here.

When Amazon’s Echo Show officially launched on June 28, publishers rapidly announced video-optimized skills for the device, while Amazon only partnered with a handful of brands to do the same. Reviewers swiftly critiqued the device for not having enough visual skills.

But it seems the fever is building for the $230 audio and video device. More brands are now optimizing their Amazon skills for the new Echo Show.  .... " 

Adding Intelligence to Ad Delivery

Interesting that the 'Show' version of Alexa, with a screen,  is attracting advertisers.  Consider that this can add intelligence for the consumer with the delivery of adds.   Images are likely expected. Video in particular.   Here am talking about the process that the consumer might need to use the product.   Food recipes are an obvious example.   DIY products and services as well.   Via specifically designed skills to support the message.   A form of engagement with value exchange.   Others?

Scripps, Time Inc. Among Media Companies Starting Shows on Amazon's New Echo  By Garett Sloane in Adage

Streaming video services are sometimes called "over the top" because they skip over the cable box to reach consumers. Now publishers are going over the counter top with original programs for the new Amazon Echo that comes with a screen.

On Wednesday, Scripps Networks Interactive' Food Network and Time Inc.'s People introduced apps for the device, called the Amazon Echo Show.  .... " 

Closer Look at Amazon Echo Show

A closer review of the Amazon Echo Show, essentially a full Amazon Echo with a screen added.    As skills are built for it,  should add a visual dimension to assistance.  Google Home has this already through 'casting', but I have yet to see it well used.  Of course adding a visual element adds value to the sometimes awkward voice interface, which is great for hand-free interactions,  but thinner bandwidth creates limitations for description,  requiring the need to change channels.     The longer term outcome for general interfaces will be interesting.  Will these be specialist or replace the keyboard and screen?

In Engadget: 
Amazon Echo Show review: Seeing is believing
The virtual assistant Alexa has a 'face' for the first time.  ... "

Another look in Digital Trends. .... "

Amazon Show Adds a Screen

Includes video calling capabilities.  And adding the ability to provide image data beyond what is in the Alexa App.   Note the point made about the speed of delivery made by Andrew Ng.

Amazon’s Touch-Screen Smart Speaker Solves a Big Problem with AI Assistants
And it also reasserts the company’s dominant position in that sector.  by Jamie Condliffe  In Technology Review:

Amazon has added a screen to the latest iteration of its Echo smart speaker—a move that acknowledges some of the limitations of voice-only smart devices and will allow users to discover content more easily.

The new $230 Echo Show is far larger than the smaller speakers that have gone before it, because it features a seven-inch touch screen positioned above its speaker panel. The concept is pretty simple: the voice assistant Alexa will now show you how it’s responding to questions, rather than just telling. That means it will, say, show you the weather forecasts for the coming week, display a recipe, or offer up related music suggestions.

It solves a problem that others have already pointed out. Earlier this year, Andrew Ng, who was then chief scientist at Baidu, explained to MIT Technology Review that while speech input is three times quicker than typing on mobile devices, “the fastest way for a machine to get information to you is via a screen.” By displaying search results, for instance, Alexa will be able to impart information to a user far faster, rather than reading long lists out loud or simply not providing the information at all. ... "