Today we’re excited to announce that Conexant has released a generally available 4-microphone development kit, making it easier and more cost-effective to build far-field products with Amazon Alexa. Far-field enables customers to speak to devices with Alexa from across the room.

We’ve been listening to the developer community, and one of the most requested features we receive is the ability to preserve your login status when using the Node.js authentication service. With today's update, the Node.js service will now save the refresh token it gets from LWA to disk.

In the 12 months since Invoxia launched Triby, its voice-controlled speaker and communications device with Alexa, the company has learned how to further optimize its flagship device to complement family life with new IoT and smart home features. Invoxia will launch the new Triby IO this summer.

Since the introduction of the Amazon Echo, users have been delighted by the magical far-field voice experiences it enables. Today we’re excited to announce that we are sharing our high-performance, far-field voice processing solution with third-party device manufacturers.

It’s here. Huawei released an over-the-air (OTA) update today bringing hands-free Amazon Alexa capabilities to Mate 9 smartphones in the US. New Mate 9 smartphones will ship with the Huawei Alexa application pre-installed, making it the first Android smartphone to have the cloud-based voice service as a native, out-of-the-box feature.

Huawei introduced its flagship Mate 9 device in the US at CES 2017. The Mate 9 was built smart, with a machine learning algorithm designed to improve device performance over time. Now, Mate 9 is even smarter thanks to the Alexa Voice Service (AVS).

The Ford Motor Company announced a two-phased approach to integrating Amazon Alexa into its 2017 line of vehicles at CES. The first phase makes it easy for electric Ford vehicle owners to connect to their cars from the comfort of their homes through the MyFord Mobile skill, which launched in late January 2017.

Customers with a Ford plug-in vehicle, such as the C-Max Energi, Fusion Energi, or Focus Electric, can enable the MyFord Mobile skill to issue a range of remote commands and obtain vehicle information.

Technology in the car keeps drivers informed and connected. Logitech, a global leader in personal computing and accessories, is using voice control and the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) to help drivers stay focused on the road.

The company built ZeroTouch, a product that enables drivers to use their voice to control mobile-based applications on their Android phones or access cloud-based services via Amazon Alexa.

ZeroTouch is a combination of hardware and software that creates a hands-free voice experience in any car. The magnetic hardware car mount holds a phone in place either on the car dash or an air vent. The ZeroTouch mobile application launches via BluetoothⓇ and its voice control feature is activated with the wave of a hand.

Click the link below to read more about the development process. 

In 2016, tens of thousands of developers visited the Alexa GitHub to learn how to build their own Alexa-enabled prototype with the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) and a Raspberry Pi. The community built some amazing projects, from magic mirrors and voice-enabled coffee machines to talking fish and alarm clocks.

If you’re new to voice user interface (VUI) design or you just want to learn more about AVS, the webinar recording below covers key concepts and examples around hardware selection, AVS development tools for commercial developers, best practices for enabling hands-free voice interaction, and how to build a robust Alexa Voice Service client.

Today we’re excited to announce that the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) is now available for developers building voice-enabled products for the UK and Germany. AVS localization provides you with language and region-specific services to expand your audience and delight new customers. With a few lines of code, you can upgrade any product with Alexa to access localized languages and skills in the UK, Germany, and US. Now your end customers can speak with Alexa and receive responses and content in their preferred language and region.

Today we are announcing the expansion of the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) to the UK and Germany. This update enables device manufacturers to reach and delight even more customers with localized language models for the cloud-based ASR, NLU and TTS engines, and region-specific skills and content. Your AVS device can now converse in German, get a Flash Briefing from Sky Sports, or call for an Uber in London.

Follow the steps in this blog to prepare your product for use in the UK and Germany.

Today a speaker is not just a speaker—it’s a connected device we use to play music when we want, where we want, and from whatever service we prefer. New cloud-based, streaming media providers have given us greater control over our music libraries, creating magical and memorable experiences every time we hit “play”.

More than ever, convenience matters, and that’s where Linkplay excels.

Who Is Linkplay?

Linkplay is a turnkey Wi-Fi audio solution provider that works with device manufacturers to build connected speaker products at various price points and for a growing number of use cases. Whether you want to build a high-end product for the home or a durable portable speaker for camping trips, Linkplay offers customizable product solutions, complete with the latest technologies, to meet your needs.

Meet the Sugr Cube, a portable minimalist Wi-Fi speaker system now with Amazon Alexa.

With a growing number of smart products found in the home today, form factor design has become just as important as the technology found under the hood. Customers want smart home products that make their lives easier, but not at the expense of personal taste and design aesthetic. That’s where Sugr, a global innovator in high-definition Wi-Fi audio systems, comes in.

Customers can stream music from Spotify with Spotify Connect technology, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and more just by tapping and asking. The speaker also responds to unique gestures or movements—customers can play music with simple touch commands, with rocking motions, or with the companion mobile application.

Today at CES, Nucleus demonstrated new Display Cards for Alexa that offer complementary visual content alongside voice responses from the Alexa Voice Service.

For screen-based devices like the Amazon Fire TV with Alexa, Display Cards for Alexa offer the ability to render a “Now Playing” interface for music and books, as well as graphical information for weather, to-do and shopping lists, calendar updates, and Alexa skills when a user engages with Alexa.

Volkswagen unveiled its plans to integrate with Amazon Alexa at CES yesterday during a moderated press event and booth tour.

The company will collaborate with Amazon to bring Alexa into the car through a voice integration on the head unit. In addition to the in-car Alexa integration, Volkswagen also announced a new Alexa skill that will help car owners get information about their vehicle from inside the home using an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, or any Alexa device.

Huawei announced today at CES that its Mate 9 model will be available in the United States starting on January 6, 2017. Building on the company’s history of innovation, the Mate 9 will be the first introduced smartphone with an app featuring Amazon Alexa.

The pre-installed application will provide users with a natural, convenient way to set alarms, build to-do lists, get weather and traffic reports, and more—all they have to do is ask. For existing Mate 9 owners, the app will be available through an over-the-air update.