Alexa Voice Service Launches for Italy and Spain with Sonos, Bose, Jabra, and Many More Announcing Alexa Built-in Devices

We’re excited to share that we’re launching updates to the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) that make it possible for device makers to bring localized Alexa experiences to customers in Italy and Spain. In the coming days, device makers will be able to access the Italian and Spanish language models in the cloud using the AVS API and SDK, adding support for multiple languages and localized content to their Alexa built-in products. This launch follows up on the June 2018 announcement that Alexa is coming soon for Italy and Spain.

Alexa language models and regional services are built in the cloud, making it easier for developers to update their devices and enable localized, voice-forward experiences for customers.

In Italy, in addition to the Echo family of devices, Sonos, Bose, Harman Kardon, Jabra, TIM, Netgear, Hama, Huawei, Riva, Sony, and Motorola have announced plans to bring Alexa built-in devices to Italian customers. In Spain, along with the Echo family of devices, Sonos, Bose, Harman Kardon, Hama, Jabra, Grundig, Energy Sistem, Huawei, Netgear, Riva, and Sony have also announced plans to bring Alexa built-in products to Spanish customers.

Using these Alexa built-in products, customers in Italy and Spain get access to Amazon Music and hundreds of skills, including skills from RAI, Il Sole 24 ore, Mediaset, SKY, Radio Italia, Vodafone, Generali, BTicino, Philips Hue, and more in Italy, and skills from El País, Marca, Philips Hue, TP-Link, Netatmo, Burger King, Santillana, Pocoyó, Trivial Pursuit, Renfe, Iberia, and more in Spain.
 

Alexa Built-in Products Coming to Italy and Spain

Sonos: Sonos will add Alexa voice control capabilities to its Sonos One smart speaker, as well as the new Sonos Beam soundbar, via a free software update coming soon. With the voice control on Sonos One and Sonos Beam, customers in Italy and Spain can ask Alexa to control their entire Sonos home sound system with full voice support for Amazon Music, Deezer, Spotify, and TuneIn. Sonos Beam customers will also be able to control their TV alongside full music voice control.

Bose: Bose continues to integrate Alexa into a range of wireless devices, including its QuietComfort 35 II Headphones, Home Speaker 500, Soundbar 500 and Soundbar 700. With proprietary Bose microphone technology for superior voice pick-up and Alexa built-in, these devices will offer Spanish and Italian customers instant, easy access to millions of songs and hundreds of skills for information, entertainment, smart home control, and more.

Harman Kardon: Harman Kardon will further integrate Alexa into its premium smart speakers, Allure and Allure Portable, and now launch them in Spain and Italy.

Jabra: Jabra, a developer and manufacturer of communications and sound solutions, will offer one-touch access to Alexa via its range of advanced wireless headphones and earbuds. Customers will be able to ask Alexa to play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and much more, on products including Jabra Elite 65t Wireless Earbuds, 65e Wireless Headphones and more.

Hama: Hama will offer an Alexa integration via its popular Sirium speakers and sound bars.

Netgear: Netgear, a leading provider of networking devices for the smart home, will integrate Alexa with its Orbi Voice Smart Speaker and Wi-Fi Mesh Satellite, enabling customers to play music hands-free, control smart home devices, get the news, check the weather, enjoy award-winning Wi-Fi everywhere, and much more – all on one device.

Riva: Riva Audio, designer of premium wireless speakers for people passionate about music, seeking great performance and enhancement of their smart lifestyle, will integrate Alexa in the Riva Concert and Riva Stadium products.

Huawei: The Huawei AI Cube, a two-in-one speaker and 4G router with Alexa built-in, officially marks the entry of Huawei into smart devices.

TIM: TIM is an Italian company integrating Alexa into a TV Set-Top Box. Selected TIM Box customers will soon be able to ask Alexa to play music, control smart home devices, and much more, with a simple tap on the TIM Box remote control.

SGW Motorola: SGW Group, official licensee of the Motorola brand for telephony products for Italy, will launch a wireless home telephone with Alexa built-in. Customers will be able to just tap and say, "Alexa, call Mum" to reach their contacts on a mobile or landline phone, using their existing home telephone service. Customers will also be able to say "Alexa, call Dad’s Echo" to reach their contacts on their supported Echo device, as well as have access to Alexa features and hundreds of local Alexa skills.

Sony: Sony, has announced that with forthcoming firmware updates, customers in Italy and Spain will be able to use Alexa to control a range of its wireless headphones. With these updates, a selection of Sony wireless headphones will be optimized for Alexa. Customers will be able to ask Alexa to play their favorite artist, adjust the volume, skip a track, and more.

Grundig: The European manufacturer has integrated Alexa into its new range of smart OLED televisions 55 VLO 9895 BP and 65 VLO 9895 BP, enabling customers to use Alexa to control their TV, play music, check the news, manage other smart home devices, and more.

Energy Sistem: Energy Sistem, leading Bluetooth audio devices brand in Spain, will integrate Alexa in their new line of devices: Energy Smart Speaker 3 Talk, Energy Smart Speaker 5 Home, and Energy Smart Speaker 7 Tower.
 

Things to Try with Alexa

You can now speak to, and receive responses from, Alexa in Italian and Spanish on supported devices. Try these sample utterances to get started:

Italian:

• “Alexa, racconta una barzelletta.”
• “Alexa, c'è traffico?”
• “Alexa, che tempo fa a Roma?”

Spanish:

• “Alexa, cuéntame un chiste.”
• “Alexa, ¿cómo está el tráfico?”
• “Alexa, ¿qué tiempo hace en Valencia?”
   

How to Integrate Alexa into Your Product

AVS enables developers to integrate Alexa directly into their products, bringing the convenience of voice control to any connected device. Developers can quickly get an Alexa built-in prototype up and running by following our hands-on tutorials. Get an overview of AVS and start building with the AVS Device SDK now. Learn about AVS multi-language and localization support on our AVS International page.
 

What Is AVS?

AVS is a customizable suite of development tools and resources that make it easy to integrate Alexa directly into your products and bring voice-forward experiences to customers. Through AVS, you can add a new natural interface to your products and offer customers access to a growing number of Alexa features, smart home integrations, and skills. Visit the AVS Developer Portal to get started.