Hey Alexa, can we talk about the election?

We are just days away from the Canadian Federal election and if you're still undecided on who to vote for, where can you turn to for the latest information? For the first time ever, Canadians can stay up to speed with developments on the campaign trail, or test their own knowledge of elections in Canada, using just their voice—by asking Alexa. 

Alexa can now help voters access answers to a range of election queries, whether you want to know what you should bring with you on voting day, confirm which riding you belong to, or even to show off to your friends how much you know about the Canadian political system.

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Take a look at the latest Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings enabled smart home solutions

We recently went on a walkthrough at Amazon's pop-up smart home and saw a variety of applied smart home solutions. Among the stand out products that caught my eye include the August smart locks that can be unlocked remotely with an app or through your voice. 

We also saw the impressive iRobot Roomba i7+ (which we will review soon), this smart robot vacuum can be controlled by voice as well and even empties its own filter on to its charging station. Samsung showed off various sensors, it's high-tech refrigirator with a display, it's Frame TV and other sensors. Check out the video above to see some of the demos.

Nine of 10 smart speakers in the US are either from Amazon or Google

Strategy Analyitics conducted a new survey on smart speakers in the US in July and August and it revealed that 9 out of 10 smart speakers are either Amazon Alexa or Google Home devices. The results of that survey show that in the 50 million installed speaker market, the Echo and Google’s Home speaker occupy the top eight slots on a list of the ten most popular speaker models. The outlier is Apple’s HomePod, in the number nine spot, with a 4 percent market share.

Canada, a much smaller market, has seen the availability of Amazon, Google and even Apple's HomePod these past two years although there's no telling how well these devices are selling here. Google Home has been developed partly in Canada and has had the French Canadian language built-in since its inception. Amazon just unloaded new devices in the US and Canada.

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Amazon Echo smart speakers can now control GM vehicles by voice

"Alexa, start my Chevy Bolt!"

Owners of Amazon Echo devices who also happen to own recent vehicles from GM, Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet vehicles using the multifunctional smart speaker can now remote start/stop their vehicle's engine or lock/unlock their vehicle using their voice, without the need for keys or  even a smartphone.

GM says that, "starting today, more than 800,000 owners of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles in Canada will be the first in the country to be able to control their vehicles using just their voice. By linking their Owner Center accounts with their Amazon account, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac owners can now enjoy the convenience of the myChevrolet, myBuick, myGMC and myCadillac Alexa skills."

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