Amazon rumoured to be developing Echo version with touchscreen display

In an attempt to supposedly keep at bay Google Home and Apple’s rumoured entry into the smart home speaker market, Amazon is reportedly working on a new “premium” version of the Echo speaker that has a 7-inch touchscreen display. Veering away from the cylindrical look of the Echo speakers, this rumoured device will be larger and “tilt upwards” so the screen can be read when sitting on a desk or kitchen counter. The exact design hasn’t been specified yet. But it’ll supposedly respond mostly to Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant and run on an optimized version of Amazon’s Fire OS. Adding a display is said to make it easier to access content. Audio quality will also supposedly be improved with this version. There is no confirmation yet about this plan but we’re keeping our eyes open for it.

Source: MacRumors

Waze adds the voices of ‘The Grand Tour’ boys to its roster

In the past life, you knew Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May as hosts of Top Gear. Now, they host a new Amazon original show called The Grand Tour (which you now have access to). And one way to promote the show and add a bit of entertainment to your drives is by lending their voices to Waze. Yes, there is now an option to hear these snarky and hilarious gearheads while you go through traffic. But the promotion will only last until February 5. Sign us up. We hope the update comes our way faster than access to Amazon Video (kind of) headed our way.

Source: Venture Beat

Amazon looks to fill many more positions on its Alexa team

Amazon is getting even more aggressive with developing the Alexa voice assistant technology with its current hiring spree. At the moment, Amazon is looking to fill 399 positions for different locations. Some of the jobs include data engineers, product managers, and machine learning scientists with locations ranging from Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, to Tempe, Arizona, to Sunnyvale, California, among others. The hiring push comes on the heels of the expansion of Amazon’s voice-controlled Echo speakers.

Source: Recode

Amazon Alexa-enabled CoWatch smartwatch now available

While Amazon hasn’t ventured into smartwatch production just yet, the company has partnered with iMCO to create the CoWatch. This Android-powered wearable comes equipped with Amazon’s Alexa as your personal assistant. It’s not running Android Wear per se but an Android-based operating system called Cronologics OS. It was designed by former Google and Android engineers and works with both Android (version 5.0 and up) and iOS (iOS 9 and up). The OS is supposed to handle Alexa-heavy interactions The CoWatch is a 42mm watch that’s 12mm thick and comes with a 1.39-inch Super AMOLED display (400 x 400 resolution), 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and 32 hours battery life. It’s water resistant and has an accelerometer and heart rate sensor as well.

The smartwatch was first expected to ship after its Indiegogo campaign ended in June but following delays, the release got pushed back. Now, it’s available on Amazon US for US$279 (around CA$360) and it comes in silver or black. The black version, for some reason, costs $20 more than the silver one.

Source: TechRadar