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Amazon Alexa and Devices Division On Pace to Lose $10B; Div. in Crisis Mode

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Photo from Amazon Keynote
Charlie Kindel, then with Amazon, pitches Alexa and tells integrators that Amazon wants to work with them at CEDIA Expo 2016

This has to rank up there with one of the most spectacular product failures in tech history. According to leaked documents acquired by Insider, Amazon’s “Worldwide Digital” unit – the unit that includes Echo smart speakers, Alexa voice technology, and Prime Video streaming – lost over $3 billion in just the first quarter of this year. It is on pace to lose $10 billion for the year and the company has announced its largest layoffs ever – cutting more than 10,000 jobs…many targeted to hit this division specifically…as Amazon reorients their business strategy.

See the latest news on the failing Amazon Alexa business

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In Sonos’ Claim That It’s a Victim, Some Skeptics See a Rich Irony

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Sonos logo

This Friday, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence will testify before a Congressional committee (the House antitrust subcommittee) that is investigating the issue of competition in digital markets. Or, I should say, they are investigating whether the tech giants – Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, etc. – are engaging in anti-competitive activities in violation of the law. The Sonos CEO is likely to complain that Google is in fact anti-competitive. Spence’s appearance takes place literally just days after it has filed a major patent infringement lawsuit against Google – alleging that the tech giant stole its proprietary technology…making them a victim.

But some see this claim of Google victimizing Sonos as a bit of rich irony…

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Oops! Google Doesn’t Mention Nest Secure Has a Microphone Built-In

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Nest thermostat

Eyebrows raised everywhere when privacy-concerned industry watchers discovered that Google had put a microphone in their Nest Secure home alarm system, but failed to disclose that fact. Google says is was simply an “error.” But was it?

Read more on Google’s ‘error’…

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New Study Says Voice-Controlled Assistants Aren’t Used Daily

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eMarketer logoAs more research continues to emerge on consumer utilization of voice-controlled devices, it becomes clear that there are still impediments to end-users utilizing their voice-control capabilities regularly, according to research by Social Lens. A separate study by Nielsen reaffirms what Strata-gee has previously reported, that people use smart speakers more for listening to music, than for any other task…including voice-control of their home automation solutions.

See more on this pair of new studies on voice-controlled smart speakers… [Read more…] about New Study Says Voice-Controlled Assistants Aren’t Used Daily