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CES 2017: Lenovo Announces Amazon Alexa-Powered Connected Smart Speaker

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PC maker Lenovo today announced its first smart speaker with Amazon's voice-activated virtual assistant built in.

Called the Lenovo Smart Assistant, the connected speaker integrates Amazon's Alexa Voice Services and offers the same speech-activated features as the Echo family of devices, but housed in a slightly redesigned unit.

Lenovo-smart-assistant-all-colors_678x452
The speaker keeps the same cylindrical profile as Amazon's Echo, but with the microphone portion of the device in a slightly raised position, which Lenovo says offers better ventilation to cool the internal components. Lenovo's unit also has eight far-field microphones versus Echo's seven, with noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation included for picking up voice commands from up to 16 feet away.

The Lenovo Smart Assistant comes in a range of color schemes including green, gray, and orange fabric. The speakers will ship in May for a price of $130 (less than Amazon's Echo at $180). Lenovo is also offering a Harman Kardon edition of the Smart Assistant featuring better sound quality for $180.

Amazon's Alexa Voice Services API is expected to crop up in a number of new third-party products at this year's CES. Microsoft has previously teased third-party devices using its own Cortana virtual assistant technology.

Tags: Amazon Echo, CES 2017, Lenovo

Top Rated Comments

Aluminum213 Avatar
Aluminum213
124 months ago
Amazon echo really is a great device to have in the house, Apple is so far behind in this market
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N
Nicksd84
124 months ago
I really don't see the appeal of these devices at all, I hope Apple does not waste any resources building a speaker of their own.
Have you owned/used one? They are quite handy and the voice recognition ability of a stand-alone device is infinitely better than a smartphone
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aluminum213 Avatar
Aluminum213
124 months ago
I think it's a fair assumption Apple is working on their version of a home assistant. Apple is typically late in releases, but they will deliver a premium product with features other competitors didn't execute. Leave it to Apple and you know it will sell. Guaranteed. I'm waiting to see what they bring to the market. Likely sooner than later.
Siri is by far the worst voice assistant on the market, my expectations are close to zero

But I'm sure it will be pretty to look at while it collects dust
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4
44267547
124 months ago
Amazon echo really is a great device to have in the house, Apple is so far behind in this market
I think it's a fair assumption Apple is working on their version of a home assistant. Apple is typically late in releases, but they will deliver a premium product with features other competitors didn't execute. Leave it to Apple and you know it will sell. Guaranteed. I'm waiting to see what they bring to the market. Likely sooner than later.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mike Oxard Avatar
Mike Oxard
124 months ago
Amazon echo really is a great device to have in the house, Apple is so far behind in this market
I think apple must be working on this. With the death of the Airport express they now no longer have an audio airplay product. An Echo style solution for Siri would fill that gap. I just wish they'd hurry up as I might end up getting an echo!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Return Zero Avatar
Return Zero
124 months ago
Honestly, I love these devices except for the privacy issue. By no means am I about to allow google or amazon to have an always-available microphone in my house.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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