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Saturday 23 december 2017 TECHNOLOGY
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Buyers’ Guide: Choosing a smart speaker for your home

By ANICK JESDANUN
AP Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Move over, Alexa.
While Amazon pioneered the internet-connect-
ed speaker that responds to voice commands,
it now has plenty of competition from other
tech heavyweights. Even the original Amazon
Echo has six Alexa-powered alternatives vying
for your attention and dollars.
Digital assistants on these speakers — Ama-
zon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, Microsoft’s Cor-
tana and soon Apple’s Siri — can play music,
set timers and read off your calendar events.
These speakers can also serve as a gateway to In this Monday, June 5, 2017, file photo, the HomePod
controlling other internet-connected applianc- speaker is photographed in a a showroom during an
es, such as smart lights, thermostats and even announcement of new products at the Apple World-
streaming video on TVs. wide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif.
Here’s a guide to choosing one for you or a Associated Press
loved one. speaker phone. But if you already have good
wireless speakers, you can pair them to the Dot
with Bluetooth. You need Google’s $35 Chro-
mecast Audio device to pair other speakers
with Home.
The three major assistants all work with Spotify.
Alexa and Google Assistant work with Pandora
In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, file photo, Google’s as well, while Alexa and Cortana support Tu-
Rishi Chandra speaks about Google Home at a neIn and iHeartRadio. Of course, Amazon and
Google event in San Francisco. Google work with their own music services, too.
Associated Press
dial regular phone numbers, too, for hands-free Alexa also has Sirius XM.
conversations. Google Assistant was the first to SECURITY AND PRIVACY
distinguish different voices, so it knows to play Expect your kids to mess around with the speak-
music on your playlist, not your teenager’s. Al- er — by asking an assistant to make fart noises,
exa got that capability a few months ago. for instance.
In this Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, file photo, a new Cortana is still behind in many ways, but all Parental controls are limited. Microsoft says it’s
Amazon Echo is displayed during a program an- three are racing to get better. Don’t choose a
nouncing several new Amazon products by the device solely on what it can do today, as any still working on them. Google’s controls are lim-
company, in Seattle. small lead could be ephemeral. ited to its YouTube service. Amazon lets you set
Associated Press a PIN for ordering products by voice. But a lot
FAVORITISM remains unfiltered — including news that’s not
always pleasant.
Of course, each device will work best with its
THE CHOICES manufacturer’s own services. Even among adults, there are security and pri-
Amazon’s $100 Echo is smaller and costs half Alexa, for instance, can read Kindle e-books vacy considerations.
what the original did at its 2014 debut. Varia- in her computer-generated voice. If you just These speakers are always listening, unless you
tions range from the $50 Echo Dot, which has a finished Chapter 23 on the Kindle e-reader or hit a mute button. Companies insist that nothing
lower-quality speaker, to the $230 Echo Show, app, Alexa will continue with Chapter 24. You is sent over the internet unless the device hears
which has a touch screen. can also buy toilet paper and other items — on a key word, such as “Alexa” or “OK, Google.”
Google’s speaker, the $129 Google Home, no Amazon, of course — with a voice command. You can view your history of voice requests.
longer challenges the main Echo on price. Bar- Cortana, meanwhile, can make calls using Mi- Amazon and Google let you delete individual
gain hunters can get the Google Home Mini for crosoft’s Skype service. When you set up Invoke, ones; with Microsoft, you can only delete your
$49. Or splurge for high-quality speakers in the Microsoft’s Outlook.com calendar is automati- entire history.
$399 Google Home Max. cally linked; you have to add Google’s yourself. Another consideration: If you’re living in close
Early next year, Apple will compete at the high Google Assistant can read only your Google quarters, a nosy neighbor could hear the as-
end with the $349 HomePod. Beyond that, Mi- calendar, not Apple’s or Microsoft’s. (Alexa is sistant recite your doctor’s appointment or up-
crosoft’s assistant appears on Invoke, a $200 the only one to work with all three.) coming travel plans.q
speaker made by Samsung’s Harman Kardon The assistants will work with many other services,
business. Samsung is also planning a speaker though. Amazon is at the forefront in enabling
based on its own Bixby assistant, but there’s no third-party capabilities, so Alexa can call you
word yet on when. an Uber ride or track progress on your Fitbit fit-
Other manufacturers are also making speakers ness tracker. Google and Microsoft are catch-
with Alexa or Google Assistant built-in. ing up. Meanwhile, Amazon and Microsoft have
agreed to let their assistants summon each oth-
THE SMARTS er; when that’s enabled soon, Alexa can fulfill
You can talk to Alexa, Google Assistant and something Cortana can’t do on its own.
Cortana as you would a friend. Ask any of them,
“Do I need an umbrella today?” to get the fore- SOUND QUALITY
cast for rain. (Siri’s capabilities on HomePod These speakers can, of course, play music. If
won’t be fully known until it comes out.) that’s important, pay more for a quality device.
Nonetheless, no single assistant does everything Invoke is made by Harmon Kardon — experts in
well. Alexa, for instance, won’t let you set an audio. Home Max and HomePod are also de-
alarm more than 24 hours out; its rivals do. signed with sound quality in mind. This photo provided by Harman Kardon shows the
All three are learning. At first, Alexa was able to As tempting as the $50 Echo Dot might be, company’s Invoke speaker, which uses Microsoft’s
make calls only to other Alexa users. Now, it can Alexa sounds as though she’s coming over a assistant, Cortana. Associated Press