[blind-philly-comp] Article: Amazon launches 4 white-box PC designs with Alexa integration

  • From: David Goldfield <david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2018 01:13:47 +0000

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Microsoft. - Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at 11:41 AM

Amazon launches 4 white-box PC designs with Alexa integration

Amazon this week announced four new PC designs with Alexa 
integration<https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/df56a63e-359a-4c71-97d9-44f9e54e2a2a/alexa-for-pc-odm-solutions>
 on board, with the goal of giving manufacturers a ready and tested template 
for expanding the ecosystem of PCs with its voice assistant (via 
AFTVNews<http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-provides-new-all-in-one-and-laptop-designs-to-speed-up-alexa-adoption-with-windows-pc-manufacturers/>).
 Referred to as "Alexa for PC solutions from Original Design Manufacturers 
(ODMs)," the lineup includes an all-in-one desktop from Wistron, along with 
convertible notebooks from Compal, Quanta, and Wistron.

Here's a look at what's included in the four models:

"We're excited to add the first Alexa for PC ODM products to our portfolio of 
qualified solutions," said Jon Kirk, Director, Alexa Voice Service at Amazon. 
"These Windows 10 PCs have been designed from the ground up to support Alexa, 
bringing Amazon's voice service to customers in new ways."

It's unlikely we'll see these exact PCs make their way to consumers, but they 
offer a near-final reference design for PC manufacturers to build off of and 
speed up bringing their own devices to market. Amazon runs a similar program 
for Alexa devices, giving manufacturers and developers reference designs for 
other Alexa-enabled smart devices.

Since Amazon announced Alexa would be coming to PCs, manufacturers like ASUS, 
HP, Lenovo, and Acer have all 
revealed<https://www.amazon.com/b?node=17549366011&tag=wpcentralb-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUdUnU56439YYw>
 that they plan to take part in one form or another. Acer, for example, 
announced it would be one of the first to 
market<https://www.windowscentral.com/acer-first-brig-amazons-alexa-ai-windows-10-pcs-staring-spin-series>
 with Alexa integration, while HP recently refreshed some of its premium 
lines<https://www.windowscentral.com/hp-refreshes-number-pcs-enhanced-performance-and-alexa>
 with Alexa built in.

This comes as Microsoft and Amazon are working to make Alexa and Cortana talk 
to one 
another<https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-and-amazon-integrate-cortana-and-alexa>.
 While that may seem redundant, it gives Cortana access to Alexa's extensive 
list of skills and opens up the possibility for some interesting interactions 
between PCs and the larger Alexa ecosystem.

https://www.windowscentral.com/amazon-launches-4-white-box-pc-designs-alexa-integration


     David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist

Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>

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