I read this and felt totally underwhelmed I have to admit <smile< what
the Logitech U.E. systems are doing is nothing new or earth shattering
as many Bluetooth speakers paired to an Android phone already handle
this sort of thing, its common place.
I have a Yamaha MPX100 Bluetooth speaker I think it is which I bought 2
years ago and it handles both Siri and Google Now not to mention Samsung
S-Voice etc.
True, you have to program it with an Android device so that device knows
which service or facilities you wish to use when you press the button
but that's fair enough and very easy to do.
On 22/06/2016 5:59 AM, Ted wrote:
Logitech's UE Boom 2 and UE Megaboom speakers gain Google Now voice
integration
Logitech announced today that its UE Boom 2 and Megaboom speakers are
being updated to add support for Google Now voice interactions. To use
it, just press the Bluetooth button, and I'll let Engadget's explainer
<https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/21/ue-adds-google-and-siri-voice-integration-to-its-boom-speakers/>
take away the rest:
Just do a quick press of the small Bluetooth button on the top of
the speaker and wait to hear the audible prompt, which is the same
as when you say "OK Google" or press the microphone icon for voice
control on your phone. Both the Bluetooth button and the power
button will flash during this interaction. If you're playing music
while dropping into voice control functionality, it will pause and
listen for your inquiry. You can ask to play a specific song or
inquire if there are any restaurants nearby and the system will
respond confirming the song play request or, in the second
instance, provide details and offer a few next steps, listening
for additional responses. /via Engadget
<https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/21/ue-adds-google-and-siri-voice-integration-to-its-boom-speakers/>/
Unfortunately, I don't have a Boom 2 or Megaboom to test with, but
Engadget's hands-on tends to confirm what I'd expect of the
experience: interacting with Google Now as a contextual voice
assistant is pretty hit or miss. Google Now is very good at certain
voice inquiries, but it clearly hasn't been built for use exclusively
without on-screen visual cues for more complicated tasks, like finding
a restaurant. For simple tasks like phone calls, sending messages, and
basic Google search inquiries that lead to a knowledge graph answer,
though, this could be handy.
Presumably this works through Google Now's standard Bluetooth device
interaction capabilities, though it was generally my understanding
that this voice input method was primarily meant for headsets with the
screen on in front of you - at least for more complex tasks (i.e., not
basic telephony) - as opposed to a sort of would-be Alexa replacement.
But hey, maybe if and when Google Assistant features roll out, these
Logitech speakers could become a poor man's Google Home
<http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/05/18/google-home-is-a-googles-smart-home-hub-coming-later-this-year/>.
Oh, the speakers also do this with Siri, apparently. If you're into
that. The feature is apparently activated via the respective UE Boom
and Megaboom apps, so check them for updates on your smartphone.
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<http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/AndroidPolice/%7E3/oZu1gxCJvTw/>
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