Chinese tech giant Lenovo announced Tuesday it was launching a smart home assistant powered by Amazon\u2019s Alexa, becoming the latest firm to enter the market for voice-activated devices.<\/p>\n
\nThe new Smart Assistant, to go on sale for $129, will compete with Amazon\u2019s Echo speakers using the artificial intelligence developed by Amazon.<\/p>\n
Lenovo made the announcement ahead of the opening of the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, which features a dizzying array of tech gadgets and concepts.<\/p>\n
Built in collaboration with Amazon, the Smart Assistant \u201crecognizes users\u2019 voice commands to conduct web searches, play music, create lists, calendar reminders and much more,\u201d a Lenovo statement said.<\/p>\n
Lenovo\u2019s move comes following Google\u2019s launch of a similar device which can respond to questions and voice commands and connect to smart appliances, so a user can set a thermostat or turn on an oven.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal has never been to simply build smart home devices for the sake of advancing technology alone,\u201d says Johnson Jia, Lenovo\u2019s senior vice president for personal computers and smart devices.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the same way a person\u2019s IQ is measured by applied knowledge, we believe products are \u2018smart\u2019 to the degree they\u2019re actually understood and applied to daily life by their users.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Rabuchin, vice president for Amazon Alexa, said the US firm was \u201cexcited to work with an innovative company such as Lenovo to bring the Lenovo Smart Assistant with Alexa to customers this spring.\u201d<\/p>\n
The device is expected to be available in May.<\/p>\n
Lenovo also announced plans for upgraded laptops, including PCs optimized for gaming.\u2014AFP<\/p>\n
Image: http:\/\/blog.lenovo.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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