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Acc to article, seems like it’s happening in established businesses like Retail. Maybe those old businesses are due for some consolidation? In last earnings re

Acc to article, seems like it’s happening in established businesses like Retail. Maybe those old businesses are due for some consolidation? In last earnings release, Bezos said he’s doubling down on Alexa, which I presume includes increased hiring.

gargarplex 9y ago
Voice search is already huge and I imagine it may be even bigger. I see Amazon as a threat to Google in this area.
- homero 9y ago
  It's always astounded me how a technology change can kill a company overnight. Google almost died with searches going mobile but somehow bought Android and survived but killed BlackBerry. Now voice search is a risk.
  - sah2ed 9y ago
    That's a bit revisionist. Google saw a tiny but steady rise in mobile searches and realized they needed to become mobile focused. They acquired a startup called Danger Inc. which brought in Andy Rubin who helped birth their Android efforts. Rubin saw just how good the iPhone was then threw out their work to start from scratch [1] before they eventually put out their first device: the Android G1. Steve Jobs was furious at the similarities with the iPhone because he had gotten firm promises Google would not copy the iPhone in their phone efforts. Eventually, Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple's board when it was clear both companies would be competing head on in mobile. [1] https://amp.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-on-android-founder-andy-rubin-big-arrogant-f-2013-11 https://amp.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-on-android-founde...
    - Grazester 9y ago
      Google did not buy Danger. They bought Android which was started by ex Danger founder Andy Rubin. Microsoft bought Danger and released an awful device after doing so. I had to add that last bit.
      - sah2ed 9y ago
        On that bit of history, I stand corrected. Thanks for pointing it out.
- sharemywin 9y ago
  I could see these devices given way free as some kind of set-top+assistant if you buy our TV service.
  - angstrom 9y ago
    Heck, I've had power companies offering google home for free if I select a green energy provider.
- sah2ed 9y ago
  > Amazon as a threat to Google in this area. LOL. That is like saying Apple (iPhones) are a threat to Google (Android) when it was Apple that first brought touch-based smartphones to market. You probably meant: "Google is a threat to Amazon in this area" because Amazon invented and still dominates the smart speaker category. In other words, Google didn't know a market existed for such devices until Amazon created a market for them.
  - kbutler 9y ago
    "Amazon's dominance in the emerging area of voice search is a threat to Google's general dominance in search." (Like the Apple's iPhone platform is a threat to Google, which Google is attempting to counter by promoting Android.)
  - Grazester 9y ago
    Amazon might have been the first to launch a dedicated device that can do voice search but Google was doing it(on Android) before such a device was launched by amazon.
    - sah2ed 9y ago
      Right, but were their efforts successful? That's the main difference here, bringing a new product to market successfully. Long before voice assistants/search became a thing with smart phones there was Google 411 ... which no one remembers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOOG-411 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOOG-411
      - ArchReaper 9y ago
        Yes, they had been successful with voice search long before Alexa ever came out, and continue to do it well. Google is THE search giant, you'd have to be acting intentionally obtuse to not understand his point.
      - ucaetano 9y ago
        https://searchengineland.com/google-reveals-20-percent-queries-voice-queries-249917 https://searchengineland.com/google-reveals-20-percent-queri... I'd guess that 20% of Google's mobile queries in 2016 are a few orders of magnitude larger than Amazon's total voice search queries, effectively making Amazon's voice queries a drop in the ocean.
- saturdaysaint 9y ago
  Surveys show that Alexa is being used for basic Siri 1.0 searches ("What's the weather","Play x on Pandora", timers, alarms, novelty questions) and little else. Few people have activated a skill or ordered something. A graphical user interface is going to be a vastly richer and more useful interactive experience for a very long time.
  - mcny 9y ago
    > Few people have activated a skill or ordered something. As far as I know, I cannot enable a skill on my echo dot itself. I have to do it through the app. This is friction that I don't need to tell you is bad for engagement. I wager Amazon's first mover advantage is very much over stated.
    - akhilcacharya 9y ago
      If you know the exact skill, you can just say “Enable Jeopardy skill”. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201848700 https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...
    - ghaff 9y ago
      I don't mind that so much. My issue with skills is that there is a very limited number of incantations that I can keep in my head to summon the correct behavior from Alexa.

gargarplex 9y ago

Voice search is already huge and I imagine it may be even bigger. I see Amazon as a threat to Google in this area.

homero 9y ago
It's always astounded me how a technology change can kill a company overnight. Google almost died with searches going mobile but somehow bought Android and survived but killed BlackBerry. Now voice search is a risk.
- sah2ed 9y ago
  That's a bit revisionist. Google saw a tiny but steady rise in mobile searches and realized they needed to become mobile focused. They acquired a startup called Danger Inc. which brought in Andy Rubin who helped birth their Android efforts. Rubin saw just how good the iPhone was then threw out their work to start from scratch [1] before they eventually put out their first device: the Android G1. Steve Jobs was furious at the similarities with the iPhone because he had gotten firm promises Google would not copy the iPhone in their phone efforts. Eventually, Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple's board when it was clear both companies would be competing head on in mobile. [1] https://amp.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-on-android-founder-andy-rubin-big-arrogant-f-2013-11 https://amp.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-on-android-founde...
  - Grazester 9y ago
    Google did not buy Danger. They bought Android which was started by ex Danger founder Andy Rubin. Microsoft bought Danger and released an awful device after doing so. I had to add that last bit.
    - sah2ed 9y ago
      On that bit of history, I stand corrected. Thanks for pointing it out.
sharemywin 9y ago
I could see these devices given way free as some kind of set-top+assistant if you buy our TV service.
- angstrom 9y ago
  Heck, I've had power companies offering google home for free if I select a green energy provider.
sah2ed 9y ago
> Amazon as a threat to Google in this area. LOL. That is like saying Apple (iPhones) are a threat to Google (Android) when it was Apple that first brought touch-based smartphones to market. You probably meant: "Google is a threat to Amazon in this area" because Amazon invented and still dominates the smart speaker category. In other words, Google didn't know a market existed for such devices until Amazon created a market for them.
- kbutler 9y ago
  "Amazon's dominance in the emerging area of voice search is a threat to Google's general dominance in search." (Like the Apple's iPhone platform is a threat to Google, which Google is attempting to counter by promoting Android.)
- Grazester 9y ago
  Amazon might have been the first to launch a dedicated device that can do voice search but Google was doing it(on Android) before such a device was launched by amazon.
  - sah2ed 9y ago
    Right, but were their efforts successful? That's the main difference here, bringing a new product to market successfully. Long before voice assistants/search became a thing with smart phones there was Google 411 ... which no one remembers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOOG-411 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOOG-411
    - ArchReaper 9y ago
      Yes, they had been successful with voice search long before Alexa ever came out, and continue to do it well. Google is THE search giant, you'd have to be acting intentionally obtuse to not understand his point.
    - ucaetano 9y ago
      https://searchengineland.com/google-reveals-20-percent-queries-voice-queries-249917 https://searchengineland.com/google-reveals-20-percent-queri... I'd guess that 20% of Google's mobile queries in 2016 are a few orders of magnitude larger than Amazon's total voice search queries, effectively making Amazon's voice queries a drop in the ocean.
saturdaysaint 9y ago
Surveys show that Alexa is being used for basic Siri 1.0 searches ("What's the weather","Play x on Pandora", timers, alarms, novelty questions) and little else. Few people have activated a skill or ordered something. A graphical user interface is going to be a vastly richer and more useful interactive experience for a very long time.
- mcny 9y ago
  > Few people have activated a skill or ordered something. As far as I know, I cannot enable a skill on my echo dot itself. I have to do it through the app. This is friction that I don't need to tell you is bad for engagement. I wager Amazon's first mover advantage is very much over stated.
  - akhilcacharya 9y ago
    If you know the exact skill, you can just say “Enable Jeopardy skill”. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201848700 https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...
  - ghaff 9y ago
    I don't mind that so much. My issue with skills is that there is a very limited number of incantations that I can keep in my head to summon the correct behavior from Alexa.