Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Amazon's Alexa Speaks To The Connected Home

The Amazon Echo (more commonly known as “Alexa” based on the keyword voice command that triggers the female-sounding response) came on the market in November of 2014 to generally positive acclaim. The Siri-like voice interface proved to be quite capable in playing selected music, answering a question about the weather, or ordering a pizza delivery from Domino’s. But since Amazon opened their voice technology to developers last year, there has been an explosion of new uses for Alexa based directly on connected products within the home as consumers are finding it a lot easier to talk to one device whenever they need something done.

“We started thinking about Echo and Alexa and it was hard for us to imagine in a couple of years any kind of interaction with technology that would not be voice driven,” said David Isbitski, the chief evangelist for Alexa. Isbitski spoke on Tuesday at the CONNECTIONS Home Conference hosted by Parks Associated in South San Francisco, California.

From the article "Amazon's Alexa Speaks To The Connected Home" by Mark Albertson.

Previously In The News

Something Hilarious Happens When Potential Customers See That a Product Has AI Features

In another study highlighted by the WSJ, researchers at the firm Parks Associates surveyed around 4,000 US consumers' feelings towards AI marketing, with a slightly more blunt approach: "We straight u...

Top 10 Outdoor Security Cameras for Unmatched Peace of Mind

The Parks Associates 2024 Connected Home Research emphasizes the growing importance of smart detection features, such as distinguishing people, vehicles, or animals, to reduce false alerts and improve...

Can too much AI backfire? Study reveals why ‘AI-powered’ products are turning buyers away

A related survey by Parks Associates, also cited by The Wall Street Journal, found that 58% of the 4,000 American respondents said the presence of the term “AI” made no difference in their buying deci...

Why Smart Home Compatibility Still Sucks in 2025 — And How GearBrain Can Fix It

Parks Associates estimates over 60% of U.S. broadband households now own at least one smart home device. From the article, "Why Smart Home Compatibility Still Sucks in 2025 — And How GearBrain Can...