Since Amazon debuted Echo in 2014, digital tinkerers have been creating hacks to connect Amazon’s speakers to Sonos’ better speakers. Now, Sonos has introduced a system, developed with Amazon, to let users do just that. With a limited beta test version available this year, the system will be released widely in 2017. This partnership highlights a larger problem in audio technology: digital assistants from Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft are being held back by limitations in microphone technology. Continue reading Sonos-Amazon Partnership Highlights Need for Improved Mics

Emerging trends in new wearables represent the next great market opportunity, say a group of consultants and analysts who cover the field. As part of the Sensors and MEMS Technology Conference at CES, panelists took to the stage to discuss “Wearables: A Very Real Market Opportunity.” Although current penetration of wearables is a mere seven percent, that number is expected to grow dramatically. “In the next five years we’ll have a wearable that the majority of the population will want,” said Jim Feldhan, president of Semico Research. Continue reading CES Conference Session: Wearables as a Market Opportunity