Annual revenue from smart speakers will grow to an estimated $10 billion by 2022, from $2.5 billion this year, as more audio brands integrate voice assistants into their devices, said a Tuesday Juniper Research report. Amazon, which launched the category with the Echo, leads the market and is followed by Google, Harman Kardon, Sonos, Sony and Onkyo, said Juniper. Devices priced over $200 will take more than 40 percent of sector revenue, while accounting for just 16 percent of shipments in 2022, as voice assistants proliferate in premium audio, Juniper said. Amazon’s Echo Dot, typically priced $29-$49, leads shipments, but growth will slow over the next five years as audio companies integrate voice assistants in their products, Juniper said. That creates a “window of opportunity” for tech companies near term, said the research firm. “Few audio brands currently integrate voice assistants throughout their portfolio, so users wanting smart audio will need workaround devices for some years to come,” said analyst James Moar.

Amazon announced Alexa for Business Thursday, enabling businesses to give employees a way to interact with technology in the workplace. Custom electronics company Crestron is one of the system and software providers for Alexa for Business, along with Salesforce, Concur, SuccessFactors, ServiceNow, Splunk, Acumatica, Tact, Polycom, RingCentral, Teem, Twine and Zoom. Companies can customize skills that integrate with IT applications and office systems in a private way, said Amazon. It’s making available to companies the tools required to set up and manage Alexa devices, enroll users and assign skills at scale, it said. Use cases include using Alexa to begin a conference call by saying, “Start the meeting,” asking the digital assistant to manage calendars, keep up with to-do lists, notify the IT department of a problem or find and book an open conference room -- with a few words, Amazon said. Alexa for Business Customers can set up shared Alexa devices in common areas: conference rooms, huddle rooms, lobbies and communications centers -- and they manage the devices, enroll users and assign skills from an Amazon Web Services management console, said the company. It cited Capital One, Brooks Brothers and WeWork as businesses that created private Alexa skills through the service.

The New York Times got into the Cyber Monday spirit, advertising a deal for Google Home with a paid subscription. Consumers who buy a basic ($143 per year or $85 for 26 weeks) or all-access ($195 per year or $100 for 26 weeks) digital subscription will receive a code for a free Google Home speaker via the Google Store. The offer runs through Dec. 31, or while supplies last with a hard end date of Feb. 28, it said. Shoppers can place multiple orders, said the ad.

Amazon announced a perk for Alexa owners Friday, saying voice shoppers would be able to shop select Cyber Monday deals starting at 5 p.m. PST Sunday by asking Alexa. To avoid problems caused by mistaken orders, Amazon said any physical product purchased by voice is eligible for free returns. Customers have to be Prime members with default payment and shipping information. The company is cutting prices on Alexa-based Echo devices through Monday: slicing $50 from the Echo Show to $179, $30 from the Echo Plus to $119, $20 from the Echo and Echo Dot to $79 and $29, and $50 from the Tap to $79. Amazon teased Cyber Monday TV deals from Sony for 4K smart TVs: $598 for a 55-inch model, $528 for 49 inches and $478 for a 43-incher. An LG 55-inch C7P is $1,696 compared with the B7A 55-inch OLED LG cut to $1,499 through Cyber Monday (see 1711160055). Two TCL TVs are under $300: a 43-inch HDTV ($239) and 49-inch HD model ($279). An unnamed 40-inch 1080p TV will be $179 and an unnamed 55-inch 4K TV will sell for $224, it said.

Comcast Xfinity customers with the X1 remote can vote verbally for contestants on The Voice, as part of an interactive experience slated to begin Monday, said Comcast and NBC Monday. Xfinity X1 is currently the only partner of The Voice to offer a voting option from a TV, it said. Subscribers say, “Vote for the Voice,” or press the info button on the remote, to engage the feature, it said. A panel on the right of the screen organizes artists by team for quick browsing, it said. Subscribers are allowed only one vote.

Owners of Sony 2017 and select 2016 Sony televisions with Android TV can now use Google Assistant to discover and access content and control other smart home devices via TV, said Sony Tuesday. To engage with Google Assistant, users push the mic button on the remote control and ask a question or issue a command, said the TV maker. With voice commands, users can play and search for video and music content, stream photos, control the TV, turn up lights or a smart thermostat and find general information such as weather, directions and facts, Sony said. The software update is available to owners of Sony's XBR-Z9D, XBR-X800D, XBR-X750/X700D, and all 2017 Sony Android TVs, said the company. Sony Android TVs also are compatible with Amazon's Alexa voice engine (see 1707130036).

Alexa integration is the top feature in 808 Audio’s new XL-V tabletop speaker. The $129 device -- available soon at the company website, Crutchfield and Fry’s Electronics -- can stream directly from Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and Amazon Music or from users’ mobile devices, said the company. The speaker can be set up with other XL-Vs in a multiroom configuration, it said.

The Washington Capitals are the first professional sports team to bow an Alexa Skill, said the NHL franchise last week and as part of a blast email to fans Tuesday. Fans with Amazon Echo devices can ask Alexa for Capitals-specific information including schedule, roster and stats, and they can request sounds from the Capital One Arena such as the goal horn or the “Unleash the Fury” in-game experience, said the team. Fans also will be able to access the Caps’ Flash Briefing, short audio messages delivered by radio announcer John Walton that are updated daily.

Cable companies invest heavily in voice remote capabilities, but there isn't strong evidence consumers are embracing such capabilities, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday. Pointing to TiVo data indicating half the people with access to voice search capabilities actually use it, with that percentage being roughly flat year over year, he said voice search is apparently slow to catch on with consumers. The analyst said one area showing growth is use of voice assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home for searching for video content.

Arrow Electronics and NXP Semiconductors announced a development kit ($375) that enables device makers to integrate Alexa Voice Service into a working prototype that can be taken into design and production. The Synaptics-branded development kit, based on an NXP SoC, adds intelligent voice control to connected products with a mic and speaker, enabling developers and engineers “to rapidly create Alexa-enabled proof of concepts and prototypes,” said Murdoch Fitzgerald, Arrow vice president-semiconductor marketing.