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.

Design-centric, female-focused brand stellé audio bowed a line of smart speakers it calls “pillars” with Amazon Alexa voice control. The pillars are a “fusion of design and sound quality,” said stellé CEO Anna Perelman at the embargoed launch in New York last week. Drivers of the Alexa add-on to the stellé line are ease of use and the emergence of voice control as the “wave of the future,” she told us. On whether the company is looking at other voice control engines, Perelman cited Alexa’s 76 percent market share, and its compatibility with Cortana, before saying, “Never say never” regarding Google Assistant. Currently, there are no Alexa skills for stellé speakers, but Perelman referenced the 25,000 Alexa skills that are accessible through the speakers. Finishes for the pillars are high-gloss white, bronze, pewter, matte black and ebony wood in what Perelman said is a “form meets function” product lineup. “The technology is behind the scenes” in keeping with the company’s design philosophy, she said. Connectivity options include Bluetooth and stellé’s multi-unit networking that enables users to connect multiple stellé smart pillars via Wi-Fi or stellé’s standalone network when Wi-Fi isn't available, said the company. The speakers' Proactive Detection feature delivers notifications if a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm is activated, it said. Life for the rechargeable battery is given as 15 hours. The $299 pillars will be available from stelleaudio.com, Amazon and Neiman Marcus in November, and the luxury retailer also will sell two exclusive wood finishes: ash and wenge, at $299. Stellé’s premium line of pillar designs adds Swarovski crystals, starting at $2,000, and will be available through the company website.

Amazon’s Alexa and Echo devices are available by invitation in India and will roll out in Japan later this year, the company announced Wednesday. Customers who want to help the development of Alexa and Echo devices can request an invitation to buy the devices at www.amazon.in in exchange for a limited-time 30 percent discount and a year of Prime membership, it said. Devices are to ship at the end of the month.

Amazon’s first-born Alexa device, the Echo, is gone from Amazon’s virtual shelves during the transition to the next generation, but consumers can find the original Echo at varying prices elsewhere, we found in an internet search Monday. Bed Bath & Beyond offered the best price we found on the 2-year-old voice-controlled speaker at $119, down from the original price of $179. The domestic merchandise retailer was also taking orders for the $99 second-gen Echo devices, including a three-fer for $50 off. Best Buy discounted the original Echo to $129. Abt Electronics and Target didn’t discount the Echo at all, selling both black and white versions for $179, while Adorama showed two versions of the Echo, one for $169 and another for $179.

Clothing brand Perry Ellis announced an “Ask Perry Ellis” Amazon Alexa skill for men to help choose clothing for select occasions. Users can ask Perry Ellis what to wear to any of nearly 150 programmed occasions, said the fashion company. Alexa replies by offering an appropriate look, taking into account the venue, weather and dress code, and sends a selection to the user’s Alexa app and email, enabling users to click through to PerryEllis.com to add items to their shopping cart. The brand cited eMarketer data reporting that 35.6 million Americans use a voice-activated assistant device at least once a month. Of those users, 71 percent own an Echo, leading to Perry Ellis’ selection of Alexa for the app-based style assistant. In a Perry Ellis survey, a third of men said they skipped an event because they didn’t have the right clothes to wear, with job interviews, weddings and dates the occasions they struggle with the most, it said.

LG announced voice compatibility with Google Assistant for 87 connected appliances including washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, vacuums and air purifiers. Consumers can control the appliances via Google Home or the Google Assistant app on compatible Android and iOS smartphones, LG said. Under a promotion running Oct. 8-25, consumers who buy a Wi-Fi-enabled LG appliance will receive a free Google Home speaker, restricted to one per household. Examples of tasks that device owners can command by voice are to check time remaining during wash cycles, tell a refrigerator to make ice, turn off the range after cooking, adjust thermostat settings on an air conditioner and check air quality level via an air purifier, LG said. The company's SmartThinQ app is said to learn about a consumers' usage patterns to help predict their needs. It uses adaptive technology to interpret usage habits and data, knowing when to alert users, for example, that it's time to order filter refills or to troubleshoot lint build-up in a dryer, said the company. LG SmartThinQ also works with Amazon Echo.

Alexa users can now control Amazon Music by voice on Android and iOS devices in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Austria, Amazon announced Tuesday. Listeners press the push-to-talk function on their mobile device to request music or select functions from the Alexa app interface. They can request music for a road trip, the latest song by a band, a soundtrack for working out or a song list from a musical era, for instance, it said.

Nearly 70 percent of Amazon Echo and Google Home device owners have a smart accessory controllable by the voice-controlled smart speaker, said a Monday Consumer Intelligence Research Partners report. Smart accessories include thermostats, appliances, lighting, home security, smoke detectors, security cameras, door locks, doorbells and garage door openers, it said. A quarter, 24 percent, of Echo and Google Home device owners have a smart home security system, said CIRP, and 9 percent have a connected smoke detector, doorbell or garage door opener. More than 70 percent of Amazon Echo and Google Home owners with in-home smart lighting said they bought the system after owning the smart speaker, and more than 70 percent of smart door lock and smoke detector system owners reported using Echo or Home to control the system, it said. The hurdles for adding smart home devices are “very low, as two-thirds or more of Echo and Home owners install many of these systems themselves, without a contractor or installer,” it said. Three-quarters of owners said they use an Echo or Home to control smart accessories, which typically also are controllable by dedicated apps or interfaces, it said. The survey of 300 smart home speaker owners was done July 11-27.

Nuance and Universal Electronics announced their technologies are powering a conversational interface for Israel’s yes pay-TV service. Nuance’s Dragon TV platform is integrated into the UEI remote control, they said. Nuance will launch its first voice-powered remote control this month, allowing subscribers to search and find content in Hebrew and English. “The challenge is to get the system to flawlessly work with over 95 percent accuracy, or else consumers will try and stop using it,” said Menno Koopmans, managing director-Europe Middle East Asia/International at UEI.

Alexa made its lighting product debut Monday in a Dyson-esque LED lamp under the C by GE brand. The $199 C by GE Sol -- a circular lamp styled similarly to Dyson fans with a hole in the center -- integrates Alexa, and users can, by voice, turn the lamp on or off, dim, change colors and ask the lamp questions they would ask an Echo speaker or Dot, said GE. They can set lighting timers and set the lamp to come on and go off at set light levels and colors suited to waking up and going to sleep, said GE. The lamp has five tunable white light options and a visual timer that scales back as time counts down. Users also can control the lamp by the C by GE app and by buttons embedded in the lamp’s base. The Sol can control other C by GE smart bulbs in the home, the company said.