Google ties up with Sony, Lenovo for voice command-based smart speakers

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Monday its voice-controlled virtual assistant will show up this year in new tablet-like devices designed by LG Electronics Inc and Sony Corp as the technology company seeks to challenge Amazon.com Inc's dominance in a fledgling market.

Dubbed smart displays by Google, the new devices introduce tablet-like screens to speakers that can obey oral commands to perform tasks like playing music, dimming lights, locking doors and setting alarms. JBL and Lenovo Group Ltd also are developing smart displays, Google said.

Amazon kick-started the market for smart speakers in 2014 with its Echo device, which included the Alexa virtual assistant. The company added a screen for the first time in June, calling the device the Echo Show.

Neither Apple Inc's assistant Siri nor Microsoft Corp's Cortana are currently available on a speaker with a tablet-like display.
The new Google Assistant gadgets unveiled Monday at the CES trade show in Las Vegas mark the first challenge to Amazon's Echo Show and the smaller Echo Spot, which also has a display.

The Show went on sale in June for $230 and the Spot in December for $130. Users of the smart displays being unveiled by Google cannot browse the Web or install apps as they would on a tablet, but the new gadgets are optimized for sound quality and listening to voice commands. Information related to the commands is brought up on the touchscreen.

Lenovo's version of the smart display will come with an 8-inch screen for $200 or a 10.1-inch screen for $250. The device will go on sale "early this summer" and includes a camera that shoots in 720p high definition, Lenovo said. JBL, part of Samsung Electronics' Harman Kardon subsidiary, LG and Sony did not announce pricing and release dates.