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fliptop [soylentnews.org] writes:

Alibaba's version of the digital personal assistant will be available on August 8th only in China and without a display [bloomberg.com]:

Alibaba’s “Tmall Genie X1” will go for 499 yuan ($73) to the first 1,000 people during a one-month trial, coming in below Apple’s $349 HomePod and the roughly $180 Echo. Its biggest competitor, Tencent Holdings Ltd., is developing a voice-activated digital speaker that could hit the market within months, Tencent President Martin Lau said [bloomberg.com] in a May interview. And on Wednesday, Baidu Inc. showed off its own “DuerOS” [bloomberg.com] personal assistant.

Taking a page from Amazon.com Inc. and Google, Hangzhou-based Alibaba’s speaker offers voice-controlled services from music streaming to newscasts and calendar-booking, according to its website. Importantly, the gadget -- powered by the AliGenie system -- may eventually simplify shopping for the Chinese e-commerce giant’s 450 million active buyers who turn to the website for everything from cherries to makeup.

Originally spotted on The Eponymous Pickle [blogspot.com].

Related:
Amazon Rolls out Chatbot Tools in Race to Dominate Voice-Powered Tech [soylentnews.org]
Amazon Dominates Voice-Controlled Speaker Market [soylentnews.org]

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