By will-buy
Verizon is creating a new smart display using Alexa as a voice assistant, according to a brand new FCC filing first spotted by Protocol. The smart display is unnamed beside LVD1 like a model number and appears to make use of the Alexa Custom Assistant platform that debuted captured within Chrysler vehicles.
Verizon Alexa
The Verizon smart display shares a glance with Amazon’s own Echo Show line, albeit with sharper angles with no fabric covering the speakers. The FCC filing describes an eight-inch display along with a front camera, supported by 4 GB of RAM, 16 GV memory, and also the capability to connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 4G cellular service. There’s no indication whether it’s a touchscreen, but the filing indicates there's a native voice assistant associated with “Hi Verizon” like a wake word. The consumer manual attached to what Verizon filed suggests the primary objective of the unit is to run the BlueJeans interactive video system Verizon bought last year. That would fit with what Verizon said at the time about BlueJeans becoming area of the company’s long-term intends to build up a network of services that use 5G.
“As the way you work continues to change, it's absolutely critical for businesses and public sector customers to get access to an extensive suite of offerings which are enterprise ready, secure, frictionless which integrate with existing tools,” Verizon Business CEO Tami Erwin said at that time. “Collaboration and communications have become the surface of the diary for businesses of any size as well as in all sectors in recent months. We are excited to combine the power of BlueJeans' video platform with Verizon Business' connectivity networks, platforms and solutions to meet our customers' needs.”
Customized Alexa
Using the Alexa Custom Assistant helps Verizon in that goal by simplifying the deployment of a branded voice assistant. Despite the fact that users will say “Hi Verizon” and presumably hear a custom voice with improvements, it’s the Alexa AI that'll be supporting everything. That’s faster and cheaper than building a voice assistant on your own and doesn’t sacrifice Verizon’s branding. Additionally, it means fewer resources spent updating elements like Alexa's natural language engine. That’s why Chrysler, Qualcomm, and Garmin have begun implementing the woking platform.
And while the Verizon screen is simply too a new comer to know much about, the Alexa Custom Assistant platform offers additional support so that when the custom assistant is asked to develop a task or react to a question it cannot handle, the AI will turn to Alexa for help, and the other way around. We’ve reached to Verizon for comment, although it’s unlikely they'll say anything in front of an official announcement about the device’s timing, price, or features.
