Ask LG ThinQ AI TVs, and Google Assistant will answer

LG Electronics (LG) has equipped its OLED and SUPER UHD TVs with the newly-introduced Google Assistant feature. 

Available on all LG ThinQ AI TV models, users are now able to use voice commands to access and search for information as well as check weather forecasts, all while enjoying their favourite TV shows. 

In the past, users would only have been able to execute simple voice commands to switch channels or adjust the volume.

They can search for specific content by making a verbal request through the TV’s remote control, such as “show me romantic comedy movies on Netflix” or “show me yoga videos”. They can also get help to manage daily tasks by scheduling calendar events, or pull out specific photo albums in their Google Drive gallery to share. Users can even request food, retail and hangout recommendations, addresses and contact information. 

“LG continues to improve the TV experience at home with greater offerings like the addition of the Google Assistant feature,” says Hosik Kim, Product Director of LG Home Entertainment. “Beyond entertainment, consumers can now conveniently use LG AI ThinQ TVs to manage content, plan calendar events, access files and search for information from a single platform.”

Speech recognition app will transcribe conversations between multiple people

Source: NVIDIA blog post. The Otter team at AISense.

US-based AISense has launched Otter, a GPU-powered app that records speech and produces both voice files and transcriptions from multiple people. Most of the software available today must be trained to recognise the voice of their owner, and will not recognise speech accurately from multiple people.

Human-to-human interactions are much more difficult to capture than human-to-machine interactions such as simple commands between people and Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant, AISense co-founder and CEO Sam Liang points out in a blog post. While they typically handle short queries or commands from a single speaker, Otter can manage longer conversations involving multiple people. 

AISense’s proprietary Ambient Voice Intelligence technology allows people to store, search, share and analyse voice conversations. Powered by Ambient Voice Intelligence, Otter allows users to scroll through text, labeled as coming from multiple people, and gives the option to listen, as well. The app provides better than 90% accuracy in text dictation, says the company.

Otter has to handle the complicated interactions of people and nuances of conversations, and it can get tripped up by accents in people’s speech, said Liang. “This is a pretty deep technology. It’s extremely difficult,” he said. “We had to do pretty sophisticated supervised learning, and we had to get a lot of labelled data, with hundreds of thousands of hours of recordings.” 

The 15-person team at AISense trained Otter on 50 NVIDIA Tesla GPUs and terabytes of freely-available audio and transcripts from the archives of National Public Radio (NPR) radio programmes and Supreme Court proceedings available at the US Library of Congress. This means that Otter will work best with US accents. 

Said Liang, “It’s a startup and we have to spend money very frugally. But we have to spend some resources on GPUs — it’s just a must.” 

The company is targeting Otter at enterprise customers who might use it in meetings. AISense plans to release a premium version that will require a subscription, and it already licenses some of its technology to enterprise customers.

AISense is also working with partners to deliver similar results. It recently partnered with Zoom Video Communications to handle voice data, which is being automatically transcribed with AISense’s technology.

Details: 

Otter is available free on iOS, Android and the web.

Singtel offers three times the mobile data at a nominal cost, plus Wi-Fi calling

Source: Singtel website. A new subscription add-on gives three times the mobile data at a nominal S$9.90 for those who get a new plan, or recontract.

Singtel has debuted a mobile data add-on, DataX3, at its iPhone 7 launch event at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre last week. With DataX3, customers enjoy triple the mobile data allowance on their plans, for S$9.90 a month. Available to Singtel Combo Plan (Combo 2 and above) customers, DataX3 follows the launch of the DataX2 add-on that was first introduced earlier this year.

“We are always looking for innovative ways to give our customers more affordable data because mobile data has become essential to most Singaporeans for communicating, shopping, banking and entertainment. DataX2 has been extremely well-received and is very popular with our customers, leading us to create an even more attractive offer of DataX3. Now, customers can choose to get more value for their money by simply adding on DataX2 or DataX3, depending on their data consumption needs,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Singapore, Singtel.

DataX3 offers significant cost savings to customers. For example, a customer on a Combo 4 plan will have the option to top-up at S$9.90 per month to get a total of 12GB of mobile data. It is available to new and re-contracting customers on eligible Combo Plans with a minimum subscription period of 24 months.

Singtel also announced that it will offer WiFi Calling (also known as Voice over WiFi) to Singtel mobile postpaid customers. This service allows customers to make HD quality voice calls and send SMS via any local Wi-Fi connection without the use of an app. The calls will switch seamlessly to the Singtel 4G network when users move out of Wi-Fi hotspot coverage. This service is available at no additional cost.

“WiFi Calling is a network innovation which offers added convenience and an enhanced mobile experience to customers. Our customers can now have mobile coverage even in difficult-to-reach places such as basements and windowless rooms, as long as there is a Wi-Fi signal. This service extends our extensive mobile network to cover a wider footprint and complements our ongoing efforts in delivering the fastest and widest 4G service in Singapore**,” said Yuen.

WiFi Calling will initially be available on selected iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Sony Xperia smartphone models*, with other devices to be supported in the coming weeks. To enjoy the service,
customers will need to switch on the VoLTE, and WiFi Calling settings on their device and ensure that it is running the latest firmware or iOS. Calls and SMS messages made over Wi-Fi will utilise the talk time and SMS bundles of customers’ mobile plans respectively.

Interested?

Pricing is as follows. Plans are only applicable to new and recontracting customers on eligible Mobile Combo Plans upon signing a two-year device agreement. A minimum subscription period of 24 months applies.

Source: Singtel. Combo mobile plans with DataX3. Compare against DataX2 plans.

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post on StarHub's 12GB mobile data plan

*Supported phones include the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, Samsung Galaxy S7 4G+, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge 4G+ and Sony Xperia X Annexe.

**Singtel has the fastest and widest outdoor 4G speeds with the lowest latency rates in Singapore, according to IDA MyConnection SG survey results for January to June 2016 and IDA’s Nationwide Outdoor Service Coverage measurements for Q216.

posted from Bloggeroid

Get Apple CarPlay in Malaysia through Pioneer

Source: Pioneer Electronics AsiaCentre. Apple CarPlay on the AVH-X8850BT.

Pioneer Electronics AsiaCentre has announced the availability of Apple CarPlay in Malaysia. Pioneer Electronics AsiaCentre (PAC) is the regional headquarters of Pioneer Corporation.

Accessible on three of its aftermarket in-dash car multimedia receivers - the AVH-X8850BT, AVH-X8750BT and AVH-X8650BT - drivers can upgrade their vehicles to enjoy a smarter, safer way to use iPhones while driving.

Utilising large, in-dash Pioneer LCD displays, Apple CarPlay featuring Siri voice control lets iPhone users with the latest version of iOS on their iPhone 5 or later use Siri to make and receive calls, compose and respond to text messages, use Apple Maps for navigation and listen to their music and podcasts.

"Pioneer's years of expertise integrating smartphone connectivity into the automotive environment has provided us the opportunity to be among the first to offer Apple CarPlay to drivers," said Isao Nomura, Deputy General Manager for Business Planning and Marketing Division of Pioneer Electronics AsiaCentre. "By providing an aftermarket option, selected Pioneer's in-dash multimedia receivers (AVH-X8850BT, AVH-X8750BT and AVH-X8650BT) give many iPhone owners in Malaysia the ability to add Apple CarPlay to their current vehicles."

Interested?

Car owners with the newly launched AVH-X8850BT and also the AVH-X8750BT will be able to access Apple CarPlay immediately.

Download the free firmware update for the AVH-X8650BT. Current AVH-X8650BT owners can load the firmware on a USB memory device and connect it to the receiver's USB cable input.

Call the service hotline in Malaysia at 1-300-88-2859, or visit the website

posted from Bloggeroid

LINE introduces conference call support for up to 200 people

Source: LINE. Screenshots of the new voice call feature.

LINE has added a new group call feature to the latest version of the LINE messaging app (iPhone and Android v.5.11, Windows Desktop v.4.5) which enables users to participate in voice calls with up to 200 people at a time. The group chat or multi-person chat voice function will soon be available to users of the LINE Mac desktop client as well.

When activated, the feature will prompt users within a group chat or multi-person chat with a notification that allows them to select the number of people to participate in the call. An icon is displayed above the username of the person currently speaking for easier communication. The service is available for free to all LINE users who have updated their app to v 5.111, making it an easy way to connect with friends and family for a chat or with co-workers for a conference call.

LINE was first launched in June 2011 as a messaging service available across multiple devices and network carriers, enabling users around the world to easily keep in touch with friends, family, and coworkers. Its free voice call service was introduced in October of the same year, followed by video calls in September 2013 as part of an initiative to strengthen lines of communication between people.

*Networks supported: Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G. Calls made over 3G and 4G may incur additional data transmission charges.

HP launches two phablets for India

HP has expanded its mobile portfolio with two mobile devices which it calls voice tablets, the 6-inch (diagonal) HP Slate6 VoiceTab and the 7-inch (diagonal) HP Slate7 VoiceTab. The voice tablets are to be available in India this February*.

Both integrate the features of a phone with those of tablets, and are designed to be extremely portable. 

“Consumers are looking to consolidate their phones and tablets, which is propelling the voice tablet market,” said Ron Coughlin, Senior VP, Consumer Personal Systems Group, HP. “This is an exciting new category that represents a meaningful growth opportunity for HP."

The new Android tablets have scratch-resistant back covers, are powered by a quad-core processor, and feature voice-calling capability**. Both devices are equipped with a 3G** Dual SIM Dual Standby** feature, and offer front-firing stereo speakers, as well as both front and rear cameras.

Additional information about the new HP portfolio is available at www.hp.com.*Not all models available in all regions.

**Requires a separately purchased service contract. Check with your service provider for coverage and availability in a specific area. Connection speeds for wireless broadband will vary due to carrier networks, location, environment, network conditions and other factors.