Okay Google, how much does the Google Home smart speaker cost? Available for preorder on today and shipping on November 4, Google Home is an internet-connected speaker with a built-in virtual assistant. It can query the internet and make online purchases for you, in addition to talking interfacing with other smarthome devices like the Nest connected thermostat. Google announced the smart speaker and the virtual assistant that dwells inside in May at its annual developer event, I/O, but kept the key details under wraps until today. Google Home represents a direct competitor to Amazon's Alexa, which also serves as a voice-activated conduit to the internet.

During a special Made By Google event on Tuesday, Google announced a pair of new phones, an upgraded Chromecast, and its always-on personal assistant Google Home. Google also revealed its own wireless network product, Google Wifi. Here's how it works: Users place a series of small, white devices around the home. Each device broadcasts a wireless network, while simultaneously interacting and communicating with one another to maximize network speed and coverage. Google developed a feature called Network Assist that will monitor you as you move around with a device, such as a phone or tablet, and ensure your device has a strong and reliable connection at all times.

At its "Made by Google" event Tuesday, Google offered up more information about its Amazon Echo-like Google Home device. First announced at Google I/O in May, Google Home is a voice activated, smart home virtual assistant hub. The device is capable of connecting to other gadgets around the home (such as the Nest thermostat) and completing basic tasks like playing music or searching Google. Today we're learning that at launch, Google Home will sell for 129 at Best Buy, Walmart and Target. The device will come in a bevy of color options for the swappable base and includes a free six-month trial of YouTube Red.

Google's hardware efforts have a heavy dose of Google Assistant and artificial intelligence at the company is scurrying to enlist its developer and partner base to build out functions to connect everything from Google Home to Pixel smartphones. The company said Google Assistant will its next big open platform along with search, advertising, maps, Android and Play. Make no mistake that Google Assistant's ecosystem has some catching up to do relative to Amazon's Alexa. Amazon is dangling 2.5 million in front of developers who can advance conversational AI. Alexa also has a broad ecosystem and more than 3,000 skills along with partners such as GE Appliances, publishers and a host of others such as Uber.

Google Assistant, the company's new smart personal assistant, needs to work with a lot of different services to really respond to all users' needs -- and that means Google needs to open it up for partners. At its big event on Tuesday Google said it will launch a platform in December that will let third party developers create "actions" for the Assistant. Furthermore, the company will launch an Assistant SDK next year, meaning it'll eventually be available on devices other than Google's Pixel phones and Home. Google Engineering Director Scott Huffman showed several examples on how Google Assistant will work with third-party services, from turning on your lights to playing your Spotify playlists. These are so-called "Direct Actions," which instantly trigger a simple response based on a user's request.

Salesforce.com Inc. CRM 0.61 % said it would embed artificial intelligence technology into its software for salespeople, making it the latest in a gaggle of companies racing to enhance workplace tools with human-like abilities. The company will demonstrate the new software at its annual user conference next month in San Francisco. Called Einstein, the new offering is a set of online AI services designed to automate tasks, predict behavior and spotlight relevant information. Einstein is the latest in a long line of AI products branded with human-sounding names including Alexa from Amazon.com Inc., Cortana from Microsoft Corp. MSFT -0.57 IBM -1.06 % IBM and Microsoft, in particular, have spearheaded a push to offer AI services aimed at corporate users.

Google Home, the company's answer to Amazon's Echo, made its official debut at the Google I/O developer conference earlier this year. Since then, we've heard very little about Google's voice-activated personal assistant. Today, at Google's annual hardware event, the company finally provided us with more details. Google Home will cost 129 (with a free six-month trial of YouTube red) and go on sale on Google's online store today. It will ship on November 4. Google's Mario Queiroz today argued that our homes are different from other environments.

Google launched an aggressive challenge to Apple and Samsung on Tuesday, introducing its own new line of smartphones called Pixel, which are designed to showcase a digital helper the company calls "Google Assistant." The new phones represent a big new push by Google to sell its own consumer devices, instead of largely just supplying software for other manufacturers. At a starting price of 649, the new phones are aimed at the same markets as Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy flagship phones. Google executives touted features such as a powerful camera and long-lasting battery during a product event Tuesday, where they said the phones will be sold in two screen sizes -- 5 inches and 5.5 inches -- and three colors: black, silver and blue. But they're clearly hoping that the new Pixel phones will be distinguished by their use of Google's software.

Google has placed a virtual assistant at the heart of its latest smartphones and first voice-activated speaker. The two Pixel handsets are the first mobiles to trigger Google Assistant by pressing their home buttons, somewhat like Apple's Siri. The Home speaker lets the same artificial intelligence tool be controlled without use of a touchscreen. Google also unveiled new virtual reality kit and a 4K media streamer. However, the US company will have to overcome privacy concerns and convince users that chatting to a virtual assistant has advantages over using individual apps.

Google has unveiled a new range of phones with a built in smart assistant to take on Apple and Amazon. The search giant has unveiled it's biggest ever range of hardware - with phones, smart speakers, TV dongles, a smart speaker and a wifi router. It says it hopes to use AI to create'a personal Google for each and every user.' At a special event in San Francisco the firm is unveiling a raft of new products - even though most of them have already leaked online. They include two new phones, a Pixel and the 5.5-inch Pixel XL The Pixel runs on a Snapdragon 821 2.15GHz processor.