Could be a price war coming to the wireless ear bud battle? Less than a month after Amazon's Echo Buds debuted undercutting Apple's AirPods, Google is launching its newest Pixel Buds at a lower price than Amazon's latest – and lower than previous Pixel Buds ($179), released last year. Pixel Buds A-Series ($99) can be pre-ordered today on Google's web site and will be shipped by June 17. Google's latest may not have all the bells and whistles found on pricier pods – such as the noise cancellation you get on AirPods Pro ($249) and Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro ($199). But the new Pixel Buds may be just the right choice if you are looking to join the wireless wave.

Since the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in early 2020, businesses across multiple vertical industries around the world, have struggled to deal with unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic. With millions of workers furloughed and companies shuttered, the virus has had an enormous impact in both human and economic terms. While many industries have suffered, opportunities have also been created, especially in B2B and the Internet of Things (IoT). A new report from Strategy Analytics, "The Impact of COVID-19 on Enterprise and the IoT," identifies how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted industries of all sizes across a multitude of vertical markets, identifying key challenges as businesses reopen, as well as opportunities in the IoT, especially areas such as Telehealth, Automation, Spatial Computing, Digital Twins, Supply Chains, UAVs and Robotics. This report takes a look at the impacts caused by COVID-19 on the enterprise and IoT space and the opportunities and challenges posed as the global economy attempts to recover on the path to 2021. "The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new environment for citizens, companies and governments.

Enabling an edge-computing architecture with AI is seen as a way forward for advances in strategic applications. And at the advent of 5G network speeds, AI is seen as essential to the endpoints. A new network paradigm based on virtualization enabled by Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), presents an opportunity to push AI processing out to the edge in a distributed architecture, suggests a recent report from Strategy Analytics. Three types of edge computing are foreseen: device as the edge, in which an IoT device generates and consumes data and has embedded AI that can send and receive data to and from additional AI systems; enterprise premise network edge, that can support AI processing on a piece of hardware in a vehicle, drone or machinery, and can collect and process data from smart devices; and operator network edge, with an AI stack/platform to host applications and services, which may be located at a micro data center in a radio tower, edge router, base station or internet gateway. "One of the challenges this new networking paradigm creates stems from the fact that the edge of the network is consistently shifting and moving," stated Caroline Chan, VP and GM, 5G Infrastructure Division, Network Platform Group, Intel, sponsor of the report. In a cloud/client architecture, the link between the centralized cloud and the client has become a bottleneck as more data is processed and network latency increases, causing too much of a time delay.

Data from Strategy Analytics show that smart speaker shipments in the Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden reached 900,000 in 2019. That figure is up sharply from shipments of only about 200,000 in 2018. These figures indicate impressive growth and smart speaker interest in countries that collectively claim only about 20 million in population. Strategy Analytics estimates the household installed base for smart speakers these Nordic countries is about 6%. Finland and Iceland were not included in the analysis since none of the leading smart speaker makers have offerings with language localization for these countries. Google Home (a.k.a Google Nest) dominates smart speaker market share in the Nordic countries accounting for over 80% of all devices shipped according to David Watkins, director of connected home devices at Strategy Analytics.

Smart speakers continue to sell like hotcakes. That's according to Strategy Analytics, which today reported that in the fourth quarter of 2018, shipments of AI-imbued speakers grew 95 percent from 22.6 million units in Q3 to 38.5 million units -- more than the entire 2017 total. It brought the year-end tally to 86.2 million units. The massive fourth-quarter leap isn't too surprising -- a report released by Adobe during the Consumer Electronics Show in January last year found that nearly 76 percent of smart speaker sales occur during the holiday season. Still, it's reassuring evidence of growth in a consumer sector that, unlike the slowing smartphone market, is nowhere near the point of oversaturation.

Google this week debuted a slew of new capabilities for its artificial intelligence software, Google Assistant, at CES in Las Vegas. One of the headliners was a preview of Google Assistant Connect. The new platform lets device manufacturers incorporate Google Assistant into their products easily and cost-effectively. Connect uses Google's existing smart home platform to expand to new device types, while making device setup and discovery easy for consumers. A manufacturer could create a continuous e-ink display projecting weather or calendar information, for example, while using Connect to drive content from a linked smart speaker.

It is the'beginning of the end' for traditional smartphones, according to an annual technology report. Analysts believe that something entirely different may supplant the smartphone such as smart rings, bracelets and glasses. Even as top makers like Apple and Samsung unveil new handsets with improved performance, overall sales have flattened with most major markets largely saturated, the report found. In just over a decade, smartphones have become the hottest-selling consumer device around the world. The next catalyst for smartphones could be the possibilities offered by the forthcoming 5G, or fifth generation wireless networks, new form factors or advances in virtual and augmented reality. Future Today Institute founder Amy Webb said in her annual report on technology trends that 2018 'marks the beginning of the end of traditional smartphones'.

Strategy Analytics has just released its report on the Q2 shipments of smart speakers across the globe. The numbers revealed that over 50% of the speakers are either by Google or Amazon, with Google Home Mini grabbing the lion share with a 20% of the market. The numbers reveal that although the market is still heavily concentrated around the pioneers in the smart speaker world, users still prefer the cheaper and more compact device. That--s why Google Home Mini and Amazon Echo Dot are stomping over the third placed Amazon Echo and fifth placed Google Home. The Alibaba Tmall Genie completes the top five.

Amazon unveiled its vision for smart homes powered by the Alexa voice assistant, with a dizzying array of new gadgets and features for almost every room in the house -- from a microwave oven to a security camera and wall clock. The Seattle internet giant is pushing Alexa more deeply into customers' lives, hoping to popularize technology that has yet to go mainstream and connecting people more to Amazon's universe of things to buy. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos sees voice as the next interface linking people and machines, like a mouse on personal computers and touchscreens on smartphones. The $50 hockey puck-shaped Dot is one of Amazon's best-selling devices, and with 70 percent better sound it's going after audiophiles on Sonos Inc.'s turf. Amazon also introduced a subwoofer to go along with existing Echo products as well as a pair of amplifiers that work like audio control centers for the home. The Echo speaker, with the Alexa voice assistant, debuted in 2014 and has maintained a lead over tech competitors Google and Apple Inc., which have scrambled to catch up.

It's easy to imagine a world in which "Alexa" is synonymous with talking computers, or Echo with smart speakers--just as Kleenex is synonymous with facial tissue, Xerox with copy machines, or Google with online search. They need a better name.) That's almost the world we live in today, thanks to the dramatic early success of Amazon's pioneering smart speaker and the surprisingly capable digital assistant that animates it. It's true that voice-powered smart speakers are on the path to ubiquity: Analysts predict that most U.S. households will eventually have one. But at a time when sales are booming around the world, it's becoming clear that Amazon's first-mover advantage wasn't built to last.