Amazon.com Inc. is developing a voice-activated wearable device that can recognize human emotions. The wrist-worn gadget is described as a health and wellness product in internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s a collaboration between Lab126, the hardware development group behind Amazon’s Fire phone and Echo smart speaker, and the Alexa voice software team. Designed to work with a smartphone app, the device has microphones paired with software that can discern the wearer’s emotional state from the sound of his or her voice, according to the documents and a person familiar with the program. Eventually the technology could be able to advise the wearer how to interact more effectively with others, the documents show. It’s unclear how far along the project is, or if it will ever become a commercial device. Amazon gives teams wide latitude to experiment with products, some of which will never come to market. Work on the project, code-named Dylan, was ongoing recently, according to the documents and the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter. A beta testing program is underway, this person said, though it’s unclear whether the trial includes prototype hardware, the emotion-detecting software or both. Amazon declined to comment. The notion of building machines that can understand human emotions has long been a staple of science fiction, from stories by Isaac Asimov to Star Trek’s android Data. Amid advances in machine learning and voice and... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-23 22:06:23 UTC ]
After casting a wide net in its search for a chief revenue officer, Time Inc. has narrowed the field to candidates including two current executives: Jed Hartman, group publisher of news and business, and Mark Ford, exec VP-president of the sports group, according to people familiar with the... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You might think December would be the calm before the storm at Time Inc., which is, to say the least, expecting an eventful 2014. But CEO Joe Ripp is busy this month too.The company, which publishes magazines including People and Sports Illustrated, is slated to spin off from parent Time Warner... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst is likely to call its forthcoming Dr. Mehmet Oz magazine "The Good Life," according to two people familiar with the matter. The title will likely also include the celebrity physician's name, though it's unclear precisely how that will be presented.A Hearst spokeswoman declined to... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2013-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Netflix did it with movies. Spotify did it with music. And now a New York start-up hopes to do the same with ebooks. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an allegory of the print industry at large, military exchanges are dropping close to 900 magazine titles from their newsstands to make room for products like consumer electronics. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2013-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's got a new Kindle promotion vehicle, thanks to the National PTA, which wants to boost kids' reading with their families. Amazon's Kindle is the exclusive sponsor of the new Family Reading Experience program that the National PTA wants to roll out across the U.S. to boost kids' reading... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has expressed interest in buying book publisher Penguin Group, potentially undermining merger discussions between Penguin and Random House, people familiar with the situation said. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Talks to resolve U.S. and European price-fixing probes into ebooks are heating up, with three international publishers inclined to settle the matter, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Justice Department has warned Apple Inc. and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble Inc. has put its Sterling Publishing business up for sale, say people familiar with the situation, signaling a likely end to its decades-long involvement in the publishing of its own books. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Warner Inc. has picked Laura Lang, chief executive of the digital-ad firm Digitas, to run its Time Inc. magazine-publishing division, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com Inc. is talking with book publishers about launching a Netflix Inc.-like service for digital books, in which customers would pay an annual fee to access a library of content, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 09/06/2011 - 09:19 Private equity firm Najafi Companies is reportedly in discussions to buy Borders in America. The Wall Street Journal said "people familiar with the matter" said the firm, which usually makes investments of $1bn or less, is in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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