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Garmin Announce Speak Plus with Amazon Alexa and Dashcam
Article by: MaFt
Date: 8 Jan 2018
Garmin have announced an upgraded version of their Speak device: the Speak Plus. Powered by Amazon Alexa, the Speak Plus is a small, voice-activated navigation device with built in dash cam. Used in conjunction with a smartphone app, the Speak Plus is able to give navigation directions, detect lane departures and forward collisions and can send video and stills to your smartphone from the dash cam.
Oddly, for an in-car device, you can control your smart home such as turning on lights or adjusting your home thermostat. You can also ask Alexa for facts and information about your location to keep passengers entertained. The Speak Plus can also play music from a number of services, via your smartphone, to your car's stereo.
The Garmin Speak Plus is available for pre-order in America for $199.99 to be shipped in February. There are no dates yet for the Speak or Speak Plus to be available outside America.
Full Press Release:
OLATHE, Kan.-- Garmin International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), today announced the Garmin Speak™ Plus with Amazon Alexa, adding a built-in dash camera to its innovative Garmin Speak. The in-vehicle1 device is enabled with Amazon’s cloud-based Alexa voice service for hands-free access to music, news briefings, sports scores, exclusive GPS navigation from Garmin, and much more. With the addition of the newly integrated dash cam,2 drivers can rest at ease with their own personal eyewitness overseeing their daily drive. The Garmin Speak Plus will automatically record and save files when an incident is detected, and introduces advanced driver assistance features that include Forward Collision and Lane Departure Warnings.3
“The Garmin Speak Plus is an easy way to bring Amazon Alexa’s popular functionality to your car,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “Just as Amazon continues to enhance Alexa’s voice service with exciting new skills, Garmin creatively merges its world-renowned GPS navigation and camera technology with the Speak Plus. The added dash cam is discreet yet provides invaluable peace of mind to drivers who want an extra set of eyes with them in case an incident occurs.”
“Alexa is always getting smarter and we’re excited to see Garmin continue to innovate on the in-car Alexa experience,” said Ned Curic, Amazon Alexa vice president of automotive. “Customers want to be able to access Alexa wherever they are, and that includes the car. Alexa will help customers do thousands of things in the car including navigation, music, shopping lists, accessing their favorite skills, and more.”
The new dash cam gives Garmin Speak Plus users increased awareness on the road. It offers helpful alerts like Forward Collision Warnings that lets drivers know if they’re too close to the vehicle ahead; Lane Departure Warnings if the driver drifts off the road or into oncoming traffic; and “Go Alerts” to notify drivers when stopped traffic ahead begins to move. At just an inch and a half in size, the compact Garmin Speak Plus features a familiar LED light ring – reminiscent of the Amazon Echo – and a bright OLED display showing lane guidance arrows to guide drivers to their destination, and unobtrusively secures to a vehicle’s windshield with a magnetic mount for easy stow and go.
Like its predecessor, drivers can ask Alexa to play songs from several free- and subscription-based music services, including Amazon music, Pandora® and Sirius XM®. With the purchase of a Garmin Speak or Garmin Speak Plus device, new subscribers can enjoy a two-month subscription to the Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan.4 Popular services, such as Spotify®, are expected to be included as additional streaming services become available. In addition, drivers can activate Garmin turn-by-turn directions to shops, restaurants, and more with the simple phrase, “Alexa, ask Garmin…”. Garmin Speak Plus turns words into action so drivers can keep their hands on the wheel and still accomplish tasks like creating shopping and to-do lists, monitor traffic updates and weather, and control smart home devices5 while traveling on the road.
Garmin Speak Plus works in conjunction with the Garmin Speak app and a Bluetooth®-enabled smartphone with a suitable cellular data connection. Drivers can then use Bluetooth® or an AUX cable (not included) to hear audio through their vehicle’s speakers – accept or ignore incoming calls, hear a favorite tune, and more. The vehicle-dedicated device does not rely on a Wi-Fi® hotspot to function. Amazon Alexa lives in the cloud and will continue getting smarter as it automatically delivers new capabilities to the Garmin Speak Plus. The more customers use Alexa, the more Alexa adapts to speech patterns, vocabulary, and preferences with new features continually being added. Alexa skills promote new capabilities that allow Garmin Speak Plus users to develop a more personalized experience with Alexa. What’s more, automatic software and mapping updates are regularly sent to the Garmin Speak Plus to keep the device up-to-date.
With a suggested retail price of $229.99, Garmin Speak Plus will be available to customers starting mid-February through Garmin, Best Buy, Amazon and other retailers. A special limited time pre-order price of $199.99 will be available from Jan. 8 to Feb. 10. For more information, visit garmin.com/speak.
Garmin Speak Plus with Amazon Alexa is the latest from the consumer automotive segment of Garmin, the leading worldwide provider of portable navigation devices for automobiles, motorcycles and trucks. The company’s user-friendly navigation solutions have innovative features that provide time- and fuel-saving benefits to meet the demands of everyday driving.
For decades, Garmin has pioneered new GPS navigation, advancements with camera solutions, wireless devices and applications that are designed for people who live an active lifestyle. Garmin serves five primary business units, including automotive, aviation, fitness, marine, and outdoor recreation. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at garmin.com/newsroom, contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200, or follow us at facebook.com/garmin, twitter.com/garmin, or youtube.com/garmin.
1Drivers should focus on driving and only use the device when safe to do so.
2Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of a dash cam device. It is your responsibility to know and comply with applicable laws and rights to privacy in jurisdictions where you plan to use this device.
3Certain conditions may impair the warning function. Visit Garmin.com/warnings for details.
4Offer ends April 20, 2018
5To control smart home devices you must have or create an Alexa smart home skill that works with your smart home products.
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| Comments
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 Posted by MaFt on Wed Jan 10, 2018 6:09 pm |
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Garmin have said that while it's currently USA-only, they are looking at releasing the Speak and Speak Plus wherever Alexa is available.
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| Posted by Roy124 on Tue May 15, 2018 8:55 am |
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Looks like a dog's breakfast rather than its bollocks.
For the camera to work it must be high up. For you to see the directions it must be in your near direct vision. To use it in California it cannot be on the windscreen.
They really need a re-think. Certaiinly a small dash cam linked with a smartphone; I have one that is great*. It could be the Alexa link. Then, if they want a direction display add a second proper display, either a physical display low down on the dash or a heads up display.
I searched for a smartphone dashcam and eventually paid a bit more, about £50, for one with a 180 deg lens. It is amazing and can convictor exonerate you in the event of an accident!
The full screen coverage includes well into the car and shows the whole steering wheel,, your hands and gear stick. If you are fiddling with radio, phone or satnav it will see all. Equally it will prove you had both hands on the wheel.
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| Posted by bmuskett on Wed May 16, 2018 2:48 pm |
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I assumed that "one that is great*" meant you were going to tell us which one it was. I'm interested to know.
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