A Second Alexa Car Radio Heads to CES

share on:
Soundstream-Alexa-Radio

Feature Story:

The latest car audio supplier to announce an Amazon Alexa-ready radio is Soundstream.  The company will ship in the second quarter a radio that permits many of the features found in an Amazon Echo Dot.

The Soundstream VRA-67B incorporates Alexa’s voice service when used with a WiFi hotspot or tethered to a smartphone.  Users can ask Alexa from the radio to “‘Play me some music,’ How’s the traffic?’  ‘What’s the weather like?’  ‘Where’s a good Chinese restaurant?’  You can also interact with any devices you have in your home to turn the lights on and off, adjust the blinds if you are connected in such a way,” said Paul Goldberg, VP Sales & Marketing for Epsilon, Soundstream’s parent company.

The Double DIN unit has a 6.2-inch touchscreen and includes a DVD/CD player, MP3, and AM/FM receiver plus 4.0 Bluetooth Connectivity.

Soundstream says basic Alexa control is just the beginning.  “The most exciting thing is the future set of products we’re working on.  Voice control is so natural for people. To be able to get in your car and use your voice naturally to run functions in the car is the gold at the end of the rainbow.  We’re not just sticking Alexa capability in a head unit to make a splash at CES.  We’re working on very, very advanced stuff to allow Alexa to be your voice control in the car, like ‘Roll down the windows, Alexa’ and ‘Turn on the windshield wipers Alexa.’  That’s the target,” Goldberg said.

Some of other benefits of Alexa include:

News and Entertainment – This includes information on the latest headlines and such information as the weather.

Notifications – Ask Alexa for to remind you of all of your appointments and meetings.

Localized Search – Ask to be taken to your nearest mall or McDonald’s all via voice command.

To view a quick video click here: https://streamable.com/vautz

The Soundstream VRA-67B will be on view at CES next week in Las Vegas at the Power Acoustik Booth 3057.

Boss Audio also announced it will unveil an Alexa-ready car radio next week.

 

Want to receive industry news? Sign up here
share on:

1 Comment

  1. Boss and Soundstream are the first in the game? I’m sure this is going to be underwhelming…

Comments are closed.