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The latest supplier to announce Alexa capability in the car is Garmin, which will release a new dashcam later this month with Amazon Alexa voice control, as well as lane departure warning and forward collision warning.
Alexa is also showing up in new head units from Boss Audio and Soundstream, as well as in DroneMobile car security products.
The new Garmin Speak Plus gives you Alexa voice control for hands-free access to music, news, turn-by-turn navigation and more.
As a dashcam, it records your drive and provides driver assistance features such as forward collision and lane departure warnings.
Users can choose from thousands of Alexa Skills that let you order goods, make shopping lists and remotely manage your smart home devices. Just say, “Alexa, ask Garmin …” to receive visual and spoken directions.
Drivers can ask Alexa to play songs from Amazon Music, Pandora and SiriusXM and the device comes with two months of free Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan. Other services such as Spotify are expected to be included in the future.
The dashcam works with a Garmin Speak app over Bluetooth (not WiFi, so there’s no need for a hotspot).
The Garmin Speak has a suggested retail price of $229.99 and will be available January 22 through Garmin, Best Buy and Amazon. A pre-order price of only $199.99 will be available between January 8-20.
Garmin also announced just prior to CES that it is offering an OEM infotainment platform to car makers that includes Alexa voice control. It requires no smartphone. Alexa answers are provided on screen as well as audibly. Through Alexa, users can control music on the radio and control devices at home such as lights and heating/cooling. Garmin is demonstrating the OEM system at CES.
Several car makers also offer Alexa capability including Ford, Nissan and Hyundai.
