By Stuart Thomson
Vodafone España has launched an intelligent voice assistant, Átika, that will integrate voice control of the TV, premium sound quality and Amazon Alexa in a single device.
Vodafone said the device is the first of its kind oto be launched by an operator in the Spanish market.
Speaking on a virtual press conference to mark the launch Vodafone TV director Ignacio Garcia Legaz said that over 50% of customers use voice control each month to find content they want to watch, and are for the most part very happy with the service. He said that Átika enables subscribers to change channel, record, look up programming, launch apps, navigate menus, find content, control video they are watching, search according to various criteria and turn on and off the set top.
Users can use commands such as “Hola Átika, pon el Canal Hollywood”, “Hola Átika avanza 10 minutos” or “Hola Átika, entra en HBO España” to navigate channels and apps.
Vodafone has teamed up with Sagemcom to manufacture and integrate the device.
Átika taps technologies developed by Devialet, including Space, which provides a wraparound sound experience from one device, and Adaptive Volume Level (AVL), which matches the volume from the device withy the content reproduced, in real time.
Amazon Alexa is integrated with Átika. García Legaz said that this can enable users to stream music, radio and podcasts, and access news and weather, among other things.
Voice control can be disconnected to preserve customers’ privacy, said García Legaz.
Átika is available for €6 a month for 36 months or a one-off fee of €216, compared with a retail price for non-customers of €399. Vodafone is also offering Amazon Music Unlimited free of charge for 90 days as a promotional offer.
From November 16-30 the device is available for €144 or €4 as part of a Black Friday promotional sale.
Átika will only work as a Vodafone TV controller in tandem with a set top.
García Legaz said that the device would only be available through Vodafone in Spain and that there are no current plans by the wider Vodafone group to deploy it in other markets.
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