Earlier Smart Speaker Intro Failed Partly on Lack of Google Stereo OK, Como CEO Says
Como Audio spent months figuring out what went wrong with last year's introduction of a smart speaker, its CEO told reporters. A primary reason for the speaker’s poor market performance was due to not having Google approval "to go into…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
stereo,” said CEO Tom DeVesto at a New York news conference Tuesday. To get certified with Google, speaker makers have to meet compliance provisions, including Google Assistant being able to hear a query even when loud music is playing, he said. “That’s hard even with one box,” he said; adding a second stereo speaker makes it more difficult because it adds more ambient noise. After Como worked during the year to improve response, Google approved Como’s “real stereo system” three weeks ago, he said. Como is touting SpeakEasy as the only true stereo music system with built-in Assistant, but it's not putting voice control features in the spotlight. Giving another reason for the product’s failure the first time around, DeVesto said: “We spent too much time talking about technical aspects of Google Assistant and not enough time talking about listening to music on it.” He encouraged anyone looking only for a smart speaker to spend $30 on a Google Home mini: “You don’t need to spend $300 to know where to get a pizza, or know what the temperature is.”