NPR and Edison Research study claims that 16 percent of Americans own a smart speaker

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If you thought smart speakers only had a place in the home of the most avid tech fanatics, think again. According to a Fall/Winter study performed by NPR and Edison Research, roughly 16 percent of Americans over 18 (39 million individuals) already own one or more smart speakers, with 7 percent of those individuals opting to buy their device between Black Friday and the end of 2017. The study says a whopping 11 percent of Americans own an Amazon Echo device, while only 4 percent own a Google Home product, putting Amazon firmly in the lead.

If these numbers seem higher than you might expect, it is worth noting that the study's overall sample size was relatively small, with a total of 1,816 participants. These individuals were interviewed via two separate surveys, the first of which was a 1,010-participant telephone survey, while the second was a 806-participant online survey. As such, the results may not necessarily be indicative of the entire U.S. population, though they do seem to mark a trend.

At any rate, the first survey was conducted on smart speaker owners and non-owners alike, while the online survey was focused exclusively on the latter, with the goal of obtaining more information on general smart speaker usage habits.

To that end, the online survey revealed that 71 percent of smart speaker owners have listened to more audio overall since getting the device, with 39 percent claiming that their smart speaker is beginning to replace time otherwise spent with traditional AM/FM radios. Furthermore, a significant 64 percent of smart speakers owners say they now use their device to control their smart home.

Audio and smart home control aren't the only uses people have found for their devices. 66 percent of smart speaker owners use their speakers to entertain or impress their friends with music playback, trivia games and impromptu Q&A sessions.

It's clear that smart speakers are beginning to find a place in the average American's life, even if it may take a few years for them to become a true household staple. To view the full report for yourself, it's available on this PDF via the official National Public Media website.

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I was one of the early adopters for the Amazon Echo and really enjoy it. It's very rare that a day goes by where I'm not using it for something. And they're adding more capabilities to it monthly.

Is it a "must have" gadget for everyone? Nope. But it's definitely one of those, "once you have it, you'll find yourself using it a lot more than you expected" things.
 
15% think it's the Smartest thing in the whole house and the companies think that it'll go up to over 100% (trump talk) lol
 
15% think it's the Smartest thing in the whole house and the companies think that it'll go up to over 100% (trump talk) lol
Although I Don't think it's necessary to bring politics into this discussion. I kind of can see, "The Donald", marching around the White House asking Alexa, "who's your daddy, who's the president of the US"? "Now come over here and let me pat you on your power supply".

(With these shenanigans going on at least several times a day).
 
Own these and everything you say is forever. Did ya know that Twitter uses your private personal (or so you thought) data and sells it. Everything you do on Twitter is fair game. You think this is any different?
 
15% think it's the Smartest thing in the whole house and the companies think that it'll go up to over 100% (trump talk) lol
Although I Don't think it's necessary to bring politics into this discussion. I kind of can see, "The Donald", marching around the White House asking Alexa, "who's your daddy, who's the president of the US"? "Now come over here and let me pat you on your power supply".

(With these shenanigans going on at least several times a day).
It was a joke/sarchasm my American friend to highlight his genius in knowing 100% is the maximum you can go .
 
It was a joke/sarchasm my American friend to highlight his genius in knowing 100% is the maximum you can go .
Why are you naive or arrogant enough to assume I can't count?

I thought I foll\owed your lead, and dumped a heaping helping more sarcasm on top of it.

Especially the allusion to Trump sexually harassing "Alexa". After all, there was the episode of the tape made in the trailer, with Trump bragging to Billy Bush, about his slapping pageant contestants on the butt..

Alexa's PSU equals "Alexa's" butt. Now do you get it?

Besides, don't you believe Trump is vain and egotistical enough, to want "Alexa" to blow some sunshine up his hind quarters?
 
I'll remain in the 84% and in whatever % that shrinks to, even if I'm the last man on earth not to own one. Every point of connection to the internet is an another connection of more vulnerability. That includes IoT devices as well. Too many conveniences jeapordizes our privacy, security, and even our health. Now I'm very tech savvy and always interested in new things coming down the pike, but I draw limits at various times.
 
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