Latest news with #Zune
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Amazon confirms hiring Xbox co-creator J Allard to lead new product invention team
Amazon's devices unit has established a new team, named ZeroOne, which is tasked with inventing 'breakthrough' consumer products, a report claims. This new team is reportedly being led by J Allard, a former Microsoft executive who contributed to the creation of the Xbox. The ZeroOne team, which is said to be focused on both hardware and software projects, aims to develop product ideas from conception to launch – a "zero to one" mission, as its name suggests. The team operates across Seattle, San Francisco, and Sunnyvale, California, according to recent job postings. An Amazon spokesperson has confirmed to CNBC that Allard is overseeing the ZeroOne team but didn't provide further details about the group's specific projects. Allard's LinkedIn profile also shows that he's working as the VP of the ZeroOne team since September 2024. What are the major achievements of Xbox co-creator J Allard Allard, who worked at Microsoft for 19 years and previously served as its technology chief of consumer products before departing in 2010, was an architect of the Xbox game console. He also worked on the Zune, Microsoft's portable media player. Allard joined Amazon in September and reports to Panos Panay, who also moved from Microsoft to Amazon in 2023 to head the devices and services group. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like A perfect start needs the perfect ride – Shine 125! Honda Learn More Undo What is Amazon's ZeroOne team and what it is working on As per the CNBC report, job postings for Amazon's ZeroOne unit revealed limited specifics about the team's projects. One of the listings mentions involvement in 'conceiving, designing, and bringing to market computer vision techniques for a new smart-home product,' the report noted. The description of ther job posting (as seen by CNBC) says: 'You'll be part of a team that embraces design thinking, rapid experimentation, and building to learn. If you're excited about working in small, nimble teams to create entirely new product categories and thrive in the ambiguity of breakthrough innovation, we want to talk to you.' According to LinkedIn profiles of ZeroOne employees, Amazon has brought in personnel from other divisions with backgrounds in developing technologies such as the Alexa voice assistant, Luna cloud gaming service, and Halo sleep tracker. The group is also being led in part by the former head of Lightform, a projection mapping startup acquired by Amazon. As Amazon expands certain parts of its devices division, such as the ZeroOne project, it is simultaneously scaling back others. Earlier this month, the company laid off around 100 employees across its devices and services group, affecting teams working on Alexa, Amazon Kids, and its hardware R&D arm, Lab126. More than 50 of those job cuts were at Lab126's Sunnyvale facilities, according to WARN filings. While Lab126 has been behind major successes like the Kindle and Echo, it has also produced flops such as the Fire Phone and Halo tracker. Amazon noted that the layoffs impacted only a small fraction of its devices and services workforce, which numbers in the tens of thousands.
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Amazon (AMZN) Looks to Invent Brand-New Consumer Products with Its New ZeroOne Team
E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) has created a new team called ZeroOne within its devices division. This group is focused on inventing brand-new consumer products and is led by J Allard, a former Microsoft executive who helped create the Xbox and Zune. The team is based in Seattle, San Francisco, and Sunnyvale, and works on both hardware and software projects. The name 'ZeroOne' comes from its goal of taking ideas from nothing (zero) to launch (one). Confident Investing Starts Here: Amazon has had a mix of successful and failed products over the years. While it found success with devices like the Kindle, Echo, and Fire TV Stick, it also had flops such as the Fire Phone and the Halo fitness tracker. Many of these products were developed by Amazon's hardware team, Lab126. However, ZeroOne is seen as a new push for innovation. Interestingly, Job postings are hinting at smart-home products that use computer vision, and say that the team values design thinking, rapid testing, and building new product categories. The group includes staff with experience from Alexa, Luna gaming, and the Halo sleep tracker, and is led in part by the founder of Lightform, a startup Amazon bought. However, while Amazon grows the ZeroOne team, it has cut jobs in other parts of its devices and services division. In fact, it recently laid off about 100 employees, including people working on Alexa, Amazon Kids, and at Lab126. Over 50 of these layoffs happened at the Sunnyvale facility, according to California records. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Amazon said the cuts only affected a small percentage of the division, which has tens of thousands of workers. Is Amazon Stock Expected to Rise? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AMZN stock based on 47 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AMZN price target of $240.62 per share implies 17.4% upside potential.
Engadget
3 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
The Zune's creator is leading a secretive team at Amazon
J Allard, a former Microsoft executive and the mind behind the Zune, is leading a new team at Amazon, CNBC reports. Allard is officially the vice president of Amazon's ZeroOne, which, based on at least one Amazon job listing, is "a special projects team dedicated to inventing breakthrough consumer product categories." What ZeroOne is actually working on remains a bit mysterious, but CNBC was able to find another listing for a "Senior Applied Scientist" role that suggests the team will be "conceiving, designing, and bringing to market computer vision techniques for a new smart-home product." Computer vision is the umbrella term for technologies that allow computer systems to "understand" images and video — for example, the ability for a Ring Video Doorbell to identify when a package is on your door step. Depending on your taste in MP3 players, Allard's role in the creation of the Microsoft Zune could justifiably give you pause. Microsoft's failed MP3 player looked distinct, but was no match for the popularity of the iPod. The Zune was one of several interesting, if unsuccessful projects Allard led at Microsoft, including the Microsoft Kin, and the Courier, a book-style tablet that was later reimagined as the Surface Neo. Allard also co-created the original Xbox, arguably his biggest claim to fame at the company. ZeroOne will exist inside Amazon's larger devices and services division, which is led by Panos Panay, another Microsoft expat. Panay joined Amazon to lead the division in 2023, after several years overseeing the development of Surface hardware and Windows 11 at Microsoft. Since Panay joined the company, Amazon has launched a new lineup of Kindles and introduced Alexa+, its integration of generative AI into the well-known voice assistant. Hiring both Allard and Panay suggests Amazon plans to lean even harder into product development going forward.
