This product image provided by Amazon shows the Amazon Echo speaker. The biggest feature in Amazon’s Echo speaker is a voice-recognition system called Alexa that is designed to control Pandora, Amazon Music and Prime Music services as well as give information on news, weather and traffic. (Amazon via AP)
Over the last few weeks, you may have started seeing ads for a black, cylindrical device from Amazon called Echo. But what is Echo, and what can it actually do?
Though Amazon would probably prefer not to have it compared to Apple’s Siri, the Echo tube is like a physical version of Apple’s voice-activated personal assistant. Echo, which resembles a fancy air filter, has multiple built-in microphones ready to listen for your voice and answer questions about weather and traffic. It can also play songs for you from your Amazon collection, Pandora, iHeartRadio and other music services. And, as it continues to evolve, Amazon is adding functions, such as the ability to control home-automation devices like Wi-Fi wall switches and smart LED bulbs. The voice commands are issued by starting a sentence with “Alexa,” which might have been a better name for the device than Echo.
When it debuted in November, it was offered for $99 only to Amazon Prime members, but it recently became available for anyone to order for $180. Shipments are expected to start next week.
Want to hear what life is like with Echo? Tech writer Stacey Higginbotham chatted with me and co-host Tolly Moseley about the one she owns on an episode of "Statesman Shots" earlier this year.
In this space every week, we’ll define a tech term, offer a timely tip or answer questions about technology from readers. Email ogallaga@statesman.com.
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