Amazon Wants To Put a Listening Post In Your Home

Photo of author

Tim Higgins

Amazon logoAmazon has unveiled something that could be the neatest or creepiest thing you can buy.

You can think of Amazon Echo as a Siri or Cortana clone embodied in a Wi-Fi connected, AC powered box, er, column instead of a smartphone.

The always-on Echo is powered by Amazon Web Services and is described as "always getting smarter", adpating to speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences. An array of seven microphones use far-field technology to pick up voices at normal levels anywhere in a typical home-sized room.

Echo is said to only "listen" when woken up by the key phrase "Alexa". But there is also a microphone off button for the suspicious and an "action" button for manual wake-up.

Amazon Echo

Amazon Echo

The promotional video is cloying, but does a good job of illustrating Amazon’s vision of how Echo will become one of your family. Oddly, none of the examples, which include asking Echo to play music, provide word spelling, tell jokes and rattle off a personal wake-up news summary, include ordering something from Amazon. But there is a "shopping list" function…

Echo includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios and works with companion iOS, Android and Fire OS apps as well as any web browser.

If you want one, you need to ask for an invitation at the Echo site. If you’re selected sometime in the "coming weeks" you’ll get to pay $199 or only $99 if you’re an Amazon Prime member.

Related posts

VTech announces Internet-browsing and Wi-Fi phones

VTech today announced two multi-handset cordless phone systems with Internet access features. One is DECT 6.0 based, the other connects via Wi-Fi.

CES 2009: LaCie rolls out HDMI-connected USB Drive

LaCie today announced a USB external drive with built-in HDMI supporting upscaled 1080p video display.

Dell, EPA To Host D.C. Earth Day Computer Recycling Drive

Dell and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host an Earth Day computer recycling event for consumers in the Washington metropolitan area on Sunday, April 22. The free event is part of Dell’s commitment to educating consumers about responsible computer recycling options and keeping information technology equipment out of landfills.

Washington, D.C.-area residents can recycle any brand computer, monitor, printer and other computer equipment by dropping off the items at the event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the event site at 13th and E Streets, N.W.