Retailing giant Amazon just launched a new speaker product
in the market. But if you’re thinking that it’s just one of those run-of-the-mill
Bluetooth speakers, you’re underestimating Amazon a bit too much.
Aside from streaming songs online or via Bluetooth, Amazon’s
Echo also acts as your home’s virtual assistant much like Siri, Google Now and
Cortana are for phones. The speaker connects to the internet where it gets all
the information it needs for your requests. Just like its mobile counterparts,
the virtual assistant in the Echo is voice activated.
The speaker is always on and users can instruct the device
using an assigned “wake word”. According to Amazon, Echo uses far field
technology including a group of seven microphones around the top of the device
so you don’t need to shout in order to give it instruction.
A companion app can be downloaded into a smartphone and
tablet to help a user sort music, alarms and check shopping lists to name a
few. Echo is a plug in and is meant to reside in the living room alongside the
Fire TV in contrast to other Bluetooth speakers in the market.
Amazon is currently offering the Echo for $199 in an
invite-only setup for now, possibly to test the product itself and its
practical use in real life. If the sample group’s reception is positive we may
soon see a smart speaker talking to us in the near future.
