Is the latest Amazon Echo device worth the hype? Find out below.
Ever thought about having a personal assistant to aid you and carry out little tasks such as research and list compilation? This administrative/personal assistant will carry out your tasks easily with a simple command from you. Amazon is aiming to make that device, in their Amazon Echo, check out our review.
Spend time listening to amazing background music from a quality speaker while your assistant carries out tasks. If this seems like what you need in your life and/or office, then you might want to look into the new Amazon Echo.
The Amazon smart speaker that was introduced in 2014 has nothing on the new Amazon Echo Show.
The Amazon Echo show has an interactive touch screen that aids in ease of communication with the device. Also for customers looking to have video calling features at their fingertips, the Amazon Echo comes with a camera for that purpose.
Essential features of the Amazon Echo
This innovative device may change our means of interaction with our environment.
The Amazon Echo plays quality grade music through its speakers and also gives you room to speak to it. The interactive nature of the Echo allows it to perform simple tasks such as create shopping lists and memos.
It features two major parts in its setup:
- a software app
- a speaker/ microphone combination device.
It has a cylindrical shape with a height of 9.25 inches. The device stands upright and has a width of 3.27 inches. The speaker broadcasts to all directions (i.e., it is omnidirectional)
The echo has seven microphones around the top that can pick up your voice no matter your location in a room.
If you have interests in the weather or distance from your house to your favorite Chinese restaurant, simply address the Echo by its name ‘Alexa.’ This will let it know that you are talking about it.
For instance: “Alexa, what’s the weather like in Folkston?” peradventure that the echo is asleep or performing another task, it will stop to answer your question. According to Amazon, its far-field voice recognition will let it hear you from across the room.
With a working wifi connection, your request is then streamed to the cloud where the ‘brain’ of the Echo resides.
Pros:
- The Echo works with a simple set up.
- Strong voice recognition that picks up your natural voice and fulfills your commands
- The speech of Alexa does not sound like a robot
- Its Bluetooth capacity allows you connect your tablet or phones and lets your stream music from Pandora or Spotify through the speaker
- Amazon Prime and TuneIn come preinstalled.
- It is economical. It can be purchased for $199, but as an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can get it for $99.
- It does not come with additional monthly costs
Cons:
- It only features the English language
- The Echo’s sound quality is good but could be better
Conclusion:
The Amazon Echo acts as an efficient virtual assistant that performs basic tasks and functions such as gathering weather reports, providing traffic updates, streaming audio or music, booking a cab, or making shopping lists.
