Wednesday 25 February 2015

Amazon Echo

Hey Guys!
You may have heard about Amazon's new Bluetooth speaker: the Amazon Echo. This is a speaker intended on being kept in a room of your house, so that you can speak to it. It has a Siri type interface, with you being able to ask it questions, yet you don't need to press any buttons, as it responds to the name "Alexa" This would mean that if, for example, you were cooking and couldn't press a button but needed to know something, then you would just ask Alexa.

There have been many worries about security, as the actual device cannot decode the speech itself. It will be able to recognise a specific trigger word, but not the whole speech, therefore your words must have to go to a data centre somewhere to be processed. This worries some people, as nobody knows what Amazon will do with your speech.

Always ready, connected, and fast. Just askImage from amazon.com
The device looks nice, with it's polished black surface. When the trigger word is heard, the top disc lights up to show it is active. This is a nice touch, but could be a bit strange if you say a certain word and a light flashes. The current questioning system is said to not be too good at the moment, but will expand out in the future, so that more questions can be recognised.

My verdict: It's a good device, especially if you are a prime member, and extremely good value for money at only $100 if you are a prime member. The echo official website can be found here.

Make sure to keep checking here to see the latest tech news!

2 comments :

  1. I was desparate to get one of these, until I read that the searches are not actually that good at the moment. Maybe I'll wait for it to get better, or wait for Google to make one that is linked to Google Now.
    Privacy concerns aside, this is the future. HAL in 2001 is here. Except for the killing people bit, hopefully.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would buy one actually. Sadly not available in the UK yet.

    ReplyDelete