Amazon's Echo can actually change our daily home living

Jun 23, 2015 15:37 GMT  ·  By

Previously available on invitation only, now Amazon's Echo can be purchased by anybody for at least $149.

Being kept only on invitations and for the enjoyment of a select few, the Echo now can be bought by everybody starting July 14.

Being essentially a house voice-based assistant, the Echo will always remain in your house and act like a cylindrical speaker that can be a house hub for you. It can do shopping for you and reorder kitchen supplies on Amazon by simply asking it.

One major advantage it has right now is that it can remain on at all times, with users able to activate Alexa, Echo's voice, by simply saying her name, then asking her to do a certain task.

Apparently, all of Echo's traits can be ported on a smartphone, but as Microsoft's Cortana, Apple's Siri and Google Now's speech recognition can do the same thing, Amazon wishes that Alexa becomes your perfect indoors partner. By porting Echo's speech recognition to Smart TVs, tablets and even Kindle, Amazon hopes that Alexa will help you do your chores in-house, help you buy things and even read you books.

Is this the first step to a much bigger thing?

Another great thing is that Echo can turn on lamps using Belkin WeMo light switch and play Pandora or iHeartRadio music. After being tweaked and tested in closed groups, Echo can now be integrated with Philips and Belkin products, provide Wikipedia info, have timer alarms, weather and to-do lists. Amazon wants to boost Echo's home assistant skills by partnering with Audible and let people listen to their audiobooks by saying, "Alexa, read my book."

Amazon hopes it'll link the Echo with as many brands and house products as possible in the future pushing its potential further.

Amazon's Echo can indeed become what Steve Jobs initially wished Siri to become. Unfortunately, he never actually managed to separate Siri from the voice of a smartphone. Connecting your voice assistant with home electronics and controlling them through it can indeed push the artificial home assistant idea even further. This way Amazon manages to build the first home-dedicated assistant instead of a pocket helper that has trouble discerning your words.

For the potential Amazon Echo ultimately has, $199 or $149 is probably an absolute bargain.