Amazon's Echo Speaker Acts as a Personal Assistant - East Idaho News
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Amazon’s Echo Speaker Acts as a Personal Assistant

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110614 AmazonEcho?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1415315615652Amazon(NEW YORK) — Amazon quietly unveiled the Echo Thursday, a tube-shaped device that is a hybrid between a speaker and a personal assistant.

Amazon said the device, which currently requires an invitation to purchase, is capable of hearing voice commands from across a crowded room due to seven microphones that can recognize voices coming from any direction. And enhanced noise cancellation lets the device still do its job as a speaker while listening like a good personal assistant would.

The Echo is even able to hear users when music is playing, Amazon said.

The downside: Hopefully buyers of the device don’t live with someone named Alexa — it’s also the word that wakes up the speaker and prompts it to begin listening to commands, which can be everything from asking about the weather to requesting it blast your favorite song.

The Echo costs $199. Members of Amazon Prime who request an invitation can purchase the speaker for a limited-time price of $99.


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