Amazon Echo is a smart speaker, which means it does more than play music. With Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa, Echo can tell you about the weather, create shopping lists, help you in the kitchen, control other smart products such as lights and televisions, and a lot more.
Full Answer
What is the Amazon Echo?
The Amazon Echo is the biggest tech breakout in recent memory -- a voice-activated, internet-connected "smart speaker" with a built-in virtual assistant named Alexa that can answer your questions, follow your instructions and control your smart home devices. As Amazon likes to put it, the Echo is a Star Trek computer for your home.
What are the features of the Amazon Echo speaker?
Its top features a signature light ring, and four buttons: one for microphone, one for action and two for volume. Inside, you'll find a 3-inch, downward-firing woofer and a 0.8-inch tweeter. It usually costs around $99, but you can often find it for less. The 2019 Echo speaker is the middle child of Amazon's hardware ecosystem.
What do the lights on the Amazon Echo screen mean?
When a bar of cyan faces you, it indicates the Echo is processing your request. Orange light shows the Echo is connecting to your Wi-Fi, but purple means that the device has encountered a setup error. The Echo's top glows white when it changes the volume, and it glows red when you turn off its microphone.
Should you buy an Amazon Echo Show?
With Amazon's frequent discounting, it's possible to get an Echo Show far below full retail, for near the same price as a regular Echo. But if you're especially worried about privacy, you probably won't love the Echo Show's camera and Drop In feature.
What is the Amazon Echo, and how does it work?
It's a standalone Bluetooth speaker with an array of "far-field" microphones that can hear you at a moderate distance plus a Wi-Fi connection to the Amazon cloud.
How much does the Amazon Echo Show cost?
Amazon Echo Show -- At an asking price of $230 (£200 in the UK, not available in Australia but its price converts to AU$305), the Echo Show adds a touchscreen and a camera to the Alexa interface, which lets Alexa show you information or stream video on demand. You can also use it to make video calls or check the feed from a compatible connected camera.
How many different kinds of Echo devices are there?
After the Echo became a clear hit with the mainstream, Amazon doubled down and began releasing a number of offshoot devices designed to broaden the appeal of Alexa's voice interface. All of them offer the same Alexa features in different packages and with different features that might interest different kinds of people. Here's a quick list:
How does Alexa work?
Here's how that works: Whenever you ask Alexa a question or give her a command, the Echo records the audio and uploads the snippet to Amazon's cloud servers. Those servers translate the audio into text, then figure out the best way for Alexa to answer. That info gets sent back to your Echo speaker, where Alexa translates the text back into a spoken response. All of this happens in about a second.
How does Amazon protect Alexa?
Amazon uses encryption to protect those audio snippets whenever Alexa uploads them, and it stores them in the Amazon servers so that you can play them back in the Alexa app to hear what Alexa heard and see what she thinks you asked. You can erase that backlog of audio snippets any time you like ( here's how ), and you can also press a button to "mute" the microphone and keep the Echo from listening for the wake word at all. In that case, the Echo's ring will turn red to indicate that Alexa is covering her ears.
What is the closest competitor to Alexa?
The closest competitor would be the Google Home smart speaker ($130 in the US, £130 in the UK and AU$200 in Australia). Powered by the voice-activated Google Assistant -- it comes the closest to matching Alexa's wide variety of features and integrations. Like Amazon, Google offers a smaller-sized version for $50 (£40 in the UK, AU$60 in Australia) called the Google Home Mini. It also offers a king-sized version called the Google Home Max for $400 (£400 in the UK, AU$580 in Australia) that offers superior sound quality. Amazon doesn't have anything that matches the Max speaker, at least not yet.
How much does an echo cost?
Amazon Echo -- The original Echo smart speaker, now in its second generation, comes in a variety of interchangeable cases called "shells," and sells for $100 in the US, £90 in the UK and AU$120 in Australia.
What Does the Amazon Echo Show Look Like?
If you're familiar with the Echo or Echo Dot, you'll know that these Amazon devices are speakers with an always-on microphone. The biggest difference between the Echo and the Echo Show is a screen. Each option in the Echo Show lineup features a touchscreen and front-facing camera.
What is an echo?
The chances are you've heard of, or own, an Amazon Echo. The Echo is the flagship product in Amazon's smart home lineup that includes several different products that are controlled by Amazon Alexa, the company's voice-activated assistant. Whether you own an Echo and are considering an upgrade, or you're thinking about purchasing your first Amazon ...
What Else Does the Echo Show Do?
Set up a digital photo frame: If you add photos to the Amazon Photos service, you can have them play as a slideshow on your Echo Show.
Is the Amazon Echo Show Right for You?
If you're a visual learner and communicator, the Echo Show will make your everyday technology interactions richer and more useful than an audio-only device.
What is Echo Show monitoring?
Once that word is heard, the Echo Show begins to record data that will be saved to Amazon's servers and stored in order to improve your user experience.
What is the Echo Show special feature?
The Echo Show has one special feature that takes advantage of the camera: Drop In.
How big is the Echo Show?
There are three different sizes of Echo Show to select from with a 5-inch, 8-inch, and 10.1-inch screen.
What is the difference between Alexa and Echo?
The Echo is a lineup of smart speakers. Alexa is the artificially intelligent voice assistant that powers those speakers . But Alexa doesn't only live in Echo products. It powers a number of Amazon devices, including the Fire TV and Fire tablets, as well as countless third-party products, including smart speakers such as the Sonos One, smart thermostats like the Ecobee 5 and even computers like the HP Pavilion Wave.
How much does the Echo cost?
Its top features a signature light ring, and four buttons: one for microphone, one for action and two for volume. Inside, you'll find a 3-inch, downward-firing woofer and a 0.8-inch tweeter. It usually costs around $99, but you can often find it for less.
Can Amazon Echo Make Phone Calls?
Yes. Once you've given Alexa access to your contacts and verified your phone number in the Alexa app, just ask Alexa to call a contact by name, or to call any phone number (don't forget the area code). You can call another compatible Echo device or a mobile or landline phone.
Is there a monthly fee for Echo?
No. All you need to make the Echo work is a Wi-Fi connection. However, having an Amazon Prime account introduces all sorts of perks to using your Echo. Prime members receive free two-day shipping on most items in the U.S. (including those purchased with your Echo), and members in some regions can get free same-day delivery, or even two-hour delivery via Amazon's Prime Now service. They also get discounted access to Amazon Music Unlimited, which the Echo can stream.
Who (or what) is Alexa?
Like Tony Stark's Jarvis or Apple's Siri, Alexa is the voice of the personal assistant that lives inside the Echo, the Amazon Fire TV and countless other connected devices. It is a cloud service that performs all those actions, such as reading the news and checking movie times. It has some personality, too (just say, "Alexa, beam me up," or tell it you're its father). To wake up the Echo, simply say "Alexa." You can change that trigger word to Amazon, Echo, or Computer in the Alexa app (available for Android, iOS, Fire OS and desktop browsers).
What are Alexa Skills?
Examples of Alexa Skills include the ability to order an Uber, play games, tune your guitar, guide your workouts, read you a daily affirmation and many other things. You can browse all the options from the Alexa app, or through Amazon.com.
Can Alexa really understand me?
But that doesn't mean some accents won't trip it up. In fact, there's nothing more frustrating than when Alexa says, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand the question I heard.
What is the Alexa range?
First and foremost, Alexa is designed around Amazon's own Echo devices. The Amazon Echo range includes the standard Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Studio, and Echo Dot, which are all speakers, and then the Echo Show, Echo Show 5, Echo Show 8, and the Echo Spot, which also feature a display, so can give you visual feedback, like weather widgets, ...
What devices work with Alexa?
What devices offer Alexa? There are two sides to this question - devices that work with Alexa (such as Philips Hue) - and devices that offer Amazon Voice Services, which is the platform that runs Alexa. First and foremost, Alexa is designed around Amazon's own Echo devices. The Amazon Echo range includes the standard Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Studio, ...
Is Alexa a smart controller?
In this sense, Alexa is a great smart home controller - and once linked to Alexa, can be accessed through anything that supports Alexa voice commands.
Can you view a ring doorbell on an echo show?
You can view your Ring Video Doorbell on your Echo Show, for example, as you can with Arlo cameras . You can connect Alexa to your Philips Hue or other lightbulbs, like Ikea, to turn them on or off with voice, or link to your heating controls so you can check and change the temperature in your house.
Does Amazon Music work with Echo?
The Echo devices with a display can also return visual information , extending beyond widgets to news videos, recipes or games.
Can Alexa tap into other devices?
Alexa can also tap into information from other devices and services by using Skills (which are like apps), so will be able to give you specific information about your car, your latest weigh-in or to find your Tile. Pocket-lint.
Does Alexa play music?
Alexa is able to play music, provide information, deliver news and sports scores, tell you the weather, control your smart home and even allow Prime members to order products from Amazon. Alexa sits in the cloud, expanding the information offered all the time and refining the responses to give you more accurate information.
What is an echo?
An Amazon Echo is a voice activated, internet connected smart speaker which uses Amazon Alexa to understand and carry out voice commands. There’s more to it than that, but basically Echo is a device which relies on a cloud based technology (Alexa) to do things.
What does echo do when you say "Alexa"?
Your Echo device detects that you said “Alexa”, and enters listening mode. In other words, it now actively starts listening to what you are saying.
What is the difference between Alexa and Echo?
This is therefore the key difference between Alexa and Echo – an Echo device is a physical item with a speaker and microphone, whilst Alexa is the internet-based software which actually processes your request.
What is Alexa voice?
In other words, Amazon Alexa is a cloud-based service which can understand voice requests, and then the correct software service (s) will be spoken to in order to process your request.
What is the sound that an echo microphone hears?
Echo – its onboard microphone hears some sound which is probably a voice.
What is Amazon smart speaker?
Amazon have produced a range of ‘smart speakers’ – also known as ‘virtual assistants’ – since 2014. You can speak to them and issue commands to play music, get an update on the news or weather, and a whole lot more.
How does Alexa work?
Once permission is granted and you start speaking, your phone will firstly go into ‘Listening’ mode. Once you have finished asking a question or issuing a command, the app will go into ‘Speaking’ mode and show your result. In the case below, I asked “ Alexa, what’s the weather like in Cardiff, UK? “:
How many microphones does Echo have?
There are seven microphones built into the Echo – and they are very good. So good that every time I talk about "Alexa" in my apartment, I have to say She Who Must Not Be Named, even if I'm in another room.
Is the Echo portable?
The Echo has a perfectly compact form factor, but it's not actually portable. I wish I could charge it overnight and put it in the bathroom in the morning so I can listen to music while I shower.