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Amazon Echo now available for everyone, without an invite
Do you guys remember the Amazon Echo? It’s that awesome smart speaker announced by the popular retailer last November. It wowed most of the industry and proved to be one of the coolest digital assistants around, but there was one huge problem: no one could buy it!
Amazon was pretty much beta testing the Echo by releasing it only to customers who got a hold of an invite. Thankfully, this era is now left in the past and, as of today, any person can buy the Amazon Echo. No invites or cumbersome processes are required. Just head over to the Amazon Echo page and buy yours for $179.99. It will be in stock on July 14th, so you will have to wait a bit before it ships.
That $179 price point sure isn’t the cheapest, but you will find the Echo has a lot to offer and may be worth your hard-earned cash. This is more than your simple wireless speaker; which, by the way, some people pay the same amount or more for.
The Amazon Echo harnesses the power of the internet to become one of the coolest digital assistants found outside of actual smart devices. You can literally talk to the Echo and ask it questions about cooking, news, the weather, traffic, sports, shopping and more.
The Echo does more than plain information, though. You can command it to add something to your shopping list, purchase something from Amazon, make a reminder in your calendar, add something to your to-do list or even control your home automation smart products.
How does this all relate to Android? Well, there is a nifty mobile app you can use to get quick access to everything related to your Amazon Echo. All your reminders, calendar information and other features will be accessible from your smartphone or tablet.
Pretty neat, right? I am not sure I am willing to spend that much money on a speaker when I have Google Now available at all times, but I can see some people falling in love with this thing. It’s easy to operate, it’s smart and it can even tell you jokes! Who’s buying?