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The Amazon Echo, released in the US in 2015, has finally reached UK shores, and just in time for Christmas. But does it live up to the hype?
Its defining feature is its cloud-based personal assistant like Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana.
Simply ask it a question, using its “wake word” Alexa, for example “Alexa, what is on my ‘to do’ list?” or “Alexa,what is the weather today?” and a blue light will appear to inform you it heard your query. It will then answer or confirm a command with the kind of politeness and proficiency akin to that of a less-menacing Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The hands-free speaker can be controlled easily with your voice, no matter where you are in a room.
This is achieved by seven microphones positioned around the top of the Echo to carry out “beam-forming,” which isolates sound from one direction and cancels out any distracting background noise. It will sometimes mishear your requests, but no more than other popular smart assistants.
Setting-up the device is straightforward and takes around 10 minutes. Just plug it in, let it charge, download an app on your phone and go through simple steps to link it to your wi-fi.
It will search for other connected home devices, such as smart lightbulbs or heating controls. You can then ask Alexa to turn up your heating or dim your lights.
You can also download third-party apps, or “skills”, to expand its abilities. For example, enabling the Uber skill means Alexa can order you a taxi to your door.
Alexa can carry out a range of basic but useful skills too including setting timers or adding items to your shopping list. The Echo can also play music on command from Amazon Prime and Spotify, if you are a paying member, or free radio stations, producing fairly good quality audio.
One main drawback is that Alexa sources data from Bing rather than from the more knowledgeable search engine Google. It’s also a tad pricey at £149.99.
However, overall the Echo is a slick gadget that will make life just that little bit easier –although it works best the smarter and more connected your home is.
Whether it can compete with the cheaper, soon-to-be-released Google Home remains to be seen.