Powered by seven microphones and beam forming technology, Echo enables you to experience 360° immersive sound.
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Amazon’s Alexa has the ability to answer basic questions that relate to news, weather and music whereas Google’s device also has the ability to control certain smart devices within your house.
Users can order an Uber ride or a pizza or, some have noted, even tune a guitar with the device.
It’s available for anyone to test, providing said person has an Amazon account. It’s all thanks to a new web app you can access at echosim.io, and it lets you talk to Alexa directly from your Chrome, Firefox, or browser of choice. The development of “Alexa in the browser” dates back to a hackathon in 2015.
If a user follows the tutorials provided by Amazon, it will likely take less than 60 minutes to create the first Alexa skill, according to Glenn Cameron from Amazon. It’s an interesting feature that moves Alexa to a browser from Echo. Amazon’s Echo, the hardware home for the personal assistant, is sold at select retailers, but many consumers and developers had to buy before they could try, up until now. “Its simplicity makes it easy for anyone to understand what an Echo is and what it does without having to explain Alexa’s unique UX”.
Alexa is the voice behind Amazon Echo and has evolved into a useful platform for voice-activated commands.
It’s called Echosim, and all you need to use it is an Amazon account to log in. The device is connected to the AI based voice service Alexa which is built in the cloud and is always getting smarter and personalized the more you use it.
For those unaware with actual Echo devices and Alexa, Echo is essentially a wireless speaker which you can control with your voice.
If you’re a fan of the smart home concept and plan to implement it yourself, the Amazon “Echo” must be the top item on your list. But for it to be half as good as Alexa, Apple will need to embrace third-party integration; its usual locked down approach simply won’t work. “Turns out that many were pleasantly surprised as Alexa proved to be responsive and very functional”. Developers can even test out Alexa skills with the new site, but there’s a catch. Amazon’s timing couldn’t be better as according to the rumors, Apple is also planning on finally releasing Siri’s SDK. Apple could also be close to making their own rival service with the Apple TV.
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If you’ve ever wanted to try out the Amazon Echo before shelling out for one, you can now do just that right from your browser.
