Announced as part of the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) API, the feature is in private beta with companies such as AccuWeather will provide weather updates, and The Washington Post will provide users breaking news alerts.
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But this is still a nice upgrade from the original version of Alexa calling that Amazon rolled out, which only let you call other Echo owners or people with the Alexa app installed and set up on their smartphone.
Google in response said: “Amazon’s implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show violates our terms of service, creating a broken user experience”. If you are eager to know what’s new on the second generation of Amazon Echo smart speaker, then here’s the details. The Echo Plus delivers superior audio performance as well, thanks to enhanced 360-degree omni-directional audio with Dolby processing. The new Echo has an eye catchy design with Metal and Sport cloth all around as you can see in the image.
That fact become blatantly obvious this week when Amazon unveiled a slew of new Alexa-enabled devices. Priced at $99.99 (Rs.6,500 approx.) in the U.S., the Echo comes in a range of shell colors and finishes such as charcoal, sandstone, heather gray, oak veneer, walnut veneer, and silver.
The new Echo Plus significantly expands the Alexa platform as a controller for the smart home, since it acts as a sort of hub via Zigbee support. Plus, with the new multi-room music feature, you can play your favorites throughout your home, with synchronized music across all of your Echo devices.
According to CIRP estimates, a total of 15 million Echo units have been sold in the United States, an increase from 10.7 million in March and 5.1 million in November 2016.
Spilling of the beans on the Google’s Echo Show killer progressed rapidly yesterday evening.
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The line-up was completed by the “Echo Spot“, incorporating a 2.5-in screen for hooking up to camera feeds and making video calls. The company will start the shipment of this Echo Spot later in December month. Echo Buttons will come in a two pack and be priced at $19.99. Echo Spot can directly connect to speakers through Bluetooth or using a 3.5mm stereo cable, enabling you to add Alexa to your home entertainment system. This device has a price tag of $35. Your Phone number will still be tied to calls so recipients can recognize you. It will sync things with other Amazon products easily.
