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This amazing product has exploded in popularity - way beyond what Amazon originally planned. Rated 4.4 (of 5) stars on Amazon, with over 35,000 reviews.
One growing use is as a voice interface for home automation - and it can natively control many popular home automation products like Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, Samsung SmartThings etc.
Product Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkOCeAtKHIc
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-SK705DI-Echo/dp/B00X4WHP5E
Whirlpool thread: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2333170
Amazon sell for RRP of US $180 plus you need to use a freight forwarder as this product is exclusive to USA at the moment but several people on OzBargain and Whirlpool are using them here in Australia and love them.
B&H deliver to Australia and currently have a $20 discount (US$180 down to $160) on the Echo. That was enough for me to pull the trigger.
Total cost US $188 (~AU $247) delivered via DHL Mail or $7 more for DHL Courier.
AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
Plays all your music from Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and more using just your voice
• Fills the room with immersive, 360º omni-directional audio
• Allows hands-free convenience with voice-control
• Hears you from across the room with far-field voice recognition, even while music is playing
• Answers questions, reads audiobooks and the news, reports traffic and weather, gives info on local businesses, provides sports scores and schedules, and more using the Alexa Voice Service
• Controls lights, switches, and thermostats with compatible WeMo, Philips Hue, Samsung SmartThings, Wink, Insteon, Nest, and ecobee smart home devices
• Always getting smarter and adding new features and skills—over 100 added since launch, including Domino's and Uber
Amazon Echo is a hands-free speaker you control with your voice. Echo connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more—instantly. All you have to do is ask.
Echo has seven microphones and beam forming technology so it can hear you from across the room—even while music is playing. Echo is also an expertly tuned speaker that can fill any room with 360° immersive sound. When you want to use Echo, just say the wake word "Alexa" and Echo responds instantly. If you have more than one
Echo or Echo Dot, you can set a different wake word for each—you can pick "Amazon", "Alexa" or "Echo" as the wake word.
Echo provides hands-free voice control for Amazon Music, Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Plus, Echo is Bluetooth-enabled so you can stream other popular music services like iTunes from your phone or tablet.
Echo has been fine-tuned to deliver crisp vocals with dynamic bass response. Its dual downward-firing speakers produce 360° omni-directional audio to fill any room with immersive sound.
Tucked under the light ring is an array of seven microphones that use beam-forming technology and enhanced noise cancellation. With far-field voice recognition, Echo can hear you ask a question from any direction—even while playing music.
When you want to use Echo, simply say the wake word, "Alexa," and Echo lights up and streams audio to the cloud, where the Alexa Voice Service is leveraged to recognize and respond to your request instantly. Learn more about voice recognition on Echo.
Alexa—the brain behind Echo—is built in the cloud, so it is always getting smarter. The more you use Echo, the more it adapts to your speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences. And because Echo is always connected, updates are delivered automatically.
Just in the last few months we’ve added local search from Yelp, movie showtimes, Samsung SmartThings support, Google Calendar, Audible audiobooks, text-to-speech for Kindle eBooks, and over 100 new skills from third-party developers.
Skills add even more capabilities like ordering a pizza from Domino's, requesting a ride from Uber, opening your garage with Garageio, and more. Enabling skills lets your Echo do even more—simply discover and enable the skills you want to use in the Alexa App.
New skills are being added all the time. You can also see ratings and reviews to learn what other customers are saying about skills in the Alexa App.
Use Echo to switch on the lamp before getting out of bed, turn on the fan or space heater while reading in your favorite chair, or dim the lights from the couch to watch a movie—all without lifting a finger.
Echo works with devices such as lights, switches, thermostats, and more from WeMo, Philips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, Nest, ecobee, and Wink. Learn more about compatible smart home connected devices, including starter kits for easy setup.
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I have Alexa and it is pretty cool.
Had to set the address for Guam as it only accepts US addresses, but that works fine.
Runs Wemo switches and Philips Hue perfectly (doesn't do Wemo globes though atm).
Great entertainment for the kids aswell.