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Pre-Order - Amazon Alexa Echo - 2 for $199 Delivered (Introductory Offer) @ Amazon AU

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Amazon Echo connects to Alexa, a cloud-based voice service, to play music, make calls, set alarms and timers, ask questions, check your calendar, weather, traffic and sports scores, manage to-do and shopping lists, control compatible smart home devices, and more.
Just ask for a song, artist or genre from Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn and more. With multi-room music, you can play music on Echo devices in different rooms. Echo can play radio stations, news briefings and read kindle ebooks. Services may require subscriptions or other fees; Bluetooth not supported for multi-room music.
Call or message anyone hands-free who also has an Echo device or the Alexa App. Also, quickly connect to other Echo devices in your home using just your voice.
Dolby processing speakers that fills the room with immersive, 360 degree omnidirectional audio, and delivers crisp vocals, deep bass, and clear highs at louder volumes.
With seven microphones, beam-forming technology and noise cancellation, Echo hears you from any direction-even while music is playing.
Just ask Alexa to control your compatible smart lights, switches and smart plugs.
Alexa is always getting smarter and adding new features and skills. Just ask Alexa to control compatible smart devices, request an Uber, find a recipe, and more.

This item will be released on February 1, 2018.
Pre-order now.

Echo Dot is also on special
Echo dot - 2 for $79 - Echo Dot

Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.

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Amazon AU
Amazon AU
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closed Comments

    • no more privacy since we are connected to internet and using phone.

    • So many negs - weird. I suppose none of these people have children, which is what would worry me most.

  • Whats the normal price?

    • +1

      Price for single unit is $119.

  • +3

    Throw in a year of prime and then I might

    • That's very true. Amazon screwed up again with that opportunity..

  • "With seven microphones…Echo hears you from any direction" no thanks! I don't want seven ears of Amazon in my home.

    • +2

      It only physically gets powered on once it hears the activation word. There are 2 chips, one is always on and listening for the magic word and doesn't have enough power/memory to do anything else. And the other does the rest once it gets powered on and woken up.

      • +3

        It is a buy 2 offer - would you be happy with 14 ears instead?

    • +1

      Above post is exactly right. There is just no way you could hide the data that would need too be streamed out of the device if this were the case.

  • +2

    I hope this means they'll soon release the fire tablets and TVs down here.

  • We are a sonos household, so looking forward to being able to control our sonos' with voice. Anyone know if you can pair an echo dot with a Sonos, so all the Alexa responses come out of the sonos speaker?

    • Yes, I've been using a combination of play 1s and echo dot across the household for music. Setup using yonomi.

      • But the responses will not come out of the Sonos though.. but yes you can tell Alexa to play music through Sonos with the Sonos skill.

    • you can get Alexa to send music to the speaker, but the voice responses will still come from the dot. It's more like sending an audio stream to another smart device than how the echo treats a bluetooth speaker.

    • Thanks guys, that's what i've read, only the music goes to sonos, everything else speaker. I suspect the dot answers would/might work if using the line in on the Play 5…? Might google some more.

      • So a bit of further research indicates that the Line In option from dot to Play 5 would work to get all Alexa output via Sonos, but it seems it is not perfect. Will still likely pull the trigger on two dots however.

        • +2

          You would have to have the Play:5 set to Line in at all times then, and control your music via the Echo and not the actual Sonos system.

          I use Alexa+Sonos at home and all voice goes to/from the Echo's - When you say Alexa and Sonos is playing music, the music volume is lowered until the voice interaction is complete.

          Works pretty well, my missus can't get the hang of the commands though.

          "Alexa, play X Playlist from Spotify on Dining Room"

          Also - don't name your echo's the same as your Sonos speakers, that doesn't seem to work too well.

        • @XeKToReX: Thanks, very helpful. Just preordered.

        • I ran my echo dot to the play 5 before sonos became integrated..

          now I just have the echo dot by itself, and just "cast" the music to my sonos.

          still wanting to be able to group and ungroup sono speakers (have 10 throughout my house).

          still bought another 2 echo dots for other parts of the house.

  • Hmmm, is echo really worth it if you already have google home mini?

    • +1

      Different ecosystems. If you like your GH and it does everything you need, then don't worry about Alexa.

    • Not unless you are shopping with them regularly. lol..
      It's a glorified shopping assistant really

  • … Qantas, Taste and Uber integration :)

  • Its a shame the Echo Plus is only available in Black, the Silver version the US can get looks so sexy

  • They are basically giving away Google Home Minis. As someone already said. too late.

  • +1

    Terrible timing - most interested in this type of tpy would've got one around christmas.
    Anyway, does this mean we might see prime memberships soon? That would be compelling if it includes the music (and video) sub also.

  • +1

    Good info, just realized that I can now put in my Australia home address which default the correct location. No need to fake with US address anymore.

    • +1

      Ditto. The first thing I did.
      Now everything works Local including weather etc.

      • +2

        Thanks for the heads up, although I'll miss knowing the weather in Melbourne, Florida :(

        Also was able to link my Uber account

      • sadly, there is no "australian" english voice.

        • +1

          There will be after Feb 1

        • @philhawthorne:
          hope so

        • +3

          "Alexa, get me a beer!"
          "Get your own f)(#@*()@ing beer, cobber! Strewth"

          "Alexa, what's the weather outside?"
          "F()@*#(cked if I know! Yeah nah!"

        • @bdl: yeah I had to switch Google maps from Aussie to UK voice because the Aussie voice was just too bogan. Maybe I'm just a snob ;)

        • @salem: also worth noting a bunch of the tricks Alexa can do don't work with existing supported voices like UK, only US. So I imagine the same gaps will be on the Aussie voice too.

        • @salem:
          Haven't run into this yet. Can you give me an example of something you have run into that doesn't work on the UK voice?

        • @jkerekes: I can't think of any specific ones right now, but they were some of the "fun things to try" in the email you get every week. Some recent ones from the email are:
          "Alexa, what's your favorite game?"
          "Alexa, tell me my fortune."
          "Alexa, help me get home for the holidays."
          "Alexa, how many days until winter?"
          "Alexa, tell me a winter joke."
          "Alexa, play Justice League commentary."

          I haven't tried these ones specifically, but that's the kind of thing that was not always working on UK voice (but some still did)

        • +1

          @salem: "STICK THE BOOT IN AND GIVE IT SOME JANDAL AROUND THE ROUNDABOUT, YOU BASTARD!"

        • +3

          Changed my TomTom to Irish female for the same reason. I'm in love.

        • @salem:
          so not particular useful commands…

        • @jkerekes: nah nothing essential. Just funsies.

    • I still use a us address because I like listening to Pandora radio on my echo. That won't work in australia otherwise

  • Still can’t even download the Amazon Alexa app from the AU iTunes. Just checked updating the Geo and it works now. Finally, now just need an Aussie Alexa voice still no option for that US and UK voice only

    • +1

      You'll be right after 1 Feb

    • The app now seems to be available in Google Play Store - but it's incompatible with all my devices. A Samsung S7. Sigh.

  • +2

    For those saying, "Too Late" - have you used both ecosystems? I've found Alexa to be way more useful than Google Assistant at the moment - I've got them installed side by side and prefer to use Alexa over Google Assistant. Looking forward to the localisation - Game on - let them fight! There can be - only two!

    • I said too late and Yes, I have both side by side.
      I use Alexa for automation and GH for music, videos and youtube red(casting).
      The number of people buying AI may have been almost saturated by the GH Christmas deals!

      • Haha, I do the same, since I had a Google Play Music subscription subsidised by Telstra PrePaid :)

        I was more trying to emphasise they still have their strengths and weaknesses (even Apple's HomePod has the great feature that it's invisible!) and we can't just compare them purely on price and market penetration just yet…

    • +2

      I'm team Alexa. I'm super impressed it can hear my wake command even with the background noise of the TV. I also find it a lot more accurate than GH.

    • There can be - only two!

      Don’t forget the Apple HomePod, coming soon.

      • +1

        :D with inbuilt reality distortion field generator :D

    • I've found Alexa to be way more useful than Google Assistant at the moment

      Any specific examples?

      • It just "gets"/understands what you want more of the time

        • Oh ok - no real need to add Alexa to my setup then

    • So can Alexa play your google play music albums? Just wish Alexa is able to utilise google assistant because its hardware seems more better built compared to Google Home.

  • +1

    I don't understand all the love for Google Home. I thought you were supposed to ask it anything and it would read out like the first Google result. My friend has one and was trying to show it off. We asked it what the current score was for the cricket match we were watching and it "did not know" and we asked it LeBron James highest score in NBA and it "did not know" so we just ended up playing the little trivia game instead. I'm not paying $128 just for another house 'speaker'…
    I am very interested to see what OzBargain have to say about the Amazon Echo.

    • +1

      Google Home can be funny like that, sometimes it reads the first result, other times it doesn't know. The words you speak must have to match a search result pretty closely.

    • +1

      Cricket Australia make the app so you have to say "Ok Google ask Cricket Australia what the [match] score is."

    • +1

      hmm I got both answered on mine, with overly extensive detail for LeBron James

  • +1

    I have 2 x Google Home Mini's. Still tempted to get 2 of these though..

  • +2

    YAAAASSS!! I can finally switch my alexa adddress to Australia!!

  • Can't get the dot deal working…

    EDIT: Never mind, it updates during shipping.

  • +3

    This reminds me of a story where a user asked for the temperature inside her house and Alexa answered. Impressed that Alexa had temperature sensors, she later realised it was referring to Side, Turkey

  • No walnut colour in Australia :( Echo (2nd Generation) with improved sound, powered by Dolby, and a new design – Walnut Finish https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0752151W6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_BB9x…

    • I really do wish we had been given the full colour options

      • Spray paint FTW :D

  • +2
    • Thanks for that.

  • A bit pricey than I expected, I got my gen 2 Echo Dot for USD$20.

    On the bright side is that we should (finally) able to set Echo/Dot to Australian address and can get weather without specify city names or even Australia

    • +1

      When was the Echo Dot ever $20 ? Some Black Friday promo or something ?

      Ive had an Echo (Gen1) for a couple of years, a Dot for around 18 months (I think it cost me ~AU$80 delivered) and an Echo (Gen2) for about 2 months (cost me AU$120 delivered).

      2 Dots for AU$79 seems a good deal..

      I use my Dot almost every day in the car to stream Pandora - as long as your Amazon Digital Content country is set to US then Pandora will work.

      Thats with all 3 of my Echo devices set to my QLD Australian address for Weather etc…

    • +1

      How did you get it for $20? CamelCamel has it at $29.99 and that doesn't include shipping.

      • Sorry, my memory failed me, it was USD$40

  • +2

    It seems Amazon just opened Alexa to multiple countries.. even Philippines is now included.

    I have 3 Echo dots and a Google home connected to Home Assistant.

    My devices connected to home assistant:
    - ring doorbell
    - xiaomi smart devices (vacuum, philips lights, yeelights, powerplug)
    - belkin wemo
    - philips hue
    - limitless led
    - logitech harmony

    For me, Echos are a little better for home automation but Google is not far behind these days.

    • Did you find someway to make the Ring doorbell 'ring' the dot(s)?

      • No, not yet. I don't have a need to send alerts to the dots.

  • It's also great as a multi room intercom

  • Is this any good as a speaker for playing music?

    • Full echo: yes. Not a party speaker, but for day to day listening is pretty good.

      Echo dot: no, it sounds pretty rubbish. They're intended to pair with Bluetooth speakers if you want them to play music. (or wired speakers).

      • I have an echo dot in the living room, its sole purpose it to control my home theatre system and lights so I didn't need a good inbuilt speaker. Other rooms a different story. For good sound, I recommend a Sonos One which has a built in Echo.

    • One of the points of the dot is the 3.5mm socket, and the bluetooth connection.

      So you can connect/pair it up with a decent bluetooth speaker for when you want to listen to music, or even pair it with a proper amp setup and speakers.

  • highly recommended by this gentleman lol

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrKlyYSGuAU

  • -7

    Don't understand why Australia would care for Amazon. Everyone uses Google services, email especially, and Google Assistant ties so well to things like that that I imagine it would be far more useful off the bat than an Amazon device.

    • +2

      "everyone"… you speak for the whole of Australia?
      Apart from search and youtube I don't use google services for anything (and I never will as I don't trust them with my data).

      I've used Echos in my house for a while now and have it working with my lights/dimmers, garage, harmony remotes. thermostats, aircon and shopping lists. It does everything I need it to and the best part, the wife loves it too.

      Having official AU support is very much welcomed, especially having a voice with an australian accent.

      • -1

        Yes, everyone - being the vast majority of Australia. Congrats on being a tin foil outlier.

        • +1

          reference to this data, please?

        • +2

          I'm balls deep in Google services (android, email, calendar, keep, drive, docs, photos…. Even Google+!) and Alexa came out ahead when I was doing my research for my purposes even before they'd launched here. I don't really care about asking it informational questions. I want my AI to control stuff and access services through plugins. Alexa was way ahead there 6-12 months ago. So I'm an Alexa house now.

  • I've just bought a Xiaomi gateway. Should I go Google home or Amazon Alexa?

    • In my opinion GH, my Amazon dots are lying in a cupboard somewhere. But I use gmail/google music/android/chromecast so I can control music, reminders, turn on the tv, control the house. If you are going to be just using it for timers or shopping lists then either will do. If you are already entrenched in Google services than GH for sure.

  • Amazon Echo Plus Offer
    Select a free Edison screw or Bayonet Philips smart bulb with your Echo Plus purchase. Discount applied at checkout

  • Can this play AUDIBLE? SONOS CANT

    • Yes.

    • +1

      Sonos plays Audible now. Well I can at least but I'm in the beta so maybe that's why. New version should be out very very soon so Audible will be available on Sonos then.

      • +1

        becareful of what you say since the beta has a NDA.

        but yeah, expect audible to be available on sonos very very soon.

        • Whoops. Wasn't even thinking. I'll have to make small edit…

        • Oh turns out I can't edit. Oh well, new version should be out soon anyway so no biggie

      • +1

        I'm gonna kiss you.

        Been making me angry ever since I got one.

        • may have to wait a little while longer.
          or sign up to the beta

        • @wreckedandjealous: Yeah tried to sign up to beta but I think you need to be invited :'(.

  • +2

    Alexa does have a bit more support for products like sonos, fitbit, spotify etc
    But no reason you cant run both alexa and google next to each other

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