Even if you’re not into the tech things, or haven’t heard of IoT yet, or if you can’t be bothered with gadgets … think again! The Amazon Echo is a ‘Bluetooth Speaker On Steroids’!
The basic functionality is indeed that it is a speaker. Quite a nifty design and spec though, have a look at the picture that shows you all the ins and outs of the speaker.
The woofer and tweeter in combination with the ‘reflex port’ fills the room with immersive, 360º omni-directional audio. Much more than you would expect from a speaker that is (to make a random comparison) just as big as a standard beer-bottle. The modernistic design of your Echo will make sure that you won’t mistake an Echo for your favorite draught, so don’t worry too much about that!
So, you might ask, what this all about then, I’ve seen a gazillion Bluetooth speakers popping up left, right and center, what is so special about this speaker?
Well, maybe it’s because it is, apart from being a speaker, actually everything else as well.
Do you have a minute? Here we go: It’s your PA, your gateway to the internet, it gives you local search from Yelp, streaming music from Pandora, audiobooks from Audible, Google Calendar access, live sports scores and schedules, traffic reports, Amazon.com re-ordering, and more.
Oh you want to know what more? Well, Echo provides hands-free voice control for Amazon Music, Prime Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Plus, Echo is Bluetooth-enabled so you can stream other popular music services like Spotify and iTunes from your phone or tablet, to name a few other functions.
Well, that blew your mind didn’t it? 
But … it’s not all there is.
No really, I am not kidding you. You can 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…or even raising your voice.
Amazon Echo works with devices such as lights and switches from Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, and Wink. Starter kits are available for easy setup.
Learn more about compatible Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, and Wink connected devices.
Echo doesn’t stop working when you’re on the road though. With the free companion app on Fire OS, Android, iOS, and desktop browsers, you can easily manage your alarms, music, shopping lists, and more.
Amazon Echo is voice activated, that means that you can talk to him/her/it and he/she/it will answer. And you can choose between naming it either Alexa or Amazon, and this becomes your ‘wake word’. Feel free to think of Echo as a he or she, that’s completely normal 🙂 You know what, the voice control works even from the other side of the room, of when Echo is playing music or reading a book. Pretty nifty, right?
Alexa is cloud based, and always learning, and always improving. Amazon keeps adding new functionality to the Echo, it appears that since the initial release already close to 100 new functions have been added!
So after reading all this, you’d probably agree that the Amazon Echo may as well become the most used appliance in your home. Have fun 🙂
