**The Amazon Echo: A Novel Device That Entertains, Inform, and Organize**

The Amazon Echo is a device that has gained significant attention in recent years due to its ability to entertain, inform, and organize. With its sleek design and advanced technology, it's no wonder why the Echo has become a popular choice for many consumers. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the features and capabilities of the Amazon Echo.

**The Design and Features**

One of the standout features of the Amazon Echo is its design. The top of the Echo has an illuminated volume and status indicator ring, microphone mute, and an action input button. The lit status and volume ring on the top of the device has a premium feel to it, making it easy to use and visually appealing. The function buttons on top get the job done as expected, allowing users to easily control music playback, set alarms, and access various features.

**Alexa: The AI Assistant**

At the heart of the Amazon Echo is Alexa, the AI assistant that makes the device so powerful. While Alexa is limited in scope compared to other smart home devices, it can still perform a wide range of tasks, including setting alarms, timers, inputting calendar items, calling up the weather or news, and adding to a shopping or to-do list. However, moving outside of these basic functions can be met with mixed results. For example, if you ask Alexa "What's the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" she'll respond with a humorous answer, but if you ask her more complex questions, such as "How old are you?", she may not have a response.

**The Echo in Practice**

We put the Amazon Echo to the test in various settings, including our living room, kitchen, and bedroom. We found that it performed well in all of these areas, providing useful information, controlling music playback, and setting alarms with ease. One of the most useful features we discovered was the shopping list function, which allows users to add items to a virtual list and order them instantly from Amazon.

**Smart Home Integration**

One of the most exciting features of the Amazon Echo is its ability to integrate with other smart home devices. While this feature is still in development, it has the potential to make the Echo an even more powerful and useful device. With the release of new software updates, the Echo will become even more integrated with other smart home devices, allowing users to control their entire smart home ecosystem from a single device.

**The Amazon Echo App**

The Amazon Echo app is a valuable resource for users who want to get the most out of their device. The app allows users to access their shopping list, timers, alarms, and music library, as well as set reminders and receive updates on news and weather. Users can also train the Echo with feedback from the app, which will help improve its accuracy and response time.

**The Echo Remote**

One feature that was missing from our review unit, but was received by one of our editors, is the Echo remote. This device allows users to control their Echo more easily, with manual volume control, play, pause, and track skipping functions. It also has an audio input function, which can be useful if you're out of earshot of the Echo.

**Sound Quality**

In terms of sound quality, the Amazon Echo performed reasonably well for its size. While it may not have the best sound quality available, it's certainly better than many other devices on the market. The Echo has balanced acoustics that sound full and rich, making it suitable for use in a variety of settings.

**Conclusion**

The Amazon Echo is an innovative device that can entertain, inform, and organize. With its advanced technology and sleek design, it's no wonder why it's become a popular choice for many consumers. While it may not be the best option for everyone, it's certainly worth considering if you're in the market for a smart speaker.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey there dave altavilla for hot hardware and this over here is my new cylindrical friend alexa alexa who are you i'm an amazon echo you can wake me by saying alexa or amazon just choose which one in the echo app there you go the amazon echo is a combination bluetooth speaker audio streamer and an intelligent personal assistant device that responds to certain voice commands for various requests like web-based searches or control functions not unlike apple's surrey or microsoft cortana or google now echo connects to alexa a cloud-based voice service from amazon that provides information answers questions plays music reads the news checks sports scores the weather etc the device is a nine and a quarter inch tall cylinder that weighs a little over a pound and a half and must stay tethered to the wall for power but it can be controlled wirelessly via voice or the amazon echo app on your smartphone connected to it via bluetooth or its handheld remote control echo's design is nicely solid and understated with a flat black finish and solid mesh grille around its speaker area it has a two and a half inch woofer and a two inch tweeter on board also on board is 802.11 and mimo wifi connectivity as well as bluetooth that supports a2dp and audio video remote control the device is powered by a texas instruments dm 3725 digital media processor which is an armcore based system on a chip specifically adept at home automation and human interface control amazon echo comes ready to connect to your home wi-fi to supply its data and media streams and the echo companion app is compatible with fire os android and ios devices and is also accessible via a web browser and though we weren't specifically able to test this echo is also able to control smart home devices like the belkin wemo light switch phillips hue light bulbs and the wink connected home hub for mechanical controls the top of the echo has an illuminated volume and status indicator ring microphone mute and an action input button the lit status and volume ring on the top has a nice premium feel to it there's no question echo will fit nicely in a number of settings in the home or office without looking ostentatious or odd or out of place the function buttons on top get the job done as expected as well hello hi how are you i'm good thank you where were you made i'm from amazon headquarters in seattle washington who is jeff bezos jeffrey preston bezos born january 12 1964 is the founder president chief executive officer and chairman of the board of amazon in terms of intelligence alexa is somewhat limited in scope there's a specific set of commands you can give her for things like setting alarms and timers inputting calendar items calling up the weather or news or traffic information or adding to a shopping or to-do list and of course the shopping list function can order instantly from amazon however moving outside of these basic functions are web-based searches and input commands and you're sometimes met with mixed results alexa what's the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow that depends if it's an african or a european swallow alexa it's a european swallow alexa how old are you i was released november 6 2014. alexa how many days in the month of april april has 30 days alexa what's your favorite color my favorites blue no wait yellow alexa what's your favorite food i don't eat or drink alexa what's your favorite music i'm best with factual questions alexa what's up here's your flash briefing in npr news from tune in alexa volume up the white house now says it believes reports of the death of talib the listening range for the device was actually pretty good and i found i was within earshot of alexa and the echo perhaps from as far away as the next room over as long as the door was open but not necessarily on another floor perhaps pandora station getting your radiohead radio station from pandora singing in the dead alexa skip alexa what's the weather like one of the more today places i found alexa to fit well was in the kitchen where both useful information can be gleaned hands-free and music is often a welcome accompaniment to the setting another good spot might be a combination bathroom or bedroom area where the alarm clock settings music traffic news and weather functions can all come in quite handy in the morning or in the evening the amazon echo app home screen shows current weather or news headlines as well as a history list of your recent commands and functions giving you the opportunity to train the device with some feedback from here you can hit your shopping list timers alarms music library pandora music streaming audible audio books and other services and functions alexa add apples to my shopping list i added apples to your shopping list some of the apps are full featured versions while others seem a bit more stripped down like the pandora app which didn't have skip functions or other details that the other mobile platform versions have and then there's the echo remote which was oddly missing from our review unit that made it into this video production though one of our editors received it in their system it's pretty straightforward edition though offering manual control of volume play pause and track skipping as well as audio input in case you're out of earshot of echo which isn't very often sound quality with amazon echo was reasonably impressive for its size however there's a bit of low end lacking here but mids and highs were strong and clear and overall the echo has balanced acoustics that sound full and rich rather than tinny or hollow we've heard better sounding bluetooth speakers for sure but we've heard far worse as well for most folks that aren't complete audio files the echo will get the job done in general use around the home or office and it's plenty loud for even outdoor settings we only wish it had an on-board rechargeable battery to make it more portable overall the amazon echo is an interesting and novel device that entertains informs and even organizes things a bit for you eventually with further smart home feature integration and updates that are rolling out from amazon fairly regularly it could become even more useful at 179 it's a bit of a tweener product a not quite portable bluetooth speaker but one that has its own built-in media streaming capabilities along with a bit of intelligence and flair at the ready for reference business or pleasure make sure you stop by hothodware.com for our full review and thumb up this video if you liked it and subscribe here for more tech goodness in our two and a half geeks webcast i'm dave maltevilla for hot hardware with the amazon echo thanks for stopping byhey there dave altavilla for hot hardware and this over here is my new cylindrical friend alexa alexa who are you i'm an amazon echo you can wake me by saying alexa or amazon just choose which one in the echo app there you go the amazon echo is a combination bluetooth speaker audio streamer and an intelligent personal assistant device that responds to certain voice commands for various requests like web-based searches or control functions not unlike apple's surrey or microsoft cortana or google now echo connects to alexa a cloud-based voice service from amazon that provides information answers questions plays music reads the news checks sports scores the weather etc the device is a nine and a quarter inch tall cylinder that weighs a little over a pound and a half and must stay tethered to the wall for power but it can be controlled wirelessly via voice or the amazon echo app on your smartphone connected to it via bluetooth or its handheld remote control echo's design is nicely solid and understated with a flat black finish and solid mesh grille around its speaker area it has a two and a half inch woofer and a two inch tweeter on board also on board is 802.11 and mimo wifi connectivity as well as bluetooth that supports a2dp and audio video remote control the device is powered by a texas instruments dm 3725 digital media processor which is an armcore based system on a chip specifically adept at home automation and human interface control amazon echo comes ready to connect to your home wi-fi to supply its data and media streams and the echo companion app is compatible with fire os android and ios devices and is also accessible via a web browser and though we weren't specifically able to test this echo is also able to control smart home devices like the belkin wemo light switch phillips hue light bulbs and the wink connected home hub for mechanical controls the top of the echo has an illuminated volume and status indicator ring microphone mute and an action input button the lit status and volume ring on the top has a nice premium feel to it there's no question echo will fit nicely in a number of settings in the home or office without looking ostentatious or odd or out of place the function buttons on top get the job done as expected as well hello hi how are you i'm good thank you where were you made i'm from amazon headquarters in seattle washington who is jeff bezos jeffrey preston bezos born january 12 1964 is the founder president chief executive officer and chairman of the board of amazon in terms of intelligence alexa is somewhat limited in scope there's a specific set of commands you can give her for things like setting alarms and timers inputting calendar items calling up the weather or news or traffic information or adding to a shopping or to-do list and of course the shopping list function can order instantly from amazon however moving outside of these basic functions are web-based searches and input commands and you're sometimes met with mixed results alexa what's the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow that depends if it's an african or a european swallow alexa it's a european swallow alexa how old are you i was released november 6 2014. alexa how many days in the month of april april has 30 days alexa what's your favorite color my favorites blue no wait yellow alexa what's your favorite food i don't eat or drink alexa what's your favorite music i'm best with factual questions alexa what's up here's your flash briefing in npr news from tune in alexa volume up the white house now says it believes reports of the death of talib the listening range for the device was actually pretty good and i found i was within earshot of alexa and the echo perhaps from as far away as the next room over as long as the door was open but not necessarily on another floor perhaps pandora station getting your radiohead radio station from pandora singing in the dead alexa skip alexa what's the weather like one of the more today places i found alexa to fit well was in the kitchen where both useful information can be gleaned hands-free and music is often a welcome accompaniment to the setting another good spot might be a combination bathroom or bedroom area where the alarm clock settings music traffic news and weather functions can all come in quite handy in the morning or in the evening the amazon echo app home screen shows current weather or news headlines as well as a history list of your recent commands and functions giving you the opportunity to train the device with some feedback from here you can hit your shopping list timers alarms music library pandora music streaming audible audio books and other services and functions alexa add apples to my shopping list i added apples to your shopping list some of the apps are full featured versions while others seem a bit more stripped down like the pandora app which didn't have skip functions or other details that the other mobile platform versions have and then there's the echo remote which was oddly missing from our review unit that made it into this video production though one of our editors received it in their system it's pretty straightforward edition though offering manual control of volume play pause and track skipping as well as audio input in case you're out of earshot of echo which isn't very often sound quality with amazon echo was reasonably impressive for its size however there's a bit of low end lacking here but mids and highs were strong and clear and overall the echo has balanced acoustics that sound full and rich rather than tinny or hollow we've heard better sounding bluetooth speakers for sure but we've heard far worse as well for most folks that aren't complete audio files the echo will get the job done in general use around the home or office and it's plenty loud for even outdoor settings we only wish it had an on-board rechargeable battery to make it more portable overall the amazon echo is an interesting and novel device that entertains informs and even organizes things a bit for you eventually with further smart home feature integration and updates that are rolling out from amazon fairly regularly it could become even more useful at 179 it's a bit of a tweener product a not quite portable bluetooth speaker but one that has its own built-in media streaming capabilities along with a bit of intelligence and flair at the ready for reference business or pleasure make sure you stop by hothodware.com for our full review and thumb up this video if you liked it and subscribe here for more tech goodness in our two and a half geeks webcast i'm dave maltevilla for hot hardware with the amazon echo thanks for stopping by\n"