Amazon Wants You to Wake Up With Alexa, and That’s Just the Start
On Wednesday, Amazon introduced an array of new Alexa devices
that are smaller, less expensive and, in some cases, built for specific areas of the home, including an alarm clock, Echo Spot, that is designed to sit on night stands and desks.
Amazon said that media companies including Bravo, Netflix and Showtime planned to use a new Alexa capability
that lets people use voice commands to control Fire TV video apps.
Another new device, Echo Plus, resembles the original Echo, but comes with technology
that helps control certain household devices like light bulbs that are automated.
Amazon also said that BMW Group had agreed to embed Alexa in its BMW and Mini Cooper vehicles starting next year, the latest in a series of relationships
that Amazon has entered with carmakers to spread the use of Alexa outside the home
Now, having grown more confident that it understands the fickle market for consumer products, Amazon is making it clear
that the Echo and other hardware powered by Alexa, the intelligent assistant behind the devices, present the company with one of its brightest opportunities.
David Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president of devices and services, said Wednesday
that the company had about 5,000 employees working on Alexa projects.
But its new Alexa products are clearly a response, at least in part, to new smart speaker offerings from Google and Apple.
On Wednesday, Amazon introduced an array of new Alexa devices
that are smaller, less expensive and, in some cases, built for specific areas of the home, including an alarm clock, Echo Spot, that is designed to sit on night stands and desks.
Amazon said that media companies including Bravo, Netflix and Showtime planned to use a new Alexa capability
that lets people use voice commands to control Fire TV video apps.
Another new device, Echo Plus, resembles the original Echo, but comes with technology
that helps control certain household devices like light bulbs that are automated.
Amazon also said that BMW Group had agreed to embed Alexa in its BMW and Mini Cooper vehicles starting next year, the latest in a series of relationships
that Amazon has entered with carmakers to spread the use of Alexa outside the home
Now, having grown more confident that it understands the fickle market for consumer products, Amazon is making it clear
that the Echo and other hardware powered by Alexa, the intelligent assistant behind the devices, present the company with one of its brightest opportunities.
David Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president of devices and services, said Wednesday
that the company had about 5,000 employees working on Alexa projects.
But its new Alexa products are clearly a response, at least in part, to new smart speaker offerings from Google and Apple.
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