Amazon had very humble roots. When they first launched, there was very little resemblance to what they have become today. Instead of selling a seemingly infinite variety of different items, knick-knacks, and products, Amazon sold books. That’s it, just books. They sold a lot of books, but that’s all they sold.
Today, though, the situation is considerably different. Amazon sells a lot of books, still, but they sell many other products, as well. Today, Amazon sells toys, tablets, smartphones, computers, clothing, shoes, vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers, groceries; and just about anything else you can think of. No matter what you are looking for, there is a very good chance that Amazon has it.
Due to the fact that Amazon has been making so much money selling those products – products that other people are manufacturing and producing, it must be said – they have had the necessary capital to produce their own products, products that are, in many ways, competing with the other products that are sold on the Amazon marketplace.
- Add Alexa to your car - Connects to the Alexa app on your phone and plays through your car’s speakers via...
- Designed for the road - With 8 microphones and far-field technology, Echo Auto can hear you over music, A/C,...
- Go beyond radio - Voice control Echo Auto through the Alexa app to stream from Audible, Amazon Music, Apple...
Last update on 2024-04-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Now, one of the first products that Amazon invented was the Kindle. The Kindle was a revolutionary device that has changed the way we think about reading books, and, in many ways, how books are made and published. It was, to an extent, the first e-reader to have ever been released, and considering Amazon began as a bookseller – and now they are a book publisher/self-publisher, due to the Kindle marketplace – it was a natural progression.
Time passed, and more variations of the Kindle were released, including the Kindle Fire, which is, essentially, a tablet, that focuses heavily on the Kindle platform, while integrating many of the other features you are likely to find in any other tablet.
More and more products were released by Amazon. Things like the Amazon Fire TV, and the Amazon Video streaming service. And then, the AmazonBasics product line was also launched, which offered simple and basic versions of popular products, such as microwaves, keyboards, HDMI cords, and many more.
Then, on June 23rd, of 2015, in the United States, Amazon released a product known as the “Amazon Echo”. Now, the Amazon Echo had actually been available for a few months prior to this date, but it was only available to Amazon Prime members. With the Amazon Echo, Amazon managed to change the entire landscape for smart devices, while also cementing their own abilities and strengths as a technology manufacturer, and as a company that didn’t just sell interesting products, but made their own interesting and revolutionary products.
It’s been a few years since that first Amazon Echo was released, and since then, numerous variations of the Amazon Echo have been released. Amazon has consistently managed to improve and, in some ways, reinvent the Amazon Echo itself so that it is able to remain a good and useful product.
Today, we’re going to be talking all about the Amazon Echo. You’re going to learn about what the Amazon Echo does, what Alexa does and who “she” is, and you’re going to learn whether or not the Amazon Echo is a good investment for you, or not.
However, we’re not just going to talk about the “Amazon Echo”, we’re going to talk about the “Echo Auto”, this is the newest version of the Amazon Echo that Amazon has developed, and it is designed to be used in your car. By using the Echo Auto, you are able to make the process of driving significantly more enjoyable, and easier, in some cases. It has all of the same basic features as a regular Amazon Echo, and it also comes with a variety of other features that tailor it specifically to the experience of using this device in your car.
Before we dive straight into the Echo Auto, we’re going to talk a little bit more about the Amazon Echo, and what the Amazon Echo actually does. And then, we’re going to talk all about the Echo Auto, and the distinct features it offers, as well as the benefits and advantages of owning the Echo Auto, and, by the end of this guide, you will know whether or not the Echo Auto is the right choice for you!
What Does The Amazon Echo Do?
Let’s get this out of the way, the “Amazon Echo” is what’s known as a “smart device”. Smart devices are somewhat loosely defined, but, essentially, a smart device is a device that can connect to other types of devices, using some kind of connection, such as a Wi-Fi or BlueTooth connection. With this connection, you can control the other devices that it is connected to, and have access to the features that those other devices offer.
However, the Amazon Echo does a lot more than that. Using the Amazon Echo, you can learn what the weather is. You can learn what the weather is in another city. You can ask questions and have all of those questions answered, etc. You can also play games because the Amazon Echo has a small, but thriving, app store that is full of different games, such as Jeopardy. You can also use the Amazon Echo to play music, since the Amazon Echo is, first and foremost a speaker. There is also a calendar feature that you can use, as well, and this allows you to set specific dates with specific tasks, and then the Amazon Echo will tell you what day it is, and what tasks need to be accomplished.
Those are just some of the many features that the Amazon Echo offers. And, you can access these features in just one way. You don’t need to use any buttons at all. Instead, all you need to do is to say what you want, and then Alexa will hear that and activate the necessary features and applications.
So, naturally, this begs the question, but what is Alexa?
Alexa is a virtual assistant that uses natural-language-processing algorithms to understand what you are saying, and then to figure out which one of the features your commands correspond to, and from that, she – yes, Alexa is a “she” – will activate the necessary features. In many ways, Alexa is one of the earliest forms of advanced Artificial Intelligence. Or, at least, she gives us an idea of what the future might look like.
While Alexa is by no means a true artificial intelligence, she is the closest thing we have to one, and this is seen in a couple of different ways. For example, when you say “Alexa” and then follow that up with a question, she is able to gather the necessary information to answer that question, as best as she can. Whether this information has to do with the weather, George Washington, or some basic piece of information, Alexa is able to gather this information for you, and then to read it to you. Alexa can also perform basic math equations and other simple functions.
Due to the speed of the developments taking place, Alexa is only getting smarter, and according to Amazon, she has amassed just over fifty-thousand different skills, due to the wide variety of applications designed for the Alexa.
Now, let’s talk about what the Echo Auto does!
What Is The Echo Auto, And What Does It Do?
The Echo Auto is a small rectangular device that sits on the dashboard of your car. It is designed for cars and isn’t designed to be used in any other context. The overall aesthetic and form-factor certainly reflect this basic philosophy.
Through the use of a small cable, the Echo Auto then connects to your car, and then it sends out a signal to your smartphone, which allows it to connect to Alexa. From this, it is able to give you access to the wide variety of different features that Alexa offers, which we’re going to talk about in just a moment.
Here’s the thing about the Echo Auto, to use it, you need some kind of phone plan. This phone plan needs to have 3G or 4G or 5G, so that Alexa can connect to the internet, which it needs in order to run, in order to access the different features that it has been equipped with.
The Echo Auto is equipped with eight different microphones, and each one of these microphones is quite powerful, so even if there is a lot of noise all throughout your car, it will still be able to pick up on what you are saying, and then it will be able to activate the desired commands. Whenever you tell Alexa to do something, it will speak through your car speakers, so that you can hear it clearly, without any issues.
Of course, this begs the question, what exactly can the Echo Auto do? Well, the Echo Auto can do quite a few things, and it all goes back to the fact that this is a hands-off device – quite literally, in fact. As a result of this, you no longer need to press any buttons or take your hands off of the steering wheel, while driving, to access these features.
For most people, the biggest and most useful feature is going to be the fact that, by simply saying a few commands aloud, you can turn on your favorite music. This is done by looking at the selection that Amazon Music offers, but there are also catalogs from Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, and various other catalogs, as well. Each one of those music catalogs contains a wide variety of music, and at least one of these catalogs will have the music that you really like.
Then, you have Audible, which is a service designed for audiobooks. With the Echo Auto, you can easily access your Audible books and listen to any of the audiobooks that you own. There are other audio-related features, as well, and these features enable you to listen to podcasts, to stream live radio programs, and to even listen to the news! With the Echo Auto, you are getting a considerable amount of versatility when it comes to the different audio options that are available!
If you are going on a long car ride, there are some really fun games that you can play! The Echo Auto comes equipped with games like Jeopardy – one of the most popular games available – and you can play this in the car, with a bunch of people, because the game supports a lot of players and has a lot of different question categories. There are also games like 20 Questions, and more.
However, the two most useful features that the Echo Auto offers, and these are very general, have to do with the ways in which the Echo Auto can make your life easier.
First off, when driving, you can ask the Echo Auto for directions. If you are driving to a place you’ve never been to, just say something like “Alexa, where is the grocery store” and then the Echo Auto will connect to services such as Waze and Google Maps, to make it easy for you to figure out where this place is. Using the Echo Auto, you can also check for the nearest gas station, how busy the traffic is, among other things.
The other aspect that is great for making things easier and more convenient is the fact that using the Echo Auto, while you are driving you can tell Alexa what you need to do later in the day, the different things you want Alexa to remind you of, and other related things.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the Echo Auto is a truly fantastic device! It makes life easy and simple, and it streamlines all of the processes that pertain to driving your car and managing your life, among various other processes.
If you want something that is inexpensive, convenient, and very useful, you cannot go wrong with the Echo Auto. Truly, the Echo Auto is one of the most useful electronics around!
- Add Alexa to your car - Connects to the Alexa app on your phone and plays through your car’s speakers via...
- Designed for the road - With 8 microphones and far-field technology, Echo Auto can hear you over music, A/C,...
- Go beyond radio - Voice control Echo Auto through the Alexa app to stream from Audible, Amazon Music, Apple...
Last update on 2024-04-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API