Amazon Echo review
Describing the Amazon Echo as a speaker is a bit like describing an iPhone as a telephone.
Sure, that might have been the Echo's original function, but it has already grown far beyond that: really it's better to think of the Echo as a voice-activated digital home assistant, that also happens to play music.
The Echo has been a surprise hit in the US, where Amazon has sold over three million units. It is now on sale in the UK (and Germany), which has brought a new accent for the Alexa digital assistant and a new set of services.
There are two key elements to the Amazon Echo: the physical hardware and the cloud service that runs on top of it.
The hardware
The hardware, which comes in black or white, is solid, if unmemorable. About the size of two tins of beans stacked up, Echo resembles an industrial-looking vase, or maybe a particularly high-end cutlery drainer. The glowing light ring around the top tells you that there's something else going on here, though.
Amazon's Echo (£149.99) comes in black or white. Also shown here is the £49.99 Echo Dot, which offers similar functionality but contains a small speaker and can connect to external audio equipment.
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