SPCR

Hi SPCR forum members,

The Amazon Echo promo email that reached my inbox this morning had me on the phone with the Echo team in half an hour seeking a review sample. Two disappointments: 1) They're not making free samples available to tech reviewers, and 2) the Echo is only available in the US. Apparently this is due to the fact that lots of its programming is geo-related (ie, your precise location).

The Echo really seems like the first implementation of a '60s (Star Trek) vision of the computer: A talking all-knowing intelligence responsive to your spoken questions.

But I can't get or review it in Vancouver, BC, Canada. So will any of you in the US take up the challenge & buy one to review for SPCR? Even better, perhaps you already have one & have been using it for a while!?! Details of how to review for SPCR are posted elsewhere on the main site, but anyone with a sense of organization, tech interest & some writing ability can do this. Please let me know if you'd like the chance to write this review for SPCR.

Mike, it looks like they will ship July 14th. This is the first I have heard of anything like this (for real).

It looks like a woofer, with a computer in it. Are there also small satellite speakers? I wonder how it does voice commands when the music is playing?

I don't know all the details, you'd probably know more just from scouring the product pages. Larry tells me it's been available to Amazon Prime members since last November or so -- probably beta testers. (poor saps. )

Apparently the audio intelligence is very high, able to "hear" with its 7 mics even when ambient noise is high.

http://www.cnet.com/products/amazon-echo-review/

In watching the videos on the Amazon page, I think it has just 2 drivers - one 2.5" "woofer" and a 2" "tweeter", so that means it is monophonic, with a woofer and a midrange driver, and probably has EQ to push the frequency range.

I think it is a clever cover for getting Amazon's tentacles into our buying habits. I think the music streams are a revenue stream for Amazon. I wonder how it connects into your house lights, and/or the HVAC system.

They already have their tentacles deep into all of us.