Amazon Echo - Part-Wireless Speaker, Part-Home Gadget - Available Without Invitation

By Kamal Nayan - 23 Jun '15 13:16PM

Amazon Echo - part-wireless speaker, part-home gadget - is now available for anyone to purchase. The cylinder-shaped device syncs with smartphones to play music, read aloud news and weather and order products directly from Amazon.

Amazon Echo can also control house's lights, provided they are compatible. The requests are fulfilled via Amazon's digital voice assistant Alexa.

Amazon will start shipping Echo to anyone who wants one, starting July 14, for $179.99. Earlier the device cost $199 for non-Amazon Prime members and $99 for Amazon Prime customers.

There's been a positive review of the device all around. As of now, on amazon.com, there're more than 18,000 customer reviews, with 66 percent of the customers rating it a 5-star product. One 10% of customers have rated the product 3-star or less.

"My granddaughter was happy to check her math problems using Echo, and in addition to the music stations and Amazon play lists, Echo is a breeze to use as a Bluetooth device. I have used it to play my meditation apps and iTunes music. In case you aren't aware, Amazon even allows you to upload your iTunes library and save it in your Amazon Play list. There is a limit for free songs, but we didn't even come close," noted an Amazon Echo customer in the review.