Reviewing a product without purchasing it may seem unfair but Amazon’s latest hardware invention isn’t going to find its way into my house anytime soon. Here’s why.
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Even at 50% off I’m not buying
Amazon’s latest hardware creation is the Amazon Echo. As an Amazon Prime member I was given the opportunity to buy an Amazon Echo before the general public at $100 less than it will retail for whenever it’s released to the masses. So what does it do and why am I not buying it for $99?
It’s version 0.00001
The Amazon Echo plays music from the Amazon music library (if you’re an Amazon Prime member), reads you news summaries from the news outlets you choose, answers questions (like Google or Siri) and acts as a bluetooth speaker for your devices. That’s not enough to justify it’s price of $199.
It’s always listening…no thanks
It has seven microphones listening all the time for two keywords that will wake it, Alexa and Amazon. If something inside your head just started to worry about privacy you’re not alone. This device is tied to the internet all the time and it is always listening. Amazon says it’s always “ready to listen” for the keywords that wake it up but as a consumer I see that differently. If it has the capability of listening all the time then I’m going to assume it’s listening. Combine its ability to listen and the fact that it’s connected to Amazon’s data services and you have a privacy concern unlike any other I’ve run into in a consumer based product.
Negatives
- It doesn’t create reminders.
- It’s not able to tell me my schedule for the day.
- It’s not able to play music from my Spotify account through voice actions which makes it an expensive bluetooth speaker if you want to stream your music to it.
- It’s not capable of handling phone calls. This is disappointing because it has seven microphones.
The Amazon Echo is the next generation of electronics because it’s supposed to be controlled by voice but if I can’t make phone calls, send voice or text messages to my contacts or control the most popular music streaming service (Spotify) then I’m not buying it, even at 50% off retail.
Amazon Echo Reviews and Documentation
I’m not the only person unimpressed with the idea of the Echo.
Let’s Call The Amazon Echo What It Is
Echo support documentation and videos.
Are you going to buy an Echo?
