Amazon: Amazon Echo
Amazon Echo is a family of voice-activated devices that allow people to ask questions and receive answers on a variety of topics, such as weather, news, sports and much more. The devices can also connect with some home automation devices or conduct tasks such as ordering products from Amazon.
The Amazon Echo was the original device that the product line takes its name from, announced in November 2014 and launched in limited release. It was made available for anyone to buy in July 2015. It features a high-quality speaker and hands-free voice activation by using the “hotword” of “Alexa.”
In March 2016, two additions to the Echo family were released. The Echo Dot is a smaller version of the original Echo, offering hands-free voice activation but a much lower-quality speaker. The Amazon Tap has a high-quality speaker, a battery allowing it to be portable, unlike the Echo, but the Tap only responds to voice commands after a special button is pressed.
For more about the Echo products, see our coverage below.
Roughly 1 in 4 U.S. adults now owns a smart speaker, according to new report
It estimates there are now 157 million of these devices in American homes....
Nine voice search stats to close out 2019
A look back at some of the year's key voice search and virtual assistant...
Amazon tops Google in Q3 smart speaker market report
Most significantly, the smart display category grew 500% globally....
Analysis: New Amazon Echo wearables are more bad news for advertising
Transactions are a better fit than ads for the next generation of connected devices....
Google sorry about audio review scandal, details privacy changes for Assistant
Voice & Audio Activity (human review) will now become opt-in, but it's still turned on by default with the company discouraging...
Analyst firm: Google smart speaker shipments dropped in Q2 2019
But a rival firm said the picture was much brighter for Google's Assistant devices....
Alexa devices maintain 70% market share in U.S. according to survey
More than 50% of sales are for entry-level devices: Echo Dot and Google Home...
Privacy issues may be hurting smart speaker market growth
Concerns that 'smart speakers are always listening' inhibit potential buyers....
Privacy could be hurting Facebook Portal sales
The devices don't appear to have sold well; is it competition or privacy -- or both?...
A Facebook voice assistant may have buy-in from marketers – but will users want it?
Facebook may be working on a voice assistant, coinciding with the company's decision to drop the price of its Portal voice chat device by 50...
Super Bowl ads show Alexa as part of daily life
Brands were using virtual assistants to sell their' products during the big game, though assistants have yet to materialize as a marketing...
Survey: 118 million smart speakers in US, but expectation is low for future demand
52 percent of smart speaker owners have two or more devices in their homes....
As CES opens, Amazon, Google tout digital assistant stats that highlight respective market strengths
Amazon claims more than 100 million Alexa devices sold; Google says Assistant will soon reach 1 billion...
Alexa’s stellar holiday season bodes well for smart speakers, connected technology
Customers used Alexa to order gifts 3x more than last year and bought 'millions more Amazon devices' than they did in...
Why one marketer thinks smart speakers have their work cut out for them
Rebecca Stone, LiveRamp's VP of Marketing, discusses what needs to happen for smart speakers (and displays) to realize their marketing and...
Amazon VP reaffirms: ‘No plans’ for ads on Alexa devices
At least for now, the giant retailer continues to emphasize purchases inside skills and retail sales from its...
What email marketers should know about Alexa’s latest feature
If millions of people start listening to Alexa read their email, email marketers will have to adapt to avoid deletion....
Analyst: Amazon Echo owns 75 percent of global smart speaker market
Google had beaten Amazon in device shipments in the previous two quarters....
Report: As Facebook portal goes on sale, smart speaker growth is slowing
There are now 53 million smart speaker devices in U.S. households according to an analyst firm's estimate....
Amazon’s Alexa finds its business model: in-skill purchases
Developers will keep 70% of revenue made from subscriptions and premium content sales on Alexa....