Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

Amazon Inc. just unveiled Amazon Echo, a voice controlled, tabletop, smart device. Think of it as Siri, Google Now, and Cortana, all rolled into one screenless, cylindrical speaker. Amazon Echo is a learning, digital assistant for the entire household.

Amazon Echo looks very much like a Sonos speaker. It’s a small, unassuming cylinder that wouldn’t look out of the ordinary on a bookshelf or coffee table. It’s functionality, however, is more akin to a smartphone. Like the Moto X, Echo is always on, and always listening. It’s ready to interact as soon as it hears Alexa, its wake word, from any one of its seven, omni-directional microphones. It can hear voice commands even while it’s playing music. Amazon published an intro video for Echo, and in it, a family quickly learns to rely on Alexa. Using a name, rather than a term like “Google Now”, humanizes the device. It’s almost as if the family members are carrying on conversations with the new family sidekick. Its natural language interface seems to be as responsive as any of the smartphone digital assistants on the market.

What can Amazon Echo do? Amazon claims that the Echo is a learning device, so its list of features are likely to grow. For now, one of its primary functions is playing music. Using natural language, you can request a specific song, or an artist, or even a genre of music. Echo connects to the cloud, so it can take advantage of Amazon’s Prime ecosystem. There are additional options, such as iHeartRadio and TuneIn, but it will probably default to Prime Music when looking for tunes. It can also connect to other devices via bluetooth, so you can stream music from your smartphones and tablets.

Echo can also search the Internet to provide answers to questions you ask it. “Alexa, what’s today’s high temperature?” “Alexa, how do you spell Mississippi?” Questions like these are answered quickly, using natural language. Alexa’s voice responses, as seen in the video, sound less robotic than what you might be used to from your smartphone. Echo provides news, weather, and general information, and will no doubt provide hours of entertainment for the young and curious.

In addition to providing answers, Alexa can also save your information. You can use Echo to create shopping lists, set alarms and timers, and check items off of your todo list. If you aren’t in the mood to have Alexa read your entire shopping list back to you, the Amazon Echo companion app can display all the information. It’s available for Fire OS, and Android. iOS users will have access to a web app.

The Amazon Echo will retail for $199, but for a limited time, Amazon Prime members receive a $100 discount. It’s not yet available for wide release, but users can request an invitation to purchase it by visiting the Amazon Echo site. Amazon has created an entirely new breed of connected, smart devices with the Echo. It offers a tremendous amount of utility for a household, at a very reasonable price. If Amazon were to add upgraded models, such as an Echo with a built in projector, it could take this tabletop device even further. It will be interesting to see if Apple, Google, and Microsoft respond with their own screenless, digital assistants.