Echo by Amazon - A hands-free speaker you control with your voice

@rrhoover this and the Fire phone makes me wonder whether Amazon wants to follow a Google strategy in hardware, but in-house rather than acquisitions.

@rrhoover IMHO - Amazon APIs are pretty transparent even when not explicitly "open". Haven't messed with other Fire devices, but Kindle had some cool integrations off the bat.

@rrhoover this is really cool!

@rrhoover API may expose more chance for malware or NSA to listen to the home... scary.

@mave99a I was going to add that as well... Nice try NSA. :)

@erikfinman agreed with the video - It was somehow regressive for both genders. I'm actually a little nervous if the team was tone deaf enough to release this video, there will be implicit sexism in the product too :(

@ghobs91 because for the ones you mentioned, you need to get them out of your pocked and press the button.

@Nivo0o0 IDK about other Android phones, but my Moto X responds to a keyphrase without me even touching it. I know that Siri does the same now if it's plugged in charging. The use case for this device suggests that it's meant for when you're home or at the office, in which case your phone is not likely to be in your pocket.

@ghobs91 it's also not likely to be plugged in. They priced it correctly where it's not and either this or Siri type of decision.

@ghobs91 I basically do what this device does every morning with my phone and a bluetooth speaker. Srsly though, I'd buy this. $99 is less than I paid for the speaker - and - I don't have to fool with pairing issues every other day.

@maxisnow exactly

@pdotliu internet of things, what the new ifttt is all about

@pdotliu Amazon Alexa now has an IFTTT channel (https://ifttt.com/amazon_alexa)!

@stttories LOL'd

@alexmr wow yeah. I think the cooking example is a little stretched. Everyone showers. It can turn a 30-min shower into a great preparation for the day.

@drewleahy - Since there's some kind of application/invitation process going on here, do you think Amazon will first select candidates who are heavy consumers of their streaming services and devices?

@muldster sure -- they should prioritize by the people who spend the most using Amazon Prime. Obviously they want to use Echo to ultimately sell more!

@gliechtenstein you're right. that they chose to allow that is interesting.

@gliechtenstein My favorite feature.