Alexa / Amazon Echo: prices, models, skills, voice commands

[ALEXA] Overview of the different Amazon Alexa voice speaker models: Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot, Amazon Echo Show, Amazon Echo Spot, Amazon Echo Plus, Amazon Echo Studio.

The Echo smart speakers were launched in France in mid-2018, almost two years after their launch in the United States. For the occasion, the voice assistant Alexa on which the Amazon speakers are based has been redesigned for the language of Molière. With a French voice, help in French and local knowledge. The Amazon Echo range is available in eight models: the Amazon Echo, the Amazon Echo Dot, the Amazon Echo Plus, the Amazon Echo Show, the Amazon Echo Studio, the Amazon Echo Flex, the Amazon Echo Auto and the Amazon Echo Look. All are now available in France, except for the last one.

What is the price of Amazon Echo in France?

In France, the price of the Amazon Echo (2nd generation), the basic model of vocal speakers from Amazon, is rises to 99.99 euros, compared to 59.99 euros for the entry-level Echo Dot, 149.99 euros for the Echo Plus (2nd generation), 229.99 euros for the Echo Show (2nd generation). generation), 89.99 euros for Echo Show 5 and 129.99 euros for Echo Show 8. Finally, the Echo Studio, the most upscale speaker in the Echo line, displays a price of 199.99 euros. These are the prices recommended by Amazon to its resellers. Amazon is thus attacking Apple and its HomePod head-on, marketed for nearly 350 dollars. But also and above all, it targets Google and its range of Google Home voice speakers which displays prices from 59 to 349 dollars depending on the model.

What skills are available in French?

Of the approximately 100,000 voice applications (or skills) available on Alexa and Echo, approximately 2,600 are offered in France. "Some have been developed by local brands," says Amazon. Before going on to say: "Via these skills, the user will be able to reserve a table on TheFork, find a nearby business in the Yellow Pages, discover a recipe idea with Marmiton, order a pizza at Domino's, listen to the TV program of Télé-Loisirs, ask AlloCiné which films are showing, [...] consult train timetables with OUI.sncf and the status of your metro journey with the RATP, or even find out the status of your flight with Air France". As for Parisians, they can have a meal delivered to their homes via FoodChéri. Since then, Radio France has also announced the availability of its various radios via Alexa speakers. "France Inter, France Culture, France Info, France Bleu, France Musique, Fip, without forgetting our web radios, all our radios, live, can simply be requested from Alexa", specifies the group. Finally, there are musical skills like Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer or Spotify.

The group has also launched a tool allowing users of its Echo speakers to create their own Alexa skills, without requiring development knowledge. "It could be, for example, a vocal reminder, a quiz, a personalized question and answer...", lists the American company. Called Alexa Skill Blueprints, this service has been available in French since May 2020. Amazon makes it possible to share these skills by e-mail, WhatsApp, or via social networks (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.). Enough to send alerts or voice messages to your circles.

Alexa and Amazon Echo settings

Amazon provides a mobile application to configure Alexa speakers. Available for Android, iOS, or through a website, it allows you to configure the voice assistant, connect it to a wifi network, link it to an Amazon account, then download the voice applications (or skills ) available for Alexa in French.

The main voice commands of Alexa in French

There are thousands of voice commands supported by Alexa for many applications (calendar, alarm, alarm clock, news, home automation...). Here we list the basic commands to control the speaker:

What are the differences between the Amazon Echo models?

Amazon offers a development kit, the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK). Bringing together APIs and tools, it allows you to create Alexa voice applications in French. The group also markets a bouquet of cloud services on AWS to enable publishers to host their skills (Alexa-Hosted Skills), and managers via AWS CodeStar, AWS CodePipeline and AWS CloudFormation services. It also provides developers with a sound library of 3,000 sound sequences. They are classified by category: atmospheres, alarm, animals, boats, sport...

Amazon Echo

Amazon launched the third generation of its Amazon Echo mid-range speaker in September 2019. Retaining the same price as the previous version (99.99 euros), it is equipped with Dolby Digital speakers, equivalent to those of the Echo Plus, and adjustable via a sound timbre equalizer. The Amazon Echo can be paired with a second Echo for stereo sound. Its fabric design has also been revisited. In addition to anthracite, mottled gray and sand fabric, the speaker is adorned with a new colour: gray blue.

Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon offers three miniature versions of its Echo, called the Echo Dot. Equipped with the same functions as their elder, the three devices, which look like hockey pucks, are decked out with a less powerful speaker. They are intended for small rooms such as the bathroom or the bedroom where Echo is more designed for the living room.

Echo Dot offers a basic version priced at 59.99 euros. A more upscale version, displayed at 69.99 euros, is equipped with a clock. The latter comes in the form of LEDs that adjust according to the brightness of the room. What to play the role of alarm clock. Finally, a version of Echo Dot targets children (Echo Dot Kids). Only available in the United States at a price of 99.98 dollars, it is part of a specific content program, called Kid-friendly, specially designed for children. It offers unlimited access to 1,000 audio books, thousands of songs, and adapted games and skills. The speaker comes with a connected lamp, the Glow Multicolor Smart, with which the child can interact by making it change colors. Parents can also use it to activate routines to remind them that they have to eat or do their homework. They will also have access to a parental control system to filter content or monitor activity.

Amazon Echo Look

Echo Look is also equipped with Alexa AI and is controlled by voice. But it is complemented by a camera that allows its users to take snaps and movies of their outfits to share with their friends on social media. Like Echo Plus and Echo Show, the speaker is currently only available in the United States (priced at $200).

Echo Look combines opinions of fashionistas and photos of the latest trends gleaned from the net to give its owner fashion advice. The device, which allows Amazon to collect and analyze snapshots taken voluntarily by users, gives the group the possibility of building rich databases on its customers.

Amazon Echo Plus

Also marketed in the United States since mid-2017, Echo Plus has been available since September 2018 in France. It exceeds the Echo (235 millimeters in height against 148 for the latter). Unlike the entry-level version of the speaker, it automatically detects compatible connected objects. No need to create multiple customer accounts: Echo Plus plugs in without the user having to lift a finger. Equipped with a temperature sensor, it is intended as a smart home hub with the integration of Zigbee, which makes it possible to control and configure other devices outside the Amazon universe (for example Legrand connected switches, Philips bulbs, Samsung Smart TVs, etc.).

Amazon Echo Spot

At a price of 129.99 euros, the Echo Spot comes in the form of a 10 cm high alarm clock. Equipped with a screen 64 millimeters in diameter, it is designed to display the time, but also web or personal content (videos, task lists, etc.). It also allows you to make video calls with a front camera using the Alexa or Skype app.

Amazon Echo Studio

With the Amazon Echo Studio, Amazon offers an alternative to Google's Home Max. Equipped with 5 speakers including a woofer reserved for low-frequency sounds, the Echo Studio is designed to broadcast high-fidelity sound in Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio. Equipped with a Zigbee hub to control connected objects, "the Echo Studio analyzes the acoustics of the room and adjusts the audio playback in order to produce optimal sound", specifies one at Amazon. Priced at 199.99 euros, the speaker is available on Amazon.fr.

Amazon Echo Show

The Amazon Echo Show is available in France at a price of 229.99 euros. Equipped with a 10-inch (HD) screen, the device notably allows video calls (Skype) and the viewing of Prime Video content or television channels available in the form of skills (LCI, BFM TV), but also the display of practical information such as the shopping list, cooking recipes, calendar or weather forecasts. In its communication, the group also highlights the possibilities of home automation and video intercom, knowing that in 2018 it seized a connected doorbell manufacturer, Ring, and the possibility of viewing the flows of security cameras. , confirming if necessary its ambitions in terms of the connected home. In voice mode, the terminal generally offers the same functionality as the basic Echo model.

Amazon Echo Show 5

The Echo Show 5 is to the Echo Show what the Echo Dot is to the Amazon Echo, Amazon's entry-level speaker model. The number 5 refers to the 5-inch screen (HD) of the terminal, against the 10-inch diagonal of the screen of its big brother. While the Echo Show is priced at 229.99 euros, the price of the Echo Show 5 costs 89.99 euros. This makes it a product all the more attractive as it offers the same functionalities as its elder.

Amazon Echo Show 8

Like the Echo Show 5, the number 8 attached to the Echo Show 8 refers to an 8-inch screen. Priced at 129.99 euros, it is thus an intermediate format between the 10-inch Echo Show and the Echo Show 5 and its 5-inch diagonal.

Amazon Echo Flex

Echo Flex is nothing more than a connected electrical outlet in which the voice assistant Alexa is nestled. With a microphone and a speaker, it includes a USB port to add optional accessories, such as a smart night light or a motion sensor. It is priced at 29.99 euros.

Amazon Echo Auto

Priced at 59.99 euros, the version of Amazon's voice speaker gives access to the 2,600 Alexa voice applications available in French. Among them are skills that will prove very useful on the road: a voice GPS, the management of shopping lists, the calendar, the main national radio stations and other information feeds, for example InfoTrafic. Connecting to the car speakers via Bluetooth or via an audio jack, Amazon Echo Auto comes in the form of a box the size of a smartphone. For power supply, it uses the car's 12V socket or its built-in USB port. It is equipped with eight microphones and long-range sound pick-up technology to detect voices by filtering out engine noise, traffic noise, air conditioning, or music being played. To connect to the Internet, Echo Auto uses the user's smartphone plan and accesses Alexa via the application of the same name, which must be installed on the phone.

What about Amazon Alexa, the voice assistant under the hood?

Developed by Amazon's R&D laboratory, Lab126, the Alexa personal assistant, which powers Echo speakers, is a software capable of decrypting the voice requests of its user and responding to them with a synthetic voice (and only female for the moment). Available in the form of applications for the main OS (Android, iOS, Windows) and capable of supporting Skype calls, it can automatically schedule appointments based on the calendars of the people present. Via the Alexa service Guard, it detects suspicious noises (unusual sounds, alarm, falling object, broken glass, etc.) and, if necessary, issues an alert. Available in preview in the United States, Alexa Guard also allows you to simulate a presence during the night by automatically activating the lights or the television.

Amazon has also improved the artificial intelligence of its voice assistant Alexa to allow it to react by expressing emotions. The Seattle group devised two vocal reaction scenarios: enthusiasm and disappointment. Each has been given three intensity levels (see video below). Concretely, if the user correctly answers a voice quiz, Alexa will be able to respond with enthusiasm. And conversely with empathy if he asks him for the score of his favorite football team and it has lost. "Early feedback from our customers on the subject indicates that overall user satisfaction with the voice experience increases by 30% when Alexa answers a question with an emotional sentence", indicates- on at Amazon (read the post of this announcement). The underlying technology leverages Amazon's neural text-to-speech models tailored to generate speech sequences with a more natural pitch. The new feature is available now for Alexa voice app developers.

To multiply the possibilities of interactions between Alexa and its customers, Amazon is building a store of voice applications that is as wide as possible. Via these skills, customers can, for example, play Trivial Pursuit with Alexa, via the pursuingtrivia application, vocally control some of their connected objects, ask their speaker who the French Prime Minister is... To facilitate access to this shop, Jeff Bezos' company is developing a voice search engine. Depending on a given question (for example "How can I remove an oil stain from my shirt?"), it will push one product and only one, a detergent brand in the case of our example. Logically, Amazon calls on Assistant users through the Alexa Answer program to help it answer questions it doesn't have an answer to.

At the same time, Amazon is marketing an edition of its voice assistant for businesses (Alexa for Business). Currently available only in the United States, it benefits from gateways to productivity software. In particular, she is able to connect to data stored in Salesforce, or even book a meeting room by accessing G Suite or Microsoft Exchange calendars. Note: Amazon has unveiled a version of Alexa for Business for the hotel sector (Alexa for Hospitality). Objective: to offer hoteliers a new CRM channel to provide their customers with information about their stay, allow them to contact room service by voice, or to play music or television in their room...

The e-commerce giant is also multiplying partnerships to embed its personal assistant in devices designed and manufactured by third-party companies. Alexa is now integrated into Whirlpool washing machines, LG fridges and Lenovo speakers. Ford vehicles equipped with the Sync 3 infotainment solution are also equipped with this personal assistant. All the user has to do is speak to their smart speaker to automatically initiate a command or play music in their car. As for Alexa for Business, it nestles in third-party videoconferencing systems (Plantronics, Polycom).

What are the Amazon Echo accessories on offer?

Echo Connect connects Echo to a landline

In terms of accessories, the e-commerce giant offers Echo Connect, a terminal designed for connect the loudspeakers of the Echo range to a fixed telephone line. Amazon's Echo speakers already allow phone calls to be made via VoIP systems, but if the Internet connection does not work, the system is not operational... Unless the owner of the device has a Echo Connect.

Echo Buttons, to play quizzes with friends

In addition to Echo Connect, Amazon has unveiled the Echo Buttons. This device is nothing more than a "moo box", allowing you to play quiz-type board games with friends or family. But new features should be presented soon by the group for this buzzer. These Echo Buttons have been integrated into a new range of products launched by the group, called Alexa Gadgets.

The Echo Input: streaming Alexa to existing speakers

Priced at 39.99 euros on Amazon.fr, the Echo Input is designed to connect Alexa and Echo speakers to streaming systems existing devices in homes or offices via a 3.5 mm audio cable or Bluetooth. 12.5 mm thick, it is discreet. The Echo Input also has 4 microphones to collect user requests. "Once connected to the Echo Input, the speakers can take you to enjoy the audio stream from Alexa synchronized in the different rooms", explains Amazon. “Our Echo Spatial Perception technology calculates the clarity of your voice and determines which Amazon Echo speaker is closest – and therefore which one should be tapped to answer your query.”

The Echo Sub, to optimize the bass

The Echo Sub is a subwoofer that pairs with another Echo device to bring more depth to the music played by the pregnant. It connects wirelessly to one or more devices in the home via the Alexa app. It can also be used to create a complete stereo system (left output, right output and subwoofer) by coupling to two second-generation Echo or Echo Plus speakers.

Amazon Smart Plug, a voice-activated plug

The Amazon Smart Plug is a smart plug that allows you to turn on all kinds of electronic devices connected to it by voice, but also to program their starts and stops in advance. If these commands can of course be operated via one of the devices of the Echo range, it is not necessary to have one: the Alexa application is enough.

Amazon Echo Buds, competitors of Apple's Airpods

Alexa-compatible wireless headphones, the Echo Buds are designed to take advantage of Alexa voice skills on the move. Equipped with a noise reducer, they connect to the Alexa app installed on their smartphone. "Via Alexa, the Echos Buds allow you to listen to music, audio books or even make calls. They are also compatible with other voice assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant", specifies Amazon which, with this initiative, quite clearly comes to walk on the flowerbeds of Apple and its Airpods. Priced at $129.99, the Echo Buds are available for pre-order in the United States.

Connected glasses and a ring

As part of a limited edition sales program available only across the Atlantic, Amazon is offering glasses (the Echo Frames) as well as a ring to wear. switch to the finger (the Echo Loop). Both incorporate microphones and an earphone to interact with Alexa. The first is priced at $179.99 and the second at $129.99.

Who are the Amazon Echo's competitors?

Hoping to get a foothold in its customers' homes too, Google didn't take long to pull out a competing version of the Amazon Echo smart speaker. 'Amazon. Its Google Home connected speaker has been marketed in the United States since November 2016, and in France since August 2017. It also includes a home personal assistant, called Google Assistant. The device is, like Echo, capable of controlling connected objects in its owner's apartment and answering his questions. Inspired by the strategy of the online sales site, Google opened the development kit of its artificial intelligence to third-party developers to integrate it into their own connected objects and to create voice applications.

Apple is also developing its own competitor to Echo. Called HomePod, this device is equipped with the Apple brand assistant, Siri. Microsoft and Harman Kardon also launched their connected voice speaker, called Invoke in 2017. It is equipped with the intelligent assistant Cortana, developed by the Redmond firm.

What about the technical characteristics of Amazon Echo?

In order to improve the technical performance of Echo terminals, Amazon is in the process of designing its own chips (according to The Information) . Directly integrated into the devices of the range, they will aim to reduce latency times by supporting part of the AI ​​processing locally, without having to resort to the cloud.

You can also pair your device with a second Echo (3rd Gen) or Echo Plus (2nd Gen) for stereo sound.