The Indian consumer’s love affair with Amazon Echo devices continues. Be it early morning alarms or reminders to get daily chores done, listening to music, closing the day with a bed-time story, or understanding requests in English and Hindi, Alexa—the brain behind Echo devices—has emerged efficient and dependable, gradually becoming a favourite companion across many households.
Yes, Alexa, which turned five last November, can now understand customers speaking to her completely in Hindi or Hinglish, in multiple contexts, and varied regional accents and dialects. Recently, we checked this feature out and many others on the all-new Echo 2019 (3rd Gen) that carries a price tag of Rs 9,999.
The all-new Amazon Echo reminds me of the Echo Plus, but the lower cost and excellent sound quality make it one of the best smart speakers on the market. It features an updated fabric design with colour options for any style – including Blue (new), Black, Grey and White. Echo has the same audio architecture as Echo Plus, including a 3-inch woofer and increased back volume so the bass feels stronger, and the mids and highs are clearer. It comes with new premium speakers powered by Dolby to play 360-degree audio with crisp vocals and dynamic bass response. You can use your voice to ask for any song, artist, or genre, and stream music from Amazon Prime Music, JioSaavn, Gaana, TuneIn and Hungama Music.
You can even use Echo to switch on the AC from the couch or switch off the lights before getting into bed—all without lifting a finger. With “Routines”, you can control multiple devices at scheduled times or with a single voice command. Echo works with devices such as smart lights and plugs from brands including Philips, Syska LED, Oakter, TP-Link and more.
The best part here is Alexa can now understand customers speaking to her completely in Hindi or Hinglish, in multiple contexts, and varied regional accents and dialects. With the multi-lingual mode, customers can switch between English and Hindi when talking to Alexa without changing the language setting from Hindi to English or the other way around every time. This multi-lingual mode can be useful in Indian households where users speak both Hindi and English interchangeably. You can enjoy asking Alexa for diverse Hindi content such as jokes, shayaris, games, Kabir ke dohe, Panchatantra stories, Bollywood dialogues, more than 500 Alexa skills, and even spellings of words in Hindi.
Alexa is not only a smart assistant which makes everyday tasks seem like a breeze, but also a good companion for conversations. Just try asking for her favourite actor, or ask her to sing a song, tell a story or make you laugh with her jokes. You can use her to find answers to the mind-boggling questions your children come up with or simply to help them in their homework. She can also help you keep track of gold prices and market rates or simply stay updated with the trending topics and news.
Estimated street price: Rs 9,999
