Amazon has finally decided to send their Echo smart speaker on the shelves of thousands of retail stores. Before this, the only way to purchase the Amazon Echo was on their website. However, Amazon has now announced the Echo will be sold at over 3,000 retail stores including: Brookstone, Fry’s, Home Depot, PC Richard & Son, RadioShack, Sears, and Staples. The timing of this decision could not have been more perfect as the holiday season is alive and well and about ready to hit its peak.
WHAT IS AN ECHO SMART SPEAKER?
The Amazon Echo is certainly more than just a speaker. Per various sources, the it is a 9.25-inch tall cylinder speaker with a seven piece microphone array that responds to the default name Alexa. Alexa reportedly allows users to use voice interaction with this speaker and this allows the device to do some amazing things. The Echo can reportedly be used for music playback, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, making to-do lists, providing weather for the day, setting alarms, and also receiving other real time information. This device can also reportedly control other smart devices. As can be seen, this device has a lot of cool and convenient elements. According to Amazon’s website, the Echo costs $180, but with Black Friday coming up it may cost less in retail stores. However, as of right now Amazon has not commented on whether or not it will be cheaper than its online price.
This is an absolutely awesome decision by Amazon to send their Echo to retail stores because many people do not shop online and will only buy it if it is sold at stores. Then considering that Amazon decided to release the Echo in November, the decision becomes even more genius. The Echo smart speaker seems to be an awesome device, but looks can always be deceiving. I myself have never used an Echo speaker, but listening to all the features that it has makes it very tempting. It seems like Amazon is wanting to make their Echo speaker a massive hit this holiday season with this decision. The Echo speaker could indeed be a hot commodity in the coming months and customers will need to be on the lookout because it may be announced with a discount in the future.
