Is There an Echo in Here?

Category: Gadgets

Amazon just tossed a strange bone to the ever-ravenous tech media pack -- the Amazon Echo. Pundits have been scuffling over it, gnawing at it, and running with it eagerly. I’m going to worry at it in a moment, but first let’s see what it is...

What is Amazon Echo?

The Amazon Echo looks kind of like a dog’s toy. It’s a black cylinder about 3 inches in diameter and a bit over 9 inches tall. It’s perforated on the sides, hinting at its function as an audio speaker. It plugs into an AC power source, so you don’t have to worry about batteries. It’s also equipped with Bluetooth for connecting to handheld devices and WiFi for linking itself to the Internet.

Oh, and it contains seven microphones that enable it to hear what you say anywhere in a room, even over the sound of music or a running shower.

But don’t worry about privacy, says Amazon; Echo doesn’t start listening until it hears the “wake word” that you teach it. (Wait, what? “Doesn’t start listening until it hears…?”) In the 4-minute infomercial that highlights Echo’s capabilities, the wake-word is “Alexa,” as in:

It's a cook book!

  • “Alexa, what time is it?”
  • “Alexa, how do you spell ‘cantaloupe?’”
  • “Alexa, wake me up at 8:00 a.m.”
  • “Alexa, play rock and roll music.”
  • “Alexa, add ‘eggs’ to my shopping list.”
  • “Alexa, read my morning news summary.”

You get the idea: the Amazon Echo is a personal digital assistant, a robotic butler, like the Star Trek computer, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, or all that Google is trying to be. In a can. But you don’t have to click or type anything; Echo and you can just make polite conversation verbally.

I haven’t seen any “hands-on” reviews of Echo yet. You can’t purchase one right now, but it’s going to cost $199 – or $99 if you’re an Amazon Prime member. The closest you can get to an Echo just now is to request an “invitation” to buy one. There is no guarantee that you will be granted an invitation. Just watch your email inbox for the next several weeks.

An Experiment?

This is not your typical product launch. Compared to the recent ballyhoo of the Amazon Fire TV Stick, which is already back-ordered until January 15, the Echo’s “launch” is little more than a press release about an “intended” product. The only times I’ve been unable to give Amazon money have been when products were unavailable. So what is the e-commerce giant up to?

Are you wondering why I chose the image of the woman to accompany this article? Fans of the Twilight Zone television show will remember this famous clip from the surprise ending of "To Serve Man."

I agree with the pundits who call the Echo an “experiment,” something like the endless stream of “beta tests” that Google churns out. Amazon is throwing the Echo’s “framework” out there to see if there’s any interest in it. If so, a limited number of carefully selected beta testers will get invitations to buy an Echo. No doubt, they’ll be a representative sampling of hard-core geeks to clueless computer novices. The important thing is that their number will be limited, and that will limit potential criticism and reputation damage during Echo’s early days.

The Echo will add items to your shopping list but it won’t place orders for them yet. It can tell you when the next bus arrives but it can’t call a taxi for you… yet. If the Echo proves popular for its ostensible purpose of “digital personal assistant,” then these and other ways to give Amazon money will become part of that “assistance” mission.

Right now, you can (in theory) ask Echo for recipes that use beef and it will recite what it can find on some recipe-serving Web site. But I can imagine Echo adding “suggested” ingredients and specific brand names; ads, in short. So Echo could become an ad-delivery platform.

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me Listening

The more you use Echo the better it can serve you, according to Amazon. That’s because every question you ask and every command that you give to Echo tells it more about your needs, preferences, lifestyle (what time do you get up on Saturday?), health, hobbies, family members, etc., etc.

So yes, as some critics already warn, Echo could be yet another way to invade your privacy. You're inviting a sophisticated array of directional microphones, high-tech software to understand spoken language commands, and a computer with access to the Internet into your home. And it sits there, always listening. What could go wrong?

There is a microphone mute button on the top of the Echo. That's supposed to stop Echo from listening. But who can guarantee that Evil Hackers or Men in Dark Glasses won't find a way to listen in to everything that's happening in the living room, kitchen, bedroom, or wherever you decide to put your Echo? I wouldn't be surprised if the government decided to give these things away for free.

Will consumers cotton to Echo? The fictional family in the infomercial seem a bit too unreal in their reactions to Echo. They look and act like a marketer’s dream of how consumers should behave, eagerly embracing the product without question or concern. I’m sure there are such consumers out there, but I doubt there is enough of a market to make Echo worth delivering.

Your thoughts on this topic are welcome. Post your comment or question below...

 
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Most recent comments on "Is There an Echo in Here?"

(See all 27 comments for this article.)

Posted by:

Notafool
10 Nov 2014

No sale here: when I make choices and decisions, my life almost always works out better when I'm Notafool.


Posted by:

Frank Stowers
10 Nov 2014

I watched the infomercial and have the feeling from what I saw and heard that it could prove useful to families -- especially with school age children who are always asking questions.


Posted by:

Nigel
10 Nov 2014

Can't wait for a neighbor to get one of these. Ask it some deviant questions, then see who comes knocking on the door!


Posted by:

Derrick
10 Nov 2014

I think I'd rather have a dog named Echo. "Echo, bring me a beer" trot trot trot... trot trot trot... phhhhht. "Echo, bring me the paper" trot trot trot... trot trot trot... rustle rustle...
No men in dark glasses to worry about.


Posted by:

RandiO
10 Nov 2014

Afterall, who would not want to be a paying beta-pig for Amazon and fork out $199 for the luxury of being force fed ads? Yummy!
Every woman's dream: A companion that is always listening (until unplugged or divorced)! :)


Posted by:

Tina Hood
10 Nov 2014

I grew up at the tail end of the Cold War. I still remember all the news reports of life behind the Iron Curtain. Our embassies were bugged, the citizens of the U.S.S.R. had most of their homes bugged, and most businesses were bugged.

Quite frankly, I have absolutely no wish to have anyone "listening in" on anything I'm doing in my home. It's bad enough the government is spying on us through our computers and phones. I can just imagine what the NSA would do with these devices.

Thanks, but no thanks. I'll have to look up and order stuff the old fashioned way, by using my own two hands to type what I need/want into my computer, tablet, or phone.


Posted by:

JI Means
10 Nov 2014

I just viewed the video, and I'm interested. I can see a lot of uses that would really be helpful. I have my name on the list too. At $99 for Prime Members, I'm game. Thanks for the heads up.


Posted by:

MmeMoxie
10 Nov 2014

Sounds like a great idea ... Only IF, it has Options to Opt Out on various parts of the device. I always like it, when you have control over any program or device.


Posted by:

Jack J. Anderson
10 Nov 2014

Oh, my! I think not, thank you very much!


Posted by:

Pgmr
10 Nov 2014

Yeah, I don't think it's at ALL creepy that the family in the infomercial named their device after one of the Dad's old girlfriends, and the Mom went along with that. haha


Posted by:

Elizabeth Landry
10 Nov 2014

They are already listening, might as well put them to work. Peace, E


Posted by:

olamoree
11 Nov 2014

Didn't Amazon/Bezos just sign a $600 MILLION contract with the NSA? For that kind of money even I would give the NSA access to Echo.... wouldn't you? No, not you, Bob.


Posted by:

Dan
11 Nov 2014

"polite conversation verbally" That's usually how conversation are done. We expect the same quality writing from you that you expect from us. ;-)


Posted by:

RichF
11 Nov 2014

Sounds amazing, but knowing the reach of the NSA, I don't think I want 7 super sensitive WIFI microphones picking up everything said in my apartment and going to who knows where.


Posted by:

L A
11 Nov 2014

I envision those of us with small brains now will have even smaller ones when they own Echo. And Amazon and the NSA will wonder why they only hear water dripping.


Posted by:

IanG
11 Nov 2014

I love your sense of humour, Bob :)


Posted by:

DGK
11 Nov 2014

So Captain Kirk's "COMPUTER" was being beta tested in 2014 (approx. StarDate: -309000.0). Looks like they worked out the bugs in that universe.


Posted by:

Stella
11 Nov 2014

I'd rather have Derrick's dog.


Posted by:

intelligencia
11 Nov 2014

The Rankinites are Indeed a Motley crew . . . I love the comments presented!

i


Posted by:

Jahn
12 Nov 2014

How is this different than the "Hey, Siri" voice activation when Apple device is plugged in?


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