Amazon’s Alexa is Kiwi-as, bro
Blayne Slabbert takes a look at the first smart speaker designed specifically for New Zealand.
Amazon has revealed New Zealand prices for its smart speaker and some of its Kiwi ‘‘skills’’. The Echo, which is powered by the digital assistant Alexa, is a voice-activated internet-connected speaker which can, when asked, tell you the weather, play music, turn on your lounge lights or add items to a shopping list.
It’s the first smart speaker designed for the Kiwi market and to feature New Zealand specific ‘‘skills’’ (which is similar to apps on a smartphone).
For example, it can tell you if your Air New Zealand flight is on time or give you the news from New Zealand media organisations.
It comes in three versions. The Echo ($179) is the standard unit, while the Dot ($89) has all the smarts but only a tiny speaker and is designed to be connected to a stereo or bluetooth speaker.
The Echo Plus ($269) is taller, has a better speaker and includes tech that makes it easy to set up a smart home.
All three will go on sale in New Zealand in ‘‘early February’’, according to Amazon.
First impressions
The demonstration given by Amazon makes it easy to see why the company sold tens of millions of these last year.
When asked what the weather was like it Wellington, it replied quickly in a female voice that had a flat Australian accent, one that was designed to appeal to Kiwis and Aussies.
It responded quickly to requests from Dave Limp, Amazon’s senior vice-president for devices and services.
He used Alexa to call a friend via his phone, set a timer, ask for an example of a sledge used in cricket and queried how the Black Caps did this week.
Alexa’s hearing is good, too. It could hear commands while loud music was playing and from several metres away.
It had a few misses but overall it was easy to see how this could transform your digital life.
If you want, Alexa could be part of every aspect of your home life and it could potentially be as dominant, or even better, than a smartphone.
Kiwi skills
Limp said it took a lot of work to tailor Alexa for Kiwis.
It had to learn names of our sports teams, our place names and even a little bit of te reo Ma¯ ori.
Alexa also now knows jandals, thongs and flip flops are the same things, it can also tell Kiwi-specific jokes and knows about hokeypokey icecream.
It’s also schooled on Kiwi facts so it knows who our prime minister is and how many sheep we have.
While Alexa ships with 10,000 skills, it will get increasingly useful to Kiwis as more New Zealand software companies develop one specifically for us.
Privacy and data
Limp said Alexa does not listen to everything you say. It only records and stores your commands.
It listens for ‘‘Alexa’’ (what Amazon calls the wake word) and then uses that information to respond and to improve personalisation.
This is a key part of its function – it uses data and its connection to the Cloud to get smarter.
However, if you do feel uncomfortable the data can be easily deleted. Also, you can always turn off the microphone when you don’t need it.
Remember, all smart devices and apps – from your phone to your web browser – use and record your data. Limp said Amazon had a long record of protecting personal data.
For example, it stores millions of credit card details. ‘‘Privacy is job number one for us,’’ he said.
However, Limp did say that ‘‘not every product is perfect for everyone’’.
Music
One of the most popular uses for Echo devices is to use it to play music. It works with several music streaming services including Amazon Music Unlimited, which launches in New Zealand on February 1 (prices not yet available), Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn.
You can ask it to play a specific song, genre or album along with music to suit your mood, such as chill-out tunes.
There’s also Kiwi-specific playlists so you can ask Alexa to play the New Zealand top 40.
Also, the more you use it, the better it learns your tastes. So after a while, you can ask it to play your favourite song without saying what it is.
Home smarts
Another important part of Alexa is using it to control your home. That’s why it’s introduced the Echo Plus.
You can use smart bulbs and plugs to control your lights and appliances.
You can then set up routines so Alexa will perform several functions with one command.
For example, you can say ‘‘good morning’’ and it will tell you the weather forecast, give you a news briefing, turn on the dining room lights and switch on the kettle.
One thing not available in New Zealand yet is the ability for Alexa to recognise each individual living in a house. That means everyone using it affects the personalisation.
So when you ask Alexa to play your favourite song, it plays the one most requested, not yours specifically.
The Echo has been a sales winner for Amazon and the company is currently winning the smart speaker war.
Amazon hopes it will eventually be like the computer from the USS Enterprise on Star Trek – working from everywhere and being able to answer any question.
While it’s not there yet, in a few weeks Kiwis will get a chance to test it for themselves and maybe even teach it a few more Kiwi jokes.
The Echo could potentially be as dominant, or even better, than a smartphone.