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Amazon Echo Flex vs. Echo Dot

The Echo Dot and Echo Flex are two of Amazon’s smallest smart speakers with Alexa, but how are they different? We take a look at both to find the best for you.
Echo Dot with clock on a counter.

Amazon goes spherical for its refreshed Echo smart speakers

At Amazon's September event, the company introduced a refresh to its Echo line of smart speakers, which surprisingly features a new spherical design.
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Amazon devices event 2020: Everything announced

Amazon held a virtual hardware event to take the place of its usual fall product showcase. Here's everything Amazon announced at the event.
Echo Show 5 in the kitchen

The best music hacks for the Amazon Echo

Enhance your music experience and find exactly what you want with these tricks for playing music on your Echo device. We round up music hacks for Echo speakers.
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Best Amazon year-end deals on Alexa-compatible Echo and Ring smart home devices

Amazon's year-end smart home device deal prices may not be as low as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but you still can save on Alexa-compatible Echo and Ring devices. Equip your home with smart devices to protect your home, boost your home entertainment, and make life a little more convenient.
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Last-minute deals on Amazon devices: Echos, Ring, Blink, Fire TV, Kindle, Eero

It's getting down to the wire, but if you're shopping for gifts on Amazon you still have plenty of time to order and receive shipments before Christmas. Amazon Echos, Ring and Blink security products, Fire tablets, Kindles, and even Amazon eero mesh Wi-Fi routers and range extenders are all in stock and ready to ship.
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Alexa can now show more emotion when your sports team loses

Alexa, Amazon's voice-activated digital assistant, can now express more emotion during interactions. The update also includes new speaking styles designed to create "a more natural and intuitive voice experience” for people that use the digital assistant, the company said this week.
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Habla Español? Yes! Amazon Alexa can now speak in Spanish

Those who speak Spanish can now talk to Alexa in their native language, or two languages at once through multilingual mode, on supported Alexa devices like the Echo. The assistant is getting a new voice and Amazon has also beefed up Alexa's knowledge base with hundreds of new skills for Spanish speakers.
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How to set up an Echo Dot

The Echo Dot is a compact member of the Echo family that makes a great fit on a table, desk or counter. Setting up the dot is simple - especially with our helpful guide! Here's everything you need to know about how to set up an Echo Dot using the Alexa app. The process only takes a few minutes before you're done!
Amazon New Devices

Here’s everything announced at Amazon’s September 2019 event

Today is the big yearly Amazon event where the company announces all of its big, new innovations. This year seems to be shaping up with some interesting products. There's new Alexa features, Samuel L. Jackson voice for Alexa, an Echo Dot with a clock, and an all-new Amazon Echo and much more.
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Amazon wants your kids to use Alexa and its new Echo Glow night-light

Amazon announced a slew of new Alexa features geared towards kids during the Amazon Devices Event, including the new Echo Glow, a a multicolor smart lamp that pairs with Alexa, the Alexa Education Skill API pairs up with programs like Canvas, Kickboard, and Coursera, and a new FreeTime feature.

Here’s how to track Amazon orders with Alexa

You may already know you can order and reorder household goods just by asking Alexa, but you can also find out if the items have shipped and when they will arrive at your home. You can track Amazon orders, and purchases elsewhere, with the app, Echo Plus, Echo Dot or any other Alexa enabled device.
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Amazon has plans for an Echo for music lovers — and a voice-controlled robot?

A Bloomberg report suggests that Amazon may have plans to release a new Amazon Echo unit with improved audio quality, perhaps as a tie-in with a new and improved Amazon Music service. In addition, rumors hint that the retail giant has increased the number of people working on a "home robot" called Vesta.
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A Delaware senator stepped into the ring with Amazon over information privacy

If you don't trust Amazon with your data, you aren't alone. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) demanded answers from Amazon over exactly how long user voice recordings and transcripts were kept, and what the information was used for. The company's answers did not inspire confidence in the senator.
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Having a chat with Alexa will soon feel a lot more natural

The Echo is already a part of the household, but a series of new improvements will soon make conversations with the smart assistant more natural and fluid than ever before. Amazon announced a new algorithm that allows Alexa to guess what users might say.
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Amazon retains text data on users even when audio recordings are deleted

Although you can delete your Amazon Echo audio history, Amazon still has text recordings of your conversations with the device — a fact that has raised concerns with many privacy advocates. Amazon claims the data is used to improve language recognition and processing.
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Amazon’s free Spotify competitor is here. Just ask Alexa

Just ask Alexa to play your favorite song. Amazon has launched a free, ad-based music streaming service to compete with Spotify's free tier on its popular Echo devices, aiming to keep listeners into the Amazon ecosystem, and to bolster subscriptions to its paid Amazon Music Unlimited service.
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Alexa, Google, Siri put their bilingual skills to the test in translation battle

One Hour Translation, an online translation company, compared how Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Siri stack up against one another in regard to translation capabilities. Google Home performed the best in three out of four languages, but none of the devices managed to perfectly translate the quotes.
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Amazon’s wall clock is back on the market after Bluetooth snafus

Amazon doesn't make too many missteps when it comes to product launches but its Amazon Wall Clock, designed to augment timers by connecting to Alexa-enabled smart speakers, was abruptly pulled from sale in January and is only now, after some tweaks, available again for order from the retail giant.
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Google Home and Amazon Alexa are asking smart home device makers for user info

Google and Amazon want to establish a "continuous flow" of information between their servers and your smart home devices, but hardware makers like Logitech have begun to speak out for user privacy. Though the tech giants claim the data is not used or sold, many people are skeptical.
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This just in: Alexa can now deliver the news like a professional newscaster

The Amazon team has given Alexa a newscaster voice that improves the way she delivers the news and reads Wikipedia articles, making the smart assistant easier to understand. The change has been rolled out to U.S .customers. Simply ask Alexa, What's the latest? to hear the new voice.
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‘Alexa, are you OK?’ Amazon’s smart assistant crashes on Christmas

It seems that it all got a bit too much for Alexa on Christmas Day. Amazon's digital assistant temporarily stopped working for a number of users across Europe on December 25, possibly overwhelmed by the sudden uptick in new users playing with their Alexa-powered Echo speaker.
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Get the Samsung Galaxy S9 with an Amazon Echo and Echo Spot for $520

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is easily one of the best smartphones of the year, and for good reason -- the device is well-designed, powerful, and more. Now, for Cyber Monday, you can get the phone for only $520, plus you get an Amazon Echo and Echo Spot thrown in to sweeten the deal a little.
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Amazon has a huge team dedicated to enhancing Alexa and Echo

An Amazon executive on Tuesday, November 13 revealed the huge size of the team tasked with developing the Echo, its smart speaker, and Alexa, the digital assistant that powers it. With the holiday shopping season approaching, Amazon's smart speaker goes up against similar offerings from Google and Apple.
Amazon Echo Sub Hands-on

Softly spoken interactions with Alexa now possible with new Whisper Mode

From Thursday, October 18, Alexa's Whisper Mode started to roll out to U.S. owners of Amazon's digital assistant, though for now it only understands whispers in English. To make use of the new mode, you first need to turn it on. This can be done simply by saying, 'Alexa, turn on Whisper Mode.'
Amazon Echo Show

Here are the five new Amazon Echo devices available now

Five new Amazon devices start shipping right now, including the Echo Show, Dot, Sub, Plus, and a smart plug. Here are all the details on the devices, including price, what these new products do, and how they might augment your smart home setup.
Xbox One S bundle deal

Cortana, meet Alexa: Buy an Xbox One from Amazon and get a free Echo Dot

If you buy an Xbox One S or Xbox One X bundle through Amazon right now, you'll also receive a free Echo Dot. The device features integration with Xbox One through the Alexa and Cortana assistants. You can even turn on your Xbox One by asking Alexa to do so. The offer is valid only while supplies last.
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Alexa will soon be able to hear you whisper — and answer in kind

Amazon Alexa will soon be able to respond to whispers with a whispered answer. The development team has implemented a way for the system to recognize whispers and answer in turn, allowing users to use Alexa without waking others. The feature will be available starting in October.
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Amazon creates a bigger toy box with its new Alexa Gadgets Toolkit

Amazon is building a bigger toy box with the release of its new Alexa Gadgets Toolkit, a collection of self-service programs and gadget interfaces that facilitate direct pairing and connectivity, communication, and over-the-air updates between interactive devices and their paired Echo device.
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Amazon’s Whole Foods is stealing customers from Trader Joe’s, analysts say

New reports from two separate data analysis firms indicate that a year after Amazon bought Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion, the boutique grocery chain is starting to attract customers from Trader Joe's and other grocers with discounts on popular foodstuffs and new delivery methods.
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Alexa will soon speak the language of love as she debuts in France

Amazon sought common ground with the French in June with a redesigned version of Alexa and its Echo smart speaker series featuring a new French voice, a help function designed in French, local knowledge and hundreds of localized skills. Amazon told developers Alexa will be in Mexico later this year.
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Alexa’s oddball ‘Away Mode’ skill aims to keep burglars at bay

A new Alexa skill plays spoken conversations when you’re out — useful for deterring potential house burglars. Designed more as a bit of fun and to prompt people to review their home security setup, “Away Mode” offers a choice of quirky conversation topics written by SNL comedy writers, among others.
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‘Alexa, turn up the bass’ is now a real command thanks to a new EQ feature

You're getting a bit more control over Alexa thanks to iYou're getting more control over Alexa thanks to its newest feature, which introduces the ability to adjust EQ settings with naught but your voice. The feature lets you say, "Alexa, increase the treble," and soon, "Alexa, pump up the bass."
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‘When In Rome’ is a board game you play with Alexa, when she wants to cooperate

If you like travel, trivia, and technology, When in Rome might just be the board game for you. It requires an Amazon Alexa device, like an Echo or Dot, to play. Alexa guides you through the game, while locals ask you questions about their cities.