Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant service is hitting the headlines a lot recently, as accessory makers scramble to include the open service in their products, and competitors rush to improve their own digital assistants. We’ve got a trio of updates today, as we look at a new (free!) iPhone and Android app for Alexa, a clever accessory for making the Amazon Echo portable, and an early rumour on Google’s Alexa competitor, Chirp.
Alexa on mobile for free? Roger.
Roger, a voice app for Android and iOS, is soon to relaunch itself as a wider ‘voice platform’. One of its key features is support for third-party services, and one of these is Alexa. You can speak into the app, and Alexa will respond as if you were talking to an Echo (or another Alexa-enabled gadget). The app also integrates Dropbox and Slack, which could be handy for finding files or keeping tabs on workplace conversations. A similar app for Alexa is also available called Lexi, but this costs £4. Both apps are somewhat hamstrung in the UK, where Amazon have yet to roll out a full Alexa service, but are worth keeping in mind for the future.
Echo Battery Base
The Amazon Echo is one of the best ways to play with Alexa (even if you have to import it from the US at present). The speaker has one failing though: it’s not actually portable; it needs to be plugged into the mains to work. Mission Cables has the answer though; a small base unit that plugs into the Echo and gives it up to six hours of battery life while playing music. Now you’ll be able to listen to your favourite jam and ask Alexa questions wherever you are — just don’t take it to the pool, because the Echo (and this base) aren’t waterproof.
Google’s Chirp
Word broke this week from Recode that Google are working on their own home-based digital assistant, to compete with the likes of the Amazon Echo. The device will resemble Amazon’s device (shown above) and Google’s OnHub wireless router. Google has long been the leader in search, and it’ll attempt to leverage that expertise here. Integration with other Google devices, like Android phones and tablets, Android Wear-ables and Chrome OS devices is another key feature. The service is currently codenamed Chirp, although its final name may be something different. A Google I/O mention seems unlikely, with a launch event later in the year currently rumoured.
Wrapping up
That’s all the Amazon & Alexa news for this week. Thanks for checking out the article, and be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!