Amazon in September 2018 had introduced a few Alexa powered devices including a microwave and wall clock. One of the many items that were introduced included the eight microphones that connects to the phone to bring Alexa to the car. The Echo Auto is all set to be out in the real world in a few months time. The new device Echo Auto by Amazon was on display at the Amazon Alexa booth at the CES at Las Vegas. The booth had also displayed other third-party car accessories that also work with Alexa. The products included the iOttie phone mount.
The Echo Auto had started shipping a few weeks back to a small group of customers. The device will be available to everyone at $49.99, but now the users can request for the device at just $24.99. The Vice President of Alexa Auto Ned Curic said that the demand will be the roof. More than one million requests have come in for the car assistant. The above facts are enough for the users to request an invite to buy the Echo device and will allow the users to control the music, help in navigation, e-books, podcasts, smart appliances at home and more.
The device can also work with the third party devices like Google Maps and music options like Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, Sirius XM and NPR. There are also many apps which have been tagged as ‘coming soon’ like the Apple Music and Apple Maps. It does not work with the in-car infotainment platforms including the Android Auto or Apple’s CarPlay. Amazon has also added a support page that has mentioned about the phones that will not be compatible with the Echo Auto.
The models like HTC, ZTE, Huawei, and the LG Nexus 4 are some of the phones that will not work to control the AI Assistant. Some of the cars from BMW, Audi, Ford and Toyota have direct integration with Alexa with their respective infotainment systems, which means they do not need such devices.
Photo Credits: AFTV news
