Conquering homes: Amazon is out to put Echo (pic) and and Alexa, whose skills include selecting music, appointment reminders, checking bank balances, ordering food, summoning Uber rides and more, at the heart of the connected home. — Amazon
SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon boasted that its virtual assistant Alexa is capable of 1,000 “skills,” as the online retail giant bolsters defences against rivals such as Google and Apple.
The Seattle-based company said in a blog post that the programs were developed specifically for the voice-commanded Alexa software used in Amazon devices such as Echo and Fire TV.
Amazon released voice-enabled wireless speaker Echo in late 2014, infusing it with virtual assistant smarts that enable it to answer questions or control linked devices upon command.
