Amazon’s Alexa Echo device are often on sale at about half off. The most recent sale was during Prime Days October 11-12, 2023. These can be expected again on Black Friday. Here were some of the top deals.
All-new Echo Pop $17.99 (list $39.99)
All-new Echo Show 5 $39.99 (list $89.99)
Echo Show 8 $59.99 (list $129.99)
Echo Dot (latest release) $22.99 (list $49.99)
Find all the current Alexa deals at:
Note: Our story, What Can Amazon Echo Do for Seniors? has more details if you’re new to Echo and Alexa.
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What is Alexa Echo?
Alexa is Amazon’s virtual assistant AI technology. It is embedded in the Amazon Echo smart speakers, the Echo Show video devices, the Fire TV devices that respond to voice commands, and more. Alexa is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, sports, and other real-time information, such as news. Alexa can also control smart devices using itself as a home automation system.
If you want to check out the Echo devices before buying, note that many Best Buy stores have in-store displays that allow you to try out the Echo devices. (A Best Buy store display is shown below.) Prices are generally the same as Amazon’s.
Amazon store display (By Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Scalable Grid Engine)
Echo Show Introduction
Below is an introduction to the 2023 Echo Show 5 from Amazon.
About Amazon Alexa (from Wikipedia)
Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant AI technology developed by Amazon, first used in the Amazon Echo smart speakers developed by Amazon Lab126. It is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, sports, and other real-time information, such as news. Alexa can also control several smart devices using itself as a home automation system. Users are able to extend the Alexa capabilities by installing “skills” (additional functionality developed by third-party vendors, in other settings more commonly called apps such as weather programs and audio features).
Most devices with Alexa allow users to activate the device using a wake-word (such as Alexa or Amazon); other devices (such as the Amazon mobile app on iOS or Android and Amazon Dash Wand) require the user to push a button to activate Alexa’s listening mode, although, some phones also allow a user to say a command, such as “Alexa” or “Alexa wake”.
As of November 2018, Amazon had more than 10,000 employees working on Alexa and related products. In January 2019, Amazon’s devices team announced that they had sold over 100 million Alexa-enabled devices.
In September 2019, Amazon launched many new devices achieving many records while competing with the world’s smart home industry. The new Echo Studio became the first smart speaker with 360 sound and Dolby sound. Other new devices included an Echo dot with a clock behind the fabric, a new third-generation Amazon Echo, Echo Show 8, a plug-in Echo device, Echo Flex, Alexa built-in wireless earphones, Echo buds, Alexa built-in spectacles, Echo frames, an Alexa built-in Ring, and Echo Loop.