AMAZON ALEXA TO LAUNCH IN AUSTRALIA FEB 1ST, 2018

The long-awaited announcement of Amazon's launch of Alexa and Echo has finally arrived. The voice control giant is now offering the Echo range of smart speakers via pre-order on Amazon Australia, with the service set to go live, February 1st, 2018.
The three speakers to be offered first in Australia include the Echo Dot, Echo and Echo Plus. The screen-equipped Echo Show and Echo Spot have not as yet been mentioned.
Local pricing has been announced as Echo Dot ($79), Echo ($149) and Echo Plus ($229). Amazon is also offering pre-order and bundle discounts.
The Amazon Echo range is said to also be available from Telstra, Officeworks, Myer and JB Hi-Fi. Further retail placement will slow Google Home's apparent jump on Alexa in Australia.
There has been much speculation about the local delays for Alexa, which have mostly centered around the Aussie accent. Amazon has said it will deliver an all-new experience for Australian consumers with an 'Australian and New Zealand edition' on launch.
Dave Limp, SVP Devices and Services for Amazon said:
The algorithms that run our natural language processing and our text to speech engine, they all use these modern techniques, the deep neural networks. And to make those work well, you feed them with data. And so we go out and collect a lot of data from customers who help us,
Amazon says this process of collecting local data has taken about a year.
Amazon is also launching its Amazon Music Unlimited service in Australia and New Zealand. With over 45 million songs, it will also launch with over 150 different Australian music playlists.
With the purchase of an Echo, product buyers will receive a 90-day free trial, after which time pricing will be from $4.99 month through to $11.99/month depending on the level of features.
For more information about Alexa, visit the Amazon information pages.
Reproduced under license from our content partner, GadgetNET, a leading Australian publication for tech and gadget news, reviews and information.
Posted in: Technology Smart Homes & IoT
Tags: amazon alexa
MORE ON STEREONET
-
News
TECHNICS PULLS THE PLUG ON TECHN...
We love streaming but still hanker after owning our music. Consequently, our hard drives are loaded with many...
-
News
THE AUDIO EXPERTS INVITE YOU TO ...
The Audio Experts in Clayton, Victoria invite all videophiles to a free, special VIP evening to sample the...
-
News
BUSISOFT AV APPOINTS MICHAEL DI ...
After publishing news recently about industry stalwart Michael Di Meglio and his departure from Advance Audio...
-
News
ANTIPODES AUDIO STEPS UP WITH NE...
Suddenly things changed for Antipodes Audio. All of under two months ago we highlighted Antipodes Audio's new...
-
News
JBL SYNTHESIS BRINGS THE STUDIO ...
American loudspeaker pioneers JBL have been busy of late with a slew of new stand-mount speakers set for...
POPULAR RECENT NEWS