A novelty smart speaker, Amazon Echo, has still not arrived on the mass market. In order to purchase it, consumers need to request an invite from Amazon.com. Even if they do that, they will need to wait for that invitation to arrive in their inbox. Some received it a while ago. Nevertheless, Amazon is now reported to have started to send out many invites to anxious shoppers. Does that mean that the intelligent speaker is on its way to the mass market?
The number of consumers who have shared that they have received an Amazon Echo purchasing invite has witnessed a jump during the first few weeks of the year. This suggests that Amazon has started to produce more units of the device.
But do not get too excited too soon, if you have requested an invitation by yourself. The new invites say that the device may take “several months to ship.” The retailer explains that that is due to the strong demand.
The increasing demand for Amazon Echo could encourage Amazon to finally launch the smart speaker on the mass market. It already seems that the retailer is preparing to do just that. The device is also constantly upgraded. As a start, it has already added support for iOS mobile devices, as well as for the latest Android operating system, Lollipop.
Also, more recently, Amazon Echo got a big music update that added voice controls for three popular music services – iTunes, Spotify and Pandora. However, to use the new voice control feature, consumers will need to connect Amazon Echo to their smartphone or tablet PC. In that way, they will sign in to their accounts. In contrast, the other music services supported by the intelligent speaker, TuneIn and iHeartRadio, can be accessed directly from Amazon Echo without the need of a mobile device. The new update will also enable users to enjoy music from the new platforms “hands-free,” since they will be able to control the playback by using voice commands, like pause, next, stop, play and previous.
Moreover, in its latest announcement the company shared that it is working on many other new features. According to it, the updates “are just getting started.”
It is clear that Amazon is working hard on improving its intelligent speaker. With the rising demand for the gadget, the retailer will certainly do its best to release it as soon as possible. That, however, will probably not happen in the first half of 2015. Most of the consumers who receive their Amazon Echo invites now are notified that the device will be shipped in May, 2015. Nevertheless, there is really no point for the retailer to rush things. After all, products launched ahead of the holiday shopping season always enjoy greater consumers’ attention. In other words, if Amazon Echo will be freely available for purchase, that would happen in October or November.
