Skip to main content

[ TechLeaks ] Amazon Echo may launch in India this year including regional language support


http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/160517094422-amazon-echo-alexa-00003213-1024x576.jpg

Amazon is investing over $5 billion for its Indian unit to turn the website into the largest e-commerce portal in the subcontinent. The retailer rolled out its Prime subscription service in the country last year, and introduced Prime Video a few months ago. Now it looks like Amazon wants to bring its Echo lineup to India by the end of the year.

That's according to two anonymous sources speaking to Economic Times. This isn't the first time we're hearing about the Amazon Echo landing in India, but ET's report also states that Alexa — Amazon's voice-based assistant — will include support for regional languages: Marathi, Tamil and Hindi.

Amazon is said to initially offer Alexa in English, with support for local languages coming shortly afterwards. Alexa has turned into a robust platform over the last two years, with the assistant doing over 1,200 skills — everything from calling a cab, ordering items on Amazon, sending a text with your voice, and more.

There are a few India-specific problems when it comes to using Alexa for purchasing items on Amazon India — all online transactions in the country requires two-factor authentication — but it looks like Amazon is exploring workarounds:
"We will work around these barriers using passphrases and other India-specific innovations."
As for pricing, Amazon is likely to offer lucrative discounts initially to incentivize customers to pick up the Echo:
"We expect Amazon to launch (Alexa and Echo) in the Indian market with very attractive pricing offers in the beginning, a similar strategy used with Amazon Prime Video and something that worked well. These offerings are likely to be linked with existing users of Amazon's services in India, making it more appealing for them."
We excited to see what Echo brings to the table. Google Assistant is great at understanding queries, but Alexa is compatible with a broader range of services.

Would you be interested in buying the Amazon Echo once it launches in India? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[ Tech News ] Google Assistant on Chromebooks

We’ve heard several times now through code commits and more that Assistant on Chromebooks is coming. However, nothing has really indicated exactly when this was going to happen. That is, until now. Hidden quietly within the Google Home app is a mention that some Assistant applications will work with Chromebooks. All Assistant apps list out which platforms they are compatible with through Assistant since, for example, some don’t work on phones, but do work on Google Home. Listed in the compatibility section of the Chat with your Assistant “game” right alongside phones, Google Home, and Allo is Chromebooks, clear as day. Not only is the text listed out, but a Chromebook icon shows up right along with those for Home and phones, so it seems pretty concrete that this is something Google intended to do, but just slipped out a little early. This is where the Google Home app comes in, since within the compatibility section for Chat with your Assistant is a listing for ...
Post a Comment
Read more >>

[ How to ?? ] Root the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Exynos Variant

We’re starting to see more and more people getting their hands on the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8, so for those of you looking for some help in rooting your device, XDA Recognized Developer  dr.ketan  has made a simple step-by-step guide for you. This guide will walk you through how to gain root access to the device using SuperSU . The developer also promises to provide an EFS backup tool so you can save the important data in this partition. Once your device is rooted, you open up the device to some interesting modifications such as flashing the popular audio mod called Viper4Android . Of course, there are already a ton of things you can do without root on Samsung devices such as blocking ads and disabling bloatware, but having root access is an added benefit nonetheless. Check out this guide in Galaxy Note 8 forum
Post a Comment
Read more >>

[ Tech News ] Google Duo picture-in-picture mode

Duo's picture-in-picture mode is now available for everyone on Oreo. Oreo introduced picture-in-picture mode for phones and tablets, and Google is now flipping the switch for Duo. The feature is now available on all Oreo devices. You don't need to make any changes to enable picture-in-picture mode. As long as you're using a device running Oreo and have the latest update installed , you should be able to use the feature. With picture-in-picture mode, you get a miniature version of the picture window in one corner of the screen when you hit the home button in the middle of a call. You can move the position of the picture window to any corner of the screen, and the video orientation will change automatically based on whether the phone is in landscape or portrait mode. Available now on Android Oreo! https://t.co/lYr30syCRV — Justin Uberti (@juberti) October 5, 2017
Post a Comment
Read more >>