This announcement from Amazon seemed to have gotten lost in last week’s SCOTUS mayhem, and might continue to be overlooked given the new $15/hour minimum wage Bezos & Co. just announced: Alexa Auto
Some immediate thoughts: This is what Siri should have been.
The home version of Echo / Alexa is always connected via Wifi; some people have defended Siri’s awful performance by blaming connectivity issues for its problems, and that is surely possible. Verizon Wireless is utterly terrible voice and data service, an embarrassment to any civilized society. Its executives should be tarred and feathered and driven into the sea — and they are the best of the wireless companies, or the least bad one (in the NYC area).
That said, we shall soon find out if the connectivity issue is the problem with Siri — if it degrades Alexa Auto’s performance.
I requested an invite to pre-order one. The dangers of texting and driving, of checking your phone, even making a call — might all be replaced with an effective, reliable voice device. If this is successful, look for announcements in the future with OEM suppliers and Automakers to provide a full suite of voice recognition tools.
Many automakers use IOS and/or Android for music and other functions. Amazon clearly wants a piece of that business.
See also:
14 biggest announcements from Amazon’s surprise hardware event (Verge)
Alexa, Blow My Mind (Gartner L2)
U.S. Road Deaths Fell in 2017 — credit new Technologies and reduced distracted driving (WSJ)
