Amazon Expands Alexa Voice Control Ecosystem, Including Nest Thermostat

Amazon announced two new Alexa Voice Service products Thursday, one for existing speakers and one designed to take on top-selling Bluetooth speakers. Amazon Tap, an Alexa-enabled portable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speaker ($129) delivers full-range stereo sound and is positioned to take on the UE Boom ($179), JBL Flip 3 ($84) and Bose SoundLink Color ($116), all of which Amazon sells. Amazon Tap packs Dolby sound and its own streaming services: Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora TuneIn and iHeartRadio. Users can stream over Wi-Fi from Tap or via Bluetooth from a smartphone. Playback is given as nine hours on a charge. Users can tap the device’s mic button to ask for music, hear news, search for information or “order a pizza,” said Amazon. Tap accessory wraps ($19) come in six colors. Amazon’s $89 Echo Dot resembles a hockey puck and connects to speakers with an audio cable or wirelessly via Bluetooth, giving users voice control for an existing music system, said Amazon. Echo Dot has its own small speaker, allowing it to be used as an alarm clock or as a voice assistant for control of smart home devices “and more,” said the company. Leveraging Alexa Voice Shopping, Amazon encouraged Amazon Fire TV and Echo users to order the Dot by telling Alexa to "order an Echo Dot.” Meanwhile, Nest said its thermostat will soon be voice-controllable by Alexa. In a blog post, Nest's Head-Engineering Matt Rogers said the company's “first official collaboration with Amazon Alexa will go live in a couple weeks.” Using Alexa, Nest owners can turn the temperature up or down, and Alexa can also learn new skills. “So you’ll be able to say ‘Alexa, tell the thermostat that I’m too hot,’” Rogers said. Users can ask about temperature and humidity and tell the thermostat they’re leaving to set in motion a scene. Users who have integrated IFTTT (If This Then That) can access “more than 50 recipes” integrating the two, Rogers said.