Alexa

You no longer need Amazon’s Echo speaker to enjoy Alexa

Amazon Echo

If you've ever wanted to take Amazon's Alexa digital assistant for a spin but bulked at the though of dropping $180 on the company's Echo wireless speaker, now you can.

Originally started by Nexmo developer Sam Machin at a hackathon in 2015, a web-based Alexa simulator runs in any standards-compliant web browser.

Amazon responds to new Apple TV with updated Fire TV box with 4K support and Alexa search

Eight days have passed since Apple has taken the wraps off its fourth-generation $149 Apple TV featuring downloadable apps and games, universal search with Siri and more, and now Amazon has conveniently rolled out its second-generation Fire TV.

Unlike the new Apple TV which disables 4K video output in software, the new Fire TV supports 4K video streaming right out of the box. It includes a new voice-enabled remote and comes outfitted with Alexa, which is basically Amazon's version of Siri.