First round of Amazon Echo Auto devices are shipping
Now I'll never be lonely again. At least, not in my car.
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Alexa is officially hitting the road in an Amazon-made device.
The online retail behemoth's first batch of Echo Auto devices is now on its way to customers who took advantage of special invites sent to them, reports Zatz Not Funny and confirmed by CNET. The invites allowed customers to get the little box, which can do everything from make phone calls to give directions to order diapers, for $25, half off its full $50 price.
Echo Auto is a dash-mounted device that connects to your phone by Bluetooth and then uses your phone's mobile connection to access Alexa capabilities including location-based routines. This would allow you to have Alexa trigger events such as opening your garage door and turning on lights in your house when you arrive home.
The device was announced as part of Amazon's seemingly never-ending parade of new Alexa-enabled devices at a September event. It was slated to ship to invitees this year, so it looks like Amazon got in just under the wire. Amazon will continue to send invitations over the coming months.
