The Updated Echo

You may recall a few weeks ago I talked about the Amazon Echo, Amazon's eerie attempt to listen to your every word. Just kidding, it's actually their voice controlled Siri clone that sits in the middle of a room and answers questions, like "What's the weather like?" and "Do I have any appointments tomorrow?" At the time, I said the main disadvantage of the Echo as a home automation device was that it couldn't be used to control actual devices around your home, like lights and appliances. Well, that all just changed.

Amazon has pushed out a software update for the Echo that allows it to be used as a voice activated remote control for various home automation devices. When I say various, unfortunately, I mean very few. It only works with the WeMo switches that Belkin makes, and the Philips Hue lightbulbs. I like those devices, but it is a bit limiting as far as choice goes. The good news is that it seems like Amazon wants to support more devices in the future. The voice command to pair your Echo with these other devices is "Discover my appliances," which is a pretty vague command. If Amazon wanted their selection to be so limited, they could have gone with a command like "Discover my lights."
The Amazon Echo is $199 from Amazon, though you need to request an invitation to buy it.