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Guide To...
Guide To...
Bringing a

Virtual

Assistant
Assistant

Into your Life

Tech enthusiast Temur Yusuf examines the main
contenders in the race of the smart home speakers.

The smart home concept has gained considerable momentum in the last few years. People love the idea of a house where lighting,
temperature, security and electronic devices stay online and can be remotely controlled. Within this hubbub, the voice-activated speaker
has arguably become the most successful smart home device so far. Amazon’s and Google’s respective virtual assistants have wiggled
their way into millions of homes through their speakers. If history is anything to go by, Apple’s upcoming HomePod is also slated to become
a massive hit, despite its very Apple-like price tag. Between playing music and answering foolish questions, calling an Uber and turning the
lights on, 2017 is shaping up to be the year Alexa, Assistant and Siri go to war. Thankfully, we’ve included all three to help you decide on
which is worthy of your time and cash.

Amazon Echo (Alexa)

Imagine walking into your house one night with your arms full of grocery bags. To
turn the lights on, you’ll have to put the bags down, make your way to the room
of your choice, nd the switches and know exactly which ones to press. But
with Alexa, you simply say “Alexa, turn on the lights” and voila! Just when you
thought turning on the lights through your phone was cool, technology exceeds
your expectations.
Apart from personal assistant tasks like answering simple queries, setting alarms
and making shopping lists, the real reason to get an Echo device right now is for the
Alexa virtual assistant. Due to her two-year head start, Alexa already lives inside
a host of speakers ranging from the Echo Dot (US$50) to the Echo (US$180),
streaming sticks, cameras and even smartwatches from non-Amazon brands. The
depth of Alexa’s capabilities shine through its growing list of over 10,000 “skills”,
akin to using apps on a phone, that unlock extra capabilities like ordering Dominos,
Pros: calling an Uber or playing Jeopardy!
Strong hardware selection at multiple price points Minor gripes stem from Alexa’s inability to respond to more
Access to thousands of Alexa “skills” than one command at a time. Integrating multiple commands
than one command at a time. Integrating multiple commands
Extensive support for smart home devices such as “turn on the air-condition when I open the garage door”
such as “turn on the air-condition when I open the garage door”
is also a no-go, and shouting commands isn’t always the most
Cons: is also a no-go, and shouting commands isn’t always the most
practical way to interact with your devices. But treat her as an
Receives only one command at a time practical way to interact with your devices. But treat her as an
interface for the mundane tasks of your life, and you will
probably come to rely on her more and more. It’s high time
you brought Alexa home to your parents.

78 | Masalathai.com