Amazon is ready to bring Echo devices and Alexa into Australian and New Zealand markets with customized features in early February.
Amazon is ready to bring Echo devices and Alexa into Australian and New Zealand markets with customized features in early February.
Amazon is ready to bring Echo devices and Alexa into Australian and New Zealand markets with customized features in early February.
In order to fit into the local environments better, Alexa will have an accent and talk like an Aussie or a Kiwi.
There will be 10,000 voice skills available in the region at launch, including some general controls as well as applications developed by local brands. For example, they can ask surf reports from Coastalwatch, recipes from Taste.com.au, ask Airtasker to find a helper on cleaning and gardening tasks, or ask EnergyAustralia about the latest bill.
Homeowners living in New Zealand can ask Air New Zealand if a flight is on time, or ask for news from local media outlets.
In smart home applications, users can control local Telstra smart devices and Zen thermostats in addition to other smart home brands that support the Alexa platform.
In addition to selling Echo devices via Amazon’s e-commerce website, the company will also make them available in stores at JB Hi-Fi, Telstra, Officeworks and Myer. The Echo will be priced at $149 AUD, the Echo Plus at $229 AUD and the Echo Dot at $79 AUD.
Amazon just entered Australia with its e-commerce service in December last year, which makes it a relatively new player in the market. By bringing the well-known smart speakers to the region, Amazon will not only boost the smart home market in those two countries, but also drive its online sales with the Alexa shopping skill.
Compared to the U.S., the smart home markets in Australia and New Zealand are developing at a slower pace. It’d be interesting to see whether Alexa will help grow the smart home awareness like it did in the U.S. Google, on the other hand, launched Google Home last year in Australia.