The Amazon Tap powered with AI assistant Alexa, which can now be used to ask about SyFy shows, is seen in a handout image. (Photo : Reuters)
Any Internet user can now try out the Alexa service before they buy one through an online tool, and the Apple TV could become a rival service for Amazon Echo.
Users who are interested with Amazon Echo and the Alexa digital assistant can use their Amazon accounts to try the services out. Alexa can then be asked questions on anything that the artificial intelligence program can possibly answer.
All a user has to do is to login and use their mouse to click and hold the large button that appears on screen. While holding the button, they can then ask questions directly and even without using the digital assistant's name.
Amazon Echo products allow users to make use of the nifty Alexa which can answer questions and even make reservations for restaurants. Of course, the Echosim website does not have all the capabilities of the AI-powered digital assistant.
Echosim was developed by Sam Machin from the United Kingdom as part of a hackathon, Mashable has learned. It follows the like of Triby and Lexi which also provide the Alexa service without an Amazon Echo device present.
More users are becoming interested in Amazon's digital assistant and Echo service. Users can just shout across the room or talk to their phone if they want Alexa to do something for them instead of having to do it themselves.
The service is becoming more popular up to a point where Apple is now rumored to be developing a rival product. Siri could then do what Alexa does.
Apple is reportedly developing a refreshed version of the Apple TV which will include the Amazon Echo-like service, VentureBeat reported. The source told them that the Apple TV would become the "hub of everything" in a smart and connected home.
More Internet of Things products are surfacing and becoming more compatible with other third-party products. It is now known whether the new Apple TV rival for the Amazon Echo service will support IoT products from other companies.
Amazon Echo's success is reflected by the Echosim online tool plus other applications that demonstrate the power of the service. Apple could also be close to making their own rival service with the Apple TV.
