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Amazon Echo Isn’t Just a Speaker, It’s a Whole New Way of Life

Phys.org – The Amazon Echo and other smart speakers are becoming a gateway to smart-home adoption. Even though Gartner predicts that there will be 20 billion connected devices by 2020, most consumers are not quite there yet. But with a low cost of entry, smart speakers can help bridge the gap and get more consumers comfortable with the idea of connected living. Appliance makers are recognizing this potential and developing partnerships with Amazon and others to integrate their smart appliances with the devices.

“The Echo is the smart home Trojan horse,” said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. “You bought it to do a few simple things and be a speaker, then they get you comfortable and send you weekly updates to let you know what you can do with it and ultimately once you go out and get those smart lights or smart door locks, you will be comfortable telling it to do things.” LINK