I recently reviewed the Echo , Amazon’s new voice-activated, cloud-connected wireless speaker. As part of the review I noted that the Echo had launched with Android and Fire OS apps and that no iOS app was available. Well, that’s not the case anymore, as an iOS Echo app has made its way into the App Store and is now available for download for free.
While you could always set up the speaker through a browser on an iPad or iPhone, the app is a good addition and arguably improves the Echo experience. I tested it briefly, setting up the speaker on a new Wi-Fi network through the app (on an iPhone), and it worked fine — just like its Kindle iOS and Android counterparts.
Amazon Echo product photos
+20 more
The speaker itself is still being sold in very limited quantities. The Echo carries a list price of $199, but select Amazon Prime members will have a chance to buy it for $99 in its launch phase, which may go on for a few months. (There’s no word as to when or if it’ll be available internationally, but that price converts roughly to £125 in the UK, or a little over AU$230 in Australia).
Anybody who wants to buy one, however — Prime or otherwise – needs to request an invite from Amazon. Or you can just spend a lot of money and buy one on eBay, like we did, though I would advise against that.