Listen up: Amazon’s Alexa is taking over our homes (The 3:59, Ep. 4)

Amazon’s Echo smart speaker had twins.

The e-retailer unveiled on Thursday two new devices powered by Alexa, the same digital voice assistant housed inside the Echo. There’s the $130 Amazon Tap, essentially a portable, battery-powered Echo, and the $90 Echo Dot, which adds Alexa’s brains to any speakers you already have. Preorders started Thursday and the devices are scheduled to start shipping at the end of the month.

We also discuss how Roger flew a drone using an Oculus Rift headset from 1,400 miles away, as well as the upcoming “Ghostbusters” movie, which released a new trailer.

The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about the top stories of the day, brought to you by CNET Executive Editor Roger Cheng and CNET Senior Writer Ben Fox Rubin.