The Amazon Echo looks like a simple tube speaker but it can do more than just play your favorite songs. It 'talks' back to you as any voice assistant. Unlike the current personal assistants found on mobile devices today, the Amazon Echo is a standalone device that can tell you any information you want. Amazon Echo aka Alexa can play music, deliver news, and inform you of the weather. It can even wake you up as an alarm system. Just call 'Alexa' and it will respond to your every question or request. This home assistant works via a cloud connection so it must be connected to the Internet at all times.

The Amazon Echo is voice-controlled for hands-free convenience so you can just say anything you want from anywhere in the room, thanks to voice recognition technology. It features seven microphones that work as sensors that utilize a beam-forming technology to hear a person from any direction. Its noise cancellation feature also allows Alexa to hear you even when it's playing a song.

Amazon says Alexa will always get smarter because it is connected to the cloud. It runs on Amazon Web Services so it adds and learns more information and functionality every time. Amazon Echo also adapts to a person's personal preferences, vocabulary, and speech patterns.

Design-wise, the Amazon Echo looks like a Bluetooth-enabled tube speaker. Specs include a 2.5-inch woofer and a 2-inch tweeter. The seven small microphones are found near the ring at the top. There's also bass reflex port found between the microphones and the woofer.

Amazon Echo offers voice-controlled support for Prime Music, Amazon Music, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and of course, basic Bluetooth streaming of audio from your tablet or smartphone.