The tech giant revealed that Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant can turn into Santa Claus for the festive season.
You can ask Alexa to enable Santa and hear him sing, laugh, joke or set a timer.
Children who wish to see proof of Father Christmas in action will find this festive element to be very exciting.
You can ask Alexa many Christmas-related questions, such as “Alexa where’s Santa?” Or ‘Alexa how many days till Christmas?These will be returned in Alexa’s normal robotised female voice.
The new Alexa feature lets families interact with Santa over the festive season, as if he’s speaking down the phone from the North Pole
Amazon announced that Santa has been introduced to Alexa, which will provide Christmas cheer for all the family.
You can request Santa to read a story to you, sing a song to you, make a joke to your face, or set a timer. Just say “Alexa enable Santa” to start.
Amazon provides a variety of commands to choose from will return answers in Santa’s voice, and another list that returns answers in the usual female Alexa voice.
Santa can respond in Santa’s voice to any command that starts with the letter ‘Hey Santa!’, such as sing We Wish You Merry Christmas’ or tell me all about your reindeer.
Alexa, as Santa, can perform a holiday duet singing with Meghan Trainor (US singer/songwriter). Simply say “Hey Santa”, and you will sing with Meghan Trainor.
INTERACT with SANTA VIA AMAZON ALEXA
Users can ask Santa to tell a story, sing a song, crack a joke, set a timer, and more; just say ‘Alexa, enable Hey Santa’ to get started
To try, utter “Hey Santa!” In Santa’s Voice:
“Hey Santa!” Sing, We Wish You Merry Christmas!
“Hey Santa! Sing the Twelve Days of Christmas!”
“Hey Santa! Sing Deck the Halls!”
“Hey Santa! Tell me a tale!”
“Hey Santa, give me the North Pole news.”
Let me know about your reindeer, Santa.
“Hey Santa, are you able to laugh?”
“Hello Santa, which is your favourite food?”
“Hey Santa, Merry Christmas!”
‘Hey Santa, let’s dance’
“Hey Santa! Tell me a joke!”
“Hey Santa, let us play a game!”
“Hey Santa! Give me some advice!”
Alexa has the answer to your Christmas wishes (answered at Alexa).(a) A’s usual voice:
“Alexa, Santa is not here?”
“Alexa sing Christmas songs”
“Alexa tell me a Christmas joke”
“Alexa, how many more days till Christmas?”
Alexa! Do you like my Christmas jumper?”
‘Alexa! Do you like my Christmas tree?”
“Alexa, please add roast potatoes on my shopping list”
Alexa, is this me on the nicelist?
Alexa! Will it snow Christmas Day?
“Alexa, please wake me up at 7am for Jingle Bells”
“Alexa, tell me about Christmas!”
‘Alexa, how fast does Santa’s sleigh go?’
‘Alexa, what is Santa’s address?’
“Alexa, which Christmas film is your favorite?”
“Alexa, what would you like for Christmas?”
Amazon’s smart assistant powers Echo speakers. This includes the fourth-generation Echo spherical (pictured).
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), an eye-care charity for sight-impaired people, also makes messages from Santa via Alexa.
Users just need to ask, ‘Alexa, read my RNIB Letter from Santa’ to hear the voice activated letter in Santa’s voice.
You can also use festive commands like ‘Alexa! Do you like my Christmas jumper’ You can also ask Alexa, “Alexa, would it snow on Christmas Day?” will then return to normal feminine voice.
Alexa is available to help with shopping for all the ingredients and brainstorming your Christmas menu.
It is easy to say, “Alexa,” and it will make gingerbread. Or, you can say, “Alexa,” to make gingerbread.For example,
Alexa users have already been able to hear celebrity voices coming out of their smart speaker as an alternative to the female voice – for example, former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and actress Melissa McCarthy.
Users just need to say ‘Hey Shaq’ or ‘Hey Melissa’ to hear a selection of pre-recorded messages – although they don’t offer the same range of responses as the automated voices.
Users can also hear the distinctive tones of actor Samuel L. Jackson – known for his memorable dialogue in films like Pulp Fiction and Snakes on a Plane – simply by saying ‘Hey Samuel’.
Amazon has also confirmed recently that the UK’s smart assistant voice is now available in a male version.
Here’s a brief clip of the voice, which is generic and robotic in sounding but has an English accent.
In July, Amazon added ‘Ziggy’ as one of its ‘wake words’ – words that users can say before a command to make sure the smart assistant is listening – for US users.
The four other already-existing wake words are Alexa, Computer, Amazon and Echo.
Users can also choose to use either the male voice or the female voice. They can also use any wake words that activate the voice. This means users may be able to start a command using the word “Ziggy” and have the female voice respond.
Amazon’s Alexa-powered wall-mountable Echo Show 15 – one of many new devices revealed at Amazon’s online unveiling event in September – started shipping on December 9.
AMAZON LAUNCHES ITS FIRST WALL-MOUNTED SPEAKER AND A ROBOT DOG AT UNVEILING EVENT
Amazon showcased several products online at an event held in September. One of these was an autonomous robot that monitors a person’s home to detect intruders.
This robot costs $1,450 and uses intelligent motions to inspect your house while you are away. It also alerts you about possible disturbances.
You can have it move around the house autonomously, locate people in certain places, view rooms live through Astro, and send you alerts when there is a person not recognized.
Astro will autonomously navigate around your house, check in on certain areas and show you live views of the rooms via the Astro app. It can also send notifications if it recognizes someone unrecognized.
Astro will be priced at $1,450, but as part of Amazon’s Day 1 Editions program – which gives customers the chance get early access and contribute feedback – it will be available for an introductory price of $1,000.
Amazon unveiled also the Echo Show 15, which is a children’s device that Amazon calls ‘Amazon Glow. This allows kids to have an “interactive projected space” with family members and has a new security lock.
The £240 ($250) Alexa-powered Echo Show 15 device boasts a 15.6-inch display that you can mount to your wall or place on your counter.
Users can hang it horizontally or vertically on a wall, like a photo frame, as it displays how-to videos, recipes from the web or shows streamed from Netflix and Spotify.
Echo Show 15 features a 15.6-inch display, which you can either mount to your wall (or place on your counter).
Echo Show 15 displays a live stream from your smart phone, streaming services interfaces and personalized sticky notes for family members.
If you’ve opted to hang it from the wall and want to disable the display, users can ask Alexa to show a photo frame, and Echo Show 15 just shows photos, so it blends into the background.
Amazon Glow is, in contrast, a device that allows children to connect remotely with their loved ones through shared activities.
Glow lets kids view chat participants via a 8-inch dedicated display. This black device looks almost retro and is used for video calling.
While they are doing so they may be creating art, reading books, or playing games on the touch-sensitive, 19-inch ‘projected spaces’ which almost looks like a sheet paper.
The children enjoy engaging activities in the flat “projected space”. Remote friends and family can view the child via a tablet, and they also participate in the same activities through the free Glow app.
Amazon states that Glow is a blend of immersive projections, sensing and visual technologies. It makes it seem like you’re actually having fun.
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