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Alexa+

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Re: Alexa+

#2
The pricing seems odd. $20/mo for Alexa+, but it's free with a $15/mo Prime subscription?

It makes me think that it will only be included with Prime for a short time - long enough to get a lot of Alexa users hooked on it.

Re: Alexa+

#3
Finally one of the big ones drop a conversational assistant based on modern LLMs.

I'm just hoping this is what it takes for Google to follow the trend for Android Auto and they go through with their internal integration experiment, don't care if I have to pay a fee, I just want it to understand my accent and be useful consistently.

Re: Alexa+

#4
> She can also help you search, find or buy virtually any item online, and make useful suggestions based on your interests.

And there it is. Still trying to sell refills on paper towels.

> Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month, but is free for all Prime members.

Unrelated business unit profit to subsidize reaches into new markets. Amazon isn't so egregious here as the other tech titans, but it is absurd to think I'll need a subscription to a ecom/grocery store to watch James Bond or Lord of the Rings. Or that I might be sold on visiting an Amazon Prime compatible primary care doctor. I don't like this.

Re: Alexa+

#5
I've been spoiled by LLMs in my daily work and now want to put the same kind of prompts into search boxes. Not "air fryers" but "air fryers without bluetooth or wifi and less than 3 cooking modes, and no negative reviews about the device failing prematurely." I'm not going to let Alexa plus or minus listen into my whole life, but I would like some that of intelligence when I actually go shopping.

Re: Alexa+

#6
I ordered the first echo the day it was announced, and was excited about the possibility for years.

But that "possibility" never turned into reality for me and I ended up only using it to start timers and play music. I've since abandoned the product line and do not have faith that Amazon will develop this into something actually useful, rather than something that is used to sell me products and surveil on me.

Re: Alexa+

#7
model agnostic, meaning a model is enlisted based on specific task, rather than a shoehorn and a single model.

Re: Alexa+

#8
> Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month, but is free for all Prime members.

Prime costs $140/year ($11.66/mo). Why would they even waste their time with the other subscription? To make the Prime option look more enticing?

Re: Alexa+

#10
post #8

> Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month, but is free for all Prime members. Prime costs $140/year ($11.66/mo). Why would they even waste their time with the other subscription? To make the Prime option look more enticing?

Perhaps pricing in other markets will be substantially lower and undercut the Prime cost?
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