Amazon Alexa is currently available in nine countries via the company's Echo speakers, but that number is about to grow by one. The Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Spot can now be pre-ordered in France, with hundreds of new skills being introduced for the French market.The Echo and Echo Dot will begin shipping on June 13th, with the Echo Spot following in July. All three speakers are seeing 50% discounts for the launch.
Additionally, Amazon's Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), which launched in France in March, and Alexa Voice Service (AVS), which was previously only available in Developer Preview, can now be used by developers to build new skills for customers in mainland France. There are already several hundred of them from companies like Domino's, Franceinfo, TheFork, Legrand, Marmiton, Netatmo, and more, but Amazon obviously wants more to be created. For this reason, it's hosting two events: a webinar about Alexa voice design on June 7th from 14h30 to 15h30 and an ASK workshop for skill development on June 13th in Paris.
PRESS RELEASE
Alexa and Amazon Echo Now Available in France
Hundreds of skills available for customers in France from leading brands like Marmiton, franceinfo, Netatmo, Legrand, La Fourchette, Philips Hue, Uber, Domino’s Pizza, TP-Link and more
Device makers like Boulanger, Sowee, Harman Kardon, Sonos, Ultimate Ears, Netgem, Archos and more are introducing Alexa-enabled devices for French customers
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 5, 2018-- (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today announced that Alexa and Echo are now available in France. Additionally, developers around the world have created skills and Alexa-enabled devices for French customers. Read the press release announcing Alexa in France: https://amazon-presse.fr/Nos-communiqu-s/Nos-communiqu-s.html.
“Tens of millions of customers around the world are already using Alexa, and today we’re excited to introduce Alexa to our customers in France,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Amazon Devices International. “We’ve built an entirely new experience from the ground up that honors the French language and culture, allowing customers to just ask to get music, weather, news, information, and more—just by asking. And there are already hundreds of skills for French customers from some of the most popular brands in France.”
Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Spot are voice-controlled speakers designed entirely around your voice—they’re always ready, hands-free, and fast. Alexa is the brain behind Echo—just ask, and she’ll answer questions, play music, read the news, set timers and alarms, check sports scores, control lights around your home, and much more. With far-field voice control, Echo can do all this from across the room. Since Alexa runs in the AWS cloud, she is always getting smarter—plus, it is simple for developers to build Alexa skills and integrate Alexa into their own products.
Alexa will be available in France starting next week.
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