Ready to save big-time on an Amazon Echo sale? Although the deal is apparently a limited-time offer that’s only good for today, there might not be a better time to get the retail giant’s personal assistant, as it’s now selling for only $129.99, or $50 off full retail pricing. What’s also interesting about this deal, however, is the fact that it launched just a few days after the Alexa-powered Echo lost a comparison test against the competing Google Home.
Ever since its launch in 2014, the Echo has earned rave reviews for being more than just the smart speaker it ostensibly resembles, but also a device that could fulfill a plethora of other tasks around the house through its Alexa voice service. And as the Verge pointed out earlier today, the Amazon Echo is now on sale on the company’s website, selling at the very same price ($129.99) as Google Home, albeit for a limited period of time. The deal had reportedly kicked off at 12 a.m. ET today and will run through 11:59 pm. ET, according to Amazon.
While it’s all well and good that a popular “smart” home product is selling at close to 30 percent off list pricing, the Amazon Echo sale was launched not long after a New York digital marketing agency pitted Echo against Google Home to see which smart device can answer the most questions. Unfortunately for Amazon, Home would emerge as the superior product, at least based on the accuracy of the queries fielded in the test.
You can save $50 on the Amazon Echo TODAY ONLY! Don’t miss out. https://t.co/LKUJzU4sgw (via: @ThrifterDaily ) pic.twitter.com/Nz4MWD6MUo
— Android Central (@androidcentral) June 26, 2017
According to 9to5Google , the comparison test involved both Echo and Home being asked 3,000 questions that the average user might want to ask any one of the devices. On a positive note for Amazon, Echo proved to be more accurate when it came to sales or retail-based search queries, as Alexa does pull a lot of information from Amazon’s partner companies. But that turned out to be a double-edged sword, as Home was found to be up to six times more accurate in terms of general information searches.
Why did Google Home completely trounce Amazon Echo in general searches and on an overall basis? As noted by 9to5Google , the tech titan spent five long years working on the robust Knowledge Graph, which, along with its “simply unmatched” internet search engine, powers Home and feeds it all the relevant information it needs. That’s a sharp contrast to Echo, which, as stated above, pulls information from Amazon partners, potentially leading to inaccurate non-retail results or no results at all.
Do you have any plans to take advantage of the ongoing Amazon Echo sale while it’s still available?
[Featured Image by Mark Lennihan/AP Images]