Amazon Echo and Shopping

In Retailwire:  A look at how the Echo assistant and speaker and its implications for a new mode of shopping.  Think of the potential cognitive interactions with a device anywhere in the home.  A new Smart Home connection?   I am reminded of a number of other standalone devices of this type that failed.  But now we have better language processing, cognitive capabilities and the Amazon name.

" .... Amazon surprised the tech community by introducing Echo, a voice-activated, personal digital assistant. While compared to Apple's Siri, Google Now and Microsoft's Cortana in many reviews, Echo is a speaker that's designed to sit in living rooms rather than on smartphones.

  .... tech bloggers speculated wildly on how Echo may work to bring "no-click" shopping to reality. Beyond adding to Amazon.com shopping lists, users can buy digital music from Amazon.com. But many predict users will eventually be able to add e-books to their Kindle library or purchase physical items from Amazon directly from Echo. .... 

James McQuivey, at Forrester Research, told Wired. "Sure, it doubles as a connected speaker and some people will end up buying it for that, but the Echo will only achieve its real purpose when you start asking it questions, having it complete tasks for you — especially shopping tasks — just the way Apple hopes its users will interact with Apple Watch."  ... ;

Also in Mashable.

Consider how much this depends on doing your Cognitive AI right.   It turns voice into a multiple direction interface.  No keyboard, no mouse, no screen.

One commenter suggested: This is like permitting an open mic in your home ...  Caution.