Mobile phones may have almost killed landline phone service but there are chances of Amazon Echo and Google Home breathing air to the dying home telecommunication and transform smart home with its service.
Popular smart home speaker hubs, Amazon Echo and Google Home are among the coolest devices currently available in the market with the capacity to control several smart gadgets besides providing soothing sound. Now, The Wall Street Journal has reported citing people familiar with the matter that both Google and Amazon may bring phone-call service to its smart devices soon.
[READ: 10 devices you need for an ultimate smart home in 2017]
According to the report, sources from Amazon have claimed that the company has been developing a phone feature for the Echo, which means Alexa will be used to make and take calls. On the other hand, Google already has online telecommunication platform, Google Voice, which could be used in Google Home. The Google Assistant could help the Home device into a phone service.
If the technology is successfully integrated into the smart gadgets, the users can make a call by just saying "call John" or attend to a call by saying "pick call." Reports have claimed that both Google and Amazon may introduce the technology into their devices by the end of this year but it is yet to be confirmed.
Amazon Echo is a voice-activated smart bluetooth speaker that uses a voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant service Alexa. It can also read you audio books, check the weather, set alarms, provide realtime information, do online shopping, stream podcasts, control smart gadgets and do several other work.
Google Home is similar to Amazon Echo. It is equipped with Google Assistant's intelligence and can control several smart gadgets as a central hub besides features like streaming music through Google Play Music, YouTube and other sources.
(Source: The Wall Street Journal via Mashable)
