Amazon's new dirt-cheap gadget is a Trojan horse built to beat Google and invade your home

AI assistants are not like smartphones, which people tend to replace every one-to-two years, giving them a clear window to switch platforms each time. Once a consumer is locked into a virtual assistant ecosystem, they're much less likely to change down the line — because it might mean re-outfitting your entire home.


After all, the promise of virtual assistants is that they work seamlessly across devices to help organise and streamline your life. No one wants to use Alexa in the kitchen then have to switch to Google Assistant in the living room. On a practical level, the uninterrupted experience is great for consumers — but it ties them in more tightly to a single tech company’s ecosystem than ever before.


And that is Amazon's play here with the new Echo Dash: It's a crucial first step into that ecosystem. It opens up Alexa to the tech-cautious and budget-conscious — demographics that the current offerings from Google or Apple have no chance of hitting.


It may only be $20, but it could be dictating consumers' brand loyalty and spending habits for years to come. ...