One of the neatest features Amazon announced at the launch of its new Echo range in September was integration with Skype, bringing Echo Show into a wider world of person-to-person video conferencing. There was just one problem – it wasn’t available at launch.
Today, Amazon has announced local availability of the feature. Alexa can now connect to your Skype account, allowing you to use Alexa as a voice controller for Skype. Integration is simple, you connect your Skype account either in the Amazon Alexa app or via the web interface at alexa.amazon.com.
After you’ve connected your Skype account, Amazon’s Echo devices will be able make and receive hands-free Skype calls (and on Fire Tablets, which can run in “Show Mode”). Echo Show and Echo Spot are able to make Skype video calls.
It’s great to see devices like the newest Echo Show able to join existing video conferencing solutions instead of going it alone with their own systems. Amazon’s older Echo Spot had video calling capabilities, but it only worked between Spot devices. With millions of users on Skype, this opens a potential market for Amazon for the Echo Show as a simple solution for video calling. I’m thinking of setting it up so my parents can stop wrestling with the app on their tablets.
