The Tmall Genie is Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (NYSE:BABA) answer to Amazon.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Echo.
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Tmall Genie is a virtual assistant that allows owners to order products from BABA’s Tmall website. The device is currently preparing to enter a limited beta and users can sign up now.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is expecting to notify the participants in the beta by the middle of the month. After this, it wants to start sending the devices out on July 17. The company is charging ¥499 for the Tmall Genie, which is roughly $73.39. The device is a cylinder with a speaker and light at the bottom
The Tmall Genie will work almost exactly like the Amazon Echo. Users can activate it by saying its name and then order items from online. Voice recognition will only let registered users place orders. It will also let owners control other smart devices in their homes, reports The Verge.
The virtual assistant that powers the Tmall Genie is named AliGenie. The device is 126mm tall and it has an array of microphones near the top of it. It also only takes about 10 seconds to connect to a network.
Once Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Tmall Genie completes its beta, the device will be ready for an official release. This will have the device coming out on August 8. In its current form, the device only works with those speaking Chinese. The device’s low cost may help it better compete with its more expensive rivals, Technode notes.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.