Amazon’s Echo voice-activated speaker is great for playing music, checking on the day’s weather forecast and ordering items at home without pushing a button. Soon, it might even help you track down your elusive car keys.
Reuters reports that the ecommerce giant is investing between $250,000 and $500,000 in TrackR. The company makes a coin-sized Bluetooth-enabled device that lets you find anything it’s attached to, like your keys or wallet, by following its location on the companion app on your phone.
According to Reuters, the new partnership will let people find their lost items via the Echo, and give the TrackR service a voice response capability. Of course, you’ll need a TrackR to begin with – they’re currently available at $29.99 apiece.
The investment in TrackR is part of Amazon’s $100 million Alexa Fund which is chalked out for technologies that build on the company’s cloud-based voice assistant software.
The new capability should help to make Amazon’s line of voice-activated devices more attractive to existing customers and potential buyers alike. Earlier this year, Echo gained features like the ability to announce movie times and live NFL scores, control your Nest thermostat and add events to Google Calendar.
We’ve contacted Amazon and TrackR to learn more and will update this post if there’s a response.
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