Miriam Daniel – Vice President of Alexa And Echo Devices at Amazon talks exclusively to WomenLoveTech about the importance of having more women in STEM, life at Amazon and why the voice of Alexa is a Woman.
Miriam was recently here in Sydney for a short visit to launch the full range of Alexa and Echo products from Amazon.
First she gave us an update on what to expect from the latest devices.
We are here to unveil our full series of new Echo Smart speakers for our Australian customers.We have the third generation Echo Dot which sounds really good. It sounds about 70% louder than the previous generation. It has a nice fabric outer layer and fits very well with your decor. It comes in three different fabric colours, including grey and sandstone.
The Echo Show is our latest smart speaker with a difference. It has a 10 inch display and it has eight microphones and it has two side firing speakers so it gives you a really nice spacial quality with the audio. It almost sounds like left/ right stereo speakers on a soundstage.
The Echo Sub works with our Echo speakers and you can set up two Echo speakers in a left/right channel configuration, add on a subwoofer for a two dot one set up and you can enjoy really loud music and have a party.
Why does Alexa have a female voice?
We actually tested a lot of voices and did a lot of research and many of the customers that were part of this test actually prefer the voice that we originally selected for Alexa. It’s also because they described the voice as helpful, resourceful, kind and compassionate.
It’s also because they described the voice as helpful, resourceful, kind and compassionate.
These are also some of the qualities we find in our team at Alexa. A lot of women have these qualities on the team and we also wanted Alexa to be a personal friend, companion, colleague, family member and so we wanted to find a voice that was warm and inviting to engage with and that’s how we came to select Alexa’s voice and as we expand Alexa into different international countries we try to stay true to the essence of Alexa’s voice.
We also try to localise the voice with the regional accents so that she can relate to our customers in each new country.
How does Amazon encourage more women in STEM?
It is a mission of ours at Amazon to have more women in STEM. We have a lot of women in Amazon’s Alexa group.
We have scientists, we have people who write editorials, we have industrial designers, we have software engineers, we have product managers.
We have scientists, we have people who write editorials, we have industrial designers, we have software engineers, we have product managers.
There’s a big army of very talented and skilled women that pull together Alexa and her personality and all the devices that we build here at Amazon.
Women Love Tech Publisher and Owner Robyn Foyster (left) and Amazon’s Miriam Daniel (right)
New Echo devices include:
- Echo Show: An all-new design available in Australia, upgraded speaker, a stunning 10-inch HD display, and a built-in smart home hub, plus all the glanceable features customers love about Alexa for $349.00
- All-New Echo Plus: A simple way to start your smart home with a built-in Zigbee hub, plus an upgraded speaker and a new design, and still only $229.00
- All-New Echo Dot: The easiest way to bring Alexa into your home, now with a new speaker for louder and crisper sound, an updated fabric design, and still only $79.00
- Echo Sub: An Echo companion device, that adds deep, rich bass to music playback on Echo devices for $199.00
- Note prices are in Australian Dollars
- Find out more about the latest devices, here.
