The Buzz | Amazon amplifies its Alexa line of voice-controlled devices

Amazon.com is introducing two devices designed to amplify the role its voice-controlled assistant Alexa plays in people’s homes and lives.
The products unveiled yesterday are echoes of Amazon’s Echo, a cylinder-shaped speaker with Internet-connected microphones that became Alexa’s first major showcase when it debuted in 2014.
The devices are the Amazon Tap and Echo Dot. They cost less than the USD180 Echo and offer slightly different features in an attempt to plant Amazon’s Internet-connected microphones in more homes and other places.
The Amazon Tap is a smaller, “grab-and-go” version of the Echo that runs on a rechargeable battery. It sells for $130.