SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today announced that Alexa and Echo are now available by invitation in India, and that they are coming to Japan later this year. Read the press release announcing Alexa in India: www.amazon.in/pr.

“ Millions of customers love Alexa, and we’re thrilled to introduce her to our customers in India today and Japan later this year,” said Tom Taylor, Senior Vice President, Amazon Alexa. “ We’re also excited to expand the Alexa Skills Kit and the Alexa Voice Service, so developers and hardware makers around the world can create localized Alexa experiences for our Indian and Japanese customers.”

Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Plus are voice-controlled speakers designed entirely around your voice—they’re always ready, hands-free, and fast. Alexa is the brain behind Echo—just ask, and she’ll answer questions, play music, read the news, set timers and alarms, recite your calendar, check sports scores, control lights around your home, and much more. With far-field voice control, Echo can do all this from across the room. Since Alexa runs in the AWS cloud, she is always getting smarter—plus, it is simple and free for developers to build Alexa skills and integrate Alexa into their own products.

The devices will start shipping in India later this month, and Alexa and Echo will be available in Japan later this year.

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