![]() ![]() ![]() Merely ask Cortana to play a song, album, genre, or playlist. Playing music is a breeze with voice commands. The sound will easily fill any large room, and the acoustics, timbre, and resonance are exceptional. The Invoke is a serious audio speaker, and letting it play in the kitchen while prepping dinner, or using it in the bedroom is a wonderful experience. Compared to an older Amazon Echo the Invoke was louder, richer, and just better sounding. The audio quality and dimensionality of the Invoke are outstanding. ![]() With Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and soon, Pandora, there is a lot of potential for the Invoke. Probably the most common use of smart speakers is to play music. There's a lot of room for improvement, but seeing where Skype on the Invoke is now compared to just two months ago, it is clear the company is working hard on features. Overall, making calls with Skype on the Invoke is interesting, but hardly groundbreaking. The company is also exploring various pricing options in the future to keep competitive with Google, which offers free calls. At least for now, Microsoft is offering free outbound calling to U.S.-based landline and mobile phones for six months. Previously, to make calls to non-Skype contacts Microsoft would charge users via pre-purchased Skype credits. Microsoft is working on a feature in case you miss a call that lets you ask Cortana "who just called?" If someone calls you on Skype, the Invoke rings just like any other device, and it also announces who is calling. Unfortunately, you cannot (yet) send text messages. However, if your contact list is not sorted, or there are multiple phone numbers, it can be a little frustrating at times. In addition to all of that, there are also Cortana Skills (third-party integrations) and smart home functionality.Ĭall quality is quite good. Add items to a list or have Cortana read back what is on that list.Create a calendar appointment, or ask about your next appointment.Set reminders, location-based reminders, alarms, and countdowns, which can then be transferred to Cortana on your phone.Answer questions, such as "What time is Home Depot open until?".Get the latest news headlines (plays NPR hourly update from TuneIn Radio).Ask about mapping information, such as "Hey Cortana, how long will it take to drive to Boston?".Identify currently playing music or the album.Report on the weather (today and tomorrow).Just tapping the Invoke once makes Cortana volunteer a random fact about the world, or give tips on using the assistant. Or just say "Hey, Cortana" along with a command. Long press (three seconds) the top of the speaker and Cortana will turn on. There are two ways to engage with the Invoke. The feature-set is robust, but like all smart speakers, it suffers from the issue of having to remember what to say and how to say it. Microsoft has been quietly building out Cortana-Invoke features during the invite-only beta period during the last three months. "Hey, Cortana…" Invoke and Cortana – What can they do?Ĭonsidering Amazon and Google are market leaders in smart speakers, it's exciting to see that Cortana mostly matches those services already. After multiple installations with two Invokes, there was never an issue during the process. The setup was straightforward and easy to understand. Overall, the barrier to entry in using the Invoke is very low. At any time, users can pull up the Cortana app on PC, phone, Android, or iOS and navigate to "Devices." From there, they can manage their Invoke settings.įinally, once the setup is complete Cortana takes you through various skills and features that the assistant can perform as a mini-tutorial. While the Invoke does not have a display, any device that runs Cortana can act as one. How the Invoke looks from the Cortana app for Windows 10, iOS, and Android. ![]()
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