How to chat with Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa ' even without an Echo (AMZN)

You dont have to buy the hardware to appreciate the softwarenot when it comes to Amazons Alexa.The popular virtual assistant is one of the major selling points of the Amazon Echo and its growing smart home ecosystem, but now, you can enjoy Alexa a la carte as well.Or rather, in your browser. Its all thanks to a new web app you can access at echosim.io, and it lets you talk to Alexa directly from your Chrome, Firefox, or browser of choice.As Amazon tells it, the web app began with a hackathon project from Sam Machin. Now, a few months later, Echosim.io is a new online community tool for developers that simulates the look and feel of an Amazon Echo. The web app features 3D JavaScript animations and Alexa Voice Service (AVS) integration, allowing users to interact with Alexa and observe her skills and capabilities.For the first time, users wont have to purchase an Alexa-enabled device to access Alexa. And you still give the virtual assistant commands in the same way you would if you had an Echo, although youll have to click and hold a button in the web app to have Alexa listen to you (whereas with an Echo, shes always listening, sometimes too frequently).Related: Apples cooking up an answer to Amazons Echo and Googles Home hub in the form of a new Apple TVAmazon is encouraging both developers and tech enthusiasts alike to take the new web app for a spin, noting, Its simplicity makes it easy for anyone to understand what an Echo is and what it does without having to explain Alexas unique UX. This will be the first time that Alexa is made widely accessible, and especially for folks who live outside the U.S. (and consequently cannot purchase an Echo, even if they want to), its a clever way to market one of Amazons neater products.So as long as youve got an Amazon account, you can take Alexa out for a spintry it for yourself here.SEE ALSO:17 useful things the Amazon Echo can doJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Apple's new 'true tone' iPad feature changes the display color based on the light around you
Click here to read full news..