Amazon adds a new wake word to Alexa Hey Ziggy!

For the longest time, you only had a select number of options to use as the wake word for Alexa on your Echo devices. You had Alexa, Amazon, Computer, and Echo to choose from. All of your devices could use the same name or you could mix and match them to make them easier to communicate with if one was too close to another (bedroom vs bathroom, etc). Now, the company has added a new name to that list and that name is “Ziggy”.

The choice to use Ziggy could likely be a throw-back to the Quantum Leap series. At least, it seems like it would be the most qualified reference to connect it with.

Sadly, you still can’t customize the wake word for your devices with anything you want. You are still limited to this list. However, it does give you one extra option to choose from at least. One additional option is better than nothing. If we are lucky, this might mean that Amazon is acknowledging the fact that people are looking for more flexibility within this setting. It may lead to something more functional in the future.

It is too bad we don’t have someone like Elon Musk choosing these names for us. If we did, our options would most likely sound a lot less commercial than “Amazon” and “Echo”.

To change the wake word of any Alexa device on your network, simply head to the Alexa app on your mobile device. Go to “Devices” -> “Echo & Alexa” -> (choose the device) -> click on settings icon -> “Wake Word” -> and choose the option you want. You can then do the same for all of your other Echo devices (if you have others).

You can now also choose a male voice for Alexa as well (the default voice, not the limited celebrity skills). This option is located in the same settings screen, only you will be looking for “Alexa’s Voice” where you will find “Original” (the female voice) or “New” (new male voice).

From: pocnetwork