Gadgetory

Microsoft's answered to Google assistant Amazon Alexa and Siri is finally here meet invoke this Cortana enabled smart speaker built by Harman Kardon costs $199 and will be available in the US October 22nd the two companies partnered to build a smart speaker with the audio quality of Harman Kardon and the brains of Microsoft's Windows 10 assistant invokes metal outer body has the high-end and issued expect from Harman Kardon at the top of the speaker a smooth turning volume ring and touchpad act as user interfaces while LEDs indicate Cortana's activity the invoke sound quality is noticeably better than the echos a deeper fuller bass and crisp trouble makes music call audio and Cortana's voice sound rich and clear voice control gets a boost from a7 microphone system with two audio pipelines so Cortana can hear you from across the room or over music invokes integration with Skype comes with free unlimited calls within the US pair your phone via bluetooth and once your contacts have synced it's easy to make a call with Cortana commands hey Cortana call Andrew Gebhardt calling Andrew Gephardt Cortana has just a handful of skills for the smart home at the moment we tested Philips key lighting and a nest thermostat II both responded quickly and accurately to pour tonic commands though Philips hue account connection was a bit tricky to configure overall Microsoft and Harman Kardon are headed in the right direction with a growing skillset attractive design and premium audio the invoke is a real contender in the smart speaker game