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How to get Amazon Alexa on any Android phone

We detail how to get Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant on your Android phone using Logitech’s ZeroTouch app so you can control your smart devices by voice.

Tuesday, February 7th saw the UK launch Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service, along with new developer tools in Echosim.io. They serve as part of a larger push from Amazon to get its voice assistant in more places than ever before and more importantly, more places than the competition.

Whilst Echo and Echo Dot owners will already be familiar with Alexa, having invited her into their homes, CES 2017 showed us that big players from all over the place, but especially the automotive space, are gearing up to add support to their products, including the likes of Ford, VW, Honda and Volvo. The great thing is, you don’t have to wait for the next Fiesta before you can free the genie from her lamp, as Logitech looks to be one of the first company to pull Alexa out of the Echo and onto your Android phone.

We’ve already tried and tested Logitech’s ZeroTouch car mounts, which offer a hands-free, and more importantly, eyes-free solution to smartphone interaction whilst driving, but until now the ZeroTouch companion app’s feature set was confined to the bare essentials: listening to and responding to emails, text messages and WhatsApp messages, as well as driving navigation and call management.

Alongside the UK expansion of AVS, Logitech has taken the opportunity to not only become the first to put Alexa in your car, but by the nature of the ZeroTouch product line, anywhere you take your phone.

Presently, the main caveat is that you need to own the company’s ZeroTouch air vent or dashboard mount, but nobody explicitly says that they have to used in-car. Provided you’ve picked one of those up and downloaded the ZeroTouch app (the Amazon Alexa app is a free optional extra if you’ve not yet configured Alexa), you should then be able to sign into your Amazon account as part of the new setup process and bring Alexa onto your phone, it’ll just need to be paired to one of the mounts via Bluetooth to work.

If that doesn’t float your boat, those interested in the Huawei Mate 9 will find Amazon’s digital assistant pre-installed Stateside and coming to existing owners in markets such as the UK in the near future.

Looking to control your thermostat or your Philips Hue lights using Alexa on your Android phone (sorry iOS, that’s coming later)? You can pick up the ZeroTouch Air Vent and ZeroTouch Dashboard mounts for half price from Carphone Warehouse for the next month (£24.99 and £29.99 in place of £49.99 and £59.99, respectively) whilst the ZeroTouch app is free to download from the Play Store and compatible with Android devices running version 4.4 or newer.

Read next: Amazon Echo tips, tricks and easter eggs to get the most from your Echo

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