Amazon's Echo speaker can now order an Uber for you

The hardware is still the same, but Amazon's Echo continues to impress with smarter and more useful software. Want to listen to your favorite Spotify playlist? Not a problem. Craving some Domino's Pizza? It'll be on your doorstep soon enough. For its next trick, Amazon has teamed up with Uber so that -- yep, you guessed it -- you can hail a ride just by calling out to Alexa. As the Verge reports, the speaker will accept a number of phrases including "call me an Uber," "get me an Uber" and "request me a ride."

The pairing is a match made in heaven. Uber wants as many passengers as possible, so it makes sense for the company to integrate with hardware that will encourage extra users and rides. For Amazon, it's all about making Alexa a more natural and intelligent assistant. There are plenty of occasions when you need to order a taxi (or similar) in a hurry, or just don't fancy pulling out your smartphone and launching the app. Of course, you'll need to set up your Uber account first through the Alexa app, but once that's all sorted the voice commands should become second nature.