EghtesadOnline: Amazon.com Inc. said it had its best holiday season yet, having shipped more than 1 billion items through its Prime and Fulfillment services, and receiving a record number of orders for its own Alexa devices.

EghtesadOnline: In less than a year, Amazon's combination of the Echo speaker system and the Alexa voice-controlled digital assistant has come close to delivering on the elusive promise of easy-to-use technology that can control gadgets in the home with a few spoken words.

EghtesadOnline: Meet Kuri. Think of her as Amazon's Alexa surfing on a Roomba. Using a variety of sensors, she can deftly navigate around the clutter of your home. And with a built-in speaker, she can play your favorite podcast as she follows you around.

EghtesadOnline: Amazon.com Inc’s digital assistant appeared almost everywhere at the CES technology show this week in Las Vegas, even making an unexpected appearance on rival Google’s Android system.

EghtesadOnline: Ford Motor Co is expanding the use of Amazon.com Inc's Alexa personal assistant in its vehicles to allow drivers to talk to their cars - demanding anything from a nearby cheeseburger to a weather forecast - marking a leap by the Detroit automaker to incorporate a technology initially targeted for home use.