Amazon today announced that it will be selling the Echo personal assistant / Bluetooth speaker at more than 3,000 retail locations across the US in the near future. Prior to this, the only way to purchase an Echo was to order it direct from Amazon itself. Retail stores that will carry the device include The Home Depot, Staples, Sears, Brookstone, RadioShack, Fred Meyer, and P.C. Richard & Son. Notably absent from the list is Best Buy. It will cost $179.99 in stores, which is the same price Amazon sells it for.

The Echo can be used as a basic Bluetooth speaker, but it's far more useful as a voice-controlled personal assistant that can add things to a to-do list, control smarthome appliances, tell you the weather or news, and make purchases from Amazon. The device has been continuously updated since its debut last year, gaining support for more smarthome devices and other capabilities.

Amazon says the Echo will be in stores in time for holiday shopping, though its rollout will likely vary from retailer to retailer.