Items tagged with echo show
Black Friday is looming just weeks away, but that doesn't mean that there aren't deals to be had right now. Earlier this morning, we reported that Dell has pulled the wraps off a number of early Black Friday deals, and now Amazon is chiming in with discounts of its own (up to $80 off). The first device getting a massive discount is the second-generation Echo, which normally retail for $119.99. However, right now the smart speaker is on sale for $69.99, which represents a hefty $50 discount. If you need even more premium sound and would like the added benefits of a built-in smart home hub, there's the Echo Plus, which typically retails for $179.99 with a Philips Hue Bulb home starter...
Read more...
Is the 2.5-inch display on the Echo Spot too small, while the 10-inch Echo Show is too big for your Alexa smart speaker needs? Well, Amazon think that is has a perfect solution with the aptly named Echo Show 5, which has a 5.5-inch display. The Echo Show 5 is roughly half the size of its Echo Show counterpart and even includes a front-facing camera with a built-in shutter for those that are concerned about privacy. Amazon sees the Echo Show 5 as being a device that you would want to place on your desk or a nightstand to quickly consume information or watch a brief video. Given its larger screen and more robust speaker system, it would probably be advisable to go with the 10-inch Echo Show to...
Read more...
Amazon has made a big announcement with regards to its Alexa Voice Service (AVS), which is used on all Alexa-compatible devices. Previously, the Alexa Announcements feature of AVS was only available to Amazon-branded devices, like the Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Show. However, Amazon announced this week that all Alexa-capable devices will now support the feature, which in effect works like a one-way intercom system. For instance, if you're downstairs in the kitchen and you have Alexa devices spread throughout all the bedrooms and shared spaces within the house, you could say "Alexa, tell everyone that dinner is ready", and your message will be broadcast through all of the devices within...
Read more...
It looks as though Amazon is about to have some competition for its newly redesigned Echo Show. According to a new report, Facebook is set to announced next a week a new hardware device called "Portal". According to the report from Cheddar, the hardware device will available in two screen sizes (a la the Lenovo Smart Display), with prices starting at a hefty $300. The variant with the larger display is said to retail for as much as $400. The device will allegedly have a wide-angle camera up front, and will rely heavily on artificial intelligence technology to enhance the user experience. For example, the report gives the example that AI will be used to recognize the user and track...
Read more...
The Echo Dot has long been one of Amazon's most popular Alexa-backed devices, and it's getting yet another redesign. This time around, you'll find the same four-button control scheme atop the device, but the previous 7-microphone array has been replaced with just 4 microphones. We first reported on this change when the device leaked back in late July. We don't know if this was just a cost-saving measure for Amazon, or if it just feels that four microphones are more than enough for the device to hear your voice from across a noisy room. Echo Dot On the design front, the hard-plastic exterior has been "softened" up a bit with fabric wrapped around its housing (a la the Google Home Mini). When...
Read more...
When Amazon trotted out its Echo Show smart speaker with a display built in, almost everyone speculated that competitors in the AI smart speaker market would be bringing out similar products. That proved accurate at CES 2018 in January, when LG, Lenovo, and JBL all rolled out their own smart speakers packing a display. The company conspicuously missing from the smart display segment at CES was Google. The odd part is that Google is one of the biggest names in the entire smart speaker segment currently with its Google Home device.. In September we learned Google was working on a product for the segment. A new report published this week shows that the smart speaker market is booming in Q2...
Read more...
Amazon is giving users of the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 the opportunity to repurpose their tablets courtesy of an upcoming software update. Show Mode, which will be available in a software update downloadable on July 2nd, in effect turns Fire HD tablets into a fully functional Alexa-powered Echo Show. That means that they will support hands-free Alexa to do everything from providing you with weather forecasts, to real-time traffic information, to controlling your smart home. In order to better facilitate this repurposing of the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10, Amazon is also launching the Show Mode Charging Dock. The accessory includes a case that attaches to the Fire HD tablet and an adjustable charging...
Read more...
Amazon has a history of releasing some rather hilarious Super Bowl commercials, and this year is no different. Amazon’s Alexa AI voice assistant is at the forefront of this year's commercial, and in this case, the digital voice assistant seems to have lost her voice. Amazon's energetic CEO, Jeff Bezos, is visibly concerned about losing one of his most famous stars and inquires if any potential voice actors have been lined up as a replacement. After a half-hearted confirmation that Amazon has a rather deep bench of voice talent, the commercial starts cranking up the laughs. We won't give away the rather humorous bits that follow, but we will say that Gordon Ramsey heckles with his typical...
Read more...
Owners of the Amazon Echo Show speaker might have been a bit miffed back in September when YouTube pulled access to its app from the device. Amazon said at the time that the reason it pulled the app from the Show was because it had violated Google's terms of service with its implementation of YouTube. Google said at the time, "Amazon’s implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show violates our terms of service, creating a broken user experience." The crux of the issue that forced the rift between Google and Amazon was a non-standard YouTube display. The first image below with the Tour de France videos shows the original YouTube interface that caused the rift. The second image shows the new...
Read more...
It seems that Google is taking another page from Amazon and prepping a smart speaker with a built-in display. Amazon already offers such a thing—the Echo Show, which ups the ante from Amazon's other Echo products by allowing users to make video calls and see content on the screen, as opposed to just hearing it. Google's answer, codenmaed "Manhattan," would offer similar functionality. The smart home speaker market is bristling with competitors trying to replicate the success that Amazon has had with its Echo line. Google is among them—it launched its voice-activated Google Home smart speaker last year, and while it trails the Alexa-powered Echo in overall functionality, updates to the device...
Read more...
There has been a surprising amount of cooperation between some of technology's biggest players when it comes to supporting competing devices. For example, you can load an Android handset with Microsoft software, which is exactly what Bill Gates has done. You can also download Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant, to your iPhone if you feel so inclined. But it is not all peaches and cream across the board. This is evident the moment you try to fire up YouTube on an Echo Show smart speaker. Apparently Google is blocking YouTube from working on Amazon's smart speaker. Should you try to bring up a YouTube video, Alexa will politely tell you in no uncertain terms, "Currently, Google is now supporting...
Read more...
If you do not care about having a fancy touchscreen on your smart speaker, you can score a pretty good deal on Amazon's original Echo model. Amazon is currently selling its voice-controlled Echo speaker with Alexa integration for $130, down 28 percent from its regular retail price of $180. It is available at that discounted price in both black and white color options as Amazon looks to make room for its Echo Show. Amazon announced the Echo Show last month. It is essentially a newer version of the original Echo smart speaker, but with a completely different design to accommodate a built-in 7-inch touchscreen display. Having a touchscreen gives the Echo Show several advantages over its predecessor—it...
Read more...
Earlier this morning, Amazon surprised no one by announcing the Echo Show, a touchscreen-infused Echo device that was first leaked last week. One of the pivotal features of the Echo Show is the ability to make voice calls to friends and family members that also have an Echo Show, or those that use the Alexa app. However, new Echo Show owners aren’t the only ones that will be able to take advantage of hands-free voice calling using Alexa. Amazon has announced “Alexa Calling & Messaging”, which allows anyone with an Echo or Echo Dot to initiate calls or leave a voice message. In a world where more and more people are ditching their landline phones for smartphones (usually, one for each...
Read more...
After a major leak last week, Amazon has officially taken the wraps off its latest AI smart speaker: the Echo Show. If you’re familiar with previous devices like the Echo, Echo Tap and Echo Dot, then you should know that the Echo Show has the same basic capabilities as its siblings. However, where the Echo Show advances the field is with its built-in 7-inch color touch screen. The touch screen makes the Echo Show a lot more functional than its predecessors, allowing it to display things like full weather forecasts, calendar information, and playback multimedia content like YouTube clip or Amazon Prime Video. And if you need lyrics to that song that is playing courtesy of Amazon Music, you can...
Read more...
