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Amazon Just Announced the Touchscreen Echo Nobody Asked For (gizmodo.com)

Posted by msmash on from the things-Amazon-does dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Amazon just announced a new grandmaster Echo gadget with the company's voice-assistant technology built in. It's called the Echo Show. It's got a touchscreen. It's got wi-fi and Bluetooth. It costs $230. And it's even creepier than its siblings. At its core, the Echo Show is just a regular Echo with a 7-inch screen. That screen lets you watch YouTube videos and see the weather forecast after you've asked for it. The new gadget also lets you make calls, video calls, and send text messages to other people using Echos or to mobile devices with the Alexa app installed. Thanks to Alexa integration with gadgets from Arlo and Ring, you can also see what your nanny cam sees. But check this out: the Echo Show also has a 5-megapixel, front-facing camera. So now, instead of your Echo just listening to your commands, it can watch you as well. The Echo Show joins the screen-free Echo Look as the second Amazon Echo device to feature a camera. On a sidenote, Amazon said it will bring the voice-calling ability to all other Echo devices.

3 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong product name, wrong size by klingens · · Score: 5, Interesting

    We need a TV sized Echo with display so we can call it Telescreen.

    Everyone needs one, at least all party members.

  2. We're obviously not the target demographic by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I suspect the people who think it's a great idea to have an always-on microphone in their house will not suddenly start objecting just because a camera is added to the device.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  3. They're after the kids by swb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My 12 year old son thinks talking computers are the bomb. He always asks if we can get an Echo or a Google Home whenever he sees the commercials. If he gets ahold of an iPhone, he will go to town asking Siri questions. It's his default method of looking things up.

    (No, he doesn't have his own phone, and no I don't encourage and actively discourage it so much my wife thinks I'm an asshole about it).

    I always explain that these things are always listening and it's like having a stranger in our house listening to everything we say. Totally not OK.

    But I think their real goal isn't adults who were raised reading 1984 in school. It's kids, who think that talking to corporate electronic systems is normal and have no sense of electronic privacy.