If simply talking to Alexa on your Amazon Echo Speaker just wasn’t doing it for you, soon you could talk to — and see — your friends or family through the e-commerce company’s upcoming screen-equipped Echo Show.
Amazon unveiled the Echo Show, the latest in its line up of connected-devices in the Echo family, on Tuesday with the device officially set to be released on June 28.
As with the original Echo, the $229.99 Show — which is currently available for pre-order — is always on and always connected to the Internet, but the voice directions continue to only work when the “wake” word “Alexa” is spoken.
While Show has many of the same functions as the traditional Echo speaker, it looks significantly different and comes with added features.
For instance, Show — which comes in black or white — is more box shaped, and, of course, comes with a seven-inch digital screen. This screen, Amazon notes, provides users with an abundance of additional features.
“Echo Show brings you everything you love about Alexa, and now she can show you things,” Amazon says on the Show’s product page. “Watch video flash briefings and YouTube, see music lyrics, security cameras, photos, weather forecasts, to-do and shopping lists, and more. All hands-free—just ask.”
Additionally, the device will come equipped with the ability to make free video calls to friends or family members who have an Echo or the Alexa App.
Amazon says the device will also come with a new feature called “Drop In,” that allows users to connect to the Show even when they aren’t home. For example, owners away from home can use the Alexa App to make a quick call or send a message to their family’s Echo.
Echo Show includes eight microphones and noise canceling technology that allows the device to hear commands even when it’s playing music.
The Show joins a number of other Alexa-enabled connected devices sold by Amazon, including the traditional large cylinder-shaped Echo, the smaller, portable Tap, and the even smaller round Dot. Last month, the company debuted the Echo Look, which is a camera that allows professional stylists to judge your appearance.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist