What's so funny about having a backup land line? It works during a power outage. Do you know bank branches that use VOIP have at least one backup landline for emergency and security alarm?
Given that the Echo Connect needs power, it will not be available for your POTS line in the event of a power outage. But your cell phone will generally continue working regardless until its batteries die.
The point is, the Echo Connect is for land lines which are used as primary sources of communications, not as emergency backups. You won't hook a fancy speakerphone to connect to your rarely-used phone. I think "primary landline" consumers are a very small minority in the US - somewhere north of the 6.5% of "landline only" households, but closer to that than to the 39% (and dropping like a rock) "landline and cellphone" households.
I know that our house had landline and cell service for many years, only because landline service was free with Internet service. My mother in law has landline both because it is included in her internet service and because I think it makes her feel more secure. I think that such situations are the vast bulk of the "landline and cellphone" household stats.
That said, can Amazon sell a device to that sliver of consumers? Maybe. Even 6.5% of US households is still a fairly large market, although the vast majority are on fixed incomes and thus it is not likely to be a lucrative market. I just see the overlap between that audience and anyone paying attention to Amazon launch events to be vanishingly small, making it a bit of a head-scratcher as to why that would be given space in the Echo press release rather than just put out on the Amazon store as a "You might also be interested in..." recommendation for the sliver of relevant Amazon customers.
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Apple always waits and releases the best version of something. They have said many times "we aren't the first, but we are the best"
I don't think that's really true. Apple waits until it has something fresh to add, but generally the first generation of an Apple product is a bit experimental.
* iPod - Massive improvements over the marketplace, but it wasn't until they opened up to Windows users and added iTunes Store that it could really live and breathe on its own
* iPhone - Groundbreaking, but those who waited for iPhone 3G had their patience well rewarded
* iPad 1 - Finally a tablet done "right", but the first gen had the shortest supported life and was massively improved-upon the next year with iPad 2
* AppleTV 1 - This one got a software update to be massively useful - "AppleTV Take Two", but likewise didn't really come into its own until the second hardware generation (hockey puck design).
* Apple Watch - "Series 0" put a lot out on the table, but Series 2 (and 1) and now Series 3 really are much more fine-tuned and useful devices.
I expect the same from HomePod. The first generation adds significantly to what the segment can be. But the second generation will be where it really comes into its own. Assuming, of course, it makes it to a second generation, and isn't abandoned like iPod HiFi. I think there is enough interesting territory here, though, that Apple will find a nice niche to nestle into for the second generation product.
I'd also add that services have a similar pattern, although nowhere near the evolutionary pace of hardware, strangely enough. The evolution of Siri is a great example (personally I find Siri immensely useful, at least as much so as Alexa, but apparently my opinion is not a majority held one). Maps - now a very strong competitor to Google Maps - is another example. They take longer to evolve, and are less splashy when they do get to a stable place. And, of course, other companies are innovating their own services at a similar rate. But hardware has a very predictable pattern at Apple: Gen 1 is a vast experimental playground; Gen 2 is where Apple decides what the device wants to be when it grows up and starts taking it there.
