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Amazon Reveals $230 Touchscreen 'Echo Show' Launching in June

i have already pre-ordered two.if Apple made the exact same product people on here would be going on about how cool and different Apple is for adding a screen. Amazon a once book company, now online retailer has pretty much done what most tech companies can not.
 
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oneMadRssn said:
This all looks pretty familiar.

Sony Dash, Chumby, etc. They're battery-less tablets in the form-factor of an alarm clock. They've been tried before, and they failed. I suppose Amazon's brings the difference of a voice assistant and an established and mature(ing) ecosystem. We'll see if consumers embrace it this time.
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Loved my Sony Dash. Adding Alexa (plus no doubt its home control and other skills) is icing on the cake.

Kids don't remember that the iPad was actually not a new idea. Webpads and kitchen computers and little boxes like these have all been tried before... but like the iPhone and iPad, just need the right mixture of broadband, tech, and users inclined towards tech in the home.

cwwilson said:
I'm sorry but I just don't trust these kind of products. Why would I let an always listening device into my home? So corporations can eavesdrop 24-7 and market me even further than they already do?
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First off, unless you're someone really important, you're not as interesting as you think.

And if the government wants to listen to you, they've already got plenty of ways to do it.

Plus in Amazon's case, Bezos had the engineers put in a hardware microphone mute switch. So if you tap that, not even hacked software can turn back on the listening devices. The iPhone doesn't even have that protection, but you still use it, right?

Personally, I have no problem with a computer somewhere knowing that I prefer a certain soap or set of songs, or even where I work and when I leave for it. It all works to my benefit because I get personalized assistance... same as if I visited the same neighborhood store for years. Do you some of you shop at a different store or restaurant every time to maintain your "privacy" or what?

Now, I agree that if someone's going to profit off that knowledge via anonymous ads, then I should get a share too. And guess what, that's how we get ongoing services.
 
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ChrisCW11 said:
As much as I like Alexa more then Siri as a service, Amazon has kind of jumped the shark on home assistance. With recent announcements of a judgmental closet camera and Alexa powered lamp, I kind of feel this company lacks focus and just trying to throw out ideas and see what sticks.

Also, as a Canadian, I am fed up with the fact that companies like Amazon and Google are so US-centric and have not yet offered these devices to even the Canadian market. I 'smuggled' in my Amazon Echo and while it works well for a lot of things I still can't tell Alexa where I live and have it report weather or traffic properly and music and content integration is spotty at best. It's very annoying that Amazon is wasting so much money and R&D on vapid solutions like this rather then just focusing on making Amazon Echo a superlative AND global home assistant.

I might prefer Alexa over Siri, however if Apple offers a home assistant product I am sure Apple will globalize it a hell of a lot faster then Google or Amazon. To be honest, in this regard, I have a lot more respect for Apple because they are not just trying to make devices that American's like but recognize that there is a huge market outside of the US for these products.

I think this is a complete miss for Amazon and perhaps my days of using Amazon Echo are limited if Amazon doesn't figure out how to at least let me enter my postal code so I can get local weather properly.
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Exactly. People are all going crazy over Amazon taking over with its "wildly successful" Alexa enabled products... but it is only in the US and only works in English. Apple and Google need only to release a similar device that works with their established worldwide and multilingual audience of iOS and Android users who are already accustomed to Siri and Google Assistant. Unless Amazon goes worldwide, it'll be pretty easy for Apple and Google to overwhelm their "US dominance" by having a product dominate everywhere else first.
 
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cdmoore74 said:
I'm with you. I basically have my phone glued to my side. I sure hope Apple doesn't follow the trend with a standalone Siri assistant. It will be DOA.
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Better microphones means that these things work better as voice activated assistants. No phone microphone can match the ones in these devices. Also guests can use them to do things like change the music and it isn't weird. It would be weird if a guest in my house tried to activate my iPhone by saying "Hey Siri" and started controlling it.
 
Oh techworld ... from desktop to laptop, to tablet, to speaker ... back to desktop :confused:
 
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Yay! A desktop iPad with hopefully better sound output.
Not a bad idea actually.
 
It seems to me that what Apple needs to do is create an iPhone/iPad stand with sensitive microphones built in. That would be an affordable and useable Alexa competitor. We already have the technology in our current devices, they just need to be able to hear better

Actually, why Apple? Maybe an aftermarket company could come up with something...
 
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It seems all Apple has to do is sell a nice speaker stand for the iPad.
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Philsy said:
It seems to me that what Apple needs to do is create an iPhone/iPad stand with sensitive microphones built in. That would be an affordable and useable Alexa competitor. We already have the technology in our current devices, they just need to be able to hear better

Actually, why Apple? Maybe an aftermarket company could come up with something...
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Agree 100 percent
 
Interested to see what happens with that. AI/Mics/speaker in every room has uses for sure. But sticking a screen on it? Maybe that's what we'll have in the future - mini displays in place of a lightswitch that controls the room, maybe this is just the 2nd step towards that (Amazons previous speaker one being the 1st step).

Anywho.

Grogfoot said:
Should make things like this more interesting. ;)

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Cracks me up every time I see that :)
 
With people covering their web cam to prevent hackers from snooping on them, the tinfoil hat crowd will love this.
 
sockdoggy said:
Why would someone use this over an iPad with a stand and enable 'Hey Siri?' (or a competitor equivalent tablet)?
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hey siri does not work well and a lot of times not at all not with music playing and even when it works often gets it wrong?
 
cwwilson said:
I'm sorry but I just don't trust these kind of products. Why would I let an always listening device into my home? So corporations can eavesdrop 24-7 and market me even further than they already do? Same with those "security" companies that set up cameras and sensors all over your house. Only with those not only can they hear but they can watch you in the privacy of your residence at all times. Might as well leave your doors unlocked and windows open so everyone can check out what you're up to, or just invite the NSA or whatever other 3-letter agencies to set up shop inside.

This day and age, nobody cares enough about their privacy anymore, and the higher-ups are taking notice and taking full advantage of the situation to exploit us in efforts to further their own ends.
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Or just press the button that turns off the mic.
 
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Zirel said:
iPad-Air-smart-cover-3-600x450.jpg


Except this one is more functional and has a battery...
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but it won't respond as well if at all if music is playing and a fair chance of getting it wrong.
 
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