A smart cuckoo clock might be too weird for even Amazon to make more widely available
In fact, Amazon’s Echo Frames are the first hardware to “graduate” from Day 1 to general availability
Now the company is expanding Day 1 with a new show called “Built It.” Like Day 1, Built It features some unconventional devices but takes consumer interest directly into account when deciding whether to sell the products in a similar way to what Kickstarter and Indiegogo have been doing.
The first three Built It products: A cuckoo clock, a smart nutrition scale, and a sticky note printer were announced today. You can order them now, but Amazon will only make them if they hit a sales goal by March 19.
If they do, you will be charged and you will receive the item sometime between July and September of this year. If targets aren’t met, that’s the end of the road for the product, and no one who pre-ordered will be charged.
At first glance, these devices honestly look lovely. They all invoke classic “non-intelligent” versions of the products they represent without looking overly modern.
They certainly have a different design aesthetic than the usual hardware from Amazon. All three devices must be paired with a compatible Echo device, and both the clock and scale must be within 30 feet of that device.
Once this is set, you can ask Alexa to set timers, warnings, etc. and the cuckoo clock shows it on a small LED display. It has a built-in speaker for different warning tones and you can adjust the different clock tones to suit your mood. Plus, the time is automatically set via the analog dial via the connection to the Echo.
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The smart sticky note printer sounds pretty clever – you can ask Alexa to print out small reminder notes, shopping lists, recipes, or even small Sudoku puzzles.
The tiny box is a thermal printer so you don’t have to worry about ink. It comes with a classic yellow roll of paper, and Amazon says it will create additional colors when the product hits its destination.
Of course, the scale weighs things, but you can also act as Alexa for just additional information for what is on the scale – instead of just getting general nutritional information, you can find out how much sugar is in the number of weighed blueberries.
If you pair the scale with an Echo Show, so will be able to access the nutrition information and display it on the screen.
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As you can see, none of these devices try to do much, which is probably the right approach with these small, relatively inexpensive items. The scale is cheapest at $ 35, the watch is $ 80, and the printer is $ 90.The printer is a little expensive, but at least you never have to add ink.
Engadget / TechConflict.Com