What is Amazon Echo Show?
Amazon Echo is very similar to Amazon Echo, but it has a screen. In case you didn’t know, Amazon Echo (often just called as ‘Echo’) is a smart speaker from Amazon.com. The speaker is connected to Alexa, which is a voice controlled virtual assistant like ‘Siri’ or ‘Google Assistant’.
Amazon Echo Show gives you much more flexibility than the Amazon Echo. You can use its screen to do multiple activities which we’ll discuss first in this article. Then, we’ll discuss the specifications, build and price of Amazon Echo Show.
Using Echo Show
Using the device is really easy. You simply have to plug it in, turn it on, connect it to your Wifi and login to your Amazon account. That’s it. Now, you’ll be able to start asking things and giving commands to the intelligent assistant Alexa.
Now, you’re supposed to keep it anywhere in your house, your kitchen, your bedroom or any place you feel like. Then you can be busy with anything and be able to talk to it from a distance. This way you can do multitasking easily.
What you can do with Amazon Echo Show
On the home screen of Amazon Echo Show, you’ll see the time and weather updates. It will also show you about your upcoming meetings, or events, if any and the latest news. The device is voice controlled, so you can ask it to show you in detail anything that appears on screen.
On the screen, you can even watch videos from Amazon Prime or Youtube. For now, you cannot watch videos on it from any source other than these two. There’s plenty of other things that you can do with Amazon Echo Show like setting multiple timers, managing your to do lists, looking up recipes and even controlling the lights of your house. You can do all of this with just your voice. Simply ask it, and it will do it for you.
More features of Echo Show
For the music lovers, it is a pretty sweet device. You can be anywhere in the room and ask it to play any song and it will do it for you. The device has got Spotify. To enjoy the device to the full extent of its abilities, it is recommended you buy an Amazon Prime subscription. And then, all your multimedia entertainment will be taken care of.
What’s more? You can make video calls with this device. But as the device sits at an angle, little children, who generally have short heights might find it a bit difficult to adjust in the screen, if the device is kept at a height. To talk about the quality of video calls, it produces very sharp and good quality images. Also, you’ll rarely find any drops during the video call.
Apps on Echo Show
The Echo Show doesn’t have something like ‘Play Store’ or ‘App Store’ from where you can install apps. Rather, it has something called ‘skills’. To install a skill, simply ask it to install that and you’re good to go. But now you must be wondering how you’ll know the name of the skill. Well, it’s easy. Simply ask it to do something that it is not capable of. Then, it will suggest you the ‘skill’ required for that purpose.
Specifications and Build of Amazon Echo Show
- The device can be bought in Black and White colors. The build of the device is ‘blocky’. It is wider at the base and sits well on any plane solid surface.
- You get a 7” touch screen on the device. The device has got two 2” speakers. Also, it has 8 microphones. So, you’ll be audible to it even if you’re far away in the room.
- It runs on the Android OS.
- For power source, it has an adapter which you will need to plug into a wall socket.
Price of Echo Show
Amazon Echo Show costs about $230 at the time. It is way costlier than Amazon Echo, but it has many more amazing technologies added to it which make it worth the price.
A few negative points
A lot of us really love Netflix, but unfortunately you cannot see Netflix on the device, for now. We cannot say if it will be allowed in the future. Other than that, suppose you ask it for the nearest grocery store. It will do the job but it won’t show you maps.
Also, some people might not like the ‘angular’ or ‘blocky’ design of the Echo Show. They find it chunky and a bit heavy.
Should I buy Amazon Echo Show?
Many people must be wondering how it is different from an ‘ipad’, or any Android tablet. There’s actually a big difference. Any ipad or Android tablet is more suited for personal use for people. Whereas this device is more suitable for family use. Anyone from your family from anywhere inside the house can use Amazon Echo Show. It is a really simple device and you should definitely consider buying it.