Now Amazon's Alexa Can Show You Things

So by now, you've probably met Alexa,

Amazon's fun if occasionally not so bright voice assistant

lives in speakers, smaller speakers, battery-powered

speakers, your phone, and maybe even your car.

All those gadgets have one thing in common.

The only way to interact with Alexa is to talk to Alexa.

But now Amazon's giving its assistant a face.

This lump of a thing is the Echo Show,

the new $230 gadget from Amazon.

It's Alexa with a touchscreen.

That means you can still do all

of the standard Alexa things.

You can set timers, buy stuff on Amazon, play music,

buy more stuff on Amazon, answer simple questions,

and buy more stuff on Amazon.

If you don't look at the Echo Show while you're talking

to it, you'll use it just like a normal Echo.

That's good and bad, by the way.

Alexa is really good at a lot of things

but it can also be kind of dumb sometimes.

[Alexa] Sorry, I'm not sure about that.

[David] It knows the latest Bruno Mars song

is That's What I Like but can't figure out

which Beatles album came first.

[Alexa] Here's the latest album by The Beatles.

The screen's job is to constantly add

to what you're asking for or to what Alexa's showing you.

If you play a song, the Echo Show will show lyrics

on its seven-inch screen.

If you set a timer, it'll show you the timer.

Have you ever tried to order shoes on an Echo?

It's weird.

On the Show, you can actually see what you're buying

and make sure you're choosing the right thing.

Having a screen and a camera also lets Alexa

do a bunch of new things too.

It's a really good smart home controller, for one thing.

You can also watch videos on Youtube

or TV shows through Amazon just by asking for what you want.

It's really cool when it works, but it doesn't always work.

How can it possibly know which kitten video I wanna watch?

[Man] Meow.

You can also use the Show for video chat

with anyone who has an Echo device

or even just uses the Alexa app.

There's also the slightly creepy drop-in feature

bu I can't imagine ever really using that.

You should be really careful and think long and hard

before you put a camera like this into your house

but personally, it doesn't really bother me.

For me, the Echo has always been most useful in the kitchen.

And the Echo Show is very much the same way.

I can look up a recipe and actually keep it in front of me

while I work, I can set a bunch of timers

and then covert cups to tablespoons

because I can't find my measuring cups.

A lot of developers are going to build really cool games,

video apps, and who knows what else to work on this device

that's front and center in your house.

An Echo with a screen is a really cool idea.

But there are a few things Amazon did here

that I just don't like.

I mean, look at the thing itself.

Can you imagine this is your super minimalist HGTV kitchen?

No.

The screen doesn't move either, which might make it hard

to see an use from certain angles.

And though it is a touchscreen, you're not really supposed

to use it that way, the actual interface on the thing

is sparse and sort of confusing.

I keep wanting to use it like a tablet

because it basically is a tablet

but Amazon just wants you to talk to the Echo Show.

It can get kind of confusing.

Still, the Echo Show is a really useful device,

especially if you're already an Alexa person.

One word of warning, though.

Don't put this thing near your bed because sometimes

the screen comes on for no reason and it is bright.

But in your kitchen or in your living room,

this is the most versatile and useful version of Alexa yet.

It's not much to look at it,

but it's beautiful on the inside.

And that's really what counts.

(upbeat music)