Amazon Announced a Line of Useful and Bizarre New Products - The UpStream

Any time Amazon holds a device announcement event, there is no telling what they might show off. This week, the company held a semi-surprise reveal and it did not disappoint in the surprise category. We were aware that there was a DVR coming and there were rumors of a microwave, but other than that, there was no preparing for the event, and that is exactly what Amazon was going for.

In this Alexa-themed event, Amazon showed off some of what we have come to expect: a new Echo Dot, a new Echo Plus, and a new Echo Show. These were existing products in the Amazon catalog that simply got an annual refresh. They also added some products to the lineup that were pretty standard, such as the Echo Input, which is simply an input for an existing speaker system, with a price point of $35. They also showed the Echo Auto, following the lead of some of their hardware partners, bringing Alexa to the car.

Then there were the less-than-expected products. For example, we had heard rumors of an AmazonBasics microwave earlier in the week, but what the product turned out to be was way stranger than we could have expected. The microwave is Alexa-controllable but does not have Alexa built-in. Instead, the microwave takes commands from Alexa devices, such as the Input, Dot or Show, and acts on them. During the presentation, the microwave cooked some potatoes through Alexa input. While Alexa might not be built-in, Dash is, meaning that you can easily replenish your waning popcorn reserves easily.

In addition to the microwave was arguably the strangest of all of the new products: the Echo Wall Clock. This is a fairly standard analog clock which, unlike other Echo-branded products, does not have Alexa built-in. So, what makes this clock special and, more importantly, bizarre? The ring of 60 LEDs around the outside of the clock face. When you set a timer through Alexa, on a different device, the rings will light up and help you count down the timer in 60-second ticks. For example, if you're in the kitchen and ask Alexa to remind you in 20 minutes to check the chicken, 20 of the 60 LEDs will light up and count you down. It's an interesting solution to a problem that I'm not sure exists. At least the clock is self-setting, auto-adjusting for Daylight Savings Time, and only runs $30.

In addition to Echo devices, Amazon also showed off the Fire TV Recast: the DVR product we heard details about last month. This $230 device allows you to connect an antenna wherever you get the best reception and watch the content itself, both live and recorded, somewhere more convenient. It certainly makes the configuration of an antenna-based entertainment system far more effective. Essentially, you can stream the content from the Borg Cube-looking device to just about any Fire TV or Tablet device, Echo show, iOS or Android device.

This product lineup feels a lot like the same Amazon that launched the Fire Phone: a company throwing a bunch of crazy ideas at the wall and hoping something sticks. The products that have the biggest potential to fail this time around, however, took a lot less research and development investment than the Fire Phone did. That means that, even if these products fail miserably, the loss to Amazon is lessened.

Which of Amazon's new products are you most excited for (if any)? Let us know in the comments.