1 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Fourteen new Alexa powered devices from Amazon. 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,559 Speaker 2: What's going on? I'm Richdmiro, this is rich on tech. Okay, 3 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:12,040 Speaker 2: so I. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Wasn't invited to Amazon's big surprise event in Seattle, but 5 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: I won't hold that against the company. They took reporters 6 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: on a wild ride announcing over seventy new devices, features, 7 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: and developer tools across Alexa, Echo, and fireTV. It's very 8 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: clear Amazon has huge plans for Alexa and wants it 9 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: to power just about every aspect of our everyday lives. 10 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: And as Amazon builds its portfolio, the missing piece might 11 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: just be another smartphone. So let's go through some of 12 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: the most notable products that they launched, starting with the 13 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: Echo lineup. 14 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 2: It is a lot. First off, you've got the Echo Dot. 15 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: It now comes wrapped in fabric and it has a 16 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: louder speaker with better sound. The price stays the same 17 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: at fifty dollars. That launches October eleventh. The Echo Plus 18 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: is their top of the line Echo speaker. This has 19 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: a new rounder design. It's also wrapped in fabric. It 20 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: also functions as a smart home hub. The speaker inside 21 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: the Echo Plus is also upgraded. That will sell for 22 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty dollars. It is also available on 23 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: October eleventh. The Echo Show is sort of a mini 24 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 1: TV slash tablet slash show screen slash video conferencing tool. Now, personally, 25 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,759 Speaker 1: I use an iPad on my kitchen counter. I think 26 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: this would be a great replacement for that, but I 27 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: don't really need some extra features that this offers. 28 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 2: This is the second generation of the device. 29 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: Amazon upgraded the design added a better speaker, plus it 30 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: also has a larger. 31 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 2: Ten inch HD display. 32 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: They're also adding Skype to the options for video calling, 33 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: which is really cool because you're no longer limited to 34 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: Amazon's proprietary option and pretty much anyone with Skype will 35 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: be able to talk to you on the other end. 36 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: That's pretty big. This sells for two hundred and thirty dollars. 37 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: It's also available on October eleventh. There's a new thing 38 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: called Echo Auto. This brings Alexa into your car, sort 39 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: of a stopgap until more automakers jump on board with 40 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: Alexa built into their cars, or at least the head units. 41 00:01:57,800 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: This is a small device that connects to your car 42 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: via Blue or the AUX input. It has eight microphone 43 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: so Amazon says it will hear your commands above all 44 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: the road noise and the AC blasting. The device will 45 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: be fifty dollars when it officially launches, but right now 46 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: you can request an invitation to buy one. 47 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 2: For just twenty five dollars. All right. From here things 48 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 2: get pretty interesting. 49 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,919 Speaker 1: Amazon launched a bunch of Echo companion devices think Alexa. 50 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: In just about every aspect of your house. There is 51 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: a wall clock which connects to Echo devices. It looks 52 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: like your typical analog wall clock, but it helps you 53 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: visualize timers that you set with Alexa. And I kind 54 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: of like the idea of this because I regularly set 55 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: timers for my kids for reading, watching TV, or other things, 56 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: and I like the idea that they can glance up 57 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: and kind of see visually how much time is left. 58 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 2: That is thirty dollars. 59 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 1: Then there's a whole bunch of Echo accessories for your 60 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: home theater setup. There's an input that lets you add 61 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: Alexa to any speaker for thirty five dollars, a sub 62 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: for more base when you play TV or music on 63 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: your Echo devices that's one hundred and thirty dollars. Then 64 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: there's an Echo link which connects to your stereo system 65 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: and allows you to feed your streaming music in high 66 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: quality format to your existing receiver. 67 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 2: That's two hundred dollars. 68 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: And there's even an EchoLink amp which has its own 69 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,239 Speaker 1: power and it works to pass music to any pair 70 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: of speakers for three hundred dollars. I wonder what Sonos 71 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: is thinking right now, because the only thing Amazon did 72 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: not reveal was a Alexa powered soundbar for your TV. 73 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 2: Maybe that's next. 74 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: As if all that's not enough, Amazon also announced in 75 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: Amazon Basics microwave. 76 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 2: This is a sixty dollars microwave that. 77 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: Doesn't necessarily have Alexa built in, but it does work 78 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: with a nearby echo to take commands for cooking food, 79 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: so you can say things like reheat coffee or microwave 80 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: frozen vegetables. And I love the idea of this and 81 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: suddenly wish my microwave was not built into my kitchen setup. 82 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: This is kind of a no brainer purchase for the 83 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: price at just sixty bucks. And the best part is 84 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: I love microwave popcorn. By the way, I love popcorn 85 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: in general. You can finally use the popcorn button on 86 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: your microwave, even though every bag of popcorn you ever 87 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: buy says the first rule of Popcorn Club is. 88 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 2: Don't ever use the popcorn button. 89 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: The Amazon microwave is smart enough to ask you the 90 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: brand of your popcorn and the size of the. 91 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 2: Bag so that it pops perfectly every time. 92 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 1: There's also a one touch popcorn replenishment button. Oh my gosh, 93 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 1: this was built for people that love popcorn. The Amazon 94 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: Basics Microwave is available on November fourteenth. Finally, there's now 95 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: an Amazon smart plug that you control with Alexa. 96 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:26,160 Speaker 2: These are fantastic. 97 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 1: I have a bunch of other brands of these things 98 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 1: around my house and I find them really useful, especially 99 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: for controlling holiday lights the Christmas tree and little tabletop 100 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: lamps I have around the house that turn on and 101 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: off at sunrise and sunset. And sure there are lots 102 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: of these from various brands, but Amazon offering their own 103 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: smart plug is really a smart idea because you know 104 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: it's gonna easily work with Alexa. 105 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:48,920 Speaker 2: And the quality is going to be there. 106 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: And Amazon smart plug is twenty five dollars, which is 107 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 1: about the average going price from other competitors. Usually they're 108 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: around thirty five dollars. I would have liked to see 109 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: this offered at ten or fifteen dollars, but perhaps what will 110 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,679 Speaker 1: happen when Amazon sells them as a bundle or puts 111 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: them on sale. The smart plug is available October eleventh 112 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: as well. But wait, there's more, including a new feature 113 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: that lets Alexa control basic functionality of your smart home 114 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,159 Speaker 1: devices even if her Internet connection goes out. 115 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 2: Which is kind of cool. 116 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: But I'm going to focus on just one more interesting 117 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: addition to the lineup, which is a new fireTV DVR. 118 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 2: It's called the fireTV Recast and this. 119 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: Is sort of the missing link between what we were 120 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: used to, which was a DVR with every channel imaginable, 121 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: and the new age of cord cutting and streaming everything 122 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: through a box like fireTV. Now. I still haven't made 123 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: up my mind whether this Recast TV is brilliant or 124 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: too late to be useful, But here's what it is. 125 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: It's a simple little box that you set up pretty 126 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 1: much anywhere in your house where you can put up 127 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: an antenna and get the best reception for over the 128 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: air channels. Then it goes to work recording your favorite 129 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: shows and saving them on its internal hard drive. You 130 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: can then view your shows on an Amazon fireTV, a 131 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: tablet or an IOA or Android device. It doesn't sound 132 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: like there's support for Apple TV, Roku or Chromecast out 133 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 1: of the gate, but I could definitely see that being 134 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: added down the line. Of course, you can easily browse 135 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: through your recordings, see what's currently live and more on 136 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: a fire TV connected to your TV set. What's also 137 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: cool about this is that you can finally get and 138 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: record all of your local channels for free, and for 139 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: a lot of folks, that, along with the Netflix subscription, 140 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: will be pretty much all they need. And you also 141 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:28,919 Speaker 1: have Amazon Prime Video of course, it's kind of like 142 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: a modern TVO. But the other great thing is that 143 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: this is a one time purchase. There are no ongoing 144 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: monthly fees, and you can even choose shows from an 145 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: on screen guide to record, or you can use your 146 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: voice with Alexa to tune in channels, shows or even 147 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: set up recordings. 148 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 2: That's pretty cool. 149 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: I'm kind of loving this, especially since the channel I 150 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: work for, which is KTLA and Los Angeles, isn't on 151 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: any streaming service just yet, and of course you can 152 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: easily grab the channel over the air, so now I 153 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: can pipe our programming right onto my TV screen and 154 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: into my devices. I really hope Amazon adds the ability 155 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: to download shows that you record on your recast to 156 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: our devices. That would really be the missing link here. 157 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: The fire TV recast comes in two models. A two 158 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: tuner model, which is five hundred gigabytes, can record two 159 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: shows at once and hold up to seventy five hours 160 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: of programming. 161 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:19,559 Speaker 2: That's two hundred and thirty dollars. 162 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: Then there's also a four tuner model that can record 163 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: a whopping four shows at once that holds up to 164 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty hours of HD shows and that's 165 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: two hundred and eighty dollars. 166 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 2: This is kind of the better buy, but you will 167 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 2: be able to add. 168 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: An external hard drive to either of these systems down 169 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: the road. The Recast TV is shipping November fourteenth. You 170 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: better believe I'll be buying one, and I don't think 171 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: it can recapture the excitement of my first TVO, which 172 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: was back in two thousand. I invited all my friends 173 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: over I put on Survivor back when it was big, 174 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: and I will never forget watching the look on their 175 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: faces as I paused live TV for the very first time. 176 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: They were all baffled as to what I just did. 177 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: That was a pretty cool memory. Of course, we're all 178 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: pretty used to pausing live TV at this point. There 179 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: you have it, Amazon Alexa overload. It is full on 180 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: game on between Amazon, Google, and Apple for smart assistant dominance, 181 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: in the. 182 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 2: Home, car, and everywhere in between. 183 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: Apple and Google might have had a head start on phones, 184 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: but Amazon is certainly making a big play for everywhere else. 185 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to the podcast and if 186 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: you enjoy this. If you enjoy listening to this, please 187 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: take a screenshot on your phone and share it on 188 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: social media with your friends, and please remember to tag 189 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: me so I can share in the love and say thanks. 190 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: Just a quick programming note, I will be filling in 191 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: for Leo Laporte on his radio show this weekend September 192 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: twenty second and twenty third. You can listen on KFI 193 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: AM six forty in Los Angeles from eleven am to 194 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: two pm, or you can find a station near you 195 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: just go to tech guy labs dot com. 196 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for listening. I'm Rich Damiro I'll talk 197 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 2: to you real soon.