Amazon wants to make Echo devices affordable for everyone, and the same was evident when the company released strings of new devices last month. Now, to make them even more affordable and at the same time, boost the sales of the older devices, Amazon is offering a discount on Echo Show and Echo Dot.
Amazon Echo Show, which was launched in May this year, differs from all other Echo devices in that it is the only Echo device with a screen. Both Echo Dot and Echo Show are integrated with Alexa virtual assistant, allowing a user to control the smart home device, receive and send messages, and make calls in addition to other things.
After the discount, Amazon Echo Show would be available for $199, meaning a $30 discount. Echo Dot after the discount will be available at $44.99, from the original $49.99. To make the deal sweeter, Amazon is also offering free shipping for Prime members, including free two-day shipping. Both of the smart speakers are on sale for a limited time only.
While it looks like the world’s largest online retailer has decided to make the Echo devices more affordable, this could not be the only reason. Just a few days back, Google pulled YouTube out from the Echo Show stating that Amazon is not complying with the norms set in place by the YouTube’s parent company. Dwindling sales numbers of the device after the spat suggests that Amazon was not prepared for the audacious move that Google made. Not just the sales, but Echo Show sans YouTube has also received a lower than average rating. Users are frustrated to the extent that they have started giving a “one” rating in reviews to the device, notes The Variety.
“There is no technical reason for that decision, which is disappointing and hurts both of our customers,” Amazon said responding to Google’s allegations earlier. However, it seems like users have lent a deaf ear to what the company has to say.
Meanwhile, to expand the user base of Echo Show and Alexa, Amazon recently launched the device in India, and will ship the device in Japan later this year. The online retailer is leaving no stone unturned to make Echo Show a truly global smart home speaker. For India, Echo Show will understand the English in an Indian accent. Also, Alexa has been programmed to understand context and intent even if the sentences in English have Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam or Punjabi proper nouns such as people, names of places, movie titles and so on, an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC.
For now, there are eight Amazon Echo products available in different sizes and prices. Recently, Amazon launched Echo Connect, Echo Spot and Echo Plus. New Echo devices have all the features of its predecessors along with new features. Also, Amazon has cleverly diversified the price from $50 to $230 so as to ensure that there is an Echo device for every budget.
Every Echo device has a different purpose such as Echo buttons that can be used as a controller for gaming, whereas Amazon Echo Show comes handy for the Visual experience. Basically, the company is looking to raise the entry barriers for every other company including Google.
