Mexico City.- Amazon launched the Amazon Echo Spot in Mexico, a smart device that integrates the Alexa virtual assistant, very similar to the Echo Pop, with the difference that this one has a screen on the front that shows a digital clock.
The Echo Spot is designed to sit on your nightstand, where its display makes it easy to quickly check the time, weather, and song titles. That’s why Amazon is pitching it as a smart alarm clock.
We are talking about the second version of the clock, since in 2017 Amazon launched one of the same name, but in more than seven years no new models were announced. Andrés Reyes, product director for Alexa International at Amazon, highlighted that with Echo Spot the brand wants people to be encouraged to make the leap to smart devices with a screen, especially those who have used other devices that do not have one, such as the Echo Dot or the Echo Pop.
The Amazon Echo Spot has a 2.83-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, covered by a semicircular tinted glass. Compared to its 2017 version, the Echo Spot (2024) features a cutout on the front of the device that divides the speaker and the display.
The aforementioned speaker is 1.73 inches; likewise, the device is compatible with dual-band WiFi networks and Bluetooth that supports the A2DP profile for streaming audio from mobile devices to the Echo Spot, as well as AVRCP for voice control of connected devices. It has dimensions of 11.3 cm wide, 10.3 cm deep and 11.1 cm high. It weighs approximately 405 grams. On the subject of sustainability, Amazon boasted that the device is made with 36 percent recycled materials, including 58 percent recycled plastic. It has a low-power mode when it is inactive and 98 percent recyclable packaging, made with wood fiber-based materials from responsible sources, according to the brand. According to information from Amazon, the Amazon Echo Spot has the usual functionalities of its smart speakers. That is, you can play music from platforms like Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify, control smart devices, run Alexa routines, make calls, make announcements within your home, receive alerts, and receive audio from a compatible smart doorbell. To differentiate itself from the aforementioned speakers, the Echo Spot clock offers a variety of options to customize the screen; it allows you to switch between six different clock backgrounds and adjust the color of the screen to suit different styles. In addition, it includes new alarm tones such as “Aurora” or “Daybreak,” “Endeavor,” and “Flutter.” Another of the Echo Spot’s new features is the dynamic display when playing music, as the screen now shows animations, located behind the title of the song that is being played. These are ovoid figures that rotate around the name of the melody and vary their color, which can be green or purple.
Alexa in Mexico
In Mexico, Echo devices have been widely accepted. Mexico is the country that listens to the most hours of music through Echo devices, with more than 135 million hours per month, according to data shared by Reyes.
The executive indicated that users use Alexa primarily to listen to music, perform arithmetic operations, check sports scores, and control smart home devices. “There are more than 300 million smart devices connected to Alexa around the world,” Reyes said. When asked about the arrival of Alexa’s reinforcement with generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), something that Amazon introduced in September 2023, Reyes indicated that the brand is optimizing interactions with Alexa, but that its launch will take time due to technological complexity. “Incorporating a large linguistic model (LLM) into a personal AI is not only a scientific challenge, but an engineering one that takes a long time. We are making sure that we do it right.” “While most of the basic models are designed for telephone or web-based applications, let’s say that our latest LLM is specifically optimized for voice interactions. So, let’s say that we are taking it a step further, so to speak,” Reyes said. According to Reuters, Amazon plans to include generative conversational AI with two levels of service and has considered a monthly fee of $5 (about 100 pesos at today’s exchange rate) to access the superior version. The strategy seeks to stem the losses of this department of Amazon that has drained the company’s coffers for a decade, Reuters said in its report.
Price and availability
The Amazon Echo Spot is now available in Mexico through Amazon Mexico in black, white and blue for 1,549 pesos.
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