Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The Amazon Echo Show is a voice-activated device. You can instruct it to play video content, play music, stream online audio, order products and services, and control home automation products. The Echo Show is the first device of its kind to feature its own screen, which in my opinion, greatly enhances the use and potential of this device. I’ve been using this device for a few days so far. Below you will find some of my initial impressions: ### What I Like ###### Good build quality: The Show has a nice, bright screen that has good viewing angles. Good sound: The speakers on the Show sound much better than the original echo. Easy setup: Setup was extremely easy, mostly due to the Show’s touch screen. After making a few selections, the Show was up and running in no time. Content suggestions: When you aren't interacting with the Show, it continuously displays content suggestions. I like that it will suggest videos to watch. Video content: I like being able to view Amazon Video, video news briefings, movie trailers, and YouTube videos on the Show. Video calling: Video calling works as advertised. I like being able to initiate a call with my voice. Music with lyrics: When playing songs from Amazon Music, you can see album art and song lyrics on the screen. Home automation: Like other Echos, the Show can control your smart home products. The show has the extra ability to display camera feeds. On-screen apps: The echo can display my calendar, reminders, lists, timers, local weather, and more. Because of this, I find the Show infinitely more useful than the original Echo. ### What I Don't Like ###### The Show needs more functionality that leverages the touch screen. I trust that new skills will be added over time but I'm disappointed that more wasn't available at launch. The Show should have an audio-out port. I wish the Show could have a bigger screen option, a video-out port, and/or video casting capability. The show should not be used as an alarm clock at this point. There's no backup battery solution at the moment. The display currently is too bright for a dark room. The angle of display and the camera cannot be adjusted. None of the Echos can answer all of the questions the Google Home can answer. None of the Echos can cast video to a TV like the Google Home can. The Echo Show is not cheap. ### How will I use the Echo Show ###### - Playing Music from Amazon Music - Watching videos from YouTube - Controlling home automation products and displaying camera feeds # # # Bottom Line # # # # # # The Echo Show is the best Echo available. It's also the best voice activated device available. The addition of the screen makes it infinitely better than any of the other options. While display and touch specific functionality is limited at the moment, we can trust that both Amazon and 3rd party developers will add new functionality over time. If you find the Show's price to be too high, the Echo Dot is still a great device. It's also not an expensive investment, should you decide to replace it with an Echo Show later. # # # Echo Show vs Echo # # # # # # If you are trying to decide between the Echo and the Echo Show, get the Show. You'll get better audio plus the potential for much greater functionality via the touch screen, # # # Echo Show vs Google Home # # # # # # If you want to cast video and audio, Google Home is the better choice since none of the Echos can do this. Other than that, I recommend the Echo Show over the Google Home because it has more skills and it has a screen. Yes, the Google Home can answer more complex questions. I just think people will use these devices more for consuming content and controlling smart home products than they will use them to ask complex questions. I own both devices so I have the best of both worlds. # # # Suggested Improvements # # # # # # Add a physical home button and back button on the device and on a compatible remote Add a camera that can pan and zoom and track faces that are talking. Add an audio-out port. Add a separate alarm clock module that is resistant to downtime related to software patching, software crashes, network outages, etc. Provide a option for displaying video on a bigger screen via a video-out port, video casting, or bigger Echo Shows. Add the ability to customize the home page with custom apps, custom news feeds, social media feeds, etc. Add the ability to do image searches and 3D images searches Ability to display my commute route using google maps, with traffic Add Skype support and allow voice initiated calls. Add the ability to stream live TV from a cable box, TIVO, or the internet. Add official apps for SiriusXM, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. The YouTube app show allow you to log in and verbally access your playlists, history, subscribed channels, etc.