Amazon presents landline device via Echo speakers and alarm clock

Amazon has shown at its own event a device that users can use to call landlines via Echo speakers. In addition, Amazon came with an alarm clock, a few new speakers and a set-top box with 4k and HDR support.

Until now, Echo speakers could only call each other, but the box makes it possible to reach all fixed numbers. Users have to plug the box into the socket of a landline telephone, after which it connects wirelessly to an Echo speaker to enable calling. It is also possible to call the American emergency number 911, reports Engadget.

The box will be released in the United States before the end of the year; a release in the United Kingdom and Germany will follow in 2018. Calls with the box to US landlines, and to Canada and Mexico are free of charge. Amazon will charge $35 for the Echo Connect. There have been rumors about a calling function for Echo speakers since the beginning of this year.

In addition to the Echo Connect, Amazon announced a lot more hardware at its own event. For example, there is a second-generation Echo speaker, which Amazon is selling for a lower price of 99 dollars. There will also be an Echo Plus, which, in addition to being a speaker, serves as a hub for smart home products. In addition, the web store presented a set-top box with support for 4k and HDR, something that was also rumored before. It will cost $69.99.

Finally, Amazon came out with an alarm clock, the Echo Spot. It has a round 2.5″ screen. Users can use it for video calling and to see answers to questions to Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa. The Amazon Echo Show with 7″ screen already does that.