What is Amazon Build It? Amazon is channelling Kickstarter with a new Build It initiative that’ll help it decide which new Alexa products create. Here’s what Amazon Build is all about.
Amazon Build It – how it works
Amazon has announced Build It, which is an extension of its Day 1 Editions program that brought us the Alexa Buds et al. The new initiative will give Alexa fans an opportunity to select which concepts Amazon should put into production.
Amazon is asking users to effectively pre-order the concept in order to meet a funding goal. If enough people pre-order the concept within 30 days, at a locked promotional rate, it’ll be built and go on sale to everyone. Shoppers won’t be charged until the item ships.
Those that don’t meet the goal will fall by the wayside, while Amazon says more ideas will be flowing in the months to come. It appears the program is only open to shoppers in the United States right now.
Amazon Build It – first concepts
Amazon has announced three initial Build It concepts, all of which can be pre-ordered now. They include an Alexa-powered Smart Cuckoo Clock, a Smart Nutritional Scale, and a Smart Sticky Note Printer. Here’s a lowdown on the trio.
Smart Cuckoo Clock
Amazon is offering pre-orders of a Smart Cuckoo Clock for $79.99. It offers an analogue clock face, removable pendulum, and the requisite pop-out cuckoo bird. The idea is to set timers or alarms and watch it tick down via 60 LEDs around the clock face. It’s also possible to request hourly chimes.
Smart Nutritional Scale
This is a hands-free Alexa smart scale for food. Smart home chefs can say “Alexa, ask Smart Scale how much sugar is in these blueberries,” based upon the weight, or “Alexa, ask Smart Scale to weigh 200 calories of blueberries.” Amazon says it pairs well with the Echo Show to show nutritional information on screen. It’ll likely be helpful for those looking for accurate nutritional values without counting each blueberry that goes in the muffin. It’s $34.99 to pre-order.
Smart Sticky Note Printer
Amazon is excited about the voice-to-print technology deployed on this hands-free sticky note printer, which enables users to print all of their shopping and to-do lists, as well as calendar events, reminders and sudoku puzzles. Amazon says the printer uses thermal technology so it doesn’t need any ink or toner replacements. This one’s available at $89.99.
Which Build It concept do you think is the strongest? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
