Awesome Amazon

You might have seen the hack a couple of years ago of a Big Mouth Billy Bass rigged to answer as Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. Because life is amazing, that hack has become an actual product. You do need to pair it with an Amazon Echo device though.

Like LG’s previous InstaView refrigerator, the ThinQ model lets you see what’s inside one of the doors thanks to its 29″ transparent touchscreen. But this version has Amazon Alexa built-in, so you can shop, play music and more via voice commands.

Amazon’s Smart Plug makes it easy to automate your old appliances. Simply plug them in and turn on your Alexa mobile app and add the plug to your list of devices. You can then toggle these devices via voice control.

Take your Amazon Echo sound system to the next level with this set of three speakers, including two 2nd-gen Echo speakers, and an 100-watt, 6″ Echo subwoofer, for room-filling stereo sound when streaming songs from Amazon Prime or Amazon Music.

The latest version of Amazon’s crisp, high-res Ereader is thinner and lighter than its predecessors. It’s also rated waterproof down to 6ft. The Kindle Paperwhite also now comes with access to Audible, and can be paired with speakers or headphones via Bluetooth.

Amazon upgrades its casting and streaming device with support for up to 4K 60fps streaming and Alexa integration. The Fire TV Stick 4K is compatible with Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos. It also lets you control other smart devices via Alexa.

Based on the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, this lighthearted Amazon Prime series follows the tale of an angel and a demon who become friends after running into each other over thousands of years, and who must team up to help save the world from armageddon.

Amazon’s new Echo Show is looking more like a home tablet. It now has a slimmer design, improved audio and a 10″ screen. You can use it to watch Hulu, Vevo, CNN, NBC and Prime Video, play Amazon Music and Spotify, make Skype calls, browse the web and much more.

Amazon’s Fire TV Recast is a DVR for over-the-air TV channels. You can record up to 4 shows at once, and stream both recorded or live videos over Fire TV, the new Echo Show and through your mobile devices using the Fire TV app.

In Amazon’s Homecoming, Julia Roberts plays a former employee at a company that helps soldiers “transition to civilian life.” When she is interrogated about her work, she realizes that what she remembers doesn’t match up with the truth. Premieres 11/2/18.

(PG-13: Language) From Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner comes an upcoming Amazon Prime series. The Romanoffs features 8 stories of characters who believe that they are descendants of the Russian royal family, the House of Romanov.

Amazon’s mobile app has a new augmented reality feature called Part Finder. It’s meant to identify screws, nuts, bolts or other types of fasteners to make shopping for them easier. Take a photo of the fastener and the app will try to identify it with links to purchase the item.

With films like A Quiet Place to his credit, John Krasinski has proven his dramatic acting chops. So we have no concern that he’ll be able to take on the role of CIA analyst turned action hero in this new Amazon Prime series. Drops 8/31/18.

The Fire TV Cube is a 4K media streaming device with Amazon’s Alexa assistant. It lets you control your TV, sound system and cable box with your voice. Like other Alexa devices, it also lets you operate home automation devices, look up information online and more.

Amazon gets into the smart home security market with the Cloud Cam. It streams 1080p video with night vision to a mobile app, and can be activated with Alexa via the Echo Show, Echo Spot, Fire TV and Fire Tablet.

A comedy series starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a version of himself who’s also a retired secret agent. He wants to be a spy again, refusing to accept that he’s become more Expendables than Bloodsport. Premieres 12/15/17 on Amazon Video.

Movies Anywhere gathers your movies from Vudu, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and Blu-ray download codes into one streaming app. The app is available on iOS, Android, Roku and Chromecast devices. It works with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Universal and Warner Bros. films.

The second version of Amazon’s high-end e-book reader is now waterproof and has a larger 7″ screen. The new Kindle Oasis also has Audible built-in, but you need Bluetooth headphones because it doesn’t have a 3.5mm output.

The successor to the Play:1, the Sonos One is a great speaker and a great listener. It comes with Amazon’s Alexa, so you can use your voice to play music, search online, control smart appliances and more. It will soon be updated to have Google Assistant as well.

Amazon updates its family of Alexa-enabled devices. The 2017 Echo speaker has a more compact design, with better speakers and voice recognition. The new Echo Plus is also a speaker but with a built-in smart home hub. The Echo Spot is a smaller version of the Echo Show.

The Vobot works not only as an alarm clock, but can stream media from Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, and offers Amazon Alexa integration for checking weather, traffic, and news, smarthome control, and requesting services like taxis or food deliveries.

From director Richard Linklater comes a comedy-drama about war veterans. Steve Carell plays an ex-Navy corps medic who asks two former Marines (Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne) to go with him to his son’s funeral. At least that was the plan. Premieres 11/1/17.

From Anker’s Eufy line of smart appliances comes the Genie. It’s an affordable way to access Amazon’s Alexa, the voice-controlled virtual assistant. The Genie doesn’t have Bluetooth and it only has a 2W speaker, but it’s as responsive as Amazon’s gadgets.