Why is Amazon reinventing the home phone with the Echo Show?

For the past decade or two, cell phones have phased out the home phone – leaving it ripe for disruption.

Wait, someone is actually recreating the home phone?! Yes. Not just anybody. Amazon.

It’s Showtime for the Echo Show

Yesterday, Amazon released another “ambient computing” hardware device, the Echo Show. Building upon the classic Amazon Echo, powered by Alexa voice, the Echo Show built in a screen functionality and calling features.

Apparently, Amazon felt a little left out among its tech rivals since they didn’t have a phone to sell. And Jeff Bezos didn’t want to fit in with the rest of the crowd, so he reinvented the home phone.

The Echo Show emulates the landlines of the past, except there is no need to memorize people’s phone numbers anymore. Unfortunately (for consumers), the Echo Show can only make calls to other Echo owners, or people with the Alexa app on their smartphone.

In other words, further incentivizing people to purchase an Echo product and join the Amazon communication ecosystem.

One lingering problem among the Echo products is that there is no sense of privacy among them. In other words, you better be fine with your mom telling anybody near the device about your rash and what ointment to get for it.

On the plus side, by adding a screen to the Echo Show, they are beginning to alleviate this problem.

You get an Echo! You get an Echo!

Technologists worldwide are a little shocked by the timing of this release since Amazon launched the Echo Look just a couple weeks ago.

The release of the Echo Look, which is essentially a personal paparazzi that helps people dress their best, and now the Echo Show uncover Amazon’s hidden plans.

It is clear that Bezos is interested in creating an Amazon Echo for everyone. When the Echo first launched, people really couldn’t understand why they needed one.

But, as Amazon adds new functionalities, wraps them in a new Echo product, and markets them for a specific purpose, it is clear that the Echo line-up may offer something personalized to everyone’s tastes.

For instance, Johnny may want the Echo Look to help him understand style better. Grandma Jean may want the Echo Show so she can easily communicate with the rest of her family. And Suzie may want the Echo Listen (not currently real...just following a pattern) which will listen to her singing and help her with her aspiring music career.

It’s an interesting approach to selling products in voice-powered hardware – a market that Amazon practically created.

You’re not speaking my language

Often times, we create products or services with a singular person or audience in mind – focusing most of our efforts on the “one and only” function you see it serving.

Once the product is complete, you enter a feedback loop with that one audience, perfecting and making it a must-have among them. However, this sets you up for a “one shining moment” of truth, where your entire idea could crash and burn.

Perhaps the better way to spend that time is figuring out ways to relate it to other people, dreaming up ways the product or service can be a universal helper – like duct tape.

Sometimes all that is required to make this happen is talking about the product to audiences in their own language.

This is something I do every week with Quick Theories – a brief, newsletter with my thoughts on the future of technology – helping you adopt changes in your own creative way. Think of Quick Theories as a personal trainer for tech news.

If you’d like to read more on modern technology from a futurist’s perspective, then sign up here: quicktheories.com