Credit: Amazon
While it already sells AI-infused glasses, speakers, and a microwave, Amazon has more Alexa ideas than it knows what to do with. So the company is launching its own Kickstarter-like drive to fund them.
Amazon’s Day 1 Editions is a new program that offers users a glimpse into Amazon’s laboratories. There are three products offered at launch, all of which require an Echo speaker:
- Smart Sticky Note Printer ($90): Print shopping lists, to-dos, recipes, puzzles, and more
- Smart Cuckoo Clock ($80): Set timers, alarms, and more with a swinging pendulum and mechanical cuckoo
- Smart Nutrition Scale ($35): Place ingredients on the scale and use your voice to get calories, carbs, and sugar content.
All three concepts are available for pre-order for 30 days (until March 19) and need to fill an unspecified goal to be built. Like Kickstarter, a bar shows how close each product is to meeting its goal, but Amazon doesn’t give a dollar or order amount.
If the goal is met, the price for each product will increase but Amazon doesn’t promise the product will actually be available for purchase: “There may be an option to purchase select devices at full price after the 30-day campaign, but supplies are limited.” So, if you want one, you should grab it within the preorder period.
If the preorder goal is met, buyers will only be charged when the item ships, and are free to cancel their preorder at any time. Products that meet their goal are due to begin shipping between July and September.
