Amazon's expanding CPE portfolio

Amazon's recent launch event brought the following.

Hardware

• Echo Spot (with circular screen, Alexa, front-facing camera, built-in speaker, Bluetooth, audio-out), $130 in US (Dec 17); 2018 in UK, Germany
• New Echo, $100 (with Alexa, Dolby)
• Echo Plus, $150.
• New Amazon Fire TV, $70 in US (dongle; HDMI, 4K, HDR, Alexa Voice Remote, 60 fps, Dolby Atmos)
• Echo Connect, $35 (Alexa accessory, turns Echo device into hands-free speakerphone for existing home phone line (PSTN or VoIP); connects to home phone jack or VoIP adapter & to Echo device over WiFi)
• Echo Buttons, $20 for 2 in US, UK, Germany: device for playing games via Alexa; push to answer; Trivial Pursuit from Hasbr; Sounds Fun with Mike Epps; Buzzer Beater Basketball Trivia with Karl-Anthony Towns; Fourth Down Football Trivia with Philip Rivers; Full Count Baseball Trivia with Buster Posey from Ground Control; Beat the Intro from Musicplode)
• Plans more Alexa Gadgets.
• For all Echo devices: microphone array with second generation far-field technology.

Software & services

• Fire OS 6.0 (based on Android Nougat), first in 4K Fire TV
• Smart Home hub, built into the Echo Plus
• Alexa Calling, in all Echo devices
• Alexa Routines (customisable actions using a single voice command)
• Free outbound calling in US, Canada, Mexico (excl 911)

Milestones

• Alexa reaches 25k 3rd party skills
• 5k employees work on Alexa

The total hardware (CPE) portfolio

• Kindle: e-readers (and a tablet)
• Fire: tablets
• Fire TV: casting devices (STB, console, dongle)
• Dash: ordering devices
• Echo (and Tap): smart speakers
• Alexa Gadgets: Echo Buttons

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Facebook's CPE efforts are coming none too soon

According to rumors, Facebook will launch a range of CPE/hardware at next month's developer conference in San Jose (April 18-19), through its hardware division Building 8 (established at last year's conference).

It makes sense in a number of ways

• Trend. All internet majors (Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook) engage in hardware development. It's a new market, they are flush with cash and they know precisely what their users do.
• Cross-selling. With the exception of Apple, selling hardware is aimed at growing sales in an adjacent area.
• Vertical intergration. As such, it is a form of vertical integration, capturing a larger part of the value chain.
• Diversification. Facebook's revenues are 98.0% from ads (2.0% from payments & other fees). Diversification, in light of the inevitable growth slow-down, is coming none too soon. In fact, the other majors are way ahead of Facebook in this respect.