Amazon Debuts Dozens Of New Fire, Alexa, Echo Devices And Features

A few days after Apple held its high-profile unveiling of new iPhones and watches, streaming it on Twitter, Amazon responded by … sending out several press releases. Contained in those releases, however, was significant news of more than 70 new devices, features and tools for its Fire, Alexa and Echo systems, all of which will be major holiday season items for the tech giant.

One of the most notable new offerings is called Fire TV Recast, a DVR companion that enables the recording and replaying of free over-the-air TV programming via Amazon’s Fire TV or Echo Show devices, or Fire tablet, iOS and Android devices. By connecting Recast to an HDTV antenna, a viewer can watch any broadcast network or dozens of other over-the-air channels, the ultimate revenge for cord-cutters.

There will be two models of Recast — a two-tuner version retailing for $230 and a 4–tuner model with more storage for $280.

“We are focused on making Fire TV an easy way to watch all the entertainment you love, whether it’s through streaming video services, cable and satellite providers, or even local broadcast stations,” said Marc Whitten, Vice President of Amazon Fire TV. “Now with Fire TV Recast, we’ve made it simpler to find, watch, and record live over-the-air TV at home and on your mobile devices.”

Among the other launches is a redesigned Echo Show with a 10-inch screen and integrations with NBC and Hulu.

Many of the other product launches are outside of the traditional entertainment core but have a futuristic bent. There will be an Alexa-powered microwave oven (“Alexa, pop some popcorn”) and an Echo speaker designed to go in cars.