Amazon has announced a slew of new hardware today at its fall event, including a new product that is aimed at making it easier to bring families together for fun and learning. That is Amazon Glow.
Basically, it’s a screen with a projector that projects onto the table in front of you. The idea with this is that younger kids can get bored pretty quickly, and might be wandering off during a video chat. So keeping them entertained with different games and books on the table in front of the screen, might keep them there longer.
It’ll project on a 22-inch white mat (giving you a 19-inch interactive space) that comes with the device. So it’s not a large projection, but it does give kids a decent work area for puzzles and other games. And what is displayed on the projector, is also mirrored on the tablet on the other side of the call. And that’s a pretty cool aspect here. As a grandparent could do a puzzle with their grandchild, even when they are not anywhere nearby.
It of course comes with Amazon’s impressive parental controls, so parents will need to log in first and set up a list of trusted people that their child will be able to call. But that’s not all. You’ll need to set it up on a tablet (it works on iPads and Android tablets, with support for Fire Tablets coming soon), so that your parents or grandparents can talk with your kid(s).
How much will Amazon Glow cost?
When Amazon Glow goes on sale, it’ll cost you $299. It’s not cheap, but given everything included here, that isn’t a bad price. It’s basically an Echo Show with a projector built-in.
However, for those that opt-in for the invite-only program, it’ll cost you $249. Amazon says that the first units will start shipping in mid-October. It’ll also be limited to the US only, at launch.
