Last month marked a new entrant in product crowdfunding, albeit one that seems to have its birthright: Amazon. The company debuted three products under its new Build It program[1], a program that falls under the Day 1 Editions initiatives.
Build It is a streamlined form of all-or-nothing (in Kickstarter parlance) or "fixed" crowdfunding (in Indiegogo's) that eliminates risk and receipt of projects as "rewards" or "perks" in favor of a straightforward preorder model. If the device reaches its goal within 30 days, it comes to market.
Another, less surprising twist: The first three products all work with Alexa.
"We have a passion for the peculiar" notes the intro video for Build It.
Indeed, the Smart Cuckoo Clock represents Amazon's second stab at wall-mounted smart time-keeping following the debut of the Echo Wall Clock[2] in a time before lockdowns made clockwatching a popular pastime.
Compared to that businesslike effort, the Cuckoo Clock is appropriately more ornate although both its facade and feature set are streamlined: you can use it to have Alexa set alarms and timers. Its alarm sounds can be customized and its pendulum can be removed, but, unlike with other bird-focused devices, you're stuck with only one post-modern representation as your hourly herald.
The Smart Cuckoo Clock is available for $79 $99 after preorder) and has attracted 47% of the goal it must meet by March 19, 2021.
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Just because something doesn't have a screen doesn't mean that it doesn't offer anything worth writing down.
Indeed, even as Alexa products surround your fingers[4] and eyes[5], the blissful lack of interactivity that paper provides can be a reassuring presence. Amazon is now seeking to bridge the Alexasphere and the world of paper with a