The Echo doesn’t have one killer app, so Amazon is creating Alexa gadgets for every use case
https://www.recode.net/2017/9/28/16373916/new-amazon-echo-alexa-buttons-spot-plus
Amazon on Wednesday announced five new Alexa-powered Echo devices in a dizzying product rollout that can comes across as either impressively ambitious or insane and unfocused.
There was an upgrade to the original Echo that is smaller and cheaper at $100; a touchscreen Alexa-powered alarm clock called the Echo Spot for $130; and the Echo Plus with a smart-home hub embedded in it for $150. Then there were tiny Echo Buttons for to be used for trivia or games at $20 a pop, and even a $35 Echo Connect gadget to turn your home phone line into an Alexa-powered speaker phone.