Amazon Build It Teases Weird New Products For Pre-Order Pledges
Amazon today rolled out a new platform called Build It, which is part of its larger Day One Editions program. While Day One Editions focuses on limited-volume product runs to get new devices in the hands of consumers for the purposes of receiving feedback, Build It products will only be produced if enough Amazon customers register their interest through pre-orders. Amazon is kicking off its Build It program with three different products, and one of them is an Alexa cuckoo clock.
Yes, even though it seems like Amazon has already equipped everything it possibly can with its voice assistant, there's always room for more Alexa devices and this cuckoo clock is proof of that. The Smart Cuckoo Clock, as it's officially called, is joined by the Smart Nutrition Scale and the Smart Sticky Note Printer for this inaugural round of Build It offerings.
The concept behind Build It is pretty straightforward, with Amazon putting these three products up for pre-order today. All three products will be available to pre-order for the next 30 days, and if they meet their pre-order goal in that window, Amazon will then produce the products. If a product doesn't meet its pre-order goal, it simply won't be produced.
Specifically, Amazon says that all three of these products need to meet their goals by March 19th, 2021 at 8:59 AM PST/11:59 AM EST. Progress toward meeting those goals is depicted by a progress bar on each product listing, though Amazon doesn't show specific pre-order stats for any of the items. Those who pre-order something won't be charged until the product ships, and Amazon users can cancel their pre-orders at any time.
The Smart Cuckoo Clock features 60 LEDs, a pop-out cuckoo bird, and a removable pendulum that allows you to place it on a shelf instead of mounting it on a wall. It functions in the same way any Alexa-powered clock would, allowing you set timers, alarms, or reminders, only here you get the the full cuckoo clock experience as well. One benefit of an Alexa-connected cuckoo clock? You can silence it on a schedule, so you don't have to worry about the cuckoo sounding overnight. The Smart Cuckoo Clock costs $79.99.
The Smart Nutrition Scale functions like any other food scale, but this one has some bonus features as well. Since this is an Alexa-connected scale, you can get nutrition information for "thousands of ingredients and food" based on their weight, which should allow for more precise calorie tracking. Finally, we have the Smart Sticky Note Printer, which uses thermal technology – not ink or toner – to print your sticky notes. The Smart Nutrition Scale costs $34.99 to pre-order, while the Smart Sticky Note Printer is the most expensive of the trio at $89.99.
Since Amazon just launched Build It earlier today, none of these products have progressed very far toward their pre-order goal, but they've got a month to get there. Any products that meet their goals will start shipping out to customers between July and September 2021. We'll keep an eye out for more Build It products from Amazon, so stay tuned for more details.