SNL's Amazon Echo Silver Responds To Almost Any Name

Let's admit it. Today's fancy gadgets and technologies are really designed for younger, more agile consumers. While market dynamics and profits do demand that, it doesn't have to be that way. Good technology is inclusive technology. Take for example the new Amazon Silver Echo, as seen on Saturday Night Live and only on Saturday Night Live. It's a super limited and nonexistent version designed with well-aged users in mind, responding to almost any name even loosely sounding like "Alexa".

As if it weren't bad enough that smartphones are getting larger, with high-density screens that confound the elderly, the latest tech and mobile hype revolves around voice-controlled products that talk back to you. When you're a lot older, those are exactly the first things to go.

Realizing this critical flaw in an otherwise almost perfect product, Amazon is introducing the Echo Silver, hot on the heels of the Echo Show. This Echo device, however, has no screen to confound the elderly. But even better, it boasts of features that cater to the particular needs of "the greatest generation".

Developed in partnership with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the Echo Silver can respond to any name that even remotely resembles "Alexa", like Allegra, Clarissa, Odessa, or even Excedrin. Unlike your regular Echo, the Silver has super loud speakers that make sure its answer can be heard, even if the question was forgotten. And even without a camera, it has a quick scan feature that can help remind users that they are already wearing their glasses.

If you haven't gotten the hint already, this is yet another SNL spoof. One that Amazon is only too happy to get into. But while it is indeed entertaining, it does underlie the fact that the fast-paced development of technologies and devices do often leave this segment of society in their dust.

SOURCE: @Amazon