Amazon Is Getting Rid Of One Of Its Best Devices For Children
Amazon is discontinuing its Amazon Glow device which was created and marketed to help children connect with family members.
Primarily targeted at kids, the futuristic Amazon Glow is being discontinued by the e-commerce retailer. Launched in 2021, the interactive video-chat device was designed to help children visit and play with their loved ones over the internet during the pandemic. Equipped with a video screen and projector, the gadget also gave little ones access to a wide range of entertainment and educational content.
But as the pandemic faded into the background sales began to dwindle. So after slashing its price by 50%, the online retail giant decided to scrap the product. Confirming the Glow’s discontinuation to CNET, spokeswoman for the retailer Kristy Schmidt said, “At Amazon, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas to delight customers.
She added that the company continually evaluates the progress and potential of its products to deliver customer value. Therefore they regularly make adjustments based on those assessments and will be sharing updates and guidance with Glow customers soon. The device previously sold for $300 but was reduced to $150 for members of Amazon’s Prime program, before being listed as unavailable.
The Amazon Glow was reviewed by Yahoo! Finance when it debuted a year ago. And even after all this time, there’s been nothing else like it on the market. The device combines an interactive smart display with a children’s tablet, projector, and household robot, thereby creating a unique educational toy. But due to its target demographic, the product is very niche and didn’t attract many rivals.
Because the Amazon Glow can project a 19-inch touch screen on flat services, where kids can play and interact with the games and activities, it really creates a fun experience for the whole family – even if they are on the other end of the planet. It also boasts an eight-inch LCD, 720p camera with a built-in shutter, and 10-watt speaker which makes it the perfect way to keep bored kids occupied.
There are thousands of books, games, and activities to choose from. So there’s an endless amount of fun to experience with a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ included in the price. The Glow also comes equipped with Tangram Bits (a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat polygons which are put together to form shapes) that adds a different dimension to hands-on learning with the aid of physical and digital pieces.
To make the Glow experience even better, Amazon also partnered with studios for branded content from Disney, Mattel, Sesame Street, and Nickelodeon. Some curated video content was available, but kids could only watch these videos while on a call with an approved adult. A video screen connected the child with a family member on the other end of the call while projecting a gaming space onto a silicone mat both people could use.
For kids, the Amazon Glow gave them an exciting and fun way of playing that’s different from the usual stuff like playing with toys, video games, or just watching videos on a tablet. The interaction component was critical because it allowed family members to take part in all the fun. It will be interesting to see if the company replaces the device with something similar or if will just become a memory.
