Amazon is releasing a Show Mode Dock

tomsem · 06-29-2018, 06:32 PM

It turns it into the equivalent of an Echo Show.

https://the-digital-reader.com/201 8/06/28/amazon-launches-a-fire-tablet-dock-that-turns-your-device-into-an-echo-show/

https://www.amazon.com/All-New-Show-.../dp/B07BNXZDJ3

I pre-ordered one (July 12 release). My HD8 mostly just sits around so it will be interesting to play with this.

Deskisamess · 06-29-2018, 08:22 PM

The firmware update is what gives it the Show options. The "dock" is just a cover, that only works with that specific Fire. Why pay $35 for a prop cover?

stumped · 06-30-2018, 04:26 AM

actually it turns it into an echo show with amazingly crap tiny tablet speakers.

once you factor in the cost & hassle of hooking it up to a decent external bluetooth speaker & keeping that charged - you'd be better off with an actual Echo show

tomsem · 06-30-2018, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumped

actually it turns it into an echo show with amazingly crap tiny tablet speakers.

once you factor in the cost & hassle of hooking it up to a decent external bluetooth speaker & keeping that charged - you'd be better off with an actual Echo show

Echo Show is $159.00 and its speakers are of course better. But it does not function as a tablet.

I will be able to replace an Echo Dot and plug the speakers that are now plugged into it into the Fire HD8 I already have. It will conveniently charge the Fire (inductively) and I can use the Dot somewhere else. I don’t have a cover-stand for my Fire and don’t want one. So it works for me.

It is not clear to me that Echo Show functionality is identical to as Hands-free-Alexa that Fire HD8 already has. Perhaps someone has done that comparison, but even if they are the same, having the stand means I’ll actually use the feature some.

stumped · 06-30-2018, 02:42 PM

Fair enough. Anyone relying on internal HD8, hd10 speakers mayl be disqppointed
It's an interesting move by amazon who may be over complicating the echo range. There's old and new echo, plus look, show, dot, and then there's cube for tv. We like our old large echo, for the lounge, but the last 2 devices I bought for other rooms are google home, which I much prefer. Well i did until this week's global outage.
With alexa/echo, all devices have to share the same music streamer preference and your single amazon prime account, but with gh you define it at device level, so with a google or spotify family deal you can have different concurrent streams in different room on the Google, home. So we can put one in the apartment that we let on airbnb and have it not interfere with the others. . And because it it linked to the email we use for airbnb, not to our main amazon account, the only data share/data leak is our airbnb calendar.
Amazon devices are trickier to share. We do provide fire tv though and can lock that down enough with passwords and pin to block guest purchases of video or music. And if the fire tv done goes awol we can remotely derigister it.

stumped · 06-30-2018, 02:46 PM

Ps we cannot use alexa on any of our fire tablets, because you have to forego parental controls and thus you have to allow unprotected one click shopping. For me that is too big a risk, especially with music and video where one bad tap means you own it, non returnable.

I did read today that amazon are launching an alexa for kids on the echo dot, with shopping disabled, but the reviewer was not impressed, after testing with an actual child

GlenBarrington · 06-30-2018, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

The firmware update is what gives it the Show options. The "dock" is just a cover, that only works with that specific Fire. Why pay $35 for a prop cover?

My understanding is that it is more a charging dock than it is a cover, and designed to make it more appliance like in it's look. I can't find it, but I'm sure I read something somewhere that said it might even be a magnetic charger.

GlenBarrington · 06-30-2018, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumped

actually it turns it into an echo show with amazingly crap tiny tablet speakers.

once you factor in the cost & hassle of hooking it up to a decent external bluetooth speaker & keeping that charged - you'd be better off with an actual Echo show

If you need/want a 10 inch screen on your "Show" device, I think this might be your only option. I know my wife seems very interested in this device.

I have a Bluetooth speaker that plugs into the wall outlets, perhaps, in time BT speakers will be built into the stand.

Barbara1955 · 07-11-2018, 04:49 AM

They did an Update on my Fire 10 today all information I can find is about this New Dock Now my Fire is ALL messed up! & I don't even use Alexa...

stumped · 07-11-2018, 05:24 AM

can you not rollback the update or restore from backup - amazon backup everything , every day, unless you disabled that.
I'd call amazon help.
( but I'd try a soft reset first- that's usually the first thing they ask you to do ): hold down power button for about 40 seconds until it goes completely off, then restart it

stumped · 07-12-2018, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

They did an Update on my Fire 10 today all information I can find is about this New Dock Now my Fire is ALL messed up! & I don't even use Alexa...

Dunno if this is the same issue. On hdx, I started seeing a notification for Alexa accessories, on the drop down and at top left. To get rid of it I had to block notifications from the Alexa app.in settings. Alexa was already blocked because I use parental controls, but I still had to also go to settings, notifications, find Alexa and block all...

Barbara1955 · 07-12-2018, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumped

Dunno if this is the same issue. On hdx, I started seeing a notification for Alexa accessories, on the drop down and at top left. To get rid of it I had to block notifications from the Alexa app.in settings. Alexa was already blocked because I use parental controls, but I still had to also go to settings, notifications, find Alexa and block all...

The Most annoying things is it didn't do a dang thing but be annoying

I have hated Alexa since day one

tomsem · 07-12-2018, 11:11 AM

I’m not sure I understand the issue you folks have with this. After I got the ‘Show’ update, it went through its little presentation, then I turned Alexa off (it is a simple toggle in Quick Settings). I also keep the ‘Do Not Disturb’ thing (also in quick settings) turned on. Whenever I install apps I routinely deny permission to notify me about anything. I have yet to go into Settings Notifications to do anything more than this. Granted I have not used it much since then but I did not notice anything annoying was added as a result of the update.

My Show Dock arrives today. At that point, it will replace an Echo Dot and of course I’ll be using some Alexa features in that configuration.

Kaysclie · 07-13-2018, 06:16 PM

My fire hd 10 downloaded the new "show" update last night. All seems to be working as it should be.

tomsem · 07-15-2018, 12:10 PM

I have the Show Mode Dock for my Fire HD8. It is more or less what I expected it to be and I think it will be something I’ll use. That said:
- I wish there were a ‘stop listening’ toggle on the Show Mode screen.
- I wish you could have it listen in Show Mode and not listen when not in Show Mode.
- looks like you have to turn off Automatic Mode Switching if you want to use it as a tablet in the charging dock - would like to be able to override this
- the charging shell adds too much weight to leave on for ‘standalone’ usage, and seems a bit hard to pop off — maybe I’ll develop the knack though.

06-29-2018, 06:32 PM	#1
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,477 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	Amazon is releasing a Show Mode Dock It turns it into the equivalent of an Echo Show. https://the-digital-reader.com/201 8/06/28/amazon-launches-a-fire-tablet-dock-that-turns-your-device-into-an-echo-show/ https://www.amazon.com/All-New-Show-.../dp/B07BNXZDJ3 I pre-ordered one (July 12 release). My HD8 mostly just sits around so it will be interesting to play with this.

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06-29-2018, 08:22 PM	#2
Deskisamess Wizard Posts: 2,609 Karma: 42697471 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Device: iPhone 7+, iPad mini, 2021 iPad Pro 12.9",Paperwhite 6.8"	The firmware update is what gives it the Show options. The "dock" is just a cover, that only works with that specific Fire. Why pay $35 for a prop cover?

06-30-2018, 04:26 AM	#3
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	actually it turns it into an echo show with amazingly crap tiny tablet speakers. once you factor in the cost & hassle of hooking it up to a decent external bluetooth speaker & keeping that charged - you'd be better off with an actual Echo show

06-30-2018, 02:42 PM	#5
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	Fair enough. Anyone relying on internal HD8, hd10 speakers mayl be disqppointed It's an interesting move by amazon who may be over complicating the echo range. There's old and new echo, plus look, show, dot, and then there's cube for tv. We like our old large echo, for the lounge, but the last 2 devices I bought for other rooms are google home, which I much prefer. Well i did until this week's global outage. With alexa/echo, all devices have to share the same music streamer preference and your single amazon prime account, but with gh you define it at device level, so with a google or spotify family deal you can have different concurrent streams in different room on the Google, home. So we can put one in the apartment that we let on airbnb and have it not interfere with the others. . And because it it linked to the email we use for airbnb, not to our main amazon account, the only data share/data leak is our airbnb calendar. Amazon devices are trickier to share. We do provide fire tv though and can lock that down enough with passwords and pin to block guest purchases of video or music. And if the fire tv done goes awol we can remotely derigister it.

06-30-2018, 02:46 PM	#6
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	Ps we cannot use alexa on any of our fire tablets, because you have to forego parental controls and thus you have to allow unprotected one click shopping. For me that is too big a risk, especially with music and video where one bad tap means you own it, non returnable. I did read today that amazon are launching an alexa for kids on the echo dot, with shopping disabled, but the reviewer was not impressed, after testing with an actual child

07-11-2018, 04:49 AM	#9
Barbara1955 Non-Techy Posts: 4,454 Karma: 15499273 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: WV---USA Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders	They did an Update on my Fire 10 today all information I can find is about this New Dock Now my Fire is ALL messed up! & I don't even use Alexa...

07-11-2018, 05:24 AM	#10
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	can you not rollback the update or restore from backup - amazon backup everything , every day, unless you disabled that. I'd call amazon help. ( but I'd try a soft reset first- that's usually the first thing they ask you to do ): hold down power button for about 40 seconds until it goes completely off, then restart it

07-12-2018, 11:11 AM	#13
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,477 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I’m not sure I understand the issue you folks have with this. After I got the ‘Show’ update, it went through its little presentation, then I turned Alexa off (it is a simple toggle in Quick Settings). I also keep the ‘Do Not Disturb’ thing (also in quick settings) turned on. Whenever I install apps I routinely deny permission to notify me about anything. I have yet to go into Settings Notifications to do anything more than this. Granted I have not used it much since then but I did not notice anything annoying was added as a result of the update. My Show Dock arrives today. At that point, it will replace an Echo Dot and of course I’ll be using some Alexa features in that configuration.

07-13-2018, 06:16 PM	#14
Kaysclie Addict Posts: 329 Karma: 265272 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: sunny Florida Device: Forma, Aura One,Ipad Pro 10.5, Oasis 3	My fire hd 10 downloaded the new "show" update last night. All seems to be working as it should be.

07-15-2018, 12:10 PM	#15
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,477 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I have the Show Mode Dock for my Fire HD8. It is more or less what I expected it to be and I think it will be something I’ll use. That said: - I wish there were a ‘stop listening’ toggle on the Show Mode screen. - I wish you could have it listen in Show Mode and not listen when not in Show Mode. - looks like you have to turn off Automatic Mode Switching if you want to use it as a tablet in the charging dock - would like to be able to override this - the charging shell adds too much weight to leave on for ‘standalone’ usage, and seems a bit hard to pop off — maybe I’ll develop the knack though.

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