Amazon’s Echo Connect is a smart speakerphone for landlines

The Connect is available to pre-order today for $35, and it’ll reach the US in the fourth quarter. Calls from the US to Canada and Mexico will be free, Amazon says. British and German buyers will have to wait until sometime in early 2018. It’s not clear whether you’ll get any free international calling if you live outside of the States, but this could be a helpful tool if you don’t want to depend solely on cell service and still want some modern conveniences.