The C by GE Sol is a desktop lamp with Amazon's Alexa built right in

[Shawn Knight]

GE back in December announced intentions to integrate Amazon’s Alexa personal digital assistant into a modern-looking table lamp. More resembling something you’d expect from Dyson (no, it’s not a desk fan), the product now has an official name – C by GE Sol – and an MSRP of $200.

As CNET highlights, that’s a bit more expensive than initially anticipated considering GE said it would be priced less than Amazon’s own Echo smart speaker. Pre-ordering the smart tabletop assistant will secure you a 20 percent discount, however, bringing the price down to a more affordable (but still not cheap) $160.

The C by GE Sol is more or less an Echo with a 60-watt equivalent, adjustable color light and that’s a pretty slick idea. It has a small speaker and microphone positioned in the base to facilitate communication with Alexa (no separate hub is needed) so it should work just as an Echo does.

You can also control the device by pairing it to your mobile and using GE’s accompany smart lighting app. Compatibility with Apple’s HomeKit could be a possibility in the future, we’re told. Voice compatibility for the C by GE LED bulbs, however, is coming this summer via Alexa and HomeKit.

It’s unclear if you’d have to replace the entire unit when the light bulb dies or if you can just swap out that component and carry on (hopefully it’s the latter as replacing the entire thing would be an expensive undertaking).

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https://www.techspot.com/news/69190-c-ge-sol-desktop-lamp-amazon-alexa-built.html

 

[Thayios]

As I sit here with 15 GE Link bulbs that are no longer supported by GE and have failed due to heat issues.

Pass (on anything GE in the IoT world until they prove themselves again). The C bulbs were another fiasco with supposed support coming that never came.

 

[madboyv1]

"All you need is your voice." And $200, and a house full of IoT devices to sync if you're gonna match the commercial.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

What a crock of garbage. I'd sooner just go out and buy another torch, or flashlight for the American speakers, and some coloured cellophane filters. When all's said and done, this ridiculously overpriced gimmick does exactly the same thing.

 

[stewi0001]

What a crock of garbage. I'd sooner just go out and buy another torch, or flashlight for the American speakers, and some coloured cellophane filters. When all's said and done, this ridiculously overpriced gimmick does exactly the same thing.

But now you can ask your lamp questions that it can't answer! XD

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

But now you can ask your lamp questions that it can't answer! XD

Your flashlight can do exactly the same thing and won't fob you off by trying to feed you bs info so why pay all that money?No my friend, IoT may be a thing of the future but as of now, it's a very tough sell... for at least 98% of the products available now.