I've been updating my review and will continue to do so as I've noticed updates and get more hands on experience. After separating my expectations from the actual capabilities of this device I've come to the conclusion that the Show still had me wanting more despite it's capabilities. I currently own the original echo which is in my living room, 2nd gen Echo in my home gym, a spot in my bedroom 12/21/17, and a dot at work. I have lights, fans, a thermostat, security cameras, surround sound, fire sticks, fire tv box, fire tablets and TVs all connected to my Alexa devices. Of course I had to buy one with a screen. I'm a big fan of Alexa, the products have become a routine part of my day. As soon as the Show was available to preorder I ordered one without any hesitation.Initially I wanted to put my show on a 70 inch TV stand by my 60 inch TV where my original Echo was. I figured it wouldn't look bad because I could use it as a digital picture frame also. I don't have end tables and quickly came to the realization that viewing a 7 inch screen from 8 feet away wasn't going to work for me. My Show now sits on my kitchen counter. I figured I'd get more use out of it in my living room because most of my Alexa enabled devices are in there and generally I spend more time in my living room than the kitchen. A few people mentioned why don't you put it on your desk. I honestly don't spend much time in my study, if I am at my desk I'm already on my computer and wanted the Show where I would get the most use out of it.This device was marketed as a hands free companion in the kitchen for things like recipes. My frustration is when I ask it to pull up a recipe it's inconsistent. Sometimes it wants to send the recipe to my phone, sometimes it wants me to swipe down on the screen to access the cooking directions and ingredients. Why can't I just say Alexa scroll down? Why do I have to touch the screen? Why does it have to send the recipe to my phone for me to view it when the Show already has a screen? As of now I've seen videos with CNN, Reuters, and Fox news during my flash briefings. There was a software update on 7/15/17 and now I've also seen CNBC videos. 7/19/17 I noticed today Bloomberg is now showing videos.Personally I think 7 inches is too small to watch a movie from any fixed location unless it was maybe a foot or two from my face so take that in to consideration when determining where you might put one. *Update* Some of Prime's videos are widescreen meaning you only get to use about half of your already small 7 inch screen to watch them. I noticed this while trying to watch 13 Hours Soldiers of Benghazi while I was cooking. This is cellphone size small. *Update* 11/11/17 I noticed yesterday while cooking and watching a movie on Prime I was given an option to expand a wide screen video to full screen fixing my initial complaint. I'm not sure when there was a software update.Navigating through prime videos can be a chore. You can't say the word movie, you have to say video. When selecting options by number from the screen you have to be careful with what you say. I said something like play movie one thinking it would understand that the movie with a 1 on it would play. Instead it started playing a song. I had to say Alexa stop. And then go back through the voice navigation to Amazon Prime videos, then find my movie, then ask Alexa to play it.The problem with Youtube it pulls the most popular video that is close to your description based off of key words. It doesn't go to exactly what you are asking it to pull up. Example Alexa show me Donald Trump's latest speech on you tube. It pulled a video from May 2nd which was 2 months ago. This is because the search uses keywords in this scenario Donald Trump and Speech. Then it pulls the most popular or viewed videos.UPDATE 12/5/17 it was announced 2 hrs ago that Google is pulling the plug again on Youtube from the Echo Show and Fire TV devices. Apparently instead of working things out with Google, Amazon bypassed the block Google placed on Youtube. This is shady business Amazon! I dropped my score back down to 3 stars again because Youtube was a promised feature when I preordered my Echo show.One thing I love about my dots and the original Alexa devices is that they are intuitive I don't have to use precise wording. My Show expects me to use precise wording to navigate and use quite a bit of features. I just left the kitchen trying to get it to go to the dim screen. I used multiple variations of turn off the screen which sometimes works.I kept getting the response sorry what device? After several attempts to get this command to work I gave up and walked out of the kitchen frustrated. Maybe it's still learning from me? *Update* I am still having issues with it not always recognizing the turn off the screen command.I also find myself constantly having to ask the Show to turn the screen off. I don't know why it keeps turning on without me using any wake words. I heard it wake when my dogs went in to the kitchen this morning 7/19/17, yet I can walk past it all day long and it doesn't wake. Randomly I will hear my Show while I am in another room answering questions and acting on it's own with no one talking. I don't know why it does this.The sound is hands down better than any other Alexa device. The show can put out some bass. For some reason when playing Prime movies any speech sounds a bit muffled and the sound output is significantly lower..I placed an order with my Show and honestly it was fast and unlike my other Echos I could visually verify my order. I didn't have to pull my phone out, fumble with a keyboard, computer or tablet. I knew what I wanted said the name and probably in less than 30 seconds placed my order.Being able to look at my lists calendar and reminders without having to pull my phone out is nice. I wish the calendar could show more than just one day at a time. Like my whole week or month. The show won't display your whole shopping list only 3 to 4 items on the screen at one time then you have to ask it to scroll down. *Update* As of 7/16/17 the Show displays 2 days on the calendar now and will scroll through events two at a time.If you are a shopper like me that likes to browse recommendations your show will only give you a total of 12 recommendations which were no where near as accurate as my interests on my Amazon account usually are, actually they were way off. You can only view one product at a time. Basically the Show is only good for ordering when you know exactly what you want. It's not good with recommendations, and browsing items. You are limited to viewing items one at a time and then having to ask Alexa to scroll right or go right makes the process painfully slow. I guess the best way to explain the show. Most of what the Alexa devices were using your phone for can now be done on the show's touch screen. I still find myself listening to my Show more than looking at it, which kind of defeats the purpose of a screen. My biggest frustration with the Show is instead of operating Alexa from across the room with voice commands I find myself having to stand in front of it, or walk to it then hovering over it to navigate through the screens. I still find myself pulling my phone out of my pocket or reaching for a tablet to pull up information rather than getting up walking to the device and dealing with the frustratingly clunky voice navigation. Most of everything we use now a days is wireless, we aren't used to being restricted to a certain area to use a device. I haven't felt this way since the landline was the only way to make a call and there were no such things as cordless phones, cellphones, laptops, tablets, bluetooth, smartphones and other smart devices. This is probably why the device is more appealing for Older people, because they've spent more of their lives on devices that needed to be plugged in, like phones that had to be plugged in to phone jacks. I personally hate the idea of having to stand in front of my kitchen counter to make a video call, or running to the device to answer one.When using the video chat feature the Show gives you a full screen view of yourself before the call is connected and a smaller window like Skype once the call is connected. With the angle of the camera and my Show sitting on the kitchen counter I had to take a few steps back, maybe 5 feet from the device so that my head would show up on the camera. As a note I am 6" 2. Standing 5 feet away to video chat from a device with a 7 inch screen isn't as nice as using a web cam on your computer or laptop with 15+ inches from a few feet away, or a 10 inch tablet from a few feet away.This is how I use my Show I listen to music from it (any Echo or Alexa device can do this) I add items to my grocery list ( any echo or Alexa device can do this) I can view my shopping list without having to check my phone, any tablet with Alexa can do this, your fire TV and Fire stick can also. I set reminders (any Echo device can do this) Alexa tablets can not. The Show will show you 2 calendar days or the current day. However my phone is synced and always with me and shows me the same info. You can also view this information from any Alexa enabled tablet and all Alexa enabled fire TV and Fire TV boxes. Positioning your tablet vertically will show your more days. Any Echo device without a screen will read this information to you. I ask my Show questions some times, mainly sports scores, when my teams are playing again, maybe some calculations. (Any Echo or Alexa device can do this). I set timers (any Echo or Alexa device can do this). I control all my smart home devices (Any Echo or Alexa device can do this.) I occasionally will watch a Prime movie. (Alexa tablets, Fire TV and Fire stick can do this). I listen to my Flash Briefings (Any Echo or Alexa device can do this) The Show will Show you video clips on some of the news skills. It's not like watching the news. However the Show is the only Echo or Alexa device that can do this. The only thing that really sets this device apart from the other Echo or Alexa devices is the Amazon video chat feature, which is not an enjoyable experience for me and something I rarely use. I preordered the device before any reviews or definite answers were out expecting it to be like a hands free tablet that is plugged in to a wall and could have apps installed on it. If that is your expectation you are going to be sadly disappointed. The Fire 10 HD with hands free Alexa is everything I wish the Show would have been, had it been released first I would have bought the tablet and passed on the Show. My biggest disappointment with the Echo show is, it just doesn't have much to Show.UPDATE 3/12/18 All Fire tablets can video call and call mobile phones. The Fire 10 can do it all hands free, which was the Echo Show's only real advantage.Why you might consider buying the Fire 7 tablet with Alexa before buying the Echo ShowI bought the Fire 7 tablet with Alexa for $30.00 during Prime day, now $49.99 (Same price as a Dot!) Here are some noteworthy comparisons. The show is limited to being plugged in to a wall and although it can be easily moved it will require a little planning as to where you might put one. The Fire 7 is obviously portable and has none of these restrictions. Both have a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 touchscreen. The Show blows the Fire 7's speakers out of the water. However you can use bluetooth with the tablet and compensate for the lack of sound quality on your device. In order to use Alexa on the tablet you have to hold down the home key for a few seconds then without using the wake word Alexa or Echo speak your command. This is a nice feature because it won't wake my other Echo devices, it will also give those worried about the always listening peace of mind. Plus it's one less thing to have to say in your list of commands. I found my tablet very responsive to my commands and could do ALMOST everything my Dot and Original Echo can do EXCEPT you can not use the newly enabled voice call feature, which to me is no big deal. Apparently you can not set reminders on the Fire 7. All of my home smart devices can be controlled from my tablet by giving the same commands I use on my other Echo devices. You can not use the Show's video chat feature. Skype, Oovoo and a few other apps are options you can take advantage of. Chances are the people you'd want to video chat with already have these services which the Show can not use and not Amazon's video chat. As a side note you don't need a Echo Show to use Amazon's drop in service it can be done straight from the Alexa app. The Echo show when it displays cards and information the whole screen is filled, where as the Fire 7 you loose about 10% of the same image that is on the Show. However unlike the Show you can rotate your screen. For those that complained about the lack of HDMI output on the Show you can pick up a micro USB to HDMI adapter with the Fire 7 tablet and fix that complaint. For those that complained there was no way to cast to your TV with the Show and other Echo devices you can cast your Prime movies straight from your Fire 7 to your Firestick or Fire TV. *Update* As of 8/5/17 I've been able to use all of my Echo devices to control my Fire TV and Fire TV stick. You can access your tablet's apps via Alexa with the Fire 7, The Show has no apps. The fire 7 also syncs instantly with your other devices in Amazon's ecosystem. Unlike the Show you can watch Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services on the tablet. I find myself using my Fire7 significantly more than my Show. I don't have to be in the kitchen hovering over my counter and lets just face it even a limited Amazon tablet can do a lot more than an Echo device with a screen. Think of the Fire 7 as the budget friendly tap version of the show for $80.00 less than a tap and $180.00 less than a Show. If you are on the fence about shelling out $230.00 but want to experience the Echo screen hype this may be the way to go.Why you may consider the Fire 10 HD with hands free AlexaYou can purchase the Fire 10 HD tablet with hands free Alexa for $80.00 less than a Show or $130 less when it is on sale. Unlike the Show you can watch Netflix even command Alexa to open Youtube, Netflix, Hulu, and, other streaming services on a 10" screen instead of just being limited to Prime videos on the 7" screen with the show. With it's portability and always listening mode unless you have to have Amazon's video chat services. Almost all of the advantages are with the Fire 10 HD. If you are worried about the battery dying on always listening on the tablet just leave it plugged in all day and set it where ever you'd keep an Echo show and pick it up when you want to carry it around. I personally like having my tablet on my coffee table something I can't do with my Show. I bought the fire 10 with hands free Alexa and I'm happier with the purchase now I have a 10" screen hands free Alexa I can use anywhere and can do a lot more with it. I've added a side by side comparison of the two in my pictures. In short the Fire 10 with hands free Alexa is everything I wanted the Show to be at a fraction of the cost. If you found this review helpful, please click on the this was helpful tab.