The Echo Show-- the touchscreen-equipped Echo device-- heads to Europe, as the online retailer turned device maker Amazon opens preorders in Germany and the UK.

The Echo Show does everything regular Echo devices do, only with the addition of a 7-inch touchscreen and a camera. Thus it allows for video calls, fullscreen cards for answers to queries and online video viewing (but not YouTube videos, since Google blocked access on the Amazon device for some reason).

Finally the device also pairs with home automation products via Alexa Skills, including baby monitors from Ring and Arlo, Philips Hue smart lights, and thermostats from the likes of ecobee and WeMo.

IFA is traditionally the home of weird and wonderful gadgets, but the winner for the 2017 award for weirdest and most wonderful might be no other than German conglomerate Bosch and its prototype clothing stain analyser.

Dubbed the X-Spect, the handheld device looks like a TV remote and comes complete with a small screen and capacitive touch buttons. It essentially scans fabrics and stains before suggesting how to best wash the garment in question. An IFA demonstration even had the X-Spect paired via wifi with a Bosch washing machine, allowing it to send optimal washing instructions.

That said, the current model can only determine two component materials in a fabric, and is able to read four different types of stains, including chocolate and lipstick. However Bosch plains to increase the number to 16 to match with Bosch washing machine stain-cleaning presets.

A pair of iconic Apple devices bite the dust as the company pulls the iPod nano and shuffle from its online retail site, three years after it stopped making the iPod classic.

In fact, the dedicated websites for the nano and shuffle now redirect to the Apple Music site with no so much of a word of explanation.

“Today, we are simplifying our iPod lineup with two models of iPod touch now with double the capacity starting at just $199 and we are discontinuing the iPod shuffle and iPod nano,” an Apple statement to TechCrunch reads. As such, the iPod touch is now available in 32 and 128GB capacities, with the 16 and 64GB also no longer available.

Here's for unexpected comebacks-- following the E3 2017 tease of a "brand new Atari product," the once iconic games company reveals the Ataribox, a console featuring a look reminiscent of classic Atari hardware.

Described in an announcement newsletter to fans as "a new product that stays true to our heritage while appealing to both old and new fans of Atari," little is actually known about the Ataribox. As mentioned earlier, the design is inspired by old Atari machines and complete with wood paneling, ribbed lines and raised back. It will come in either wood or black/red finishes.