LG announces an Amazon Echo powered smart refrigerator with giant touch screen

Last year, LG brought a refrigerator to CES that ran Windows 10, showing the a world a device that could keep food cold and play minesweeper. This year, it's taking the concept one step further -- introducing a new screen-adorned InstaView Door-In-Door Refrigerator with voice control. Specifically, LG's new icebox is a full-on Amazon Alexa device. Think of it as a really big Amazon Echo.

Amazon Echo VP Mike George says the refrigerator will offer the "full Alexa experience," including the ability to check weather, play music, tell jokes and, of course, order food from Amazon Prime Pantry. It sounds almost a little silly -- why not simply have an Echo in the Kitchen -- but it's kind of neat when considered alongside the InstaView's other features. Knocking on the refrigerator door, for instance, will bring up an image of what's inside your refrigerator, letting you check your stock without letting the cold out. That image can be accessed remotely from your smartphone too, just in case you forgot what you needed at the grocery store.

The fridge's WebOS-powered display has its own suite of apps, too: the InstaView refrigerator will remind you about birthdays and anniversaries, manage calendars and to-do lists and even show recipes from the Food Channel. Sound like the icebox for your home? You'll have to wait a little longer. LG didn't lay out the price or availability. Still, save your pennies -- the smaller version of last year's smart fridge sold for about $4600.