I don't think anyone was "speculating", basically they were wisecracks. At least my comment sure was. Anyway, the product is alive and well; cousin bought his first one last month when they were on sale along with Tap. It was backordered for a month, and his arrived yesterday, Monday.
Like a lot of products where the initial "sunk costs" have been covered, the company can go ahead now and price the things at great sales prices, since all revenues today are more profit, than repaying development costs. The Echo is a giant success; the sheer volume of reviews at Amazon prove that. The product has definitely outsold any product Microsoft ever made (other than maybe the Xbox).
Poor Microsoft; they just can't figure out the consumers and what they want. They keep trying, though. Good for them. Maybe if they were first to market, rather than usually last, their batting average would improve. Long live Clippie, the Windows paperclip-style helper who died suddenly and went to heaven. (Was he murdered, or did he just die from neglect?)