Amazon Echo Dot Deals (XNUMXth Gen)
One minute review
The Amazon Echo Dot (2020) is one of the latest products in the Amazon Echo line and the latest Echo Dot. The Amazon Echo Dot, in its various iterations over the past few years, is one of the best options for people who aren't sure about smart home technology but want to get started. With such a simple setup and such a low price, it's a way to test connected technology without spending too much time, money and energy. This small sphere-shaped device provides a compact home for Alexa to live within yours. It also offers enough sound performance to fill most rooms, although audiophiles be warned, this isn't going to compete with your audio system. You can buy the Dot for under $50 / £50 / AU$80, which makes it easy to see why the Dot has always been one of the most popular smart speakers on the market to date. We know many people who have two, three and more in their homes because they are so useful. This new Dot, the Amazon Echo Dot (2020), lives up to the legacy left behind by all previous Echo Dot devices: It's small, decently loud, and thanks to Alexa, it's pretty smart, too. The unfortunate part of the new Echo Dot, though, is that it seems to have many of the same weaknesses as its predecessors: it doesn't have a Zigbee hub on the inside and the output jack, although it's ideal. For people who have a large speaker system, not for the crowd who wants to use the Echo Dot as a speaker for their audio player. The sound is good, but audio enthusiasts take note: This isn't the best speaker in the world. Simply put, the new Amazon Echo Dot, while aesthetically different from previous models, brings more of the same to your home as last year's third-generation model. That's not necessarily a bad thing given how much we liked last year's model and many before it. But the latest Echo Dot doesn't innovate enough to bring it within the 4 or 4.5 star range in our eyes, in case you were wondering.
- Amazon Echo Dot (44.99th Gen) at Amazon for € XNUMX
Amazon Echo Dot pricing
The new Amazon Echo Dot is available in three colors: Charcoal (dark grey), Glacier White (white), and Twilight Blue (blue-gray). The standard price for the Amazon Echo Dot is €49.99 / £49.99 / AU$79, while the Echo Dot with clock is €59.99 / £59.99 / AU$99. Buying an Echo Dot for your kid's bedroom? Now there is a special point just for them. Check out the Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition. It costs a bit more than the standard Echo Dot at £59.99 (probably £59.99 / AU$99 in the UK and Australia if available in those markets), but this cute, super-smart speaker continues the ball-shaped design and adds it. makes it kid-friendly with panda and tiger style grilles. There aren't many other cheap smart speakers available to buy right now, but the closest competitor we think is worth mentioning here is the Google Nest Mini, which is supposed to cost $49.99 / £49 / AU$79, but generally is on sale for €35 / €35.
Echo Dot review: design
Amazon definitely took a different approach when creating this new Amazon Echo Dot: Instead of a hockey puck shape like last year, the new Echo Dot is a palm-sized sphere. Like the larger Amazon Echo, the Amazon Echo Dot's spherical chassis is divided into two parts: a hard mesh layer and a plastic back piece with rubber feet on the bottom so it won't scratch your tabletop. You'll also notice a translucent plastic ring at the bottom, which acts as an LED light, letting you know when Alexa is listening (blue), when the microphone is muted (red), or when the speaker has lost its internet connection. ( yellow). On top of the space-age speaker are four control buttons: volume up, volume down, mute/unmute the mic, and a button that calls Alexa. You won't necessarily need to use them if you don't want to, as almost all of them can be replaced with voice commands, but they're nice additions. If you turn on the speaker, you'll find a power jack and a 3,5mm auxiliary jack that can be used as a line-out port to send the audio signal to an external speaker. That's a particularly useful feature considering the subpar sound quality of the Echo Dot which we'll talk about in a minute, but it's also somewhat disappointing that the 3.5mm aux jack doesn't double as a line in port like it does on the full-size Amazon Echo. Peel off the top layer of the Amazon Echo Dot and you'll find a single 1.6-inch full-range front-facing speaker. This small but mighty speaker is responsible for producing the full frequency range of sound for the speaker and the results, well... aren't exactly inspiring. That said, there's also the array of microphones included inside and we have no complaints about the Echo Dot's ability to hear us over the muffled roar of our music and handle our commands perfectly.
Echo Dot review: Alexa voice commands
Setting up the speakers is simple, especially if you already have one or more Alexa devices set up in your home. If that's you, all you need to do is go to the Amazon Alexa app and tap the plus icon in the Devices section; the app will perform a quick scan for nearby and previous devices. Unless you know, you'll be up and running with your new smart speaker. If you haven't already installed Alexa or an Echo device, you'll need to go through the process of downloading the app and signing into your Amazon account, but it's pretty much the same process as above. Once set up, you can ask Alexa to set timers, create calendar events, play music, notify you of the weather, call other Echo speakers and mobile phones, and read the news and a host of other actions with Alexa Skills. Unfortunately, while the Amazon Echo Dot 2020 can control other smart home devices that you've previously paired with another Amazon Echo device, it can't pair any device on its own because it doesn't have a built-in Zigbee hub. You can ask Alexa to do everything from turn on your smart lights to lock your front door, but you'll still need another Amazon Echo to set up these devices. While the Echo Dot really isn't a great buy for growing smart home enthusiasts, the Kids Edition is great for parents who want a little more privacy for their little ones – Amazon has added a new feature along with the Echo Dot in the form of Alexa. Children's Voice Profiles, which allows Alexa to automatically change her responses to be child-friendly when she recognizes that a child's voice is speaking to her. While using it in this mode, Amazon says kids can "ask Alexa questions, set animal sound alarms, get homework help, and call approved friends and family" and you won't have to worry about them getting caught up in something. they shouldn't. . There's also a new Alexa feature called Reading Sidekick that helps your kids read and offers encouragement when they're struggling, which is perfect for midlife learning. None of these features make up for the lack of a Zigbee hub if you're looking to build your own smart home, but for families, the Kids Edition is a great option that should allay any parent's fears of having a smart speaker around their children. .
Echo Dot review: performance
In terms of sound quality, the Amazon Echo Dot really hits the midrange, with clear vocals on songs and an emphasis on speech on podcasts. Conversely though, the soundstage isn't particularly wide and is fairly shallow with little separation between instruments. Now its spherical design might lead you to believe it'll deliver 360-degree sound, but you actually get pretty focused directional sound that's at its best when you're standing a few feet in front of it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's worth noting. The songs we sampled included pop hits like The Beatles' Hey Jude and Justin Bieber's Lonely, as well as classic funk and rock. The trend seems to be the same everywhere: great vocals in that midrange sweet spot, but at the expense of responsive treble and bass that rings out at almost any volume level. Like the larger Echo, you can change each of these areas individually by asking Alexa to boost the bass, mids, or treble, but this doesn't have a drastic impact on the speaker's sound. In terms of the overall volume level, the Amazon Echo Dot gets moderately loud if you max it out, but it doesn't seem to be able to sustain that volume level for an extended period of time and ends up dropping to a more sustainable level. . If you're looking for a good party speaker, this isn't it. So what do you think of the Echo Dot's performance? Eh bien, while the haut-parleur de bureau qui se trouve devant vous et joue de la musique pendant une demi-heure à la fois, c'est parfaitement bien - mais comme haut-parleur domestica que vous utiliserez pour lire des chansons pendant parties? Well, the Dot really isn't enough.Should you buy the Amazon Echo Dot (2020)?
Buy it if...
You want to extend the reach of Alexa within your homeIf you already have an Alexa speaker in your home and only need a second to extend Alexa's range, the Echo Dot is pretty impressive. Setup is simple when the Alexa app is already downloaded and two synced devices work seamlessly. You want to turn an old speaker into a smart speaker
If you have an older speaker that needs a 3,5st century update, definitely consider buying the Amazon Echo Dot and connecting it to the speaker with a XNUMXmm audio cable. This way, you get the intelligence of Alexa with the sound quality of a proven speaker. It is on sale
Much like the larger Amazon Echo (2020), the best day to buy an Amazon device is during the company's annual Amazon...