Amazon Echo (1 Viewer)

[Dave Scarpa]

I bought a Tap and Love it I carry it all over the place, room to room and out on the deck, works great

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I bought a Tap and Love it I carry it all over the place, room to room and out on the deck, works great

How is the battery life, Dave? I am thinking of getting one to use on our deck.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I read several of the reviews for the Tap on Amazon, and it appears the battery life is as advertised -- up to 9 hours. I went ahead and ordered one -- it should be here tomorrow. Just in time for a very nice weather weekend, so we can try it out sitting on our deck.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Our Tap arrived today as promised. So far it is working quite well. The unit is smaller than an Echo, but still sounds very good. I am listening to Prime music right now sitting on our deck. I was also able to pair it via Bluetooth to my ipod Nano. The pair could make a nice travel music option this summer when we go to Isle Royale in Lake Superior, where I do not expect to have any cellular or Internet access.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

soory bout not getting back sooner, year battery life is very good on the tap, i get several days off the charger using it fairly regularly, I'm gonna order a dot at some point when they are readily more available

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I'm waiting on the New Echo Dot should be here in a couple weeks. I'll report back how it is when I get it.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

My life with Alexa continues to flourish.

I just bought my first DOT. It's amazing that for $50, I am getting the power of the $180/$150 (on sale) variant.

I have put the DOT in my bedroom. Hooked it up to a speaker. I also added a TP LINK plug module ($30 or $20 with Dot Combo purchase), which allows me to tell Alexa to turn on/off my bedroom lights so there is no more fumbling in the dark when I wake up or go to sleep.

I have already purchased at least 4 more DOT and TP LINK combos on Amazon to give as Holiday gifts.


BTW, the Amazon DOT will be $39.95 and the ECHO will be $139.95 this Black Friday. Hoping the TP LINK also drops in price. Amazon does have combo discounts.

Personally, I think this is the best tech gift you can give anyone for the holidays --- especially the DOT.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Amazon Dot $140 for Black Friday. Amazon Echo $140




Note: Sale Price begins today 11/24 and through Black Friday. Widget may not reflect correct price. Click on Widget for sale price if not shown.

 

[sidburyjr]

OK, Ron and others, I have a couple of questions. I've been looking at this tech and plan to pull the trigger today, tomorrow or at least by Cyber Monday.

My impression is that the Dot is nothing but the Echo without the speaker, and there are lots of bluetooth speakers that you can add which are equal or better quality for a much lower price particular this weekend. Am I right, wrong or is it more complicated?

Google also has the Google home for sale this weekend for $99 which looks sort of like a competitor to the Echo. My gut tells me that google's functionality while not as good now will probably surpass that of the Amazon system within a year. OTOH, I am an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV (V1) bunch of macs, bunch of Windows machines person. The only androids I have are a tablet that I loaned to my daughter 3 or 4 years ago and haven't gotten back yet and my wife's Galaxy S4 phone which we should probably upgrade RSN. And it looks like the Google system is primarily aimed at non Apple users, but is of course compatible with Apple. If it makes a difference I have an older Roku, a PS3, and a Panasonic Viera ST60 (last plasma bottom of the 3D line) and two Nest gen 2.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hi Dick!

You are correct that the DOT is basically an ECHO without a speaker. For me, it's the most remarkable find this holiday season. I have been buying these things up on sale and giving them as xMas gifts. For myself, I bought the Anker mini Bluetooth Speaker to accompany it. If you act fast, this larger Anker Core Bluetooth Speaker is on Black Friday sale and costs less. I just bought one of these as well for another Dot in my home.

I can't speak for Google Home. I don't own it. I have read many reviews comparing both devices, however, and pending which one you read, one almost equally comes ahead of the other at different times. At this point, I am so vested in the Echo ecosystem that it would not make sense for me to switch. So, absolutely, important for you to be sure which one you want, as that will be the foundation upon which you will build your own ecosystem.

Ecosystem? Yup. I splurged on myself this Black Friday and started buying all sorts of Philips Hue bulbs, Dimmer Switches, and TP-Link plugs so that I can control my home with Alexa. When completed, I can walk into a room, say "Alexa turn on xxx lights" and the lights will come on.

I can already turn on my Home Theater lights by giving a command to Alexa.

The fact you have a Nest Gen 2 or over is great, too. I can tell Alexa, "Turn temperature up to 72 degrees." Alexa will ask, "Which Device?" I respond with, "Nest," and the temperature goes to the correct setting.

Getting back to speakers. If you get the DOT, and the Anker larger speaker I linked to is still under $27, it makes for a great device to play music. If you are a PRIME member you get their music catalog for free -- though I just found out they offer even MORE songs for a subscription plan.

Dick, I would go to YouTube and bring up "Alexa vs. Google Home," and watch some comparisons on how well each work. It does sound like Google has better dialogue algorithms, allowing for better request information. However, I am perfectly satisfied with Alexa and what it can do.

Let us know how you make out on this. Best of luck!

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

I ordered a Dot for $39.99 to use in my home office. I listen to music most everyday while working and have headphones plugged in to my home laptop (behind me) while I use my work laptop (streaming music is restricted on my work PC for security reasons). So having this little dude when it arrives sit on my desk and play music that I politely ask it to is going to be so nice

 

[DavidJ]

Ron, you've been bad for my wallet, but good for my Christmas shopping. I ordered three Dots+TP Link plugs after reading your posts. I also ended up with an Anker speaker. I missed out on the one you posted for $27, but I got the Anker Premium for $39 today in a flash sale.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

David,

First, congrats on your purchase. Trust me, the Amazon Echo/Dot is a game changer.

At some point you may want to also look into Philips Hue lights with the bridge. Somewhat easier to set up than using TP-LINK as the latter, you have to (I believe) download an additional app on the phone to set it up. I still haven't set mine up. I am just going by what I have been reading.

I am also considering going with the extended Amazon Music Unlimited.

I am kicking myself for not jumping on that premium Anker speaker. You got a really good speaker. I know it lists for $99 and sold for $27 today. I am going to go back to see if it's still available.

Please come back and let us know how you are doing setting this up.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Just bought the premium Anker speaker for $27

 

[DavidJ]

Just bought the premium Anker speaker for $27

Really? Good for you. It seems to have gone back up---at least on the app which now opens by default when I click on links. I didn't really want the app taking over, but oh well.

RE: Philips Hue

I definitely plan on adding them I've wanted them for some time, but haven't yet pulled the trigger because of the price.

 

[sidburyjr]

According to Slickdeals if you use Alexa to buy Alexa stuff you get a ten dollar gift card. That makes the dot only $30. Limit one use per customer.

 

[DavidJ]

So, I setup my Dot and the TP Link. There's something inherently cool about using your voice to turn on a lamp. Seems silly, I know, but it may be worth it for that alone. The Dot is easy to setup and the TP Link plug isn't hard per se, but if you misenter your WiFi password, it doesn't simply let you try again. The setup fails and you pretty much have to start at square one. The setup took longer than it should've because of this, but it still wasn't complicated.

I'd love to get another TP Link plug to control my Christmas tree now and something else in the future. Unfortunately, when you're not buying the Black Friday bundle, they aren't what you would call cheap.

I now really want to start doing more with my Echo/Dot around the house. I've looked into IFTTT recipes a little bit and I need to explore the Logitech Harmony Elite options.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

David,

I had meant to check back on this thread.

I am glad you went with the TP-LINK as I returned mine in favor of Philips Hue Bulbs.

I had thought the TP-LINK would be a pain-in-the-ass to set up. Glad to hear it was easier than I expected and will keep that device in mind.

I bought 6 Philips Hue Bulbs and scattered them throughout the house. It was quite easy to install them into my system using the Hue and Alexa App. The commands (once you create a GROUP on Alexa) are easy and work perfectly.

The upside to using the Hue Bulbs over TP-LINK is that you can dim the lights on command. The downside is that the maximum wattage on the standard Hue bulbs is only 60W.

So, I just wanted to pop in here and say that the HUE lamps do work well if you go that route. The starter kit is expensive, but once you buy that, it gets somewhat easier moving forward.

 

[Hanson]

Just got my echo dot last night, and it's an absolute steal at $50 - even better, I got mine for $40.

The most impressive part of the Echo Dot is the microphone system. No need to yell or walk up the device -- you can speak in a normal tone at a normal volume and Alexa will start listening for instructions.

Contrary to what I've been reading in this thread, the Echo Dot has a built in speaker, although it isn't terribly loud and has almost no bass. So you will probably want a speaker, but you don't need one. I for one can live with the built in speaker until a really good deal comes along.

As a value proposition, echo dot and midrange speaker is much less than the full echo and with likely better sound quality. I bought 2, one for the living room and one for the bedroom. Having access to Prime Music means I don't even have to subscribe to a music service unless I really want more songs. And it plays a large catalog of podcasts through TuneIn Radio with no need for subscription or set up.

I'm really impressed with this unit. Couldn't recommend it more.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hanson,

Congrats on your purchase. Keep us posted on the things you are doing with the DOT.

I should have emphasized more that the DOT has an included speaker, though its pretty paltry. It's fine for everyday commands, but if you want to eventually play music, you will want to get a small speaker for it.