Amazon may have updated the Echo and brought us the Echo Plus, but its most recent Echo line-up refresh brought a brand new design that was sorely missing from its original line-up of smart speakers.
Meet the Amazon Echo Spot, which we think most people would agree is the best-looking Alexa device Amazon has ever created. It's a gadget that you'd happily keep in your bedroom, on your desk or in your kitchen.
The new form factor makes Alexa feel fresh again, providing the voice AI some much-needed purpose. That's because the Echo Spot is so versatile. It may not have the chameleon-like ability to adapt to any room, but it's way more than a smart alarm clock, which is something Amazon has made very clear.
[Update: There are constantly rumors circulating about new Alexa features, but Amazon has recently updated its Alexa products - including the Spot - with a beta feature called CanFulfillIntentRequest. This will mean that if you forget the triggers for specific Skills, Alexa will still (hopefully) be able to understand what you were hoping to do.]
Design
Although it may be way more than a smart alarm clock, it really looks like one. This means that for many people that may become its default use for, but in reality it's way more versatile than that.
The Amazon Echo Spot is unlike any other Echo device and that's a good thing. Its curved shell does more than enough to make up for its sibling’s design failings.
Where the big, bulky and brash Amazon Echo Show took over any area you put it in, no thanks to its brutalist black slab look, the Echo Spot is much more refined in its design.
Surprisingly, it turns out that the best way to do a desk-based video device is to forgo the TV-lite look and just go with something that's compact and looks good.
If you had to place the Dot somewhere in the Echo line-up, it's a cross between an Echo Dot and a smaller version of the Amazon Show.
This is no Echo Dot replacement, though - the price puts it out of contention for that, and it’s also a lot more useful, so to say it is would be doing it a disservice.
Size-wise, it’s the equivalent of a mango. Mangos aren’t the most scientific way to measure things, sure, but at least it gives you an indication that it’s a pretty compact device with a curved back and screen that’s angled up, which makes it easy to view.
It’s a great-looking device, certainly something you won't mind having on show in your home unlike the, er, Show.
Features and setup
The unit we reviewed was black but there's also a white one available. The screen is small, at 2.5 inches (480×480 pixels).
On the top of the screen there is space for a camera and on the top of the device as a whole there are three buttons, which all sit flush against the surface for a really streamlined look.
Anyone familiar with the Echo range will know what they are: volume up, down and mute for the mic - this will also disable the camera. There are also four small pin-prick holes. These house the four-array mics that listen out for the wake word.
On the back you have a nice bit of Amazon branding, a slot for power and a 3.5mm jack.
The speaker grill for the Spot is right at the base of the device, which makes it invisible when viewing the Spot face-on. Bluetooth functionality is also available.
Setup is similar to other Echo devices, except for this one you can type in your Wi-Fi details straight on the screen, instead of going through the Alexa app.
It’s a little bit fiddly putting in your details that way (it will ask for your Amazon account password, too) but the whole process will take less than five minutes.
Once up and running, you have the option to watch Amazon’s promo video, which tells you what you can do with the device. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s worth sitting through so you get an idea about what you’ve just bought.
Then you get that warm chime sound, which means Alexa is up and running. Once this appears it’s a good time to read our best Amazon Alexa Skills article or you could follow the prompts that come up on the screen. Or you can swipe right on the screen and that will bring up a whole load of Alexa commands you can use. It’s a really nice way to learn what to do with Alexa. If you're looking for some fun and silly extras, give our Alexa Easter Eggs list a try, too.
These prompts can be turned off in the settings. It’s here in the settings where you can toggle home cards on an off as well. The home cards are information that comes up on the home screen.
You can have the home screen include your messages, weather, notifications, upcoming events, reminders, drop in and trending topics.
Performance
Performance depends on what you actually use it for. If you did use it as an alarm clock, then it’s got everything you need. There are a myriad of clock faces to choose from - both analog and digital. They're mainly color based, so you have the choice of things like: Tangerine, Onyx, Bold Teal, Modern Fuschia and Copper, Blues. There are a couple of theme ones thrown in, too.
We really liked the Record face and there’s an owl one if you prefer.
There’s a night mode, too, which is really handy and worked well. Put this on and it will dim the screen for the hours that you choose.
Amazon has also made it so that you can have a song wake you up as the alarm. Or a radio station. This is a new feature that has been added for the UK launch of the device, but it is something that will soon be available globally.
You can also read your messages on the screen and make calls. This is a new-ish addition to Alexa in the UK that's been in the US for some time now.
When we used the Spot on our desk, it made us veer more towards the video functionality of the device. You can use the Spot to get your daily briefings - currently BBC News will show you its briefing in video form.
It looks a little strange when it first comes up as you are trying to watch a 16:9 video on a small round screen. Amazon has given the option to ‘zoom’ the picture to fit the round shape, though. While this would be hideous on a bigger screen size, we actually preferred it on the Spot.
The round screen is also perfect for room-to-room calling. This is functionality that Alexa has been able to do for a while and it works really well, turning the Spot into an intercom of sorts.
Ask Alexa to drop into another Spot speaker and a face will pop up on the screen and you can have a chat, much like FaceTime.
You can also 'drop-in' on people in your phone book (if you and they allow it). This works really well on the Echo Spot - there's a blurred image for 10 seconds or so, just in case you need to make yourself decent, then the screen will appear clear.
Like the Echo Dot there's an integrated speaker and we were surprised with how good it sounds.
Unlike the Echo Dot, which is only really passable for things like voice, the Echo Spot had a nice sound to it. You will probably want to hook it up to a better speaker system via Bluetooth or aux, but if it is on your bedside table, then you won't complain about the sound.
If you listen to something with Amazon Music, then you also get the added bonus of having lyrics come up on the screen.
This can get addictive, watching the lyrics flow - and when it comes to swear words, we can confirm that Alexa kindly stars them out so your eyes aren’t offended.
Another way Amazon wants you to use the Spot is as a smart cam monitor. We saw a demo where you could get a smart cam video link up on the screen – from a compatible smart cam – where it was streaming from a nursery. The stream on the demo was clear and bright.
Unfortunately, our current setup at home is Hive and at the time of the review, the Hive View isn’t yet compatible (but should be soon), but the idea of this is great, especially if you have the camera set up in a nursery as we do. It will also work with a number of smart home brands, including Netgear Arlo, Logitech, Nest and smart doorbell manufacturer Ring.
When it came to using the Spot in the kitchen, we found it great to watch something on Amazon Prime while cooking our food. It synced really well with our Prime Video account and knew which episode of Red Oaks we were watching.
Having the ability to call up recipes and times and actually see them on the screen was a real boon, too. The ability to have multiple timers running at once really helped when cooking a roast dinner.
Again, this is functionality you can have on other Echo devices but having it ‘at a glance’ on the screen is great and means you don’t have to whip your phone out for these things.
Amazon has recently rolled out a new beta feature called CanFulfillIntentRequest, which will let the developers of Skills tell Amazon the kind of questions their tool can answer. What this means is that if a user makes a vague request, the new feature will scan all of the Skills in its database to find the one most likely to respond appropriately. So there’s no more confusion if you forget the triggers to specific Skills! Hurrah!
And there are plenty, plenty more on the cards soon. One update that's really got us excited is the ability for Alexa to more naturally understand what we're blabbing on about. Starting soon, you won’t have to constantly say Alexa’s name to get her attention during a conversation - Alexa will just keep listening and responding until you’re finished asking questions.
Alexa Brain’s head, Ruhi Sarikaya, says these improvements will roll out to US, UK and Germany first, but refrained to give an exact date as to when we could expect the update to hit. Watch this space.
Final Verdict
The Amazon Echo Spot does everything the Echo Show does, but it all feels better in this smaller form factor. The design is great - it's available in black and white - and we can easily see the Spot being used in the bedroom, kitchen or even on a desk. In fact, you may want it in all of these places.
That's the thing with the Amazon Echo Spot – much like other Echo devices, Amazon wants you to have a multitude of them in your home so you always have access to video chat no matter where you are.
Essentially, they want the Echo Spot to replace the Echo Dot. The Amazon Echo Spot is a little more expensive than the new Echo, though, and in turn much more expensive than an Echo Dot.
This is because of the addition of the screen. While we still haven't seen that killer Skill for the screen, it does enhance the look of the Spot and opens up the possibilities for it being much more than just a smart speaker.
We’re just hoping that Amazon’s Skills become much more video-friendly - once this happens, the Amazon Echo Spot will become an absolute must-have.
from TechRadar: Technology reviews https://ift.tt/2DcVpa6
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