The Echo Show 8 ($130, currently $100) is Amazon’s newest smart display device, sitting between the 10.1-inch Echo Show ($230) and the 5.5-inch Echo Show 5 ($80). It looks a lot like the Echo Show 5… just bigger.

The Echo Show 8’s tubby wedge shape is not the most inspiring form factor and won’t win any design awards, but like many of Amazon’s devices, it’s workmanlike and gets the job done at a reasonable price. Plus, at this size (7.9″ x 5.4″ x 3.9″), it’s a natural fit on a kitchen counter or bedroom nightstand (and available in your choice of charcoal or sandstone, i.e. black or white in normal-speak).

Its closest competitors, the 7-inch Google Nest Hub ($129) and 8-inch Facebook Portal Mini ($130) might look more appealing, design-wise, to many prospective buyers. The latter even has built-in Alexa. So, does the Echo Show 8 have enough to stand out amongst the competition? Let’s take a closer look…

The Display Has It

While it hasn’t always been the case for me with other Amazon devices, the setup for the Echo Show 8 was actually very fast and quite painless. I attribute that to the display, because going through the setup steps directly on the device was much easier than having to do it on a phone via the Alexa app.

I could also see that the display allows the Echo to (possibly) realize its full potential as a smart home hub (though it does not have a dedicated Zigbee smart home hub like the 10-inch model). With a quick swipe left to the shortcuts menu, you can access “Smart Home” and quickly see the status of all of your smart home devices. With the traditional Echo smart speaker, you either have to remember them—which is fine until you start accumulating a bunch of these devices—or you check the app on your phone.

Anyway, the setup took just a few minutes: I entered the password for my Wi-Fi network, linked my Amazon account, selected a time zone, and chose a screensaver (an expected but well-executed feature). At the end, Alexa pronounced, “This device is ready.”

The Echo Show 8 Unboxed.

As I stepped back to observe the Show 8 scrolling through news, weather and Alexa suggestions, I noticed what a terrible fingerprint magnet the display and bezels are. No fancy Apple-style oleophobic coating here, apparently.

Font size is comfortably readable from a distance, like 6 to 8 ft. away, say if you’re moving around in a kitchen or bedroom. You can’t adjust font size, however, or how elements are laid out in the home screen.

The rubber base is reliably grippy, so it won’t be knocked off a counter or nightstand easily. Plus, the Echo Show 8 has a heft to it (2.2 pounds) that also helps its balance, compared to the lighter tablet/picture frame form factors of its competitors.

You’re stuck with the display angle unless you want to buy Amazon’s separate adjustable stand for $25. The viewing angles aren’t bad, but straight on is still best. The resolution is 1280 by 800 which looks fairly sharp on the 8-inch display, and colors are okay. Could the display have been better? Definitely yes, but not at this price point.

I liked how the the display automatically switched to an old school LED clock when I turned off the lights. (You can also turn off that setting, which is called “Night Mode.”)

Video, Sound and Calls

When you swipe left for shortcuts, you can open up video and music options. Video is pretty limited. You get your choice of Prime Video, Hulu, NBC, Food Network Kitchen and Tubi (whatever that is). The apps are pared down versions of what you might find on a regular streaming device, but could be worse.

What’s missing? Chiefly, YouTube and Netflix, among others. Although Amazon and Google made nice earlier this year, the absence of a dedicated YouTube video app on the Echo Show 8 is quite glaring. I accessed YouTube via the Show 8’s slow Firefox browser, and let’s just say… it was not the most user friendly experience.

On that note, the Show 8 runs on the same Mediatek 8163 processor found in the Fire HD 8 tablet, and at times, it’s a bit sluggish. Not to say that the CPU destroys the entire user experience, but it’s also not the fastest draw in the West. I was frequently greeted by “Loading” messages. However, Alexa herself is as peppy as on other devices, and the Show 8 sometimes includes illustrations or images with her responses.

Using YouTube is not fun.

The sound is a bit bass-heavy at first, probably because the Show 8’s two side speakers and passive bass radiator are sitting so close to the surface—in my case, the kitchen counter. It was easy to ask Alexa to turn down the bass (you can also do it from the settings menu or the Alexa app).

Because the speakers capture some low end, the sound is decent overall, but I wasn’t a fan of how the speakers are arrayed on the side and back. Amazon wanted to get away from the clunky look of the 1st gen Echo Show’s bottom-mounted speakers, but I think the 360-degree speakers on the Echo and 3rd Gen Echo Dot sound better overall.

When you play music on the Echo Show 8, the lyrics will roll up on screen (if available). Fun for kids and adults with bad memory.

You can make video calls on the Echo Show to other Echo Show devices or phones with the Alexa app installed. I found the video calling experience to be trouble-free, although the 1MP camera on the Echo Show 8 was left wanting versus the much better smartphone selfie camera on the other end, and the contrast was quite noticeable. The caller was able to hear me clearly.

Unlike Facebook Portal, the camera on the Echo Show 8 will not follow you as you move around, so you should find a good place to talk or hunch over uncomfortably.

Big Brother (or Little Brother) is Watching?

Why is “Closed” capitalized? Or “shutter” not capitalized? Questions…

Speaking of the camera, there’s an actual physical shutter that you can slide in front of the lens. That’s in addition to being able to turn off the camera and mics with a button. That should bring some peace of mind to privacy-minded users.

Like other Echo devices, you can “drop in” and listen in on other Echo speakers and video call other Echo Shows, send announcements through Echo devices, or make it part of a multi-room audio setup.

Using Alexa Skills on the Alexa app, I’m able to view my Arlo smart home security cameras on the Echo Show 8. That setup process took just a few minutes, and you can also do this with Ring, Nest and other smart home devices.

This kind of smart home capability with the display really opens up potential for the Echo Show 8 as a powerful way to monitor your devices without having to use a phone.

It’s a Good Value

The Echo Show 8 grew on me. Yes, it’s rather utilitarian, and it’s not a premium-looking device that will make you ooh and aah.  Still, it was handy to glance at its display for the time, weather and sports scores. The Show 8 is small enough to fit on a nightstand but big enough to be visible in a kitchen or living room. Its sound is good enough to act as a standalone speaker, and its display makes it a useful smart home hub.

I’d like to see more Alexa skills specifically configured for the Echo Show smart displays rather than just the audio-only Echo speakers. Maybe those will come in time.

At a sale price of $100 or less, the price of the Echo Show 8 is well in the range of the standard Echo speaker and that makes it a good value overall.

Echo Show 8 Review: It’ll Grow on You

Amazon Echo Auto ($40) is basically a mini voice-controlled Echo speaker for your car. Here in Minnesota, where a new “hands free” law just went into effect, we’re all looking for the best way to control music and make calls/texts without ever touching our smartphones (and risking a hefty fine!). I haven’t been completely happy with just using the Siri hands free function on my iPhone, and was hopeful the other lady robot in my life, Alexa, could help.

Unboxing and Setup

Echo Auto itself is nice and small (about 2″ x 3″) and comes with an easy to install air vent mount. It totally looks like a little Amazon robot face that I quickly discovered you can make look happy or sad depending on which way to place it in the mount.

To set everything up, you’ll need the Alexa app to pair your Echo Auto to your phone via Bluetooth, and then connect it to your vehicle using either Bluetooth or auxiliary cable (included in the box). My car doesn’t have Bluetooth, so I used the aux input.

You’d think the initial setup would be a piece of cake based on the very simple instructions included in the box (download the app–it’ll walk you through it!), but that wasn’t the case for me. Apparently there’s a setting within the Alexa app that needs to be manually turned on (“turn Alexa assistant on on this phone”) that wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the instructions. After messing around for 15 minutes and getting pretty frustrated (sad little Amazon robot face), I happened upon this magical setting that seemed to be the key to making it connect (happy little Amazon robot face).

Connection

It appears that every time you turn the car on, you need to reconnect your phone (phone settings -> Bluetooth -> connect to Echo Auto). If you’re the only one who ever drives your car, this is obviously really annoying. However, for couples/families who share a vehicle, this can actually make it easier to switch between whose phone is in control (sad robot face/happy robot face depending on your situation).

Music Control

The main thing I do on my phone while driving is play music. We use Apple Music so I was a little concerned Alexa was going to make me jump through hoops to stream from something other than Amazon Music Unlimited. And she kind of does. You have to remember to add “from Apple Music” at the end of every request. For example, “play Christmas music” will default to Amazon Music unless you say, “play Christmas music from Apple Music.” Not a huge deal, but kind of annoying (sad robot face).

The sound itself, however, is great. We’ve gone through a lot of cheap Bluetooth aux adapters over the years, and the sound that comes out of the Echo Auto is louder and more clear (happy robot face).

Making Calls

Making calls is pretty easy and straightforward using Echo Auto. As long as the person is in your phone contacts, you can simply say, “Alexa, call ___.” The sound quality is good, easy to hear, no delay (happy robot face). When I tested this from the other end (me on my iPhone at home talking to my husband in the car), I did notice a slight well, echo, when I talked. I haven’t used it enough to know if this is a consistent issue with the device (maybe sad robot face?).

Texting

Texting is a joke with the Echo Auto. If you say, “Alexa, text ____”, you’ll get a prompt to set up the Alexa Messaging app, and can only message people who also have that set up. No one’s gonna do that. Definite sad robot face.

Getting Directions

I was really surprised at how difficult it was for Alexa to pull up driving directions. You have to be really specific with your requests. I tried “Alexa, get directions to the nearest Target” to no avail. “Alexa, get directions to Target off Highway 7” was also not specific enough. Then when I finally figured out a request that would get me to the right location, Alexa told me to accept a notification on my phone to proceed. Kind of defeats the purpose of “hands free”.

Once the directions were going, they were fine. Easy to hear, got me to the right place. But the difficulty this thing has figuring out where you want to go, and the fact that you have to touch your phone to proceed every time, are big flaws in my opinion (double sad robot face).

Conclusion

If you’re mainly looking for something to play and control music in your car, Echo Auto is a (mostly) great option. As far as the other features, it might not be ready for Prime time quite yet (get it?).

Amazon Echo Auto Review: Great For Music!

Amazon’s new Echo Dot 3rd Generation Smart Speaker will be one of the hottest tech goodies of the 2018 holiday shopping season, especially during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales. Regularly $50, it will be $24 or $25 from a number of retailers, including Amazon of course, but also Target, Best Buy, Kohl’s and others.

On Amazon, you can currently buy three of the 3rd Gen Echo Dots for $70 (discount at checkout). That’s just $23 (and some change) per unit.

The Echo Dot 2nd Generation, which got dropped to a regular price of $40, will be $20 on Amazon during Thanksgiving and Black Friday as well as at other retailers like Target and Best Buy.

After reviewing the new 3rd Gen model and comparing it to its predecessor, I think the Echo Dot 3 is worth the extra $5 (or $10) in the long run, with one very minor caveat, which I will get to later.

2nd Gen (left) and 3rd Gen (right)

Released in October 2018, the new Echo Dot is noticeably larger, measuring 3.9 inches in diameter and 1.7 inches tall, compared to the 3.3-inch by 1.3-inch size of the first two generations. The form factor still retains the iconic “hockey puck” shape.  Available in 3 colors (charcoal, sandstone and heather gray), the Dot looks like a shrunken-down version of the new Echo Plus and the design of both new models harkens back to last year’s revamp of the standard Echo, which introduced the fabric wrap-around and the same color choices. In a subtle but welcome change, the edges of the new Dot (and Plus) are more rounded than the 2017 Echo, which gives the overall appearance a classier feel.

The Echo Dot, when compared to the sea of small Bluetooth speakers out there, is not the smallest or best sounding. It’s not even technically portable, because there’s no rechargeable battery. The ill-fated Amazon Tap had a battery, but it seems like Amazon hasn’t yet figured out how to balance always-on voice capabilities with fantastic battery life. So for now, you need to plug the Echo Dot into an outlet. So while it’s “portable” because it’s small, you still need to carry around its power brick, which is now a larger 15w adapter with a barrel plug, compared to the 2nd Gen’s 9W adapter with a detachable micro USB cable.

You can choose to use the Echo Dot 3 as only a Bluetooth speaker: turn off the microphone, pair it with your mobile device and avoid any further concerns about privacy. But you still have to initially connect it to your Wi-Fi, and besides that’s not why we buy the Echo. We know the Dot can do much more than with Alexa, Amazon’s now famous “always on” voice control assistant.

Echo Dot 3 Unboxed

As is standard for these Amazon devices, it’s a simple 5-minute setup, but you do need the Alexa iOS or Android app and a Wi-Fi network. Within 5 minutes of powering up the 3rd Gen Echo Dot and connecting it to my home network, Alexa reminded me she was there, saying the Dot had received an update and needed to restart. After that, it was smooth sailing.

The 2nd Gen Echo Dot was a great little smart speaker, but its biggest drawback was that it really wasn’t a standalone device. The speaker sounded harsh and metallic, and while serviceable for Alexa’s voice, you really needed to plug in or pair up a real speaker (or speakers) to get decent sound. With the new iteration, Amazon has really made the Echo Dot a standalone speaker, albeit one for small spaces (“near field”) and one that isn’t going to stand up to close scrutiny, audio-wise. You can still plug in the 3rd Gen model to another speaker via 3.5mm cable or pair it via Bluetooth.

The speaker on the new Dot has a bigger driver than the previous model (1.6 inches vs. 1.1 inches). It’s able to reach higher volumes without distorting as quickly. Really, there’s almost no comparison since the 2nd Gen Dot has terrible, low-fidelity sound.

A better comparison to the new Echo Dot’s sound is the standard Echo. While the Echo does have better overall sound, the Echo Dot 3 does have comparable mid-range capability and only slightly worse highs. Where it does falter is on the low end (bass), which is not surprising given its diminutive size.

The much-improved sound gives you the flexibility to use the Dot by itself, although you won’t get as pleasing a sound or as big a soundstage as you will find on the larger Echo speakers.

Both models have a 3.5mm port

I found the mics (four far-field mics) to be very sensitive—almost slightly too sensitive–with Alexa occasionally interrupting music to listen. I didn’t necessarily find the Echo Dot 3 to be better at recognizing voice commands than its predecessor.

The 3rd Generation model doesn’t make any advancements in what it can do as a smart speaker. The improvements are solely audio- and cosmetic-related. However, there are a lot of great things you can do with Echo devices, especially when you have more than one, like using them in a Sonos-style multi-room setup (through the Alexa app). Now that the Echo Dot 3 has decent standalone sound, it’s a lot more affordable to install such a setup in your home.

On that note, I encourage you to find out more of what the Echo Dot can do via the Alexa app, where you can also do things like enable “Follow-up Mode” (via Device Settings), which will keep Alexa listening for 5 seconds after your initial request, or “Routines,” where you can have Alexa do a sequence of smart home commands, like turning off the kitchen lights and the living room lights at the same time.

So here’s the one caveat to buying the Echo Dot 3 over the Echo Dot 2: the new model is behind the 2nd Gen Dot in third-party accessories, especially the popular speaker and portable battery docks. In time, I’m sure the 3rd Gen model will get its own slew of accessories, but if you can’t wait or already own these accessories, then the Echo Dot might be a better choice.

Still, I think the 3rd Gen Echo Dot will sound good enough for most people and be portable enough that it will become one of Amazon’s all-time top-selling devices.

Check for Echo Deals on Ben’s

Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Generation) Review

For those that have been hesitant to pick up an Echo Show due to the cost, Amazon has finally brought the MSRP of a Show under $100. Starting at a $90 MSRP, the Echo Show 5 features a 5.5-inch touchscreen.

That’s roughly half the screen size of the $230 Echo Show (2nd Gen), but twice the screen size of the $130 Echo Spot. The Echo Show 5 screen has a 960 x 480 resolution versus the 720p resolution on the larger 10.1-inch model.

Interestingly, this is the first Echo Show with a privacy shutter for the camera. It also comes with a button to disable the camera and microphone, ideal for anyone that wants to completely eliminate the possibility of Amazon listening.

Of course, there are some downsides to a sub-$100 device. The camera in the Show 5 is only 1MP, versus the 5MP camera in the $230 model. There is no Zigbee smart home hub integration and there’s only one 4-watt speaker versus the two 10-watt speakers in the $230 model.

However, these specs are better than the $130 Echo Spot, which features a 2.5-inch display at 480 x 480 resolution, a VGA camera, and a single 2-watt speaker. All devices are integrated with Amazon Alexa obviously.

The Echo Show 5 will ship on June 26, 2019. It comes in two colors, charcoal and sandstone. You can check out the device in the pictures below:

Shut Up and Take My Money: Echo Show 5

The Amazon Fire TV Cube, you might have heard, has had issues. Introduced in the summer, the Fire TV Cube—a hybrid of Amazon’s phenomenally successful Echo and its Fire TV streaming player—was marketed as the device that would replace your remote control. A few short months later, the Cube was “re-released” with the updated Alexa Voice Remote which features power, volume and mute buttons… probably because Cube owners got tired of shouting at it to turn up the volume, then waiting for it to hear the command (which paused the picture), then hearing the volume go up (but not enough) and repeating the process… well you get the picture.

Is the Cube really that bad? Read on to find out…

What’s the Deal with the Remotes?

Old Remote (l.) and New Remote (r.)

The unit I reviewed is the summer 2018 model, i.e. the one with the remote without the volume buttons. Aside from the remote, it’s identical in every way to the fall 2018 model. People stuck with the “1st gen” model can buy the remote with volume buttons for an extra $30. You can also just use the free Amazon Fire TV app which has volume buttons, but why bother when you can use your voice! Oh, right, about that…

Actually, all owners of a Fire TV Cube registered before October 2 can purchase the new remote for half off. Contact Amazon customer service to inquire about the promotion. (You may have also received an email about it.)

If you’re lucky, you might find remaining stock of those summer models still floating around at a cheap price, like $60 or less. Amazon dropped the fall model to $60 for Black Friday and it’s currently at $70, which is $50 under its original asking price. That puts the Fire TV Cube much closer to the price of the Fire TV Stick 4K ($35 to $50), and you might even rationalize the purchase because it’s not only a Fire TV 4K, it’s an Echo! Oh, right, about that…

Do I Hear an Echo?

If you already have an Echo, the Fire TV Cube might seem a bit redundant… especially when they’re in the same room together and start interrupting each other. I already had an Echo in the living room about 8 feet away, so saying “Alexa” to the Fire TV Cube awakened both devices. Sometimes the Echo stole the command and vice versa—never mind that the Fire TV Cube has a “priority” setting on by default, which means it’s supposed to hear commands first over other Alexa devices.

There is a simple solution. You can either turn off the mic on your Echo, or change the wake word for one of the devices in the Alexa app settings. You only get four choices for wake words: Alexa, Amazon, computer, or Echo. “Echo” didn’t sound right for the Cube, so I chose “Amazon.” Calling the Cube “Amazon” seemed like sad defeat, but the show must go on!

Hey, at least Alexa wasn’t interrupting herself anymore. Er, Amazon.

It’s Magic!

Inside the box, you get an optional IR extender cable for controlling devices that are in closed cabinets, plus an optional ethernet adapter. You don’t need these accessories to operate the Cube, but Amazon included them, which is nice. What you do need is an HDMI cable to hook up to your TV.

That’s not included. Oops.

The real magic of the Cube really occurs during setup, which takes about 10 minutes. After you download the updates and go through the registration, the Cube will guide you through a series of steps where it turns on and off your TV—and soundbar if you have one—without you having to do much beyond entering the brand name. (Okay, it’s not really magic but a thing called HDMI-CEC that a lot of electronics use to communicate with each other. The Cube adds voice control to the mix.)

It’s fun to say, “Alexa, turn on the TV,” and it just works. That might be the only thing that works well, but the Cube really gets that right.

By the way, before you move on, I recommend going to Settings > Preferences > Privacy Settings. Data collection is on by default, but you probably don’t want that.

Fire TV Cube: Beta

Unfortunately, the Fire TV Cube has a lot of quirks that get in the way of smooth operation. It’s simply not as intuitive as the Echo which, to be fair, is not going to be asked to do the same kinds of things a Cube will be asked to do.

It all boils down to the way people are used to navigating around their TV and media player menus. Telling Alexa to “scroll down,” “scroll right,” “select number 1” or “play number 1” is a lot slower (and buggier) than pressing those buttons on a remote. Being able to tell Alexa to play “Stranger Things” sounds great in theory, but this is not what people really do. What they really do is pick up on Season 2, Episode 2 and resume from where they left off. It’s just way faster to do that by remote.

Besides, the Cube has so many false starts with navigation commands, it quickly becomes frustrating. Unlike with the Echo and music, the Cube has trouble understanding what it is you want to resume or play or pause or find. Want to go to the main menu? Alexa has no clue. (You have to say “Go to home.”)

Here’s a case in point. I was preparing to watch The Incredibles 2. The screen displayed two buttons: “Watch Now” or “Watch Later.” Should’ve been simple to tell Alexa to play the video. But no. After over 20 different combinations of commands involving “watch now,” “watch later,” “press button,” “play Incredibles 2” and various angry invocations, I finally had to resort to (gasp) pressing a button on the remote. With my finger.

Scrolling the menu vertically and horizontally is a painful process. Imagine scrolling with an arrow key on a web page but instead having to shout a command for each button press. And this is just in the Amazon video app!

Works just fine in the TV cabinet

The Fire TV Cube can also switch to your other connected devices, like a Roku, Xbox or Blu-ray player, on voice command. And…that’s where it ends. You’ve got to pick up your remote to actually operate those devices. What, you didn’t think Alexa would help out with those, did you?

Although you can fiddle with the default equipment control settings, Alexa sometimes randomly speaks via the Cube’s internal speakers rather than the sound bar (or TV), which can be off-putting. Or goes completely silent when it’s confused as to which audio output to use.

The Cube won’t play music like an Echo, either. It will turn the TV on whether you want it on or not, so you’ll see oversized cover art and occasional lyrics (when available). It does give you the weather report without turning the TV on, so there’s that. (If you do have the TV on already, you’ll see some snappy weather graphics.)

Because it’s technically “not an Echo,” you also can’t add the Cube to a group for multi-room music.

Who’s It For?

Voice control, sadly, does not work on cats

You might be wondering then if anyone might want the Fire TV Cube, given its many shortcomings. Well, if you happen  to find the Cube on sale, and are fine using it with the remote as a standard streaming media player, it’s a very good one with 4K, Dolby Atmos and HDR10 support plus a  fast quad-core processor. (Note: it does not have Dolby Vision compatibility like the new Fire Stick 4K.)

For tinkerers, the Cube has a micro USB port which is useful for hooking up an external drive, USB hub, or keyboards and mice. Like other Fire TV devices, you can still sideload third-party apps like Kodi via Settings > System > Developer Options.

If you simply like the idea of turning on your TV by voice command, the Cube will do that pretty well. Of course, there are a lot of TVs coming out now that have this feature built-in, which makes the Cube look more and more like the one-trick pony that it is, but YMMV as Amazon continues to update the firmware.

For me, I just use the Cube to turn on the TV. Alexa—I mean, Amazon—turn on the TV!

Amazon Fire TV Cube Review: Well, It Can Turn On Your TV

Announced earlier today in a press release, Amazon has added multi-room audio playback to all Echo hardware. This means you can synchronize music across multiple Amazon Echo devices in your home. The song you are playing in your kitchen can also be played on the other side of the house in your bedroom.

This functionality is ideal for parties or generally anyone moving all over the house all the time. In addition, Amazon will let you group specific sets of Echos for music playback. If you only wanted to play the speakers downstairs, you would setup an Echo group with all the devices on the first floor.

All of this is integrated into Alexa voice control as well. For instance, you would be able to say something like “Alexa, play Taylor Swift upstairs,” and all the Echo devices upstairs will play all the music Swifties can handle.

At launch, Amazon is currently supporting Amazon Music, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and Pandora. Support for Spotify and SiriusXM is in the works and coming soon. Amazon is also working with speaker manufacturers to integrate Alexa into speakers directly to support multi-room audio.

Amazon is the new Budget Multi-Room Audio Leader

With a software update, Amazon just moved into 1st place when it comes to cost. If you don’t have any speakers yet, purchasing a Dot + a speaker is significantly cheaper than going the Sonos route. Here’s an example:

An Echo Dot + a VAUX Cordless Home Speaker (designed for the Echo to drop into) will run you about $90 most of the time. Let’s say you purchase five of these for different rooms in your home. That will run you about $450.

Conversely, if you go with the base model Sonos speaker, the Play:1, that’s going to cost you $199 a speaker. Five speakers will run you roughly $1000, more than twice the price of the Amazon alternative!

However, the true value of the Echo is that it doesn’t force you into a specific, expensive speaker ecosystem. An Echo Dot can be attached to any speaker system in your home to tie it into a whole home, multi-room audio system.

If you have speakers already (which most people do), you don’t actually have to buy anything beyond an Echo Dot. The Dot occasionally goes on sale for $35, an ideal time to stock up if you are going the multi-room audio route.

Any Downsides?

Yes, Amazon’s multi-room audio system doesn’t appear to be tied into Apple Music. While you can connect directly from a smartphone to an Echo device to play music within Apple Music’s app, Alexa functionality currently isn’t available. That functionality that requires a Sonos for multi-room (for now).

However, you can upload your iTunes music into the Amazon cloud in order to take advantage of Alexa. Another option would be to setup a media server in your home, like Plex, in order to have a central location for all your music.

Goodbye Sonos? Echo devices just got multi-room audio for free

Starting in September, Walmart customers will be able to use Google Home devices to place orders using only their voice; quite similar to Amazon’s Alexa via Echo devices. In order to accomplish this, the nationwide retailer will make their products available on Google Express.

Similar to placing voice orders with Alexa, Google Home devices will reference your ordering history when purchasing items. Basically, if you placed an order for a 12-pack of Bounty paper towels a month ago, Google Home will be able to repeat that order. It’s unclear if items can be placed on subscription though; ideal for repeat ordering.

To use this service, customers will have to link their accounts to Google. Walmart estimates “hundreds of thousands” of products will be available through Google Express. However, that’s a small fraction of the retailers entire catalog of more than 65 million items.

Obviously, Walmart is attempting to grab a larger piece of the online shopping ecosystem. While Walmart is frequently the 1st alternative search option after people look for an item on Amazon, Walmart lags behind in average customer orders. The average Amazon customer spends over $150 each month on Amazon while the average Walmart customer only spends a bit over $25.

Besides Google Home devices, anyone with an Android smartphone will be able to use Google’s voice assistant to place voice orders as well. In addition, Google has started offering free delivery on Google Express as long as your order is above each retailers’s minimum purchase when checking out. Shipping speed on Google Express is usually one to three business days.

Google & Walmart team up on voice ordering to take on Amazon’s Alexa

While Google preps to release their Echo-competitor, Amazon has made a move that might make the Google Home family of devices obsolete before it’s even released.

Reducing the price on the Echo Dot by nearly half, Amazon has opened up orders for the tiny Dot to the public at a price of $50. That’s $40 less than the original retail MSRP of $90!

Amazon is making a play as the dominant controller of your smart home in a big way. Offering discounts on six-pack or 12-packs of Echo Dot, Amazon wants you to place Dots all over your home. This will allow everyone in your family to have access to the Alexa voice assistant all the time.

It will give all of your “dumb” speaker systems a smart connection to streaming music services like Pandora and Spotify. It will act as a alarm clock for all of your bedrooms. Assuming you have other smart home devices, it will be able to adjust the temperature, flip the lights on/off, lock the front door from any room in the house. You won’t have to do to the smart home controller anymore or even find your smartphone. You just have to speak.

Here are some of the core differences between the 1st generation and 2nd generation Echo Dot:

• Amazon has added a new, more powerful speech processor for more accurate far-field speech recognition.
• The new Echo dot is slightly shorter. It is 1.3″ tall vs. the 1.5″ on the first gen. The diameter is the same (3.3″)
• The weight has been reduced from 8.8 ounces to 5.7 ounces.
• The volume buttons now replace the volume slider that was around the top on the first gen model.
• The directional microphone holes are appear to be slashes now instead of little circles. (Identical 7-microphone array)
• The first gen had a 1 year warranty, but that’s been reduced for 90 days for the 2nd gen.
• The power indicator light on the back of the device has been removed.
• The finish around the sides is more glossy on the 2nd gen than matte on the 1st.
• The 2nd gen Echo Dot doesn’t include the 3.5 mm audio cable (4 ft.) that came with the 1st gen.
• The Amazon Dot is now available in an additional color, white.

In addition to the discounts on ordering mulitple Echo Dots, Amazon is also offering bundled discounts when packaging the Dot with smart home devices like the Philips Hue, T-P Link Smart Plug and the ecobee3 Smart Thermostat between 12 to 17 percent off. Amazon is also offering discounts with bundled Bose speakers, but buyers may want to purchase less expensive portable speaker or wait for Sonos connectivity via Alexa (coming soon).

Check out Echo Dot on Amazon

Check out more pictures of the Echo Dot 2 below as well as a video of the Dots in action. The device will be released to the public on October 20th, 2016.

Shut Up and Take My Money: $50 Echo Dot (2nd generation)

Launching at midnight Pacific time on Tuesday, July 12, Amazon will crank up another day of sales that are exclusive to Prime members. In addition, Amazon will be launching pre-sale days starting on July 7 to offer a limited preview of the sales that will be launching on Prime Day. When the sale starts at midnight, Amazon will roll out sales as quickly as every five minutes.

While Amazon hasn’t released any specific details on what will be on sale, a spokesperson for the company said “A certain deal that might seem weird to one customer might seem wonderful to another. That’s part of the fun of Prime Day — discovering these unique items.” Of course, that strategy (also used in 2015) attracted consumer disappointment and intense mockery, perhaps because Amazon claimed the day would be bigger than Black Friday.

Voice Ordering Improvements to the Amazon Echo

Amazon also announced that the product catalog for voice ordering has expanded from a handful of items into the millions as of this week. Utilizing the Alexa voice assistant with the Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap, customers can place orders by using their voice and confirming the product suggestion.

Of course, the product suggestion feature is limited to Prime shipped items only. It also doesn’t factor in any clickable coupons on grocery items; consumers will still have to log into the site to attach those discounts to an order. (Here’s our breakdown on the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Amazon Tap.)

Want Ads on your Smartphone?

Taking a page from the Kindle (so to speak), Amazon has launched a couple new sales on smartphones this week that place offers and ads on the lock screen in exchange for a $50 discount on the phone. Amazon already does something similar with the Kindle, basically reducing the cost by $15 to include ads on the screen when inactive.

At the moment, these offers are limited to just a couple phones, the Moto G4 (all carriers) and the Blu RI HD (AT&T, T-Mobile). Amazon doesn’t specify if the ad-supported version can be upgraded for the removal of the ads after purchase, assuming someone doesn’t dare for the ads and offers after using the phone for a set period of time.

Don’t Forget the Amazon Sweepstakes

Similar to last year, Amazon is celebrating Amazon Prime Day again by offering up two additional promotions to win Amazon gift cards or a trip to hang out with famous musicians. To enter for a chance at $5,000 in gift cards, simply upload a single photo to the Prime Photos tool. (Unlimited storage on Prime Photos is one of the perks of Amazon Prime.)

Regarding the music sweepstakes, you basically just listen to the playlist of your favorite artist and you will be entered to win a shot at a trip to one of the artist’s concerts as well as a meet and greet. Artists in the sweeps include such artists as Blink-182, Norah Jones, Flo Rida and Carrie Underwood.

Amazon Prime Day hits July 12, Echo voice ordering gets better

Interested in using the Alexa voice assistant on the Amazon Echo, but you don’t want to spend $180 to do it? An Amazon employee (Amit Jotwani) recently published a guide on creating your own homemade Amazon Echo using a $40 Raspberry Pi Model 2 along with a SD card, a USB microphone and a few other inexpensive items.

Detailed on GitHub, the guide walks a user through building the hardware as well as taking a step-by-step guide through programming the software to access the Amazon Alexa interface. Optional hardware includes a WiFi Wireless Adapter (if you aren’t hard-wiring the device to your router and want to place it anywhere in your home. Of course, you will also need a USB keyboard / mouse as well as a HDMI monitor to run through the setup process.

Of course, this is somewhat more similar to the hockey puck-sized Echo Dot than the full-fledged Echo. Integrating the homemade version into a powered speaker system would be preferably for music playback. Identical to the other Echo products, Alexa will answer questions, set timers & alarms as well as play music accessible on the home’s network.

Check Out the DIY Amaozn Echo Guide on GitHub

If you are interested in reading about the differences between all of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices, you can read a comparison of the devices here: Amazon Echo vs Amazon Tap vs Echo Dot

Want a cheap Amazon Echo? Build one with a $40 Raspberry Pi