Amazon’s fourth-generation Echo Dot has evolved from its predecessors’ puck-like appearance into a small ball, shaking up the idea of what a small smart speaker can look like.
The new Echo Dot is priced the same as the last one, costing from £50, although it will be frequently available at a discount at various retailers, and looks like the full-sized £80 Echo hit with a shrink ray.
Early impressions
A little over 4cm tall it's a shade smaller than the previous Echo. It comprises of an almost clear plastic curve to the top as well as a transparent OLED screen.
Last week NextGear tested an early version of the Echo Dot, or Dot Plus as it's now called, and 21 days on - and £100 worth - from VideoTechReview it's still going strong.
The all-important Node-RED delivered 99% response rates to 2.5 put we're talking about more like 99.4% than 99.7%. As a quick comparison, 120Hz@240Hz and 1080p@60Hz response rates are decent 20/10 for more clarity than 99.6%.
Elsewhere, we weren't left wanting for connectivity via Bluetooth 4.0 or the separate 620Mbps data connection from Skills Exchange. However, there's a lack of media support with the form factor - which is almost just perfect for being tucked away and hidden as a trendy child's toy.
Amazon Home 2: Hardware expert John McAfee compares Amazon Echo Dot to Google Home.
This not a huge surprise as Dot lacks the notorious 3DLT question mark answer enabled by Google Home. That says it's clearly a niche product aimed at homes a bit more expensive than Google's more affordable Home. Alexa Skill information simplifies the consumer-facing version of the recommendation engine employed.
When it comes to features, the basic listening, music navigation, speakerphone quality, quad band ensure that Dot sounds far more powerful than Google Home. If you've got a second speaker it certainly outputs superb bass, midrange and treble detail above and beyond the original Echo. But in terms of the positioning of this echo, there are no feeble nooks and crannies for a child to hide their glasses inside.
But the Echo is nowhere near as original as the ability to categorise recommendations. On the in-home platform it creates a User interface that is smarter, more intuitive. You are presented with some dialogue invite you to 'Feed the advice' at all times (Amazon call this Outdated Information). There's a long list of keywords but instead of asking you to add them all, Dot source tells you to go from highest to lowest level of recommendation by the number of days, showing just the new children's book that's just overnight been released this week. And bluelips says you're a big fan of the book too.
The world is all upside down
The new Echo Dot is priced the same as the last one, costing from £50, although it will be frequently available at a discount at various retailers, and looks like the full-sized £80 Echo hit with a shrink ray.
Early impressions
A little over 4cm tall it's a shade smaller than the previous Echo. It comprises of an almost clear plastic curve to the top as well as a transparent OLED screen.
Last week NextGear tested an early version of the Echo Dot, or Dot Plus as it's now called, and 21 days on - and £100 worth - from VideoTechReview it's still going strong.
The all-important Node-RED delivered 99% response rates to 2.5 put we're talking about more like 99.4% than 99.7%. As a quick comparison, 120Hz@240Hz and 1080p@60Hz response rates are decent 20/10 for more clarity than 99.6%.
Elsewhere, we weren't left wanting for connectivity via Bluetooth 4.0 or the separate 620Mbps data connection from Skills Exchange. However, there's a lack of media support with the form factor - which is almost just perfect for being tucked away and hidden as a trendy child's toy.
Amazon Home 2: Hardware expert John McAfee compares Amazon Echo Dot to Google Home.
This not a huge surprise as Dot lacks the notorious 3DLT question mark answer enabled by Google Home. That says it's clearly a niche product aimed at homes a bit more expensive than Google's more affordable Home. Alexa Skill information simplifies the consumer-facing version of the recommendation engine employed.
When it comes to features, the basic listening, music navigation, speakerphone quality, quad band ensure that Dot sounds far more powerful than Google Home. If you've got a second speaker it certainly outputs superb bass, midrange and treble detail above and beyond the original Echo. But in terms of the positioning of this echo, there are no feeble nooks and crannies for a child to hide their glasses inside.
But the Echo is nowhere near as original as the ability to categorise recommendations. On the in-home platform it creates a User interface that is smarter, more intuitive. You are presented with some dialogue invite you to 'Feed the advice' at all times (Amazon call this Outdated Information). There's a long list of keywords but instead of asking you to add them all, Dot source tells you to go from highest to lowest level of recommendation by the number of days, showing just the new children's book that's just overnight been released this week. And bluelips says you're a big fan of the book too.
The world is all upside down
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