Hello everybody!
Today, I’m here for a brief review of Echo Dot - a third-generation
smart speaker by Amazon.
It features an integrated voice assistant Alexa, improved design and better speaker
for richer and louder sound.
It can also be coupled with one more Echo Dot 3 device to ensure stereo sound.
In today’s video, I will show you all of these things.
Compared with the previous generation, Echo Dot 3 has 70% louder sound which makes the
voice assistant respond more clearly.
Just as before, additional wireless or wired speakers using 3.5 mm audio cable are recommended
for listening to music.
Alexa voice assistant can hear you from any place in the room thanks to being equipped
with 4 highly sensitive microphones.
Alexa can also help you listen to music, make calls and send messages.
Just ask, and Alexa will inform you on the latest news, currency rates, weather forecasts
and many other things.
This device has one more useful function - it can help you voice control all compatible
equipment of a smart home.
For example, you can turn on the light or make coffee without having to leave your comfortable
bed.
The speaker itself looks quite attractive: A cylinder-shaped body with rounded edges
made in a fabric design.
The top panel retains the four control buttons and the LED ring just as in the previous generation
models.
These are the two volume buttons, the action button that starts Alexa, and the microphone
mute button.
The LED ring lights up when you say “Alexa” and that’s the signal for you that the device
is waiting for your commands.
At the back, there are two connectors: a proprietary power socket, and a conventional 3.5mm audio
socket for connecting additional external speakers.
Alternatively, you can connect extra speakers by Bluetooth.
Review All right, let’s turn it on and see how
it works.
Stick the power cable into the corresponding connector, and plug the other end of the cable
into the wall socket.
When the speaker is turned on for the first time, it will inform you that an application
has to be downloaded to your smartphone.
By the way, here is an important peculiarity that may seem a disadvantage to some users:
Alexa speaks English, Japanese, French and German.
Unfortunately, other languages are not supported at the moment.
The Alexa app can be downloaded from the Google Play market.
Install and configure the application Linking the speaker to the smartphone is easy.
When you start the app for the first time, give the login and password to your Amazon
account.
Only after that you can get into the menu and set a link between the speaker and your
phone.
Plug the Echo device’s power cable into the wall socket.
The light ring will turn blue at first, and then change into orange.
When in the Alexa app, go to the tab “Devices.”
Tap the “+” icon and choose “Amazon Echo,” Echo Dot.
And tap on your model.
Connect the echo device to a Wi-Fi network by following instructions from the application.
That’s all.
Now you can try talking to Alexa.
Echo Dot 3 may become the central element to control your smart home system with its
built-in voice assistant Amazon Alexa.
This gadget will help you control the climate in your room (by adjusting thermostats and
air conditioning units), manage smart lamps and sockets, television and audio systems.
You can even tell it to open the garage door while you’re putting your shoes on in the
corridor.
The smart speaker supports integration with devices produced by Wink, Vivint, Philips
and many other brands.
You can find the list of all devices compatible with its remote control function in the Amazon
official website.
You will find the link in the description.
With the help of this voice assistant, which you can activate by just saying “Alexa,”
“Amazon,” or “Echo,” you can even create shopping lists or lists of tasks to
be done.
The device can also access your Google calendar.
It can play music from such services as Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn or Spotify.
When you connect a smartphone to the smart speaker, Apple Music or Google Play Music
become available as well.
Alexa can even read you an audiobook.
Amazon Echo Dot 3 can interact with the owner using voice commands, though in a somewhat
limited format.
It’s hardly able to keep the ball rolling in a conversation, but it does pretty well
in easy tasks like getting to know the weather forecast or locating traffic jams.
Setting up an alarm clock for the morning run is a piece of cake.
It should be noted that Echo Dot 3 uses Wikipedia as its primary source of information, so it
is truly smart - in a way.
On top of all that, there is one more feature to boast - cloud-based control.
All your voice requests are processed in Amazon servers, and that means a number of advantages
to the end user.
First of all, third-party companies can integrate with Echo Dot seamlessly.
Without any firmware updates needed.
Thanks to Alexa Skills Kit, more and more services from various companies and developers
are becoming available to smart speaker owners.
Secondly, the speaker is learning to understand you all the time, with voice samples analyzed
thoroughly, and in a few weeks the gadget will be able to seize your meaning at once.
An in the third place, when you replace the smart speaker (for example, when you decide
to change from Dot to Amazon Tap) you don’t need to train it again – thanks to the same
cloud service.
I’d like to note that Echo Dot 3 can also operate in tandem with one more gadget of
the same model (or even with a few of them).
For example, you can place them in several rooms.
Or use them as a stereo system.
To do it, go to Devices and tap on “+” Select Add Stereo Pair/ Subwoofer or Add Multiroom
Music Speaker (for using the speakers in different rooms).
Continue, tick the other speaker and tap Next.
Then decide which speaker should be Left and Right, and tap Next.
Now you will have to wait until the process of connecting speakers is over.
Here you are - the stereo system of two speakers is ready to use.
If the speakers are in different rooms, you can enable broadcasting your voice from one
room to another just by asking Alexa about it.
Echo Dot 3 can also make calls to other people who also use Echo devices or the Amazon Alexa
application.
All right, now let’s see how it works
in practice.
As
I said before, you can use the speaker to turn off the light.
Alexa turn off the light.
As you heard, Alexa couldn’t find any compatible devices because there are no smart lamps in
my room.
You can use the voice assistant to listen to your favorite radio station.
Alexa play kiss fm.
Listen to the news Alexa what news
in the world Find out what the weather is like
Alexa, what's the weather?
Make calls, send messages, and hear them.
Alexa call mom.
The user whom you want to call should be registered with Amazon and have the same smart speaker
model as you do.
Some shops selling the new generation of Amazon Echo Dot also offer buying a remote control
unit for this device, smart light bulb LIFX, and Amazon Smart Plug socket.
Pros and cons Now let’s analyze all advantages and disadvantages
of this speaker.
Despite its laconic appearance and small-size format, the device comes equipped with the
latest wireless interfaces such as Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac.
Omnidirectional microphones supporting active noise reduction are really perfect.
Rest assured - the speaker will hear and recognize your voice even while there is some music
playing or television working in the background.
All processes are brought to life by ARM processor Cortex A8 combined with 256 MB RAM and 4 GB
of flash memory.
Not too impressive, right?
Okay, but for a device that sells under $50 it is quite acceptable, and such hardware
doesn’t affect its performance - the speaker never seems to be sluggish.
Echo Dot doesn’t have a built-in battery and is only powered from the wall socket.
On the one hand, it doesn’t really matter as it’s a stationary device, but on the
other hand, there’s a mobility issue.
Moreover, naturally location of the smart speaker will depend on whether you have a
vacant wall socket nearby.
Some people find it a serious disadvantage that speech samples are stored in Amazon servers.
Although the company promises they are used only for improved voice recognition, some
mistrustful people may have a hard time staying in one room with Alexa-running devices.
Localization is another controversial point.
At the moment, you can talk to the voice assistant only in English, German and Japanese, and
Amazon services still have to be developed in some regions of our planet.
As an acceptable option, Echo Dot can be used as a tool in learning foreign languages.
Have you always dreamt of learning a bit of Japanese?
Here is your personal assistant and a good companion in conversation!
To sum it all up, we can say that for regions like Eastern Europe, Amazon speakers are more
of an entertainment gadget - but with a good potential for growth.
It seems so likely to have a similar device in every home within some five years or so.
Meanwhile, you can use Echo Dot 3 today - to get yourselves ready for technologies of tomorrow.
To try your hand at living in the future.
However, as long as you have a good command of English, there is nothing to stop you from
choosing Echo Dot as a basic controller for a smart home system, or a personal assistant,
equally good at informing you on the weather forecast and reminding of important plans
for tomorrow.
But many other users may have to wait a bit until Alexa learns more languages, and Amazon
services become truly available all over the world.
That’s all for now!
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Thank you for watching.
Good luck.