Amazon Unveils Echo Dot and Amazon Tap, Two New Alexa Devices
Amazon today announced two new Alexa-enabled devices, both cheaper than the existing Amazon Echo: the $ 89 Echo Dot and the $ 129 Amazon Tap. Each of them focuses on one aspect that the original Echo showed well.
The Echo Dot is a miniature version of the existing Amazon Echo . He hears your voice commands from anywhere in the room in which he is. The key difference seems to be that it doesn’t have the same high-quality built-in speakers that the Echo does for music playback. You can connect external speakers that Alexa can control, but Dot’s main focus is on mic hardware and voice control.
Amazon Tap appears to be the second half of the Echo that Amazon has cut in half to create a point. Although Tap has high-quality speakers for playing music, you need to press a button on the device to give a voice command. You can’t just talk to him across the room. It could save you a bit of money over the Echo if you don’t mind pressing a button to activate (or even if you prefer manual controls over the always-on microphone).
Currently, the only way to order the Echo Dot is through Alexa itself. This means that you will need either an existing Echo or a Fire TV product to buy it (unless you use this workaround !). Just say “Alexa, order an Echo Dot” to place your order. Amazon Tap is available for pre-ordering on the Amazon website. Amazon is presumably limiting the offer right now to keep it among users who know how to use Alexa as an experiment.