{"id":323,"date":"2018-02-05T13:16:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T12:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/?p=323"},"modified":"2018-02-05T13:17:24","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T12:17:24","slug":"amazon-echo-spot-review-cute-smart-speaker-with-a-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/?p=323","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Echo Spot review: cute smart speaker with a screen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The firm\u2019s latest Alexa-powered addition to its Echo range adds a clock and touchscreen interface to the mix<\/p>\n

A<\/span><\/span>mazon\u2019s new Echo Spot is one of the most novel takes on a smart speaker yet, and while it is certainly more than just a smart clock, that\u2019s what it\u2019s best at \u2013 an attractive voice-assisted smart desk or bedside-table accessory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

What is it?<\/h2>\n
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The Echo Spot is to the\u00a0Echo Show<\/a>\u00a0what the\u00a0Echo Dot<\/a>\u00a0is to the original\u00a0Amazon Echo<\/a>. That is to say, it can do everything the Echo Show can just in a smaller, cheaper ball-shaped device with a circular screen. That includes playing music, answering questions and showing the weather, video from cameras and the like.<\/p>\n

The Echo Spot is the first of Amazon\u2019s small army of voice-assistant speakers that can really be considered cute-looking. The 91mm-tall little black or white ball looks incredibly modern with just three buttons on the top and a crisp-looking 2.5in circular screen on the front.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a camera above the screen, a small speaker in the base and a power plug and 3.5mm audio socket in the back. It all looks very neat.<\/p>\n

Setup<\/h2>\n
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The Echo Spot runs through a short setup routine on its screen when you plug in the power cable for the first time. After you\u2019ve typed out your wifi password and logged into your\u00a0Amazon<\/a>\u00a0account \u2013 which is non-negotiable \u2013 you\u2019re greeted with a short video that runs through the basic principles of communicating with the voice assistant Alexa and what the Spot can do.<\/p>\n

Most settings are available directly on the screen through a swipe down from the top of the screen, with a few things such as skills and connections to smart home devices handled by the Alexa app on a smartphone or tablet.<\/p>\n

What does it do?<\/h2>\n
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Like every other Echo device, the Spot listens out for your choice of wake word \u2013 the default is \u201cAlexa\u201d \u2013 and then starts streaming what you say to Amazon\u2019s servers, coming back with answers, information or actions on your commands. It\u2019s practically instant.<\/p>\n

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From Flash briefings, timers and answering questions to smart home control and music playback, the Echo Spot does everything the Echo Show can except for playing web videos, such as YouTube.<\/p>\n

The Spot will also do video calling to other camera-enabled Echo devices or smartphones with the Alexa app (or audio calling to other Echo devices), which works well despite the small screen. On a desk you tend to get a bit of an up-the-nose shot, however.<\/p>\n

The Spot defaults to a clock face, with your choice of digital or analogue options, most of which are attractive. As with the Show there are options to display photos from your image library, and a cycling collection of information cards such as diary dates, the weather and trending news.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a night mode that dims the screen significantly, which is still easy to read from your bed but was dim enough that it didn\u2019t wake me up. An optional do-not-disturb mode can also silence notifications and calls, allowing only timers and alarms<\/p>\n

Sound<\/h2>\n

The Echo Spot sounds pretty good for a small speaker, and better than the Echo Dot. It\u2019s more than loud enough to command from across the room and clearly hear the answers, and it\u2019s perfectly fine for playing the odd spot of music, particularly as a bed-side speaker. But it isn\u2019t a patch on \u00a3100 speakers or the audio-only Echo.<\/p>\n

Observations<\/h2>\n
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