vkozlowski0419 Posted October 17, 2016 Posted October 17, 2016 The second generation comes out on 10-20, is anyone thinking of giving the echo dot as a gift? I'm thinking my brother would love this, but am a little confused. Do you need an amazon music account or some other monthly account to use it? Is it worth the $50?
Bopeep Posted October 17, 2016 Posted October 17, 2016 You do not need an Amazon Music account. You don't even have to have Prime. But you can play your music from those if you have them. The Dot does not have a good speaker, like its parent the Echo, so if you are going to play music you will want to connect it to external speakers. If your brother would want it for music, I would suggest the Echo. Otherwise, it's basically an assistant like Siri or Cortana. You can use it as an alarm clock, a timer, ask it simple Google-esqe questions, etc. I am considering getting one for my mother because it has an emergency skill. If she falls and can't get to a phone, she can call out to Alexa and Alexa will call up to so many pre-programmed #s and say something to the effect of "Mom is in trouble, please check on her immediately". I hope that helps.
bpr Posted October 17, 2016 Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) I have an Echo and will be getting a Dot to add to it. The Dot has a cheap internal speaker for answering questions and such and as mentioned by Bopeep, not really made for music. The good part, which I wish the Echo could do, is that it can connect to external speakers via cable or Bluetooth. The Echo's speaker is pretty good overall, but loses some clarity as the volume increases. With the Dot, you can connect it to your portable Bluetooth speaker. I'm looking forward to connect my new Dot to my stereo receiver so I can play my music through 'real' speakers. As for playing music, internally you can connect your Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio accounts. You just ask 'Echo, Play iHeartRadio' and it will play the last station you had it on. If you use Bluetooth to connect your iPad, you can stream your iTunes through the Echo. The only problem with doing so, is that it is only a speaker and you have to control the selections. If you have an Amazon Prime account, Echo will play any free music on Prime. It will also play any music you have through your Amazon account, but you have to be specific when playing from the two sources. If you say 'Echo, play Billy Joel music' Echo will play music from your ACCOUNT (if you have any). If you want it to play from Amazon's free Prime library, you have to say 'Echo, play Billy Joel on Amazon Prime'. Other than that, I use Echo to ask about the weather, news, sports and turn lights on and off. I need to install my thermostat now and this year I have a plug for my Christmas tree. I'll just say 'Alexa, tree lights on'. Man, I'm getting lazy, lol. (BTW, you have three names to choose from for the Echo) Edited October 17, 2016 by bpr 1
vkozlowski0419 Posted October 17, 2016 Author Posted October 17, 2016 Wow thanks! I'll probably get the echo for better speakers then. It seems really nice haha!
bpr Posted October 18, 2016 Posted October 18, 2016 Well, I know it seems I talked up the Echo, but they do the same things. If you have an A/V receiver or portable Bluetooth speaker, the Dot might be the way to go. I'm getting a Dot to put in another room and connect to my own speaker. It depends on if you are trying to fill the room with music or having it play in the background. The worst part about the Echo (and probably the Dot as well) is that they are NOT portable. Some 3rd parties have made portable batteries to attach to the Echo so you can move it and use it unplugged for a few hours. I plan to add this to my Echo so I can move it to the kitchen or dining room when needed.
racerfan Posted October 18, 2016 Posted October 18, 2016 I just ordered the 2 pack Dot from HSN for $80. Now wondering if I should cancel and get the Echo instead... Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using GottaDeal mobile app
angelashly Posted November 10, 2016 Posted November 10, 2016 I have decided to go with the Echo so now I am hoping the price goes down on Cyber Monday
Brad Posted November 10, 2016 Posted November 10, 2016 Even if you don't think you'll use it, having a Dot is good for those times when Amazon offers Alexa-exclusive deals. I'm guessing they'll drop to around $35 during BF week.
bpr Posted November 17, 2016 Posted November 17, 2016 I've seen the Echo in ads for as low as $129 (I think Navy Exchange (NEX)) and the Dots are averaging $39.99 at most stores. I imagine Amazon will match the Dot price at least. I'll probably get a dot for the bedroom and put one in the family room hooked up to my audio receiver. I might move my Echo to the kitchen for playing music while cooking. I use it for that now, but it's in the family room and you have to have the volume a little louder.
bribri25 Posted November 17, 2016 Posted November 17, 2016 I've seen the Echo in ads for as low as $129 (I think Navy Exchange (NEX)) and the Dots are averaging $39.99 at most stores. I imagine Amazon will match the Dot price at least. I'll probably get a dot for the bedroom and put one in the family room hooked up to my audio receiver. I might move my Echo to the kitchen for playing music while cooking. I use it for that now, but it's in the family room and you have to have the volume a little louder. They are. See this thread: http://forums.gottadeal.com/topic/269039-press-release-more-than-35-days-of-black-friday-on-amazoncom/ Summary of Amazon devices:Save $40 on Amazon Echo, only $139.99 Save $10 on Echo Dot, only $39.99 Save $40 on Amazon Tap, only $89.99 Fire tablet, only $33.33 Save $25 on Fire Kids Edition tablet, only $74.99 Save $30 on Fire HD 8, only $59.99 Save $30 on Kindle, only $49.99 Save $30 on Kindle for Kids Bundle, only $69.99 Save $20 on Kindle Paperwhite, only $99.99 Save $30 on Kindle Voyage, only $169.99 Save $15 on Amazon Fire TV, only $74.99 Save $10 on Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, only $29.99
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