ALEXASPEAKERS
94 AUGUST 2019|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 378
AMAZONDESCRIBESTHEEcho Spot as a
‘smart alarm clock’,but there’s alot more to
this little device than that would imply.Itmay
look like something designed to get you out of
bed, but with full Alexa integration and a
colour display–ifamuch smaller one than
that of the Echo Show –it’s one of the most
interesting products in the entire Echo family.
ThemainappealoftheEchoSpotcompared
to the larger Echo Show –besides the lower
price –isits size and the wayitlooks. It’s
spherical in shape and about the size of a
grapefruit, with aportion of the bottom sliced
off so you can stand it on aflat surface,while
asection of the front has been cleaved away
and replaced with acircular 2.5in, 480x480
resolution touchscreen and VGAcamera.
It’s the perfect size to use on your desk as
asmart speakerphone-cum-intercom. Youcan
use it, as Amazon suggests, as avoice-driven
alarm clock, but you’ll need to make sure you
mutethe microphone and camera when you
go to bed to avoid your contacts dropping in
on you at awkward moments. Fortunately,like
the Echo Show,the Spot has amutebutton to
do just that, and there’s also aDoNot Disturb
mode to prevent intrusions while you sleep.
AMATTER OFTIME
Otherwise,the Spot is ideally suited to the role
of smart alarm clock. When you’re not asking
it questions or making video calls it displays a
nice-looking clock face,with 17 different styles
to choose from and, when you wake up,the
displayscrolls through news snippets about
which you can ask Alexa formore details.
Naturally,you can use voice commands to
set an alarm to wake you with aregular alarm
tone or your choice of music or radio station.
Beware,however: there’s no wayoftelling if
Alexa has completely figured out your request
until the alarm actually goes off,sothere’s a
chance of an early morning shock as she tries
to wake you up with ablast of punk rock
when all you wanted was the calming
sound of waves lapping the shore.
Does the circular touchscreen add
to the Alexa experience otherwise?
Much like the Echo Show,itcan
displayboth useful information and
trivia, and allows you to interact with
all sorts of things with the power of
your index finger.You can access all
of your device settings such as display
brightness, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well
as watch the occasional movie or TV show
via Amazon Prime Video.
Likewise,you can make and receive video
and audio calls, as well as view Amazon’s
AMAZON EchoSpot
★★★★★
£120•From http://www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
Thissmartalarmclockisadecent,cheaper
alternativeto theEchoShow
flash cards when you ask Alexa aquestion,
or you can receive song lyrics whenever you
playyour favouritetunes.
SPOTOFBOTHER
The Echo Spot works well with along list of
smart home devices, from smart bulbs to
thermostats, and the screen means it’s ideally
suited to smart security cameras such as the
Nest IQ cam, forwhich you can bring up the
feed with asimple voice command.
Unfortunately,there’s one crucial negative
aspect: sound quality.Despitematching the
Echo Show forfeatures and smart speaker
capabilities, the Echo Spot comes nowhere
near it on the fidelity of its audio output.
It’s perfectly fine forcatching up on the
news headlines or your favouritepodcasts,
but there’s simply not enough bottom end or
warmth to do your favouritemusic justice,
and it doesn’t reach very high volumes, either.
These shortcomings are particularly apparent
now that the Echo Dot, which in its first
iteration sounded even worse,isnow afar
more reasonable choice of speaker thanks to
the 3rd generation model’s enlarged tweeter.
With the Echo Spot set up in amoderately
sized kitchen, we often found that even
turning up the volume to its highest level
wasn’t enough to raise it above the
background noise of the extractor fanorthe
kettle boiling. It’s worth noting, however,
that you can hook the Echo Spot up to an
external speaker via the 3.5mm aux out or
Bluetooth forafuller,more engaging sound.
On amuch brighter note, the Echo Spot
employs the same excellent far-field
microphone technology as its other Echo-
powered siblings. There are four microphones
here instead of the seven you get on the
standard Echo and Echo Plus, and they’re
just as effective at picking up commands
from both short and long distances, and
against quitenoisy backgrounds.
BEDSIDE MANNER
TheEchoSpotisoneof themostdistinctive
Alexa-powered devices Amazon has
released. It’s farbetter equipped to blend
intoyour home’s decor than the Echo
Show and Echo Input, and the circular
touchscreenaddsvaluableextrafeatures.
The low audio quality is ashame,
especially since this is one awfully
expensive alarm clock; at £120, it costs
more than two Echo Dots, not to mention
£30 more than the Echo 2nd Generation and
only £20 less than the Echo Plus. Then again,
it does have adisplay, and forafull £100 less
than the Echo Show,soitcould be viable if
you’d preferasmaller touchscreen.
AUGUST 2019|COMPUTERSHO
ke you with aregular alarm
eofmusic or radio station.
there’s no wayoftelling if
elyfigured out your request
tuallygoes off,sothere’s a
morning shock as she tries
with ablast of punk rock
ed was the calming
lapping the shore.
ar touchscreen add
ience otherwise?
cho Show,itcan
linformation and
you to interact with
with the power of
Youcan access all
settings such as display
and Bluetooth, as well
casionalmovie or TV show
Video.
an make and receive video
well as view Amazon’s
warmth to do your favouritemusic justice, here instead of the seven you
standard Echo and Echo Plus,
just as effective at picking up
from both short and long dista
against quitenoisy background
BEDSIDE MANNER
TheEchoSpotisoneof the
Alexa-powered devices Am
released. It’s farbetter equi
intoyour home’s decor t
Show and Echo Input, and
touchscreenaddsvaluabl
The low audio quality
especially since this is on
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