The Echo and its redesigned form, the Echo Dot, are due for release on September 28 and October 20, 2016, respectively. Amazon's newest addition is a cylindrical home audio speaker which integrates a personal voice assistant named Alexa. This assistant is pretty much like Siri, Cortana and Google Now on a user's phone or tablet. Recent key features for the Echo include support for WEMO and Nest to control smart home devices, backing system for multiple alarms and timers, expansion for Alexa's capabilities, audiobook listening tool and Google calendar integration.
Amazon's newly-updated unit, the smaller second generation Echo Dot, offers functionality for smaller devices. It also utilizes the Alexa Voice Service which provides music playback to the latest news and manages the smart home system. In the presence of multiple speakers, the Dot is smart enough to respond through the unit closest to a user. Aside from Bluetooth functionality, it can also connect to Spotify, Prime Music and Pandora without the need for a computer or a smartphone. It is important to note that the tiny speaker doesn't output as much sound as the larger Echo which means that the unit is more of an accessory to an Alexa-enabled home entertainment system or simply as a voice control device.
Amazon's latest offering is appealing to the market. To start with, the second generation Echo debuts within a fifty dollar cost. The original has been packaged at almost $80. In addition, the unit is smaller and more convenient. It is around two inches shorter and a hundred grams lighter. Noticeable is the exclusion of the volume adjustment wheel which on top of the Dot. Traditional buttons have been used for the slider. Compared to the first, the new speaker has a glossier finish. The microphone holes are larger and wider. The biggest draw for the Echo Dot is Alexa's Echo Spatial Perception (ESP) which allows a larger home audio set-up comprising exclusively of echo speakers.
