I have all three of the "Alexa" devices. The tap, the echo and the dot. They are all good for different things. I like the echo for my kitchen and living room (I got another one for my kitchen!) because I listen to music there often and like to ask questions, news, weather, etc. It seems to hear me best and the volume gets loud if I want it to. (although sometimes Alexa can't hear you screaming her name over her own speaker when its loud!)
I have a dot in my bedroom. I use it as an alarm and for weather mostly. It has a small speaker and isn't great for music. You can attach it to other things for better audio, but I just use it plain.
I bought the Tap before the dot (and the dots were sold out!) because I wanted a smaller item for my desk. I probably would have gotten another echo, but they are expensive. I picked this and initially didn't like that you had to push the button. It worked well for playlists and occasional questions, but I got so used to just saying "Alexa...." that it was odd having to reach for it. They did update the app so you can make it hands free now by changing it in the app. I like it much better now. I REALLY like that it is rechargeable and often take it on my porch to listen to music while gardening (which is really just me trying to stay ahead of weeds...not actual "gardening.")
I set it up so not only can it work from my home network (when in range) but also from my phone's hotspot. Now it is TRULY portable. You can control the volume with the buttons on top or by voice command ("Alexa, volume up" or "Alexa, volume 6.")
I have looked around for other functions for it and do like the Echo paired with some things from IFFT (If This Then That.) You can train alexa to do other things, even make a call. Not exactly like a real phone call, but with IFFT, you can trigger alexa to ring your phone or send a message. I often misplace my phone, so I just say "Alexa, trigger find my phone" and since I set it up, it will ring my phone so I can hear it to find it. There is also send message option (it sends the one message you have pre-set up on IFFT) which I have set as a sort of emergency. If I say "Alexa, trigger Emergency", it will text my husband and say that the emergency trigger has been activated. He works away from home often and it makes me feel more safe to have that option where I can just yell at Alexa if something happens where I should fall down the stairs, hear an intruder, etc. I haven't had to use it yet (thank goodness) but love that option. There are lots of alexa + IFFT "recipes" you can add, google for them and you can get lots of ideas.
I sometimes miss a real radio. I realize I can get internet type "radio" on here, but it isn't local. I kind of like listening to baseball, football and hockey on the radio when I am working or painting or whatever, and miss that with this. It would be nice if that were in there somehow, but most people don't use the radio anymore, so I guess it wasn't included. This is sort of like Echo Junior now that they have added the hands free option. It also has a jack for output if you want to send it to something like a stereo. I don't since I like the portability of it. It also has a port to charge it without a base, so you can attach it to something like a power brick if you are not near electricity and your charge is running low. There are no battery lights that I know of, but you just ask alexa how much battery is left and she will tell you.
Overall, I like all three items for different places. I REALLY miss it in my car, though (dang, am I spoiled or what!?) I often find myself driving and wanting to say "Alexa, play the rolling stones" or "Alexa, what is the weather for tonight?" or something like that. I suppose I could carry the tap and use the mobile hotspot on my phone, but I don't really like to use that much data unless I have to (like for music at a picnic or something.)
If you are not sure which device you want, I would probably pick the Echo. It just has the best sound. IF you want to move it around though, pick this (and it is cheaper.) The dot is the least expensive, but you likely won't like the sound for music (unless you attach it to another device.) So...basically if you want:
1. Stand alone bigger item, always tethered to electricity, very nice speaker even for a party, most expensive = Echo
2. Portable size (kinda like a 16 oz can of beer), rechargeable, okay sound for a quieter room, medium-priced of the 3 = Tap
3. Smallest (like a hockey puck), tethered to electricity, acceptable sound (like a clock radio type but attachable), cheapest = Dot
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Technical Details
Amazon Tap
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Size |
Amazon Tap: 6.3” x 2.6” x 2.6” (159 mm x 66 mm x 66 mm); Charging Cradle: 0.6” x 2.6” x 2.6” (15 mm x 66 mm x 66 mm) |
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Weight |
Amazon Tap: 16.6 oz. (470 grams); Charging Cradle: 3.8 oz. (109 grams) Actual size and weight may vary by manufacturing process |
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Battery Life |
Up to 9 hours of continuous playback. Battery life will vary based on device settings, usage, and environmental factors. Actual results may vary. |
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Wi-Fi Connectivity |
Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or mobile hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA, and WPA2 security using password authentication. Supports 2.4 GHz wireless band only. Learn more. |
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Audio |
Built-in speaker for voice feedback when not connected to external speakers. 3.5 mm stereo audio output for use with external speakers (audio cable not included).. |
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System Requirements |
Amazon Tap comes ready to connect to your Wi-Fi. The Alexa App is compatible with Fire OS, Android, and iOS devices and also accessible via your web browser. Certain skills and services may require subscription or other fees. When tethering to a mobile device hotspot, standard data rates may apply. |
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Warranty and Service |
1-year limited warranty and service included. Optional 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year extended warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. Use of Amazon Tap is subject to the terms found here. |
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Included in the Box |
Amazon Tap, Charging Cradle, microUSB cable and adapter, and quick start guide. |
Videos
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Amazon Tap turns the Echo into a Bluetooth speaker
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Amazon Alexa Demo: Traffic
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Amazon Alexa Demo: Joke
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Amazon Alexa Demo: Weather
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Reviews with images
*Update* IT HAS IMPROVED!
Update one year later:Most, if not all of my complaints have been addressed and I use this product daily now for just about anything, I use it in the bedroom for music and information like weather or Alexa handsfree when it's on the base, although I'll be on the phone with it nearby and it'll think I'm saying the wake word sometimes, not a big issue but it's still something to keep in mind. Aside from that I'm very satisfied with it one year out from initial reviewOriginal review "August 2016":My expectations were definitely set a lot higher then what I got from this product. First things first, the app required to set it up is poorly designed. Initially I thought it was because I was running iOS 10 beta and some apps can misbehave with the software. However, after reading some appstore reviews I realized it was also an issue for others who are running more stable version of iOS such as 9. It is slow and buggy and the layout is barely usable. The home screen is filled with these "cards" of all your actions with alexa, and deleting them is a long and tedious process so I simply let them pile up and never touch them. The now playing section is a poorly constructed mini-player that lets you control the tracks (personally, I just open the Spotify app and control it from there, although this is as buggy and lagged as the Amazon app). Now many will say that these issues are because my Internet connection isn't fast enough or I have a bad router but I use a Ubiquiti access point and have 150 Mbps fiber optics Internet so their can't be any issues there. As far as the device itself it's built reasonably sturdy and all of its buttons and ports are firmly set and don't feel flimsy, although that's to be expected from an Amazon product, nothing I own with their name on it feels flimsy or cheap and this is no different. Alexa, granted is a great resource but beyond the videos and demos you see of it, it has not much more to offer. Simple questions you ask her don't work while it seems like a no-brainer for a modern AI, and not being phrase specific causes her to not understand the command. It feels more like a first generation car VC than an Amazon backed cloud service. Music control is horrible, she can't play my songs in Spotify, which means it requires me to open the app every time I turn it on. Therefore, not very useful. Also, when it's on the charging base you can't even say "hey alexa" and many people say that's because it's not a long range microphone like the echo but to me I'm not asking it to hear me from 30 feet away, in many cases I have the device within close proximity (6 or so feet away from me on my entertainment center when I'm in the bed) and would like to have this functionality, ar least while it's on the charging base, I mean the iPhone now has "hey siri" even when not connected to a power source and it hears me just fine several feet away as long as its screen up (because it uses the microphone in earpiece) so I don't know why this can't be included in a device that clearly has a farther range than the tiny one on an iPhone. One feature that seems like a long shot but that I'd like to see is the ability to accept calls over wifi. Now, I know it sounds like a far shot but I think carriers like T-mobile and Verizon that have wifi calling capabilities and iPhone's abilities to send phone calls to other iDevices makes it seem like not that difficult of a task. After all, amazon has a giant cloud service behind this device, I couldn't imagine a service like this being too difficult to implement.Overall, as a wireless speaker this does the job nicely but the cloud functionality seems a bit more like a party trick then a legitimate voice control software system.
