Echo & Alexa Forums
General Category => Amazon Echo Discussion => Topic started by: Grumpyjarhead on March 23, 2016, 02:08:20 pm
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Ive been debating if I should buy an Echo now or wait until there are a few upgrades/changes to it. Mainly an audio output jack to connect an external speaker and/or a bluetooth option to pair with a bluetooth speaker. If there is no talk of adding the audio out option in the near future then do I have any other options to get the Echo to play music from better external speakers? I'm not looking for for some ear shattering sound here. Just something a little better than the internal speakers which wont be loud enough when there are guest over and out on the deck.
Also, I am a Prime member and buy a LOT of stuff from Amazon. Id love to be able to just tell the Echo to put something in my shopping cart i.e. dog food, etc.
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I'm surprised you haven't heard about the Echo "Dot" (http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=14047587011 (http://www.amazon.com/b/?node=14047587011)). It's exactly what you're looking for.
(http://cnet3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2016/03/02/52befaf3-58b5-4952-8499-9cbf326a5e20/thumbnail/770x433/4597136705aad2cd34d98ee0270766f0/amazon-echo-dot-low-angle.jpg)
Pre-orders by Prime members will be shipping in 8 days, and you can get one for $89.99.
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I did see that on Amazon but didnt pay much attention to it because I thought it was just an add on to the Echo. Am I understanding it correctly that the DOT is the same exact thing as the Echo minus the speakers? If so and if it does have an audio out jack then Id love to be able to connect it to something like the Bose Wave and have the best of both worlds.
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Am I understanding it correctly that the DOT is the same exact thing as the Echo minus the speakers? If so and if it does have an audio out jack then Id love to be able to connect it to something like the Bose Wave and have the best of both worlds.
Per the description and all the reviews, yes....it's a shorter, cheaper Echo that omits the high-quality speaker in favor of both an audio-out jack AND the ability to output to bluetooth speakers. It does have a built-in speaker, but it's much smaller and lower quality than its bigger cousin's, and is just good enough to give you clear voice responses.
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Ill look into it but buying is will be the hard part as I do not have an Echo at the moment and that is the only way to pre order at the moment. Maybe Amazon is just doing that to see how much interest there is in it first.
Now I have to look for a nice powered bluetooth speaker. I like the Bose Wave but maybe there is something a little cheaper out there that I could use to.
Thanks for the info.
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Ill look into it but buying is will be the hard part as I do not have an Echo at the moment and that is the only way to pre order at the moment.
Oh, shoot....my apologies. I forgot about that requirement. I already have 2 Echos, which is why I was given the option to pre-order a Dot.
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Ill look into it but buying is will be the hard part as I do not have an Echo at the moment and that is the only way to pre order at the moment.
Oh, shoot....my apologies. I forgot about that requirement. I already have 2 Echos, which is why I was given the option to pre-order a Dot.
2 Echos? You must have a large house?
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2 Echos? You must have a large house?
Not that large....only 2,100 sq ft. But 2 stories, so we keep 1 Echo downstairs in the family room and the other upstairs in the master bedroom. And yes, I actually get a lot of use out of both of them.
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2 Echos? You must have a large house?
Not that large....only 2,100 sq ft. But 2 stories, so we keep 1 Echo downstairs in the family room and the other upstairs in the master bedroom. And yes, I actually get a lot of use out of both of them.
Two stories is the key. I wonder if the Dot would be able handle what you need for the 2 story dilemma? I am blessed to have a single story 1556 sq feet. I have Alexa in a very central location and she can hear commands from our bedroom, living and dining rooms.
I ordered the dot mainly because of it's bluetooth capabilities for my Bose Soundlink Mini. I'm waiting to hear reviews on the Tap to see if it would be worth a purchase for me.
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Two stories is the key. I wonder if the Dot would be able handle what you need for the 2 story dilemma?
For many people I'm sure the Dot will be an ideal solution. But in my case it wouldn't have been. I don't already have external speakers to hook one to, and I use both Echos for music capability (in addition to many other things). Since I mostly listen to old blues and rock-n-roll the Echo's built-in speaker works great.
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Two stories is the key. I wonder if the Dot would be able handle what you need for the 2 story dilemma?
For many people I'm sure the Dot will be an ideal solution. But in my case it wouldn't have been. I don't already have external speakers to hook one to, and I use both Echos for music capability (in addition to many other things). Since I mostly listen to old blues and rock-n-roll the Echo's built-in speaker works great.
I listen to music on it as well. However, nothing, that I've heard, compares with the Bose sound. I am anxious to hear the reviews on the Tap, it's supposed to have a much better sound than the Echo!
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I listen to music on it as well. However, nothing, that I've heard, compares with the Bose sound.
Oh, no doubt. There are lots of things that yield superior sound compared with the Echo's speaker. But I'm listening to Elmore James tunes that were recorded in 1951 I'm hard-pressed to care about audio differences at that level.
I am anxious to hear the reviews on the Tap, it's supposed to have a much better sound than the Echo!
So I've heard. But I think I'd find the Tap to be of little use as well. Not only do I not have any good use cases for a portable version of the Echo, the requirement to manually activate the device by pressing a button on it before issuing a voice command almost completely eliminates its value to me. I suppose having it sitting on a table next to you while you're sitting around the pool would be handy. But I don't have a pool. ;D
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Whoa, This started with the Echo and then stepped up to the Dot. Now what the heck is this Tap you guys speak of?
I just want a device that has the full software that will allow me to talk to Alexa, play Pandora music through either a bluetooth connection or a cable connected to an external speaker. I just ordered the Echo but its backordered until the April 3rd. Should I cancel that order and look into the Dot or Tap? I wish I had an Echo here to demo but I 'and no one I know has one.
Edit, scratch the Tap. It is not voice activated. Im still researching the Dot
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Whoa, This started with the Echo and then stepped up to the Dot. Now what the heck is this Tap you guys speak of?
I just want a device that has the full software that will allow me to talk to Alexa, play Pandora music through either a bluetooth connection or a cable connected to an external speaker. I just ordered the Echo but its backordered until the April 3rd. Should I cancel that order and look into the Dot or Tap? I wish I had an Echo here to demo but I 'and no one I know has one.
You can only preorder the Dot if you already have the Echo. The Dot will operate bluetooth or cable connected speakers, which the Echo doesn't. You can still use the Dot in other rooms where the Echo can't hear you.
The Tap is like the Echo, except portable, with a battery and it is supposed to have a better sound system for music.
Both the Dot and the Tap will be released on March 29th.
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Well I feel like I wont ever use the Echo once I have the Dot so to me, the cost of the Echo is a waste and Amazon is forcing someone in my shoes to make two purchases. Not sure how it works if someone else who already has an Echo orders a Dot for me on their account. It would most likely be connected to their account huh?
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Well I feel like I wont ever use the Echo once I have the Dot so to me, the cost of the Echo is a waste and Amazon is forcing someone in my shoes to make two purchases. Not sure how it works if someone else who already has an Echo orders a Dot for me on their account. It would most likely be connected to their account huh?
I'm not totally sure if a Dot can be used without the Echo. The Tap surely can.
The advantage of having BOTH the Echo AND Dot, is the Dot will let you connect to bluetooth devices, and directly with wire connection.
For me, the Echo has a nice sound, but I have the Bose Soundlink Mini. Without the Dot I can't play the Echo on demand playlist on my Bose. (Once you own a Bose, it spoils you. Nothing else compares.)
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Well I feel like I wont ever use the Echo once I have the Dot so to me, the cost of the Echo is a waste and Amazon is forcing someone in my shoes to make two purchases. Not sure how it works if someone else who already has an Echo orders a Dot for me on their account. It would most likely be connected to their account huh?
I'm not totally sure if a Dot can be used without the Echo. The Tap surely can.
The advantage of having BOTH the Echo AND Dot, is the Dot will let you connect to bluetooth devices, and directly with wire connection.
For me, the Echo has a nice sound, but I have the Bose Soundlink Mini. Without the Dot I can't play the Echo on demand playlist on my Bose. (Once you own a Bose, it spoils you. Nothing else compares.)
Oh I know about the Bose sound. I had a Bose Wave a few years ago. Id love to buy a new one and connect the Dot to it so I can put it outside on the deck when I have guest over. Im not sure the speakers in the Echo would be strong enough for everyone to hear as background or party type music if people are chatting and kids are playing in the area.
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(Once you own a Bose, it spoils you. Nothing else compares.)
Just curious, do you work for Bose? Lots of comments in your posts like the above...
My Klipsch reference towers, surrounds, and Polk 300-watt subwoofer might change your mind 8)
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(Once you own a Bose, it spoils you. Nothing else compares.)
Just curious, do you work for Bose? Lots of comments in your posts like the above...
My Klipsch reference towers, surrounds, and Polk 300-watt subwoofer might change your mind 8)
No I do not work for Bose. Apples to Oranges what you are describing. Show me something that will equal the sound of the Bose Soundlink Mini. Something I could carry in one hand.
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Huge difference in size between these 2:
(http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss202/jackthejesusfreak/Polk_zpsmmpnpofz.jpeg) (http://s576.photobucket.com/user/jackthejesusfreak/media/Polk_zpsmmpnpofz.jpeg.html)
(http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss202/jackthejesusfreak/Klipsch_zpsvjpeno0m.jpg) (http://s576.photobucket.com/user/jackthejesusfreak/media/Klipsch_zpsvjpeno0m.jpg.html)
And this one:
(http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss202/jackthejesusfreak/Bose_zpsxks2tr7n.jpg) (http://s576.photobucket.com/user/jackthejesusfreak/media/Bose_zpsxks2tr7n.jpg.html)
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No I do not work for Bose. Apples to Oranges what you are describing. Show me something that will equal the sound of the Bose Soundlink Mini. Something I could carry in one hand.
My bad ... guess I have big hands ;D
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No I do not work for Bose. Apples to Oranges what you are describing. Show me something that will equal the sound of the Bose Soundlink Mini. Something I could carry in one hand.
My bad ... guess I have big hands ;D
:o - HUGE hands!
What's nice about the Bose I can take it on the road and run it from my phone. No, it won't compete with the output and the area your stuff can cover, but the size and portability of it is nice. Again, haven't heard anything this size that competes. Not saying there isn't, just haven't heard it yet.
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Well I feel like I wont ever use the Echo once I have the Dot so to me, the cost of the Echo is a waste and Amazon is forcing someone in my shoes to make two purchases.
Amazon isn't forcing you to do anything. If you want an Echo, buy an Echo. If you think the Dot is a better fit for your wants/needs then cancel your Echo order and wait until the Dot becomes generally available and order one. All Amazon is doing is rewarding their existing Echo customers by giving them first crack at a limited availability first release of the Dot at a discount, just like they rewarded Prime customers by giving them first dibs on the Echo...also at a discount.
Not sure how it works if someone else who already has an Echo orders a Dot for me on their account. It would most likely be connected to their account huh?
Initially, yes. But they can then sell it to you, disassociate it from their account and you can associate it with yours. That's why you see so many of them for sale on eBay and other places.
And yes, you can use the Dot without and Echo.
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When it comes to technology, there's always going to be something better and cheaper down the line.
Who were the first buyers of the Intel Pentium computers? What did it cost then? What does it cost now? How much more advanced is the current Intel Core i7 CPU compared to the first Pentium CPU?
At some point, you've got to decide that you're going to jump in. Echo is no longer new. It's matured quite a bit in the 1 1/2 years that it's been around. Could there be something better down the line? Most certainly. But if you're going to wait, there is always going to be something better.
Just by reading this forum, you can see that a great deal of us are very enthusiastic about the Echo and all its possibilities. Many of these possibilities might never come to fruition. But most of us are very happy that we did take that first dive and very few regretted it.
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Im sure the Echo can do a lot of things that I may not use at the beginning. It will take me a litttle getting used. Right out of the gate I will want it to do a few things.
First, play my Pandora and itunes music from my iphone.
Second, give me reminders at certain times of the day. (can it even do this?) Id like to say "Alexa, remind me to pick up Joey at 6pm") and at 6pm she will turn on and give me my reminder .
Third. order items from my Prime account. Not exactly sure how this shopping cart thing works. Id like to say "Alexa, add dog food to my shopping cart. Alexa, add paper towels to my shopping cart". Then at the end of the day, tell her to order all items in my Amazon cart. Can it do this? Ordering one item at a time would be a waste of S&H charges for Amazon and the delivery drivers would be at my house every single day dropping off single ordered items. Consolidated orders would be better for everyone.
Can Alexa wake up at a certain time on her own and make audible communication? Id like her to wake up at 6:30am every day and say "Goodbye (insert wifes name), have a good day today. This is about the time my wife will be leaving the house.
Id also like to tell her to turn on my HT system. The TV, DVR and AVR are all currently plugged into a Tripplite UPS so Im not sure if it would be possible to take control of these devices using HUE. I keep telling myself that I cannot get too deep, money wise, into this home automation so its just baby steps right now.
Im still looking into the HUE technology and would love to tinker with it but the lighting I would want to control isnt plugged into the walls. Its all hardwired recessed lighting. Can the Echo control recessed lighting? I can't even count how many times my kids leave the kitchen lights on and walk out of the room or house.
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Im still looking into the HUE technology and would love to tinker with it but the lighting I would want to control isnt plugged into the walls. Its all hardwired recessed lighting. Can the Echo control recessed lighting? I can't even count how many times my kids leave the kitchen lights on and walk out of the room or house.
There are a couple of ways to "control" your lights. You can get a smart bulb i.e. Hue or get a smart switch. The advantage of a smart switch is that it works with dumb bulbs. In the case of your recessed lighting, it makes more sense to me to control them via smart switch... and it will be cheaper too. Echo works with Wemo, Wink, Smartthings and others.
As far as the kids leaving the lights on, you can get semi-smart switches that turn off when they sense a lack of motion in a room... but thats all they do.
Personally I like Smartthings as it gives you the most flexibility. Smartthings uses Z-Wave and Zigbee technology to control "things". Things can be: bulbs, switches, motion detectors, door locks, cameras etc etc. There are tons of Z-Wave/Zigbee devices out there by many manufacturers including those who you may already know. Lutron, GE etc etc. Home Depot and Lowes have many items and quite often you can score a deal here and there.
Hues are nice.... and I have some because I like colored lighting in my living room. Else where I use Z-Wave/Zigbee switches and bulbs.
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Im sure the Echo can do a lot of things that I may not use at the beginning. It will take me a litttle getting used. Right out of the gate I will want it to do a few things.
I think that's probably been true for most everyone who's acquired an Echo. But once you become more comfortable with talking to a metal can (and having it talk back to you) and figure out the idiosyncrasies of the system you'll almost certain begin to explore more ways to make use of it.
Second, give me reminders at certain times of the day. (can it even do this?) Id like to say "Alexa, remind me to pick up Joey at 6pm") and at 6pm she will turn on and give me my reminder .
Unfortunately, not quite. What you can do is set an alarm for a certain time ("Alexa, set an alarm for 6 PM") and the Echo will play the tone of your choice (configured via the Echo app on your phone) at the specified time. Currently there are no features that result in voice notifications. Echo speaks only when spoken to. But...this is something that I and a few others I know of are trying to address via integration with other systems (see my thread here: http://www.echotalk.org/index.php/topic,438.0.html (http://www.echotalk.org/index.php/topic,438.0.html)).
Third. order items from my Prime account. Not exactly sure how this shopping cart thing works. Id like to say "Alexa, add dog food to my shopping cart. Alexa, add paper towels to my shopping cart". Then at the end of the day, tell her to order all items in my Amazon cart. Can it do this? Ordering one item at a time would be a waste of S&H charges for Amazon and the delivery drivers would be at my house every single day dropping off single ordered items. Consolidated orders would be better for everyone.
I've not used that feature yet, but I do believe that's how it works.
Can Alexa wake up at a certain time on her own and make audible communication? Id like her to wake up at 6:30am every day and say "Goodbye (insert wifes name), have a good day today. This is about the time my wife will be leaving the house.
My answer to your first question applies here as well.
Id also like to tell her to turn on my HT system. The TV, DVR and AVR are all currently plugged into a Tripplite UPS so Im not sure if it would be possible to take control of these devices using HUE. I keep telling myself that I cannot get too deep, money wise, into this home automation so its just baby steps right now.
I'm doing that right now. But it requires integration with a home automation system (like SmartThings, which is what I use) that in turn controls some sort of IR blaster device (like the Harmony Home hub from Logitech...also what I'm using). For things like that you're getting into hacker/tinkerer territory. It's definitely doable, and not really difficult if you're technically inclined. But it's not plug-and-play either (nor cheap).
Im still looking into the HUE technology and would love to tinker with it but the lighting I would want to control isnt plugged into the walls. Its all hardwired recessed lighting. Can the Echo control recessed lighting? I can't even count how many times my kids leave the kitchen lights on and walk out of the room or house.
Echo doesn't control anything directly. What it does is integrate with other home automation controllers (like the Hue hub, Smarthings hub, Wink hub, etc) and act as a voice-control interface to those systems. So the first thing that determines what lights can be controlled is which HA system you adopt. Secondly, Echo's home automation control vocabulary is currently limited to things that map to "on", "off" and dimmer-type functionality (expressed as a % of full-on, though the word "percent" is not required...more on this in a second). The result is that you can say, "Alexa, turn the <insert-name-of-light-or-other-device-here> on", or "Alexa, turn the <insert-name-of-light-or-other-device-here> off", or "Alexa, set the <insert-name-of-light-or-other-device-here> to 50 percent" (or just "Alexa, set the <insert-name-of-light-or-other-device-here> to 50").
This applies to ANY device that is supported by your HA system and that responds to on/off/dim commands. And through a little trick of interpretation you can also use that capability to control smart thermostats (like the Nest and/or Ecobee3 currently) by saying things like, "Alexa, set the temperature to 76 degress." Echo will key on "temperature" to know you're referring to the thermostat device, and the number 76 as a variant on the dimmer % (so you're limited to a max temperature setting of 100...which should be an acceptable limitation), which she then forwards on to the service that controls the thermostat. She supports direct integration with the Nest and Ecobee web servers, but you could also get her to control non-supported thermostats through your home automation system with a little configuration tinkering. I have 2 Ecobee3 thermostats (1 upstairs and 1 downstairs) that I can control via the Echos, but in truth it's a capability I rarely use. The main idea behind smart programmable thermostats is that you set them up to do automatically do what you want without any action on your part. If I'm regularly overriding that programming with ad hoc commands then I'm not really using the thermostats to their potential.
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Personally I like Smartthings as it gives you the most flexibility.
I'm a ST user as well, and for the same reasons. But see my earlier caveat about needing to be more technically inclined to successfully use ST than other HA system. Not only to take advantage of the flexibility offered by ST, but also to deal with the all-too-frequent hiccups the system experiences. It's a work in progress, and is experiencing some growing pains that make it a not-quite-ready-for-the-general-consumer-market solution.
Hues are nice.... and I have some because I like colored lighting in my living room. Else where I use Z-Wave/Zigbee switches and bulbs.
Hue bulbs are Zigbee bulbs, which is why GE Link and a few other manufacturer's Zigbee bulbs work just fine with the Hue hub.
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The Dot was offered for pre-order to Prime members, not only to current Echo owners. Anyone with a prime account can order one now.
All this chatter about my speakers are better than your speakers . . . . comon' guys! And just because someone goes on and on about how he likes his Bose mini speakers doesn't indicate he works for Bose!
To the OP: so cancel your order for Echo before it is too late, pre-order the Dot now (because you do not need to own an Echo to have a Dot work).
So, delivery of Dot and Tap are not too far away now, and I look forward to having mine so I can plug the Dot into my stereo system that blows anyone's Bluetooth speakers away -- including my own!
My main concern about the Dot is that it will be sitting on the entertainment center cabinet, next to the TV and all the other related gadgets. So, I hope the TV does not activate the Dot, like people have reported about their Echos. I thought, how dumb is that to have them so close, but now I have to be dumb, too, since the Dot needs to be near the stereo to connect both together. I promise I will not post here asking why does the Dot start talking every time Alex Baldwin comes on TV to pitch the Echo and says Alexa a dozen times!
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To the OP: so cancel your order for Echo before it is too late, pre-order the Dot now (because you do not need to own an Echo to have a Dot work).
You cant order the Dot unless you have an Echo. Amazon does not currently allow anyone, including Prime members, to order the Dot through the website. Its strictly through the Echo as of right now
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For the record, I never claimed that Bose Sounlink Mini was a better speaker than so and so. All I said was that I, personally, have never heard a bluetooth speaker, that size, that sounds better than the mini to MY ears.
IF I didn't believe that, I would just run the music through the Echo and save myself $99.95.
Mike has the Bose mini, I believe, and I'm looking forward to his review of the Tap and it's sound.
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You cant order the Dot unless you have an Echo. Amazon does not currently allow anyone, including Prime members, to order the Dot through the website. Its strictly through the Echo as of right now
Whether or not non-Echo-owning Prime members can order a Dot now, I'm not sure. But I do know that, contrary to what the Dot promotion says, you can order one directly from the website rather than through an Echo...because I've done exactly that.
http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/04/want-the-echo-dot-heres-how-to-bypass-amazons-restrictions-and-order-one-today/ (http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/04/want-the-echo-dot-heres-how-to-bypass-amazons-restrictions-and-order-one-today/)
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That workaround to order the Dot through the IOS Amazon app was fixed a few days after it was discovered. It was highly publicized through several media outlets and Amazon fixed the bug almost immediately.
So right now, there is only one way to order the Dot.
You have to order it by voice through the Echo or Fire TV.
Direct quote from Amazon:
"Available Exclusively from Alexa. Echo Dot is available in limited quantities and exclusively for Prime members through Alexa Voice Shopping. To order your Echo Dot, use your Amazon Echo or Amazon Fire TV and just ask:" (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/dp/2016/P/utterance-v3.jpg)
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Oddly enough, I ordered a Dot directly from the website via my desktop browser using a link forwarded to me by someone I know. Another workaround, it seems, as I can no longer access that page.
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Before they closed the iOS loophole I tried to order a Dot from the Amazon app on my iPhone. It added it to my cart and gave me a delivery date at the end of May 2016. Cancelled the order and bought a regular Echo (since I didn't own one yet). Moral of the story: If you want a Dot, you're going to have to wait regardless of how you order it.
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>>> Its strictly through the Echo as of right now
I stand corrected, I do remember ordering it this way. Good for you for catching this.
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Mike has the Bose mini, I believe, and I'm looking forward to his review of the Tap and it's sound.
I have a mini BT speaker alright, but it is the Mini Jambox by Jawbone. I actually did not select it, wife did for a B-day present for me. I later bought one for daughter, after comparing the mini speakers at store, as it was clearly the best bang for the buck. (Some other MINI speakers sounded better, but not for the money spent.)