Amazon is at it again, releasing new Echo models
left and right to consolidate its crushing domination of a rapidly growing
smart speaker market. The first revised Echo announced at a jam-packed event in
Seattle today basically tells you everything you need to know about its key
features and selling points in its name.
The Echo Dot with Clock is a diminutive
Alexa-controlled device that can tell (or rather show) you the time without
occupying as much space as a "full-fledged" smart clock. At first
glance, this doesn't look all that different from the latest
"standard" Echo Dot generation, but below the surface, you get a
"vivid" LED panel giving you "access to the clock whenever you
want it."
Apart from the time of day, the Echo Dot with Clock
can display things like the temperature or alarm times, even letting you snooze
your alarm with a simple tap on its elegant fabric body. All in all, this is a
very straightforward and simple product getting a straightforward (read reasonable)
price of US$ 59.99 on pre-order today.
Moving on to the device that started the entire
smart speaker craze, it's certainly not surprising to see the
"regular" Echo variant refreshed again, but we can't say we're
impressed with the actual upgrades. In a nutshell, this third-generation Echo
appears to be borrowing both the external design and "audio
architecture" of the second-gen Echo Plus.
Available at US$ 99.99, the "all-new" Echo
comes with a powerful 3-inch woofer, neodymium drivers, and enhanced bass in
the sleek fabric design everyone seems to love and a quartet of colors,
including a snazzy new Twilight Blue flavor in addition to Charcoal, Sandstone,
and Heather Gray hues.
The aforementioned affordable price point suggests
this particular model doesn't come with the built-in smart home hub
capabilities of the Echo Plus, which by the way is probably not going anywhere
or getting an upgrade of its own. The same obviously goes for the US$ 50 third-gen
Echo Dot (without a Clock).
