I've Had an Amazon Dot for a Year, and Here's What I Think About It – The Motley Fool

Amazon 's (NASDAQ: AMZN) cheapest home speaker, the $ 49.99 Echo Dot, seemed like the best of both worlds when I bought it for 30% off during a holiday sale last year . The Dot has a wide range of functions, yet does not break the bank.

At the end of September 2018, Amazon announced the third generation of the Echo Dot, its most popular Echo speaker. The Dot had last been updated in the fall of 2016. This new version has a revised design with a fabric cover, and it boasts better audio quality.

But while the Dot is affordable, it still may not be worth the money for some people. Så hvis du tenker på å kjøpe en Dot denne feriesesongen, her er min ærlige oppgave om jeg tror denne bærbare hjemmehøyttaler er verdt å kjøpe.

The Amazon Dot is the cheaper version of the original Amazon Echo. Image source: Amazon.

What I like about the Amazon Dot

One of the best things about the Dot is that the only setup required is plugging it in and downloading the corresponding Alexa app. devices, Alexa is its digital voice assistant.

The first thing I did after finishing the quick setup process was message my friend Carl using the Dot. Du kan bruke Dot to message people only if they have an Echo device or at least the Alexa app, so my choices were limited. When I messaged my friend, I asked him how often he used his Dot, and he replied, "haha never." This gave me a twinge or buyer's remorse, but I brushed it off, thinking that maybe he did not know how to use it properly.

I immediately loved how easy and convenient it became to play music in my room. When I was working, I would ask Alexa to play instrumental music. When I was getting ready, I would ask Alexa to play some pop music. I definitely listened to more music with the Dot, and it helped me discover new songs to add to my playlists. The Dot currently works with Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, and SiriusXM. Siden ik had een Prime-lidmaatschap, gebruikte ik Amazon Music.

I also quickly realized how useful the Dot was for setting timers and alarms. I used the hours for cooking and for working out. And at night, it became a habit to simply say, "Alexa, set an alarm for 6:30 a.m." When I manually set an alarm on my iPhone, I find myself triple-checking it because I do not trust myself. But with Alexa, I just had to say the command once, and I did not have to use my weary eyes to stare at a bright screen while doing it.

Lastly, I frequently used my Dot to update me on the weather and the news. This was a great way to multitask in the morning. Mens jeg gjorde min makeup og få klar, ville jeg spørre Alexa for å lese de bedste nyhedshistorierne om dagen. That way, by the time I started writing, I already had a brief overview of that day's top events.

Now, if you were reading closely, you probably noticed that I was talking about my Dot in the past tense. That's because, sadly, you've stopped using the Dot altogether – just like my friend did.

The downfall of the Dot in my house started when I let my Prime subscription run out. Once I was not a Prime member, I had no longer Amazon Prime Music, and the Dot became significantly less useful to me. Men selv da, jeg har fortsatt brukt Dot for vær- og nyhetsoppdateringer for et par måneder før det går glipp av sin spenning.

Within six months of buying the device, I had stopped using the Dot altogether. Og nu, når jeg er en premier medlem igjen, har jeg ikke lyst til å få det ud af min kropsdel.

The Dot has more than 50,000 skills, so it's definitely useful. Men det ville være hardt for gennemsnitskøbere at lære at de kunne bruge Dot til i deres daglige liv. Og stundum er það skemmtilegt og þægilegt að nota rödd skipanir til að stjórna einföldum verkefnum eins og að setja upp viðvörun eða spilun tónlistar.

Conclusion: Would I buy it again?

If you can probably tell, I personally would not buy the Dot again. It's a handy device, especially considering its relatively cheap price tag. Men, jeg bare ikke finner det alt som er nyttig i mitt daglige liv. I really did not notice when I stopped using it, so it was not really adding value to my life.

I will note that I did not go the extra mile to use its smart-home capabilities to control lights, thermostats, and other compatible connected devices. Så det kan tippe skalaen for noen mennesker som har en rekke smarte apparater. But for me, I'm going to stick to my old fashioned phone alarm and weather app.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Natalie Walters has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.