When Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone in 2007, he unveiled several major innovations — but the multitouch interface was by far the most important. It redefined the possibilities of mobile tech. Seven years later, Amazon debuted a product that may have an equally impressive input innovation. However, instead of being a sleek handheld gadget, it was a stark, voice-activated speaker.
Initially, the Amazon Echo was greeted with befuddlement and indifference. Like seeing a smartphone that lacked a hardware keyboard for the first time, a speaker that listened and spoke was a puzzling novelty.
After decades of science fiction movies and TV shows, you would think we would immediately recognize the importance of a talking, screen-free computer. That’s not what happened. Instead, the Amazon Echo was a slow-burn hit. It wasn’t until early adopters had them in their homes that the rave reviews started to circulate.
Even though the original Amazon Echo started to pick up steam relatively quickly, it was still encumbered by serious marketplace friction. Namely, it was a $190 smart speaker that didn’t provide above-average sound quality.
Most people already owned sound systems: Sonos speakers, Jawbones, smartphone docks, etc. Buying another was redundant. In order for the Echo to truly penetrate the mainstream, it needed to be less of an investment, and more of an add-on to an existing system.
The hit product that no one could buy
To seize the opportunity, Amazon announced the original Echo Dot in March of 2016. It was dramatically smaller and half the price of the original. I instantly wanted one.
However, I couldn’t buy it. The only way you could purchase the original Dot was by asking the larger Amazon Echo, or the Amazon Fire TV. Some viewed this as a marketing stunt. I was unconvinced. Good marketing tricks get you to buy something. This prohibited me.
Excitement for the Amazon Echo platform was at a fever pitch when the Echo Dot was announced. All of the stars aligned for Amazon to finally have a smash-hit hardware product; the truly rare kind that establishes you as the dominate “in every home” standard.
Everything was in place — except for the product itself.
I was waiting for original Echo Dot to hit the open market, but it wasn’t happening (it never ended up happening). One day, I found out that if you opened the Amazon iPhone app and used the speak-to-buy function, you could ask it to put an Echo Dot in your cart. This is exactly what I did, and it worked. Several weeks after I paid, the Dot arrived.
3000 features and we only use 3
It lives in our living room. It’s connected to my Sonos Play:5 speaker (clear instructions for how to use the Echo Dot with Sonos systems are in this post). We use it to play music, give us weather reports, and to read Wikipedia pages. That’s pretty much it.
Obviously, the Amazon Echo does far more than this, but, these three features alone make the device worth owning. It can’t be understated how wonderful it is to call out commands like: “Alexa, play some jazz.” “Alexa, turn up the volume.” “Alexa, skip to the next song.” “Alexa, stop.” That last command, in particular, makes you feel like an bonafide emperor.
As time goes on, I’m sure we’ll use the Dot for more tasks. I’d love to buy some Phillips Hue light bulbs and control them with my voice. It’s amazing to see a one-year-old try to control an Amazon Echo. I could see myself putting another Dot in the bedroom to use as a voice-activated alarm clock.
Amazon focuses on smart-home domination
The original Amazon Echo Dot sold out before it ever went on sale. Six months after its debut, it was gone. In its absence Amazon launched a vastly more ambitious product: the All-New Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation).
The $89 price of the original was replaced with $49. A significant drop. The rotating volume dial on the top of the original was replaced with Up and Down buttons, but this is actually an improvement. While not as sleek, the volume dial on the original required two hands to use: one to hold the base in place, the other to rotate the dial. Buttons make it more one-hand friendly.
If the forty dollar price cut wasn’t enough to convince you of Amazon’s ambitions, the fact that it’s available in 6 and 12-packs should (both at discounted, bulk prices). The mystery as to why the original Echo Dot wasn’t being pushed was suddenly clear. It was an awesome product at $89, but at $49, it becomes a silver bullet that just might strike the heart of the next great revolution in tech.
If you found this article interesting, you can support us simply by using the purchase links below. Also, on a recent episode of my podcast, we chat about the new 2nd Generation Echo Dot… Check it out here!
Purchase links:
Amazon Echo Dot - Amazon USA, Amazon.uk, Amazon.de
Amazon Echo (larger model) - Amazon USA, Amazon.uk, Amazon.de
Sonos Play:5 - Amazon USA, Amazon.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr
I just got my first Echo Dot (via AWS Re:invent) and must say I’m disappointed. As you point out it has potential but it’s best use today is for controlling music, and today that doesn’t actually work. I’m in the UK and the Sonos integration is broken due to Amazon deprecating some of the functionality (AMAZON.LITERAL). That’s also the case in the other European country where it’s launched, Germany and soon it’ll apply in the US too (Feb 2017). Sonos and Amazon are teaming up to get it working ‘sometime in 2017’ but knowing Sonos I’m not holding my breath. I’m keen for it to happen but for the time being mine’s going back in the box – it’s got no value yet.
Sorry to hear that the Dot hasn’t impressed you. It’s a bit user hostile if Amazon depreciated the ability to control Sonos in the UK. There was a period in time recently (in our home, anyhow), when the Dot stopped working with Spotify. You would ask it to play a song, it would reply saying that it will play it from Spotify… and then there would be silence. That lasted about a week, then it came back. I’ve recently started using the Sonos app more to control music. Partially because the Dot is a bit far away, and I would end up yelling at it all the time. But, I’m not putting mine back in the box. I find that it’s still a fun novelty. I also have a two-year-old and a four-year-old, and it’s fun to watch them try to talk to it. Plus, just this morning, the Sonos app wasn’t searching Spotify properly, so I spoke to the Dot and asked it to play the song I was looking for. A completely wrong R n’B track started playing instead, but, it was nice having a second way to try to access the music I was looking for. :) Hopefully the Dot will be more useful for you soon. Thanks for commenting!
Would you recommend the Audioengine W3 Wireless Audio Adapter Kit and an Echo Dot for a person who has the Sonos system and speakers through out their house over just getting a regular Echo?
The W3 Wireless kit from Audioengine is a good substitute for an audio cable. So, if you have an Echo Dot in a kitchen, but the sound system for the room is tucked away in a closet, you could wirelessly connect the output of the Dot to the input on the sound system in the closet. Wireless audio can run into trouble when the transmitter and receiver are separated by walls, but, sometimes it works fine. It’s worth trying it out. If the system doesn’t do it for you, send it back and try something else. Thanks for commenting!
Sam, this set of questions are on DOT and it tying into:
Onkyo 838
Direct TV
Using URC TRC 820 (this is a multi function remote controller)
URC (Universal Remote Control – company name) announced in February that the worked with Amazon DOT. I have been able to connect the dot and the audio visual system to play music from amazon and all its commands. Turn on the TV, turn off the TV, go to movie listing, go to sports listing. All using the command turn on and turn off.
What I am trying to do is:
Change the volume (up or down)
Change the selection line, i.e. I am at sports and now i want to scroll up or down.
Select a line after scrolling
When I spoke to URC they said the challange is with DOT and the commands that are available (so many are reserved).
Any suggestions on commands?