Amazon Echo Dot

Rockman

I just purchased an Amazon Echo Dot on the Black Friday sales and I am really pleased with it. Just a couple of small queries:

I will be using it mostly to play music. Should I keep it turned on all the time or only when I am using it?

Do I need to always keep it plugged in or is there a battery in it which gets charged?

Thanks

steviebabes

Leave it on all the time, no battery in it.

SnowTiger

Rockman wrote: »

I just purchased an Amazon Echo Dot on the Black Friday sales and I am really pleased with it. Just a couple of small queries:

I will be using it mostly to play music. Should I keep it turned on all the time or only when I am using it?

Do I need to always keep it plugged in or is there a battery in it which gets charged?

Wouldn't a bluetooth speaker have been a more appropriate purchase?

It's up to you whether you keep the Echo Dot switched on all the time. If you're not planning to use any of its additional features I guess you may as well switch it off.

There are battery caddies available for the Dot. For example:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Generation%EF%BC%86Smart-Speakers-GGMM-Accessories-Rechargeable-Blackd3/dp/B07SK1XZCF/

Cornucopia

It takes 20-30 seconds to restart and reacquire a Wifi connection when you power it up, so no great problem if you want to leave it shut down when not in use.

It doesn't have a battery (as above) and doesn't need one in normal use. Info like the time and the weather are loaded from the Internet in real time.

sal_III

The dot is a terrible choice for a speaker. It's mainly a voice assistant / command gateway, with small speaker as an afterthought. Especially if you plan to keep it offline and only turning it on when you want to play music, essentially killing the voice assistant portion.

There is no battery in it, it's not a portable speaker.

searchlight123

how much do you think it will cost in electric to keep it switched on?? the answer is tiny.
the whole point of it is to be always ready to answer a query or turn on a radio station.
as above, if you only want it for music a dedicated blue tooth speaker would be more suited and deliver better sound.

spadoosh

I love how the op says says theyre "really pleased with it".

And some responses seem to be going along the lines of.....

'No youre actually not pleased with it, youve made a terrible choice because i dont like using it for that purpose'

This forum is brilliant.

McKneff

I have one, i think its great.

We came back from a weeks holiday and said
'Alexa, hi, we arehome, did you miss us?

Alexa said
'Welcome home, it's nice to have you back'

Brilliant...

sal_III

spadoosh wrote: »

I love how the op says says theyre "really pleased with it".

And some responses seem to be going along the lines of.....

'No youre actually not pleased with it, youve made a terrible choice because i dont like using it for that purpose'

This forum is brilliant.

No one said that OP isn't pleased with his choice. But the questions suggest he isn't really aware of what the Echo dot is and how it works.
We merely pointed that there are better options for the same price or cheaper options for the same quality. As is befitting for an MSE forum. There is still time to return and get a better product on a Cyber Monday sales if they choose so.

Cornucopia

I got an Echo Dot at the Black Friday price of £22, and I think for that price it represents an interesting hybrid device for general household reminders and lists, and streaming audio (in place of a normal radio).

The voice interface is way better than the one in my car, and the speaker is very good for such a small device (with the proviso that it's mono sound, and that the default audio settings are probably too bass-y).

Like McKneff, I think the casual ad-libs are great fun. I was already working on some remote power switches using cheap generic components, and when I copied some Alexa interface code on this morning, it worked within 15 minutes of hacking. The first time it worked, I said "Well done", and Alexa responded "You're welcome". Cheeky computer.

cranford

I am sure that Rochman will find other uses for their Echo Dot. Widely available at just £22 for black Friday deals I am sure that equivalent bluetooth speakers will cost about the same without all that functionality. As for power consumption on standby at 1.75 watts it will cost about 60p a year