I know it doesn’t require one to actually work, but I recall something about only being able to actually buy one via Alexa. I suppose now that Alexa isn’t strictly tied to the Echo, they just dropped that requirement.
I believe for v1 that was a requirement, but obviously for version 2 that’s not the case, since you can pull it up on amazon’s website.
You can, however, still get $10 off on the new Dot if you order it via Alexa. (“Alexa, order an Echo Dot second generation.”) Unless the deal runs out sooner than I realized.
Also, if you’re an Echo/Dot gen1 customer you can get refund credit from Amazon if you complain about having bought a first-gen Dot only a few months ago. Or at least, as of earlier this week you could. I’m assuming the same can be said for customers who purchased things like Phillips Hue systems before the bundles became available.
The Dot’s built-in speaker is not intended for music, but for “voice feedback when not connected to external speakers”. “Includes a built-in speaker so it can work on its own as a smart alarm clock in the bedroom, an assistant in the kitchen, or anywhere you might want a voice-controlled computer.”
Your co-worker should probably do a bit of research and pick up a cheap speaker solution to pair with the Dot. This also applies to the second-gen Dot.
I haven’t yet (I have had an Echo for a bit and still have a Dot on the way) but see my comment above. They designed the Dot to be used with other audio systems and the Echo to be somewhat more versatile.
Edit: Damn it, what Wendelius said.
Just got a Dot delivered yesterday and played around with it last night. It’s entertaining and since I have Prime it looks to be a good device for playing music. I like getting the weather forecast in the morning too. I decided on the shirt to wear to work today based on Alexa’s forecast. That was nice. We’re still not into the heart of winter yet so wearing something lighter or heavier is a day-to-day choice.
I like the jokes too. They are little kid jokes. “19 fought 20 and 21.” “What does a lawyer wear to court? A lawsuit.” Just silly stuff.
It’s fairly stupid, though. I asked it at what temperature water boils and it couldn’t understand me, even though I asked several different ways.
Right now it looks good for weather, music from Amazon Prime or Pandora, and the need for a fact now and then. We have a Roku on our TV so I don’t know if it integrates with that?
I doubt I will do any kind of add-ons for it to add household functionality. Any of you guys use it for other things?
Mines a Bluetooth speaker for my phone mostly. Also good for timers when cooking. It was great for turning and off my Philips Hue lights, but it stopped working at some point and I have not gotten around to trying to fix it. I never ask it questions anymore short of the occasional sports score. It can’t answer most stuff so it’s just easier to grab my phone.
The two features that get the most use from me are adding things to my grocery list and setting timers which are especially handy when working in the kitchen. Other than that I use it for pretty much the same stuff, music and weather. Occasionally I’ll ask it how long it will take me to get to work (after programming in my work address in the Alexa phone app), but as far as I can tell it can only remember one address and most of the time my phone is just as good or better for checking traffic conditions before I leave.
I am thinking about getting a Dot for the 15 year old in the house. She needs to learn to get herself up in the morning instead of relying on her mom as a human alarm clock, so I think the Dot could be nice for that. The kid is embedded in iOS and has all her music on iTunes. Can the Dot do anything with that? She likes Pandora too, so there’s that. She also has a Sonos speaker in her bedroom so I’m sure I can make the Dot work with it.
Not that I know of, which is why I am hoping Apple does something like this (although, I dont have much faith in them doing it well). This has been the big limiting factor for me, I want it to interact with my phone apps, but it it’s limited to the Alexa app. Anyway, as far as music, there are lots of free stations you can use, most of which are pretty good. (The classical one is horrible though.)
No, it can’t do anything with iTunes. It will play amazon music (included with Prime), pandora, and spotify. If the Sonos has an audio-in jack or supports bluetooth the Dot can play on it.
And even if it doesn’t! Just rather clunkily, through Yonomi.
Sonos has promised Echo support in 2017, so it’s coming. In theory.
I think the Sonos has some kind of a jack. Been months since I did more than listen to it. We have two in the house. I’ll look tonight when I go home.
So I guess if I plug in the Dot to the Sonos, the Sonos is no longer using wifi? It’s just a wired speaker playing music from the Dot at this point?
Also, if I move the Dot from one room to another, will it work the same or do I need to re-orient it somehow?
Sonos integration with the Dot has been announced by both Amazon and Sonos. Location looks nifty:
Oh, the Play 1 doesn’t have any aux in. I think the other Sonos speakers do.
I will be all over this. I use my Echo for music when in the kitchen, so better speakers would be great. Plus I think having its own screen would be a huge improvement. Having to go into the app is just too much of a hassle.
If you plug it in, it works as a dumb speaker, yes. Of course Sonos may still allow you to play to that speaker over wifi. I dunno, I don’t have one,
The dot will work fine in another room, if your wifi reaches.
I just asked mine and got an answer straight away. I assume it’s the same program right. The echos and the dots use the same software and the only difference is hardware… is that correct?
Yep, me too. I have had issues in the past with phrasing, sometimes you just have to word it right to get an answer.
As far as I’m aware, it just treats the Dot like any other Line In input.
This is true. You can see this problem shine when a child tries to ask Alexa a question. Children are challenged enough to use words exactly as intended, and when they try to string them together in a sentence, Alexa will confuse herself and frustrate said child. My nephew kept trying to get her to to tell him the biggestest animal anywhere… which is not how an adult would ask that question.
Perhaps it was me. Next time I’ll take the marbles out of my mouth. Fortunately, I already knew the answer! I was just testing Alexa.