Amazon announced 2 new devices today that use the technology behind Alexa. The Amazon Tap, is available for pre-order only to Prime members at $129 and is estimated to ship on march 31. This is a portable speaker set-up which also uses the technology behind Alexa. Think the brains behind the Echo, but not the higher profile hardware.
A new, trimmed down version of the Echo, called the Echo Dot, was
also announced. priced at $89, you will only be able to order this if you already have an
Amazon Echo or Amazon Fire TV. If you're interested in being an early adopter and checking this one out, say:
"Alexa order an Echo Dot" from either of the aforementioned Alexa enabled devices. The Echo Dot appears to
not have the complex speaker system in its larger counterpart, but does offer plenty of connectivity options
to a bigger sound system. Check out either of the links in this post for more specific info, or the source for the original announcements.
Category: News
The Echo Dot looks neat if you have a small area you want to cover, or else a nice audio system in your living room that you'd like to use for output. Shame you can't order one of those without already having an Echo, otherwise I would as a cheaper way to test out the platform. Not really interested in the Echo Tap, since pressing a button and speaking isn't what I'm after. I already have that with Siri or Google Now. It's the automatic far-field voice activation that has me curious.
Scott Friday, 04-Mar-2016 2:04 PM ET:
Last I checked, there was a loophole in the Amazon iOS app which allowed people to order either of these devices, even if you're not a Prime member. It doesn't appear to work on the Android version of the app or through any other method, however. [This Verge article](http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/3/11155308/amazon-echo-dot-order-workaround-mobile-app) outlines the process. Basically, search for the Echo dot, in your case, double tap and hold on the item in search results, and then swipe right to add it to your cart. I was able to make this work yesterday. Good luck.
darknexus Friday, 04-Mar-2016 4:05 PM ET:
Interesting. I'm actually a prime member so that's no issue, but the Dot didn't show up in search results when I looked, though the Tap did.
Marcie Brink-Chaney Wednesday, 16-Mar-2016 3:52 PM ET:
I've found the echo dot but it says that you have to order it from your echo or fire stick or fire tv (which I don't have) why should they restrict it to people who already have alexa products and when you are speaking about a work around, do you have to have an IPhone 6 to do it? I don't.
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