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1Amazon Tap, Echo Dot Extend Alexa Virtual Assistant Product Line
2Amazon Echo Dot Smaller Size May Be Appealing
The Echo Dot is designed for Amazon customers who like the idea of having the Alexa personal assistant in the home, but don’t want the towerlike Echo. Amazon has simply shaved off the bottom of the Echo to create the Dot, leaving a 1.5-inch-tall device in its wake. The Echo Dot is designed to sit in any room without being noticed. Thanks to its small size, it should accomplish that without much trouble.
3Amazon Tap Is a Portable Speaker First
As the following slides will illustrate, the Amazon Tap comes with several features, but it’s a portable speaker first and foremost. Unlike the Echo, which needs to be plugged in at all times, the Tap can be carried around town and, with a simple voice command, be told what songs or audiobooks to play.
4Amazon Echo Dot Is Mainly a Personal Assistant
The Amazon Echo Dot is all about Alexa, the e-commerce giant’s cloud-based virtual personal assistant. The Echo Dot comes with a microphone that listens to voice commands. Users can ask Alexa to turn on the lights, look up their calendar, add items to their to-do list and much more. And by connecting the Echo Dot to Bluetooth speakers, Alexa can also turn on music.
5Portable Amazon Tap Needs WiFi to Call Alexa
Alexa support in the Amazon Tap may be a little spotty. Since it’s a portable device, there may be times when the cloud-based Alexa isn’t accessible depending on the availability of a WiFi connection. However, when the Tap can connect to WiFi or a mobile hotspot, it has full Alexa functionality, including voice commands to flick on music and even order pizzas.
6Echo Dot Connects to the Home Speaker Systems
As noted, the Echo Dot ditches the speakers found in Amazon Echo. However, by connecting the device to a Bluetooth speaker, users can still listen to tracks from Amazon’s Prime Music library, Spotify and iHeartRadio, among other services. Having that flexibility could be appealing to people who already own a Bluetooth speaker.
7Amazon Tap’s Battery Life Is Strong
8Amazon Promises Alexa Upgrades for Echo Dot
9Amazon Tap: Music Streaming Support, but Where’s Apple?
Amazon Tap comes with several prominent music-streaming services, including Amazon’s Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora and iHeartRadio. However, Apple has so far kept Apple Music off Amazon’s devices, and there is no mention of the Jay-Z-owned alternative Tidal. Amazon Tap has more than enough music services, but the lack of Apple Music is a glaring omission.
10Amazon Echo Dot Pricing Is Straightforward; Buying One Isn’t
While the Echo Dot’s pricing is straightforward—it costs $89.99—actually getting your hands on one isn’t so simple. The device will be sold exclusively to Amazon Prime members who pay $99 per year for free two-day shipping, among other perks. But that’s not all. The Echo Dot can only be purchased through Alexa Voice Shopping via the Amazon Echo or Amazon Fire TV. Odd? You might say so.
11The Higher-Priced Amazon Tap Is Easier to Get
Customers may need to work hard to get the Echo Dot, but that’s not the case with Amazon Tap. The Tap, which will launch on March 31, is available to all Amazon customers for $129.99. It’s currently available for preorder on Amazon.com, and as of this writing, supplies are still available. Considering it’s already one of Amazon’s bestsellers, however, it’s unknown how long those supplies will last.