Amazon has announced the Echo Spot, which can best be described as a miniature Echo Show. The two devices share many of the same capabilities, including a touchscreen, built-in camera, and speakers.
The Echo Spot has a 2.5 inch round touchscreen that gives it an attractive round shape. Through it you’ll be able to use Alexa’s growing assortment of visual features, like video flash briefings, scrolling music lyrics, detailed weather forecasts, and much more.
It has a built-in 1.4 inch speaker, which is notably bigger than the Echo Dot’s 0.6 inch speaker, so it should sound better than the Dot. Much like the Echo Dot, the Echo Spot has a 3.5mm audio-out jack on that back that can be used to connect it to better speakers, but you can also do that wireless with a Bluetooth speaker.
The Echo Spot has a built-in camera which allows it to be used for two-way video calls between it and other Echo Spots, Echo Shows, or anyone using the Alexa app. On top of the device is a 4-microphone array for hands-free far-field Alexa capabilities, as well as a pair of volume buttons and a mute button that disables the mics and camera.
It comes in either white or black and is available for pre-order today for $129.99 and will be released on December 19.
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It’s been all over the news that Google blocked YouTube on the Echo Show, so I guess it will not be available on this too?
This would be great with battery backup for clock and alarm for when we lose electricity and internet.
2.5 inch
Amazon, are you kidding me?
Waking up in the morning, squinting my eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them being forced to focus on a tiny screen?
Maybe fine with kids, they’d be fine with such a tiny screen.
Not fine with me, though.
No buy.
.
Preach on about smart watches, but I don’t think I’ll need my +2.0 glasses for this, 2.5″ is the same size across as my Samsung S7.
Plus, good skill design means the time is an inch tall, the temperature half an inch, and the short forecast a quarter inch. Since the device isn’t designed to be picked up, developers should use their sense to output content that is three foot to four foot UI. Amazon skill certification will hopefully catch tiny or low contrast text.
Nothing riles me more than Google’s monofilament font in 50% grey, so I’m 50% with you on this.
This unit looks to be light years ahead of the Vobot and other Alexa enabled nightstand clocks. However the camera may work against bedroom use of the Spot. The fact that they have retained the bluetooth capabilities of the Dot is greatly appreciated.I hope they’ve enabled more advanced communication systems in the Spot to future proof it.
I agree 100% about the camera. It is also one reason I haven’t considered buying the show to put in my bedroom as a big “alarm clock.” And it’s also something that I would think anyone who got one of those echo look would have to be considered with. Are you putting the camera in the bedroom or not.
They just need to sell and Echo Spot Dot accessory – a $4 sticker that covers the camera.
I’ll buy a roll of electrical tape, cut it into 1 inch pieces, package it in about 50 cents of posh matte finish that will cause viral unboxing videos and sell it for $4. Thanks for that.
Might call it Echo Not though.
I was thinking of upgrading from my current home monitoring cam to the Nest IQ that costs $300 and has at a minimum of $10 a month charge. The Spot has sparked my interest at $130.
Connect the Dots (went there) for me here. You’re thinking remote drop-in ability from your phone on any Spot in your house?
Well not just that they could add the monitoring features easy. The D-Link cam I have now has motion or sound activation for recording. I’m thinking with a software update that it at the least could do sound activation with could base recording.
Anybody know why this has been delayed until Dec. 25? No Christmas this year.