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Original poster

Echo Dot v Alexa - what actually are these and which do you prefer and why?

40 replies

flowerpot1000000 · 01/12/2018 13:20

So alot of people are buying these Im not entirely sure what else they do apart from asking them to play music. Looking at this for DS so he can play music etc. So what do they do and which do you prefer

OP posts:
AppleKatie · 01/12/2018 13:23

They both do the same thing but the full Alexa has a better speaker. We have several around the house (DH is a tad obsessed...) and thats the only difference i have noticed.

Unless he is seriously into his music the Dot is fine imho.

naicepineapple · 01/12/2018 13:24

The Echo and the Echo dot are the same but the dot is smaller so the sound isn't as good. There's no device called an Alexa

justforareply · 01/12/2018 13:28

Dot is ok for a small room and much better sound- quality and volume- from the echo

QueenofLouisiana · 01/12/2018 13:30

We have the Echo downstairs where we listen to music etc more. Upstairs we have a dot in our bedroom and DS has one that moves from teen den to bedroom as needed. The sound is quite a lot better, but that’s all.

schooltripwoes · 01/12/2018 13:30

'Alexa' is the virtual assistant / voice that powers these devices. The difference between the Echo and echo dot is just the quality of the speaker. Both use Alexa, the dot is just smaller and has a less powerful speaker.

justforareply · 01/12/2018 13:30

That worded badly but not a dot for larger room or if using regularly for music

sluj · 01/12/2018 13:40

Apart from music, these devices are mines of information and will tell you the news headlines, the weather and jokes, play games and virtually anything you can think of. My two sons and I each have one all set up to the same account and the boys use them for music, alarm clocks and useless information they need to know.
DH and I sit there in the evening and use it to ask things like "What time is Goggle box on", "how old is Noel Edmonds?" and "how tall is John Barrowman"? 😁
We also use it to set timers for cooking.
Our 3 can be used as intercoms to talk to each other, useful for trying to get DS 2 to come down to dinner. Amazingly we can also use it to chat to DS1 who is at uni, 2 counties away.
If you already have Amazon Prime it makes sense to choose an Amazon Alexa device so all your music is in the same place.
They can do so much, its difficult to grasp 😀

justforareply · 01/12/2018 14:45

Sluj - so if on one account, u can just say 'talk to sluj son1' and it comes out over his echo even if different country?

sluj · 01/12/2018 17:07

Not sure about different country, but definite different county!!
You ask it to "drop in on DS#s echo" and it functions as an intercom. You both need to put your settings to accept drop the ins from each other.
I'm not sure you need to be on the same account either. We just all share the same prime subscription and password. Someone else might know about that?

Original poster
flowerpot1000000 · 01/12/2018 21:29

So do you need to pay a subscription for it

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Autu · 01/12/2018 21:43

I’ve been researching a bit last week and if you want to use the smart light bulbs made by Phillips you either need to have an Echo or if you only have a dot you need to buy the bridge (hub) separately. I hadn’t appreciated this until I was reading up on the smart lighting options.

Original poster
flowerpot1000000 · 02/12/2018 08:37

Ah so I need compatible lightbulbs what else?

So to get all the questions/answers sruff and .. please play ..... do I need to subscribe to per month etc. I judt assumed you buy it charge it and it does the rest

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AnnaNimmity · 02/12/2018 08:40

I think dots are sold out now until after christmas aren't they?

I am wondering what the difference is between an echo and an echo plus? We use our echo alot and I am thinking of getting another one for my bedroom.

Redglitter · 02/12/2018 08:51

I've got a couple of Dots. Sound wise I find the speakers great but I use them for listening to the radio or for background music if people are in. In the summer the kitchen one can be heard on my decking. It's ideal for just low level music - wouldn't work for a party though.

As pp said though there's a lot more to them than just speakers

ggirl · 02/12/2018 09:01

flowerpot1000000- the easiest way is to have Amazon prime , which is £79 a year I think and then you can get a subscription to amazon unlimited music for about £3.99 a month . This allows you to ask for any music to be played although there are some restrictions .

We have apple music as well and use the echo as a bluetooth speaker .
I'm not sure if the dot can be used as a bluetooth speaker , haven't tried it.
@sluj -how do you set up the intercom thing?

sluj · 02/12/2018 18:34

You both need to enable the "drop in " skill, that's all.

Original poster
flowerpot1000000 · 03/12/2018 00:27

Im thinking the echo at £79 Curry's have them

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VenusStarr · 03/12/2018 08:06

We got an echo dot free with our Hive. Haven't found any use for it so far. It will randomly pop up and say things (uninvited) and every so often lights up.

My dh has prime but can't link to it on his phone for some reason so we can't even use it for music.

I'm not a fan and wouldn't have bought one outright.

FourFuxxakes · 03/12/2018 08:33

What are they? They're listening devices. Yes they have apparently useful features but they're actually gathering information about you, your family, your behaviour etc and then selling that data to other companies so they can target you with specific marketing adverts. Hello Alexa, goodbye privacy imo

Original poster
flowerpot1000000 · 03/12/2018 21:20

Really???? 😡

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Redglitter · 03/12/2018 21:50

flowerpot They're no more sinister than your mobile phone or FB

Original poster
flowerpot1000000 · 03/12/2018 23:58

I think DS would use it more for the music

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SpoonBlender · 04/12/2018 00:17

"No more sinister than Facebook" should put anyone off!

Amazon at least is transparently trying to sell you stuff. Facebook is far more problematic and socially coercive than that, and I'd never allow anything of theirs to come within hearing range.

SpoonBlender · 04/12/2018 00:18

For music you will need a subscription - but to Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Music I think are the three current ones. Apple might not be on there yet, that's only just been announced.