Amazon's new Echo Dot and Tap

Amazon’s Echo was an unlikely hit in today’s increasingly mobile world.It needs to be powered from a wall socket. And yet, it works so well as the voice-controlled center of a home entertainment, news, and (for some) automation that many of us who bought one wished it was more convenient to literally carry around. Echo Dot and Amazon Tap are both smaller than the original Echo and Tap is even portable.

Amazon Echo Dot

The Amazon Echo Dot, which looks exactly like the original Echo when looking down at the top of the unit. However, if you look at it from the side, it looks like someone chopped off most of the Echo and flattened it. It stands a mere 1.5 inches tall, while the original Echo is a relatively gigantic 9.25 inches tall. In a way, you can think of Echo Dot as the smartest alarm clock ever made.
The original Echo has both woofer and tweeter drivers, which produce, to my non-audiophile ears, excellent sound quality for music and voice content like audio books and podcasts. The Echo Dot has a smaller speaker of an unspecified size, which Amazon describes as a “built-in speaker for voice feedback when not connected to external speakers.” The Echo Dot can connect to bigger speakers via Bluetooth or USB cable for a better listening experience. While it's great that Echo Dot is smaller and half the price of the original Echo.

The bizarre quirk: If you want to order an Echo Dot, you can only do so if you’re an Amazon Prime member with an original Amazon Echo, because you need to order it through the Amazon Echo i.e the Dot is only available via Alexa voice shopping via an Echo or Fire TV (just say "Alexa, order an Echo Dot").

Amazon Tap

Tap is a truly portable, Alexa-powered Bluetooth speaker with omni-directional Dolby sound and a rechargeable battery so you can take it with you wherever you go. It weighs only a pound (470 grams) and has an optional colorful Tap Sling that protects against drops and makes it easier to carry. The Tap lacks the Echo branding, signaling the latter is for devices that are initiated with the “Alexa” keyword. The Tap requires you to tap a button with a microphone icon near the top of the unit to ask it to perform some task. In other words, it appears to operate like a walkie-talkie with its push-to-talk-to-Alexa mode. It is a hands-on versus hands-free device. Its battery can last up to 9 hours of continuous playback.

Amazon Tap is available for pre-order for US$129.99 and Echo Dot is $89.99 and limited to existing Amazon Prime members.

Check out the video below for more information.