The Echo Dot brings a virtual audio assistant into your home in a smaller size, and smaller price. The original Echo Dot was only for Amazon Prime Members (you could only purchase one through the original Amazon Echo) and twice the cost of the 2^nd generation. The new Dot packs a bigger punch, with more skills, a better speaker, and much more, all at the size of a hockey puck.

Over winter break, I invested in the Dot at the retail price of $50. I used it over the course of a week, and really enjoyed the experience.

There are many different skills I took advantage of including Alarms and Timers, Music (Prime and Spotify), Tune In, Weather Updates, and the Flash Briefing. And most skills I haven’t even touched, due to there being so many. Some other features include Jeopardy, 20-Questions, Meditation, and 7-Minute-Workout.

The setup experience was relatively easy, even though many users complained about the probelm. You just plug it in, and connect to it using an app on your phone. Within that app you change the settings to your Echo, add and remove skills, and learn more about how to use it.

My favorite skill is by far the music, since there is so many different ways to use it. You can ask for an artist, songs with particular lyrics (i.e. “What’s the song that says ‘I got a lot a enemies’”) or a genre like smooth jazz, music for studying, and more.

My biggest complaint would be that occasionally the speaker will drop out, or music will randomly stop playing for no apparent reason, and then I have to restart the Dot. But, you will come across that problem with just about every electronic device out there.

Overall, my experience with the Amazon Echo Dot has been pretty enjoyable, and I will continue to use it and try out new skills as soon as I use it more.