A new Amazon Echo device landed in New Zealand last month, ready for those starting to use digital assistants or those wanting to add more to their setup.
The Echo Pop is a semi-spherical device, about 99 mm W x 83 mm D x 91 mm H. Despite being half the size of its predecessor, the Amazon Echo Dot, it has a slightly larger 1.95” front-firing speaker.
The result is a sound that surprised me. Either streaming music from Spotify or Amazon Music or playing my PC sounds through Bluetooth, the small Echo Pop pushes sound through with a quality that equals some larger devices.
Like all other Amazon Echo devices, you use your voice to get it to do things for you by talking to “Alexa”, its built-in intelligent assistant. The default wake-up word is “Alexa” but you can chang to other ones, including “Computer” ,”Amazon”, “Echo” or “Ziggy”. “Computer” is particularly interesting if you are a Star Trek fan.
Saying the wake-up word will turn its LED indicator blue, and you can then issue a command. This can be pre-determined ones like “Play jazz on Spotify”, or "Set a ten-minute timer” if you need help in the kitchen.
You can also use the Alexa app on your phone to create your custom routines. At home we have our Hue lights integrated with Alexa so when we say “Good night” it follows a routine to turn off lights everywhere, turn the TV off and turn a couple of nightstands in the lounge on at 20%.
We also have commands like “turn on outside lights” to control all our outdoor lights without having to reach for multiple switches. Very handy because otherwise we would have to go to the garage, outside, to turn these lights on/off.
The setup is very simple. The Amazon team makes it easier every time a new device comes out. It helps you have your Wi-Fi password saved to your account, so when adding a new Amazon Echo device, you can associate it with your account, and the app will transfer the password automatically to it via Bluetooth. To us, this is important because we have a separate network for Internet of Things (IoT) devices with a different, very long random password.
You can turn its microphone off if you don’t want it listening for the wake-up word, by using a button on top of it – next to the volume up and down buttons.
At NZ$ 89 and with the option of four colours, this is a great device for first-time Alexa users or those looking to add more devices to their home space, especially for small spaces such as bedrooms or small kitchens where space is at a premium.
