Amazon's latest smart speaker 'Amazon Echo Spot' review that will tell you all information on not only the voice but also the display

Amazon Echo Spot ", the latest model of smart speaker" Amazon Echo "series equipped with artificial intelligence Amazon Alexa, appeared on July 26, 2018. Like the previous series, Amazon Echo Spot is not only capable of various operations with sound, it is a big feature that it has a touch screen panel. I actually tried using Amazon Echo Spot that is such a topic.

Amazon | Echo Spot - smart speaker with screen
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B01J6A7CT6/

Amazon Echo Spot's package looks something like this.

When you open the middle box, the round body of Amazon Echo Spot gets an eye out.

Inside the box is the main body of Amazon Echo Spot, instructions and how to use Amazon Echo Spot, AC Adapter.

The body is shaped like cutting the sphere obliquely.

The size is 104 mm × 97 mm × 91 mm, and it is like this when it is arranged with iPhone X of long side 143.6 mm.

When we measured the weight of the main body, it is 422 g and weigh enough to hold even one hand.

A circular touch screen is mounted on the front part, and a small camera is provided on top of it. Although it is possible to make a video call using a compact camera and to check the state of the room, at the time of writing the article, the communication function using the camera was not supported in Japan.

There were three buttons in the zenith. Left and right "-" and "+" are volume control buttons, and the center button is a microphone / camera button. The four holes around the microphone / camera button are microphones for listening to the sound.

The Amazon logo is printed on the back, under it there is a power port and a 3.5 mm stereo jack.

The bottom made of rubber which is nonskid is inscribed with CE mark and technically appropriate mark . In addition, there was a hole in the speaker around the bottom.

The AC adapter is 12.0 V · 1.25 A with 15 W output.

The terminal part connected to the main body looks like this.

In order to set up Amazon Echo Spot, when connecting the terminal of the AC adapter to the main unit immediately, the word "echo" was displayed on the touch screen.

Amazon Echo · Echo Dot · Echo Plus setup required Amazon Alexa application of the smart phone, since Amazon Echo Spot can input directly with touch screen, it is possible to set up without a smartphone application. First, select "Japanese" in the language.

Next, select Wi - Fi to connect Amazon Echo Spot and tap.

You also enter the Wi-Fi password directly from the touch screen of Amazon Echo Spot. Since the screen width is equivalent to a general smartphone, it was not particularly hard to push, so you could enter smoothly.

Next, enter the Amazon account you want to work with Amazon Echo Spot. After entering the registered email address and password, tap "Sign in".

A screen prompting you to confirm and agree to the terms is displayed, so tap "Yes".

Switch to the screen for setting the time zone, so tap "]" displayed at the bottom.

The device name setting screen is displayed. The device name can be changed not only here but also from the Amazon Alexa application on the smartphone. Tap "]" as it is this time.

Setup is now complete, and finally updates the device software. Tap "Download & Install".

It will be OK if it looks like the image below. Software update takes about 10 minutes.

When the update is over, the tutorial video of Amazon Echo Spot will be played.

Checked from the Amazon Alexa application on the iPhone, Amazon Echo Spot was registered in the Alexa device list.

The movie below is talking to Amazon Echo Spot and displaying weather and news on Amazon Echo Spot.

Where to actually operate "Amazon Echo Spot" with voice - YouTube


When talking to "Aleksa, tell us the weather", weather and temperature are displayed on the touchscreen section. Of course not only is it displayed but also reading is done by Amazon Alexa's artificial speech.

Talking to "Alexa, tell me the news", the skills of NHK news start. The news video was displayed on the screen part.

Of course you can also order Amazon. As Amazon Echo can not see the product page, ordering only voice was difficult, but in Amazon Echo Spot product names and photos are displayed on the screen, making it much easier to order. For example, the following image is where I talked to "Aleksa, display water". The item price and the star of the review were displayed along with the image of the item.

When music is played, music information being played is displayed on the screen. When playing music with Amazon Echo, if you are concerned about the title of the song you are currently in, you had to ask Amazon Echo for song titles, but it is a pleasing point to solve it by just looking at the screen . Sound quality, the speaker is also compact according to the body Minutes from Amazon Echo Although it is slightly worse than expected, because the tweeter is carried, the impression such as the sound quality much higher than the Echo Dot of a single speaker alone.

Furthermore, it is possible to search and play videos on the net such as "Alexa, playing cat's video" and so on. At this time, Amazon Echo Spot performs a video search on bing and plays back the search result top. The point that movie playback can be performed by voice operation is unique to Amazon Echo Spot with the screen. It is said that Amazon Prime Video will be playable in the future, but it does not correspond at the time of article creation, and YouTube movies are excluded from search results .

In addition, there are also "skills" that add various functions to Amazon Alexa that correspond to Amazon Echo Spot. As an example of the skill corresponding to Amazon Echo Spot, I tried what exactly the skill of "karaoke JOYSOUND" really is. Activate the skill "Karaoke JOYSOUND" from the Amazon Alexa application on the smartphone.

With the skill enabled, if you instruct "Alexa, start up" Karaoke JOYSOUND "", the following screen will be displayed. Compared with the original karaoke, the number of recorded songs is quite a few, which is 401 songs, but classic popular songs are lined up in line.

When you tap a favorite song, the video and subtitles that appear on the karaoke monitor are displayed on the screen as is, and the accompaniment for karaoke also flows. The monitor of Amazon Echo Spot is too small to be shared by several people, but still it is pretty ant to taste the feeling of a karaoke shop free of charge.

In addition, "eating log" skill corresponds to Amazon Echo Spot. If you talk to an area or a genre of cooking, information on the shop hit will be displayed along with the picture of the cuisine, and Amazon Alexa can read the word-of-mouth. The following movie shows the fact that you have studied Ebisu's Italian with the skill of Amazon Echo Spot's "eating log".

Searching for shops with Amazon Echo Spot and "eating log" skills - YouTube


Actually using Amazon Echo Spot, I got the impression that the amount and precision of information obtained by displaying information on the screen increases, making it possible to use a wider variety of usage than the conventional Amazon Echo. Especially the liquid crystal on the screen is "dark and hard to see", the response and precision of the touch are sufficient, it can operate without problems. You can expect various activities by watching the video of news, enjoying karaoke, and increasing the corresponding skills. In addition, because it is possible to set up without a smartphone or PC, it is a great merit that it is easier to introduce than traditional Amazon Echo.

However, since the size of the screen is still almost equivalent to that of a smartphone, there are things that it is difficult to read fine characters even from a distance. All you can do with Amazon Echo is possible with Amazon Echo Spot, but if you take advantage of the touch screen function of your own, you can operate it immediately by hand, such as a living desk or a PC desk, rather than placing it in the corner of the room It is recommended to place in such a place.

Amazon Echo Spot can be purchased from the following link at 10,980 yen including tax.

Amazon | Echo Spot - smart speaker with screen