Amazon has announced two new Alexa-enabled products today: the Amazon Tap and the Amazon Echo Dot. This post is about the Tap. If you think the Amazon Tap is a portable version of the Amazon Echo you would be right and you would also be wrong. First of all, if you’re not familiar with the Echo, it’s a cylinder shaped device that listens and reacts to your commands. It’s like a personal assistant or spouse that hangs on your every word and exists to serve your every wish. Need to add milk to your shopping list? Just say “Alexa add milk to the shopping list”. Want to hear the weather for tomorrow? Just ask Alexa. Want to listen to Adele on Spotify? Just say “Alexa play Adele on Spotify”. It’s really as easy as that. The Echo has grown in popularity since it was released last year and now Amazon has added a smaller version of the device. The Amazon Tap responds to the same commands as its big sister, but it’s small enough to move from room to room, take outdoors or with you when you travel. The Tap can play music for up to 9 hours on a charge. But unlike the Echo, the Tap isn’t listening for your commands. You have to tap a button for it to listen. So it’s more like a portable Bluetooth speaker with Alexa features instead of a portable Amazon Echo. If the lack of always-on listening doesn’t bug you, the Amazon Tap is priced at $129.99 and is available for pre-order with shipping scheduled for March 31. Visit Amazon for more info.
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I own 2 Echo devices. I am disappointed they did not make the portable version of the Echo (which they have named Tap) voice activated. If they had made the Tap voice activated like the full size Echo, I would have purchased one, as I’d love to have a battery-powered Echo I can easily move around. But since it does not have the voice activated feature, I will not buy it.
Apple managed to make “Hey Siri” always listening on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus without the phone having to be plugged in, so Amazon could have made the Echo Tap model the same, where Echo is listening for voice commands while on battery power.