Were you able to use the iOS trick I mentioned last week to snag an Echo Dot without having to use an Echo or Fire TV? Well, whatever you do, don't cancel that pre-order!
Seems that Amazon got wise to the trick after it was reported far and wide last week (so I suppose we tech journalists only have ourselves to blame). Now, when you go searching for "Dot" in the iOS app, you're met with a much less exciting See Details when you swipe right.
I'm looking forward to the end of the month when the Echo Dot starts shipping to see how people are going to use the Echo's little brother. It's a smart experiment on Amazon's part. Making Alexa more accessible to a wider audience will only improve the voice recognition and increase the AI's capacity as more varied requests and scenarios are thrown at it. Personally, I'm excited that I'll be able to finally control my Nest thermostat with my voice.
While I decried the lack of networking for the Echo Dot when it was first announced, I've come around on that point. After all, if all the data Alexa uses is in the cloud, does the individual device need to be able to talk to other devices? Each Echo device is essentially an access terminal for Alexa. Ultimately, that's what's really being sold here.
Now if Amazon could just get to work on a Star Trek-style replicator so that I can tell Alexa to prepare my favorite foods, I could tick another item off my "living in the future" bucket list.
