by Joe Lonergan
Product Description
The Echo Pop is a budget smart speaker from Amazon. It is a smaller Echo smart
speaker than the Echo Dot with a few less features. It looks like an Echo 5th
Gen with the front cut off. So, it is round at the back and has a flat
front-facing speaker grill.
It has only 3 physical buttons, volume up and down and a mute button. There is
no action button. There is no 3.5mm jack so you can not plug in a more powerful
speaker. It does not have a temperature sensor or ultrasound motion detector.
You also can not tap the top of the speaker to pause music or stop alarms
because there is no action button, so all actions are performed with voice
commands only. It is basically a paired-down Echo Dot with a slightly smaller
price tag.
But the Echo Pop does perform all the basic tasks that can be performed with a
voice command such as switching on and off smart home devices, checking the
weather, playing music and podcasts and anything else you desire to ask Alexa
at any given moment.
It is aimed at those of us who want an extra Echo smart speaker in the house,
home office, utility room, or playroom.
Unboxing/What are my first impressions?
When I first opened the box, I was impressed with the look and the feel of the
speaker. It felt small and neat and can fit comfortably on any little shelf or
desk and it looks cool too, I have the purple version. It comes in many
different colours and silicone sleeves can be purchased in even more colours.
The setup was straightforward. It was especially easy for me as I already have
an Amazon account and a bunch of other Amazon speakers. I plugged it in and
waited for a while. Then the little pop smart speaker started speaking to let
me know it was ready for set up, so I opened the Alexa app on my smartphone and
the device appeared on the home screen of the app asking me if I wanted to set
up.
I just followed the prompts until I got to the final step and then my Echo Pop
smart speaker announced it was ready and offered if I wanted to listen to a
tutorial. I declined as I already am an experienced smart speaker user but,
this is a good feature for a new user.
What did I like?
I like the size and look of the Echo Pop. I was impressed with the sound even
if it was not as good as the Echo Dot 5th gen, but it did a good job at
podcasts and news and Audio books in a small room.
What didn’t I like?
There was not much I didn’t like about this smart speaker because I knew what I
was getting for such a low price and I expected it not to be suitable for
playing loud music, but it does a good job if you just want to play your local
radio station or ambient music in the background.
Price
It is currently priced at approx. €45 on Amazon
Learning curve
Once the Echo Pop smart speaker is set up and you have decided on your wake
word, then there is very little learning curve. As long as you say the word
Alexa followed by a question or command then your Echo Pop will try to answer
or perform the command. Amazon will even give you suggestions if you can not
think of what to do with it. And they provide a little tutorial at the start.
For whom would I recommend this product?
I would recommend this product for people who want an extra smart speaker in a
spare room or home office as long as you do not need the extra features of the
Echo Dot mentioned earlier.
It is suitable for blind and Vision impaired users as the Echo Pop is a
universal product with no screen and works solely with voice commands. You can
also enable request sounds for users who have difficulty seeing the coloured
lights on the device, and the audible tone will let you know that Alexa has
heard the wake word and is waiting for your request. Please note you can also
access the myVI SmartHub Skill on the Amazon Echo Pop by saying “Alexa, open
myVI”.
Vision Ireland Technology News.
